Deadline: 3-Mar-23
The Paludiculture Exploration Fund (PEF) is a new grant scheme sitting under the umbrella of the Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme (NCPGS) managed and delivered by Natural England. PEF Grants are to help unlock barriers to the development of commercially viable paludiculture.
Objectives
The intention of PEF is to help develop the evidence base and create the conditions for paludiculture enterprises in England, to facilitate this, outputs generated by PEF Grants will be made available to others. For example, data gathered in your project and/or other knowledge gained could be shared as a case study.
Funding & Duration Information
- Applications for PEF Grants can be made between 03 January 2023 and 03 March 2023. Grants will be awarded in May 2023 and will run until March 2025.
- There is no minimum or maximum limit to the size of projects: the fund anticipates applications in the range of £50,000 to £500,000. PEF Grants can cover up to 100% of costs.
Eligible Costs
- The expectation is PEF will fund a range of different projects, helping to develop the evidence base and create the conditions for paludiculture enterprises in England. Applications will be considered from projects with a link to any species with potential for paludiculture in the UK. For a guide to suitable species see Annex 4 of the Defra commissioned literature review. Applicants proposing projects including species not on this list will need to include a justification of how the species demonstrates genuine potential for paludiculture in the UK. Eligible costs are those related to seeking to address the challenges, barriers, and markets for paludiculture crops.
- These include, but are not limited to:
- Determining how to sow, grow and harvest crops.
- Quantifying greenhouse gas abatement and other marketable ecosystem services.
- Developing new machinery or adapting existing machinery to sow, harvest and process crops.
- Developing new products to utilise the paludicultural crops.
- Developing product standards for different users and uses of paludicultural materials.
- Staff and volunteer time in delivering the project.
- Communication and engagement activities related to the projects.
- Investigating challenges relating to water availability, management, and quality.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applications to PEF are welcomed from projects focused on tackling the barriers to developing commercially viable paludiculture on lowland peat soils in England, where the intended outcome is a positive environmental benefit resulting in the reduction of peat wastage and greenhouse gas Applications to PEF are welcomed from projects focussed on tackling the barriers to developing commercially viable paludiculture on lowland peat soils in England, where the intended outcome is a positive environmental benefit resulting in the reduction of peat wastage and greenhouse gas emissions.
- Who can apply:
- Businesses.
- Commercial enterprises.
- Environmental groups.
- Local authorities.
- Charities.
- Public bodies.
- Landowners.
- Internal drainage boards.
- Other organisations.
Ineligible costs include:
- Land purchase.
- The buying out of tenancy agreements.
- Activities related to the discharge of contractual or legal obligations.
- Landowner compensation payments for inconvenience and loss of income.
For more information, visit Government of UK.