Plants and natural materials help cool urban areas.
10 December 2024
In Brief:
- The Nature in the City: Cooling Your Suburb grants program is now open for applications.
- The program supports projects that make urban areas cooler using plants and natural materials.
- This story describes eligibility criteria and projects that have secured funding from previous rounds.
Grants are now open for the ‘Nature in the City: Cooling Your Suburb’ program.
What is the program for?
The grants support innovative projects to make the hottest areas in Canberra cooler.
A total of $150,000 in grant funding is now available for local projects that:
- use plants and natural materials to make urban areas cooler
- protect suburbs from the harsh impacts of climate change.
As the heat continues to rise, Canberrans are more likely to suffer from ‘urban heat island effect’. This is when surfaces and infrastructure like pavement, roads and buildings soak up the heat from the sun. It then radiates back into suburbs.
What kind of projects are eligible for funding?
Up to $50,000 per project is available for projects that will benefit the community through:
- providing natural shade
- capturing rainwater
- improving water absorption
- showcasing creative ways to keep suburbs cool.
These projects may include:
- replacing hard and hot surfaces with plants and natural materials
- installing a combination of shade structures and plants, or
- installing landscaping features that retain water, like swales.
Up to $10,000 is also available for eligible organisations to conduct feasibility studies that explore new ways to make an area cooler with nature-based solutions.
Which projects have received grant funding before?
Three Mills Bakery is a local business that received funding in the last round of the program. They are working to transform an urban concrete hotspot in Woden into a publicly accessible oasis.
They are installing canopy trees and other plants in planter boxes. The vegetation and planters will reduce urban heat and retain water.
“The external environment plays a huge role in creating remarkable hospitality experiences”, Jarrod Deaton, founder of Three Mills Bakery said.
“The Nature in the City: Cooling Your Suburb grant will help us to transform a harsh concrete environment into a softer, greener space that people can enjoy.”
How can I find out more?
An online information session will be held on 12 December 2024 for those who are interested in applying for a grant and wish to find out more about the program and application process.
Applications for the 2024-25 ‘Nature in the City: Cooling Your Suburb’ grants program are now open until midnight 9 February 2025.
For more information on the grant program and how to apply, visit the Everyday Climate Choices website.
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