George’s Fund has awarded £38,476 to ten projects across Herefordshire that use the power of nature to help children.

Set up by Laura Hughes to celebrate the short but special life of her son, George’s Fund is delighted to be able to award grants to a range of fantastic initiatives, from Herefordshire primary school projects to charities working with young children.

Announcing the successful projects, Laura Hughes comments; ” We have awarded grants to ten very worthy local projects and look forward to sharing more about their achievements over the coming months. We are enormously grateful to everyone who has given their time and donations to help George’s Fund make a real difference to the lives of local young children.

“Your fundraising efforts mean absolutely everything to us, we’ve had a 12-hour spinathon organised by De Koffie Pot, Full Cycle Studio and Joe’s Spin Sessions through to a Sellebrity soccer match at Hereford FC. So much effort and imagination has been invested in helping us make George’s Fund a success.

“A special thank you goes out to George’s friend Louis who cycled from Stretton Sugwas to the base of Pen Y Fan and then climbed to the summit to complete his journey. It was an epic challenge and we couldn’t be prouder of him.”

The grants will support ten local projects:

The Cart Shed Charity will use the grant to work with neurodivergent Year 6 pupils who are experiencing high levels of anxiety around the move up to High School. They will learn to understand and manage their emotions in order to enable a successful transition. Hope’s Children & Young Peoples Support Services will be funded to run forest school days with groups of children who have a loved one with a serious illness. They will learn outdoor skills with a forest school leader, engaging together in activities which help them talk about their experiences and make friends.

Riverside Primary School in Hereford will put the grant towards a Children’s Garden Project where young pupils will have the chance to plant, grow and nurture plants, grow produce and have fun. Meanwhile, Brampton Abbotts CE Primary School in Ross-on-Wye will run a ten-week bushcraft survival skills course for seven to eleven year olds who rarely access nature; and Orchard Multi Academy Trust will enhance their Forest School site, which is used to foster emotional literacy and promote mental well-being in children through immersive nature experiences.

The grant will enable Growing Local CIC to run fifteen holiday workshops for families of pre-school and primary aged children at their new Children’s Educational Garden in South Wye. Whilst under-11s with complex disabilities will be given the opportunity to try new activities and socialise with peers of a similar age, via Marches Family Network Play+ scheme.

Cultivating Learning and Nature CIC’s Future Naturalists project will seek to improve the natural history skills of young people whilst Longtown Outdoor Learning Trust will provide a hundred days of outdoor learning and adventure experiences for children in Years 4 to 6 who live within a 30 to 45 minute radius of their centre in west Herefordshire. Vulnerable young children in Leominster will be able to take part in an exciting new programme of outdoor activities called Wild and Well. Hereford Nurture Through Nature CIC will create opportunities for them to connect with nature through activities such as campfire cooking and tool use.

George’s Fund is also grateful for the support of AutoPack Ltd, Boss Border Office Supplies & Systems, Didee Childrenswear, Herefordshire College, M&S Hereford and NFU Mutual.

To help George’s Fund support children’s outdoor experiences and learning in Herefordshire please make a donation.  Every donation makes a real difference to Herefordshire’s communities.