TEP Environment Grant Awardees 2024

TEP Environment Grant Awardees 2024

TEP Environment Grant Awardees 2024
16 September 2024

Each year, TEP’s Environment Grant offers funding in support of local projects that raise awareness of environmental issues, further the environmental profession and resonate with our core values.

This year we are thrilled to announce our support for three organisations and groups that share a common vision for enhancing the wellbeing and overall quality of life in our communities and surrounding environment.

Our first awardee is Biddulph Youth and Community Zone, a social enterprise based in Stoke-on-Trent, that is creating a community garden to offer environmental education to local residents. The project provides hands-on learning experiences in gardening, growing fruit and vegetables, recycling, and understanding local wildlife. This initiative will greatly benefit disadvantaged, socially isolated, and vulnerable members of the community, fostering relationships and friendships while equipping them with valuable new skills.

Our second awardee, EcoVida Routes Ltd, is launching a pilot program to provide Sustainability Education to 1,000 primary school children in the Halton area. The initiative aims to create social action projects that directly address key issues in schools, including biodiversity, energy use, and waste management. This pilot program will empower schools to listen to students’ concerns, enhance the curriculum, and create meaningful projects that drive positive change within the school, at home, and in the wider community. The goal is to promote sustainability by educating young people about recycling, renewable energy, and the critical importance of biodiversity, fostering a deeper understanding of environmental responsibility.

Our third awardee, Grappenhall Heys Primary School, will use the funding to create a willow garden that enhances biodiversity, supports their goal of rewilding 75% of the school grounds, and provides a sustainable, hands-on learning environment. Students will actively participate in planting and maintaining the garden, gaining knowledge about sustainable practices such as irrigation, soil enrichment, and pruning. Ongoing care will become a regular part of school life, involving all year groups, the school gardening club, parent volunteers, and the eco council. This initiative aims to foster environmental awareness, promote biodiversity, and offer immersive learning experiences for both students and the wider school community.

Previous Awards

TEP has previously awarded funds to:

2023

🌿 The Mersey Gateway Environmental Trust (MGET) to promote the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment of the Upper Mersey Estuary and related areas.



🌿 Twiss Green Primary School to develop a sensory garden and vegetable patch, aiming to encourage outdoor education, boost biodiversity within the school grounds, and offer a chance for children of all ages to engage with the natural environment.

2022

🌿 Kingsteignton Wild to create a 2km nature trail connecting two local schools in South Devon.


🌿 Sustainable Penzance CIC to develop their website and to create an online ‘portal’, containing information, training, resources and support on how to reduce the impact communities and businesses have on the local environment.


🌿 Our Only World to support a biodiverse marine environment through the modification and enhancement of manmade structures such as sea walls in Cornwall.



🌿 RE-PEAT to help promote Peat-Fest 2022, a 6-day online festival dedicated to celebrating peatlands and raise awareness of their importance.

2021

🌿 Croxteth Park Volunteer Group to offer bi-monthly recording sessions for volunteers and local school children using the iNaturalist app, which will feed into local, national and global databases.


🌿 PLACED Academy who run a free Environmental Academy for 37 students from diverse backgrounds throughout the Liverpool City Region.


🌿 Kirkby C of E Primary School to facilitate Forest School style sessions for all their children.



🌿 Friends of the Upper Wye to restore the ecological health of The River Wye for local communities, for visitors to the region, and for all the invertebrates, fish, mammals and birds that also call it home.

2020

🌿 St Basil’s Catholic Primary School in Widnes to help improve the school’s natural environment.



🌿 PhD candidate Richard Bentley to identify, map and share information about quiet spaces and their benefits for human wellbeing and the environment.

