Grants
The High Weald National Landscape Partnership currently runs two grant schemes – the High Weald Nature and Community Fund (previously known as Sussex Lund) and the Farming in Protected Landscapes Programme.
Both schemes support projects that preserve our beautiful landscape and meet national and local goals for climate, nature, people and place,
We are here to provide advice and support with developing projects and submitting a grant application.
If our grant schemes aren’t right for your project we can also direct you to schemes run by others that may be suitable.
Quick look: Which programme is for me?
High Weald Nature and Community Fund
- Supported by: Lund Trust
- Who: For community groups, schools, churches, parish councils, charities, and other not-for-profit organisations. Farmers and land managers may apply if they can prove public benefit
- Where: Covers the High Weald and the hamlets, villages and towns on its fringes. Sites could include school grounds, woodlands, farmland, churchyards, local parks and recreation grounds, other green spaces
- How much: Grants of £500 to £20k for projects that create and improve wildlife habitats and enhance connections between them, engage more people with caring for green spaces and connect nature-deprived communities with the High Weald landscape
- When: Grants awarded on an annual basis, decided by grant panel – next application window open from May – July 2024 with decisions in December.
Example projects – pond creation, Dark Skies celebration festival, hedge planting and laying, wildflower meadow creation, habitat management for rare species including dormice, ‘grey to green’ projects that develop community green spaces in urban areas, community growing schemes.
Farming in Protected Landscapes
- Supported by: Defra
- Who: For High Weald farmers and land managers
- Where: Applications only considered for projects located within the AONB boundary
- What: Grants of up to £250,000 for projects that recover nature, tackle climate change, provide opportunities for people to discover the landscape and support sustainable farm businesses
- When: Grants awarded on a rolling basis, decided by grant panel of local farmers and advisers (applications under £10k decided by AONB team). No deadline for applications, the programme runs until March 2025.
Example projects – supporting farmers with infrastructure for holistic planned grazing, collaborative deer management on a landscape scale, reinstatement of lost historic hedges, farmer mentoring and events programme.
