The National Lottery Community Fund releases new data to show the benefits of nature – and urge the public to apply for grants of up to £20,000 that will fund environmental projects that can transform their communities.
In a survey of over 2,000 parents of children aged 4 – 17 conducted by Ipsos, over a quarter (30%) said their child struggled with anxiety or panic attacks in the past 12 months, just under a quarter (23%) said their child struggled with stress and just under 1 in 5 (18%) said their child dealt with low self-esteem.
Worryingly, 1 in 5 (22%) parents with a child as young as 7 say their child struggled with anxiety over the past 12 months.
And parents of girls aged 15 – 17 were twice more likely to say their child has poor mental health than parents of boys of the same age (15% vs 7%).
Unsurprisingly, parents selected reduced screen time as the top benefit to their child’s mental health; however, well over a third of parents (43%)2 said spending more time in nature would help their child’s mental health and over a quarter (28%) felt being able to access green spaces, such as parks, would also help.
This echoes research from The Lancet which reveals those who spend just two hours per week in nature report significantly higher levels of wellbeing compared to those who don’t.3 Individuals living within 1 kilometre of green space also had a significantly lower risk of experiencing anxiety and depression.4
In the Ipsos UK-wide survey, parents said their child seemed worried about a range of issues in the last year, the top 3 being judged by others (27%), body image (21%) and safety (18%). Just under 1 in 10 (9%) mentioned climate change.5
The findings are being released ahead of World Environment Day on Thursday [5 June] by The National Lottery Community Fund, who want to encourage as many people as possible to get involved in projects linked to nature and green spaces to help the planet and provide mental health benefits.
In the last year, The National Lottery Community Fund has supported nearly 400 environmental projects across the UK to protect and restore nature, encourage recycling and save energy, thanks to almost £50 million of funding generated by National Lottery players.
The grant-maker says that a significant proportion of its funding already benefits the environment. A survey of 36 environmental projects from the National Lottery Community Fund’s flagship environmental programme, Climate Action Fund, revealed that in 2023 more than 7,500 volunteers took part in projects to improve the environment.
Projects focused on many different environmental activities, with almost 7,000 trees planted and saved over 3,000 tonnes of food waste – roughly the weight of 2,059 cars.6
Almost 62,000 items have been repaired, recycled or reused and almost 17,000 square metres of community gardens have been redeveloped – around the size of 65 tennis courts. 7
In a bid to inspire community-led environmental action, The National Lottery Community Fund is offering millions of pounds of funding over the next ten years to projects and charities across the UK specifically focused on restoring and regenerating nature.7
People across the UK can apply for National Lottery Awards for All grants of between £300 and £20,000 for environmental projects, through The National Lottery Community Fund’s website. There are also grants of varying amounts available for people that are specific to projects in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The projects could include creating community gardens for growing food or plants, running volunteer sessions to care for green spaces, improving parks or playgrounds to support nature and wildlife, or running outdoor activities for people who don’t usually access green spaces.