Environment Minister Alex Attwood has announced a £125,000 Challenge Fund towards assisting environmental projects across Northern Ireland.The Fund is a great opportunity for community and voluntary organisations to carry out environmental projects.

Projects to protect our wildlife and their natural habitats were among many exciting schemes already benefiting in a pilot for the funding.

In calling on community and environment groups to apply for the funding Alex Attwood said: "I was encouraged by the success of the pilot Challenge Fund in March and am pleased to have secured additional funding for it. The Challenge Fund will provide communities and organisations with the required assistance to develop a number of new and inspiring local environmental projects across Northern Ireland.

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"In June I had the opportunity to visit a number of the communities and organisations who benefited from the pilot to see their work first hand such as the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) who established the Cockle Island Seabird Centre at Groomsport, National Trust who purchased equipment to improve their monitoring of wildlife around Strangford Lough, the establishment of the Northern Ireland Bat Group’s North West Project and Causeway Coast & Glens Heritage Trust (CCGHT) who developed recreational trails within Binevenagh AONB, further enhancing pedestrian access to the area."

(CD)