Environment

Love Your Bike, the cycling advocacy campaign co-ordinated by Manchester Friends of the Earth, has launched a survey to gather the experiences of people who have cycled alongside, close to or across Metrolink tram tracks.

In December 2014, Love Your Bike again raised concerns regarding the designs of Metrolink tram routes at road junctions such as Southmoor Road in Wythenshawe.

In 2012, Sean Sutton (the British Cycling Head Coach at the time) described the new tram lines near to the Velodrome as ‘death traps’.

Manchester City Council has launched the main consultation on its 2015-17 budget options, along with a number of individual consultations on specific elements.

Options for consultation were agreed by the council’s Executive on Wednesday 26 November.

They aim to address an estimated funding shortfall of £59m in 2015/16, potentially rising to £90 million in 2016/17.

Grow Wild is awarding funding of £1,000 to £4,000 to community groups that want to bring people together to transform a communal space by sowing and growing UK native plants.

If your group has an inspiring idea to connect people to nature, then apply before 2 December 2014 for your chance to join the lively network.

Grow wild are looking to fund at least 60 groups in 2015 across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Manchester and Liverpool have launched a joint bid, called A Tale of Two Cities, to win £120,000 of funding from Kew Gardens for wildflower planting.

One community will receive the Grow Wild funding to create an inspiring wild flower haven for everyone to enjoy – and you can help decide who wins.

This is a fantastic opportunity to bring a splash of colour to the city - in the words of the council's biodiversity officer Dave Barlow, "we've gone from grey to green, now let's go from drab to fab!" - and will also be a great boost for the cities bees and other pollinators.

People experiencing poverty and disadvantage are often the most affected by severe weather such as heat waves and flooding. Severe weather is likely to occur more often with a changing climate, increasing the demand for voluntary and community sector services.