A Green Retreat for Riccall

A York-based environmental group has been awarded a green grant from Northern Gas Networks, the region’s gas pipeline company.

Riccall Lands Charity of Riccall near York has received £3,500 from Northern Green Networks, an environmental scheme run by Northern Gas Networks to provide funding for green projects around the region.

The funding will be used to create a woodland wildlife haven by planting native British woodland trees at a community meadow adopted by the group.

The Riccall Lands Charity was one of 23 schemes to be awarded funding by Northern Green Networks.

Paddy Hodgkiss from the charity said: “We are delighted with the award. With the help from our volunteers we have been able to start the tree-planting project. As well as creating a wildlife haven in our village, the area will also be used as an education resource to help people learn more about our local environment.”

The cash grant, along with the winner’s trophy was presented by members of the judging panel, John O’Grady, Communications Director at Northern Gas Networks, Teesside Councillor Alex Cunningham and Stephen Brown, Head of Sustainable Development at Yorkshire Forward.

John O’Grady said: “Northern Green Networks was designed to deliver relatively small amounts of financial support to locally based grassroots environmental groups and projects. Creating a community woodland and protecting it for future generations is certainly an initiative which we were keen to support.”