KCCF announces new strategic grants

KCCF is pleased to announce new strategic partnership grants which will support regenerative land and seascapes in the UK and internationally. The grants, totalling more than £800,000, were awarded to four charities towards their important work protecting and restoring land and marine environments resulting in long-term sustainability, increased biodiversity and enhanced resilience.

One of the charities awarded funding is BirdLife International. Our grant for their forests programme will support thousands of threatened species and hundreds of forest communities in more than 40 tropical forests around the world.

Martin Harper, CEO of BirdLife International, said: “The strategic partnership will give a huge boost to both our tropical forest programme and to BirdLife International as a whole.  The partnership will help secure a more robust future for some of the world’s most threatened tropical forests and its biodiversity while helping to lock up more carbon and creating new sustainable livelihoods for forest-dependent communities.”

A smaller community-based organisation awarded funding is the Community Of Arran Seabed Trust  (COAST). This pioneering charity established Scotland’s first No-Take Zone in Lamlash Bay which provides a crucial breeding and nursery ground for various marine species, and this was subsequently followed by the creation of the South Arran Marine Protected Area in 2016.

Aine Purcell-Milton, CEO of COAST said: “Partnering with King Charles III Charitable Fund presents a great opportunity to amplify our efforts in community-led marine conservation. This funding will help drive impactful initiatives to protect and restore the waters around the Isle of Arran and enable us to share learning for sustainable marine management both nationally and globally.” 

Another major environmental charity to secure funding is the Marine Conservation Society.

Sandy Luk, CEO, said: “The ocean can’t wait – and we are thrilled to have a new funding partner that understands and shares our hopes for a cleaner, healthier ocean everyone can benefit from.  This strategic funding partnership with KCCF couldn’t have come at a better time. It will help us pilot innovative, new ideas to achieve ocean recovery and leverage wider funding to trial those that work. And we’ll be able to carry on educating and inspiring diverse communities, businesses, politicians and individuals to speak up for the ocean in positive, pragmatic and sustainable ways.”

KCCF also pledged further support to Soil Association’s Innovative Farmers Programme which links up farmers with researchers to carry out field labs which respond to questions that farmers want answered. The learning from these farmer-led trials is disseminated widely to ensure other farmers can consider adopting these new approaches which will improve sustainability and resilience of farming in the UK.

Nikki Jeffery, Executive Director of KCCF, said: “We’re delighted to announce these new strategic funding partnerships which will build on our long standing efforts to promote nature’s recovery. These grants will help develop sustainable solutions to support nature and mitigate the climate crisis across the UK, the Commonwealth and Internationally.”