TAP INTO grants awarded

Our new round of TAP INTO grants have been awarded and we are excited to see the outcome of each of the learning exchanges they support.

We had a brilliant round of applications – it’s always interesting to see how an injection of funds can bring great benefits. It’s also striking to see how this grant programme is now embedded for our members, how relationships are deepening, cross-pollinating and joining together through TAP INTO support.

The grants awarded support members worldwide and in many different ways:

Monserrat National Trust, Christopher National Trust and the National Trust are working together on researching the histories and collections that connect places in their care.

The National Trust of Fiji, Taiwan Environmental Information Association (TEIA), The Trustees, the Bahamas National Trust, Grenada National Trust and National Parks Trust of the British Virgin Islands will meet at the Islands Incubator in a multi-pathway knowledge exchange in south west England. This programme is focussed on coastal environments, from sand dunes and coast path maintenance to member benefits and remote islands.

Two TAP INTO grants support National Trust staff to share expertise with other trusts. The first is a visit to the National Trust of Georgia to strengthen the next stage of their development, and will focus on capacity building, fundraising and commercial opportunities. The second will enable expert knowledge on trees and woodland to be shared with the National Trust of Fiji.

A grant supports research into Hanami, the Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the transient beauty of flowers, which will inform the National Trust’s nature-focussed campaign ‘Blossomwatch’.

Further grants will allow National Trust rangers to train with their counterparts in Malta, completing an exchange from the previous TAP INTO round. As well as supporting a team from Yorkshire, who will return a visit from their colleagues at Natuurmonumenten, cementing their relationships and sharing learning on nature conservation and membership.

These exchanges will reach into the heart of our members’ work on heritage and nature conservation. Watch this space for reports from our grantees later this year and keep an eye on our channels for news of the next round of TAP INTO grants.

Thank you

We are grateful for the generous support of the Helen Hamlyn Trust in making the TAP INTO programme possible.

If you’re interested to learn more about how TAP INTO grants have helped our members make meaningful connections, here are some previous grantee blogs.

An exploration down under – a blog by John O’Brien, General Manager, Cragside, National Trust, on how a TAP INTO grant has enabled new connections to grow with Rippon Lea in Australia.

UK-Malta visit – a blog for World Ranger Day by Darren Saliba, Din l-Art Ħelwa, National Trust of Malta

Visitor use management in the NPS – Rob Curry, Head of Organisational Performance, National Trust, blogs about his experience with the National Parks Service, on a visit supported by TAP INTO.