22 April 2026
Delivering major infrastructure in sensitive environments requires a coordinated approach, bringing together a range of expertise to understand place, manage risk and support informed decision-making. Our work on the North Hykeham Relief Road (NHRR) in Lincolnshire is a strong example of this in practice, with teams from across TEP working together to support the delivery of this long-planned scheme. A long-planned piece of infrastructure The NHRR forms the final section of Lincoln’s ring road, a scheme that has been identified in Local Plans for around twenty years. As the project progressed, it required careful consideration of environmental constraints, historic assets and landscape character, alongside the practicalities of delivering a major new road. Working alongside Balfour Beatty and the wider project team, we provided a range of services spanning heritage and archaeology, planning, landscape, ecology and arboriculture. A coordinated programme of assessment and support underpinned the development of the scheme. Our Historic Environment team established the baseline through desk-based assessment, consultation and phased archaeological evaluation. This work identified areas of interest including sites of prehistoric activity, the important Roman road of Ermine Street, and a potential Roman villa complex, providing valuable insight into the long-term history of the site. These findings directly informed the design process, helping to shape the scheme in response to the site’s archaeological and historical context. The team also assessed potential impacts on sensitive heritage assets, including listed buildings and conservation areas, ensuring that the historic environment was fully considered as the project evolved.
21 April 2026
Bringing the world of books to life for blind or visually impaired children
14 April 2026
TEP is proud to be partnered with the award-winning initiative Time for Geograph y, whic h showcases the importance of geography and the diverse careers it can lead to. Time for Geography is a free, online education platform reaching schools and universities across the UK. Through a series of engaging video resources, it brings geography to life in the classroom, connecting academic learning with real-world challenges such as sustainability, climate change, urban planning and environmental management. Our contribution to the initiative forms part of the platform’s Careers Collection, where our team shares insight into the varied and rewarding pathways geography can open up. These resources are designed to help students understand how their studies translate into professional roles, offering a clearer view of the opportunities available within the environmental sector. We’re delighted that this collaboration has been recognised with a Highly Commended Geographical Association Publishers Award , which celebrates the careers-focused videos and resources developed to guide students towards further education and careers in our industry. With an audience of over 2.5 million this year, Time for Geography is a powerful example of how education and industry can come together to inspire future talent, showing how a subject studied in the classroom can lead to meaningful, real-world careers. For many of our colleagues at TEP, that journey began with a simple interest in geography at school. Today, that interest has grown into careers spanning ecology, arboriculture, heritage, planning, landscape design and environmental management. By sharing these experiences, we hope to encourage the next generation to see geography not only as a fascinating subject, but as a pathway into work that makes a tangible difference. We’re proud to support an initiative that is helping shape the future talent pipeline for our sector, and to inspire the environmental specialists of tomorrow. Learn more and watch our video: 
22 April 2026
Delivering major infrastructure in sensitive environments requires a coordinated approach, bringing together a range of expertise to understand place, manage risk and support informed decision-making. Our work on the North Hykeham Relief Road (NHRR) in Lincolnshire is a strong example of this in practice, with teams from across TEP working together to support the delivery of this long-planned scheme. A long-planned piece of infrastructure The NHRR forms the final section of Lincoln’s ring road, a scheme that has been identified in Local Plans for around twenty years. As the project progressed, it required careful consideration of environmental constraints, historic assets and landscape character, alongside the practicalities of delivering a major new road. Working alongside Balfour Beatty and the wider project team, we provided a range of services spanning heritage and archaeology, planning, landscape, ecology and arboriculture. A coordinated programme of assessment and support underpinned the development of the scheme. Our Historic Environment team established the baseline through desk-based assessment, consultation and phased archaeological evaluation. This work identified areas of interest including sites of prehistoric activity, the important Roman road of Ermine Street, and a potential Roman villa complex, providing valuable insight into the long-term history of the site. These findings directly informed the design process, helping to shape the scheme in response to the site’s archaeological and historical context. The team also assessed potential impacts on sensitive heritage assets, including listed buildings and conservation areas, ensuring that the historic environment was fully considered as the project evolved.
21 April 2026
Bringing the world of books to life for blind or visually impaired children
22 April 2026
Delivering major infrastructure in sensitive environments requires a coordinated approach, bringing together a range of expertise to understand place, manage risk and support informed decision-making. Our work on the North Hykeham Relief Road (NHRR) in Lincolnshire is a strong example of this in practice, with teams from across TEP working together to support the delivery of this long-planned scheme. A long-planned piece of infrastructure The NHRR forms the final section of Lincoln’s ring road, a scheme that has been identified in Local Plans for around twenty years. As the project progressed, it required careful consideration of environmental constraints, historic assets and landscape character, alongside the practicalities of delivering a major new road. Working alongside Balfour Beatty and the wider project team, we provided a range of services spanning heritage and archaeology, planning, landscape, ecology and arboriculture. A coordinated programme of assessment and support underpinned the development of the scheme. Our Historic Environment team established the baseline through desk-based assessment, consultation and phased archaeological evaluation. This work identified areas of interest including sites of prehistoric activity, the important Roman road of Ermine Street, and a potential Roman villa complex, providing valuable insight into the long-term history of the site. These findings directly informed the design process, helping to shape the scheme in response to the site’s archaeological and historical context. The team also assessed potential impacts on sensitive heritage assets, including listed buildings and conservation areas, ensuring that the historic environment was fully considered as the project evolved.
21 April 2026
Bringing the world of books to life for blind or visually impaired children
14 April 2026
TEP is proud to be partnered with the award-winning initiative Time for Geograph y, whic h showcases the importance of geography and the diverse careers it can lead to. Time for Geography is a free, online education platform reaching schools and universities across the UK. Through a series of engaging video resources, it brings geography to life in the classroom, connecting academic learning with real-world challenges such as sustainability, climate change, urban planning and environmental management. Our contribution to the initiative forms part of the platform’s Careers Collection, where our team shares insight into the varied and rewarding pathways geography can open up. These resources are designed to help students understand how their studies translate into professional roles, offering a clearer view of the opportunities available within the environmental sector. We’re delighted that this collaboration has been recognised with a Highly Commended Geographical Association Publishers Award , which celebrates the careers-focused videos and resources developed to guide students towards further education and careers in our industry. With an audience of over 2.5 million this year, Time for Geography is a powerful example of how education and industry can come together to inspire future talent, showing how a subject studied in the classroom can lead to meaningful, real-world careers. For many of our colleagues at TEP, that journey began with a simple interest in geography at school. Today, that interest has grown into careers spanning ecology, arboriculture, heritage, planning, landscape design and environmental management. By sharing these experiences, we hope to encourage the next generation to see geography not only as a fascinating subject, but as a pathway into work that makes a tangible difference. We’re proud to support an initiative that is helping shape the future talent pipeline for our sector, and to inspire the environmental specialists of tomorrow. Learn more and watch our video: