Environmental grants for UK charities in 2026: who funds nature, climate and green community work

Environmental work in the UK is funded by a small number of large programmes and a long tail of small local funds. On 26 October 2026 OpenGrant listed 146 open, rolling and forthcoming environment and conservation schemes from 53 funders, 54 of them open to charities and community groups, with a median stated maximum of £3,250. The rolling routes for a charity are the lottery environment strands at up to £20,000, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation from £30,000, and the Garfield Weston Foundation at any scale.

The funding picture

The environment theme page showed 136 schemes open now and 10 forthcoming on 26 October 2026, with 77 accepting rolling applications and 19 closing within 30 days. Of the 116 with a stated maximum, 67 were under £10,000, 20 between £10,000 and £100,000 and 29 of £100,000 or more. The theme follows Charity Commission purpose code 112, "environment, conservation and heritage", so built-heritage schemes appear beside nature ones. Three kinds of funder dominate: lottery distributors, a few large trusts with a named environmental aim, and government departments with land-management grants. Below them sit water company foundations and community foundation funds that give a few thousand pounds to local groups.

Lottery small grants

The National Lottery Community Fund runs two environment strands with the same scope: "community-led projects that tackle the climate and nature emergency, improve the environment, and help people connect with and enjoy nature locally".

• National Lottery Awards for All England – Environment: £300 to £20,000, decision in 16 weeks, England. Eligibility follows the main programme, covered in how to apply to Awards for All England.
• Small Eco Awards: £300 to £20,000, decision in 12 weeks, for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

Both are rolling. For a community garden, a repair café, a wildlife survey or a green space improvement, these are usually the first application to make.

Large trusts with an environmental aim

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation is the clearest case. Our Natural World is one of its three aims, with five priorities, freshwater, peat, space for nature, fishing in tandem with nature and nature-friendly farming, and it made 83 grants worth £15.7 million under that aim in 2025. Grants start at £30,000, usually run three to five years and are mostly core or unrestricted; the organisation needs turnover of at least £100,000 and the foundation does not fund capital. Its October 2026 Space for Nature review and report are on its site. The full process is in how to apply to the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.

Garfield Weston Foundation lists environment among its nine funding categories and accepts applications all year for capital, core or project costs, with a median recent grant of £20,000; see how to apply to the Garfield Weston Foundation. The National Lottery Heritage Fund funds "landscapes, parks and nature" within its £10,000 to £10 million range, and on 26 October 2026 had a dated Wales-only round, Nature Networks Fund round six, at £250,000 to £1 million, closing 3 November 2026 at noon.

Government land and woodland schemes

Several of the largest records on the environment page are Defra and Forestry Commission grants aimed at land managers, which some charities with land can use:

• England Woodland Creation Offer: £4,000 to £2 million, rolling, England.
• Woodland Creation Planning Grant: £1,500 to £30,500, rolling, English regions.
• Forest Creation Grant, National Forest Company: £1,500 to £1 million, deadline 1 February 2027, East and West Midlands.

Read the eligibility carefully: these schemes pay per hectare and expect land-management obligations that a small community group may not want. In Wales, WCVA's funding page lists the National Forests for Wales Landscape Scheme, MARINE Fund Cymru, a Coastal Capacity Building Fund and the Landfill Disposals Tax Communities Scheme, which funds "local community and environmental projects in areas affected by the disposal of waste to landfill"; the community grants in Wales guide covers the rest of the Welsh picture.

Water company and community foundation funds

The Wessex Water Foundation gives more than £500,000 a year through four community foundations and reported £66,000 through its Environment Fund in 2024/25. The Wessex Water Environment Fund pays up to £2,000 for projects with a direct environmental focus and is expected to open in spring 2027, with Somerset Community Foundation naming May 2027; people-focused work goes to the Community Fund instead, as explained in how to apply to the Wessex Water Community Fund. Other utilities and community foundations run similar funds, and community benefit funds tied to wind farms and solar farms, such as those Foundation Scotland administers, often welcome environmental projects. The peers lookup finds the ones that have published grants to environmental charities like yours.

How to choose the right route

Match the ask to the band. Under £20,000 for a local project: the lottery environment strand for your nation, then your community foundation. £20,000 to £100,000 for a project: Garfield Weston, the Heritage Fund's lower band, or a regional environmental trust found through the peers lookup. £30,000 a year or more for core costs over several years: Esmée Fairbairn, if the work fits a named priority. Land-based work at scale: the Defra schemes, with the land-management obligations understood. In every case the funder's own guidance is the authority; OpenGrant records show the last date each was checked. For what closes in the next few weeks, see UK grants closing this month.