Connecting Communities: Live Here Love Here roadshow set for Derry stop this June

Live Here Love Here, Northern Ireland’s leading civic pride and environmental campaign, is set to return this spring with its Connecting Communities roadshow, delivering a series of events aimed at inspiring local environmental action across the region.

Taking place throughout May and June, the roadshow will visit communities across Northern Ireland, including a stop in Derry. The local event will be hosted at the Amphitheatre, The Playtrail Grounds, on Thursday, June 25 from 2-4pm, bringing together residents, community groups and organisations such as Higher Ground NI and Southern Health and Social Trust to share ideas, build connections and encourage greater participation in environmental initiatives.

Designed as informal, drop in events, Connecting Communities provides an opportunity for people to meet others in their area who are passionate about improving local spaces, while also learning about practical ways to get involved. Attendees can connect with organisations leading environmental projects, explore volunteering opportunities, and discover the range of funding and support available to help turn local ideas into action. This includes initiatives such as Live Here Love Here’s Small Grants Scheme, which offers £500–£3,000 to support community led environmental improvement projects.

Connecting Communities will also highlight other programmes running throughout the year, including Adopt A Spot, which encourages individuals and groups to take ownership of local areas, before turning attention later in the summer to the campaign’s Healthy Oceans Healthy Minds initiative. Supported by Belfast Harbour, it will return in August to highlight the connection between healthy blue spaces and personal wellbeing.

Lynda Surgenor, Manager at Live Here Love Here, said: “Connecting Communities aims to celebrate the growing movement of volunteers who are taking practical steps to improve their local areas, while encouraging more people to get involved. Every year we see thousands of people giving their time to carry out litter picks, plant trees, restore green spaces, create community gardens, run biodiversity projects and take part in beach cleans.

“Their efforts make a visible difference in towns, villages and neighbourhoods right across Derry~Londonderry, and this roadshow is designed to support that momentum and help new ideas take root.

“It’s also an opportunity for people across Northern Ireland to learn more about the support available through Live Here Love Here programmes. Attendees will have the chance to speak directly with our Field Officers, explore volunteering opportunities and discover how to access funding for community led environmental projects. By connecting people, sharing ideas and highlighting the support available, we hope to inspire simple actions that can make a real difference to our local environment and help build stronger, more connected communities.”

The Connecting Communities roadshow is delivered in partnership with ten local councils, with support from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs. For details on all Connecting Communities events and to book your space, visit liveherelovehere.org.