On Friday, July 24, 2015, His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales hosted a garden party inside the Orchard Room at Highgrove House in Gloucestershire to celebrate the 5th anniversary of The Prince’s Countryside Fund (PCF).
During today’s celebrations the prince was:
“…presented with a handcrafted cake to celebrate the ‘birthday’ of the Fund, made by Fiona Cairns, who made the royal wedding cake for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The cake was cut by HRH, surrounded by his ambassadors.
The Prince’s Countryside Fund, founded by HRH The Prince of Wales, was set up following his long held commitment to ensure a sustainable future for rural Britain and has celebrated its fifth anniversary during National Countryside Week (20-26th July). In the five years since its inception, the Fund has distributed over £6 million in grants to 135 projects benefiting 160,000 people living and working in our rural communities. During National Countryside Week a further £800,000 of grants has been allocated to rural projects across the UK.
Projects that have been funded range from apprenticeships for budding hill farmers, training for young people to gain employment in the rural economy, community transport schemes in isolated rural areas and projects to educate school children about where their food comes from and why the countryside matters. As well as its normal grant application process, the charity operates an emergency fund for stricken rural communities in times of need. In addition, The Prince’s Countryside Fund runs a Bursary project with Land Rover. All of The Fund’s projects focus on supporting the people who care for our countryside and make it tick.”
Photo courtesy of The Prince’s Countryside Fund
The Royal Correspondent 