Islington Council has launched a programme which aims to increase green space in the borough by supporting residents to plant and care for wildlife.

The Islington Greener Together initiative will allow residents to apply for council funding in order to transform unused or unpleasant patches into green spaces.

Applications will close on Friday, April 29 with the first projects set to be delivered by spring of next year.

The programme will rely on encouraging residents to submit creative ideas for these spaces, which if chosen, will then be designed and installed by the council. In the long term, residents will be responsible, with council support, for maintaining the new spaces.

Example project ideas could include: raised herb gardens, community orchards, wildlife corridors or food-growing areas.

The council will also recruit Islington Greener Together Champions, who will be provided with support and training to help make the most out of the new green spaces.

Marking the start of the new programme, volunteers from Elizabeth House Community Centre and Octopus Community Network came together on Wednesday for a special planting - beginning the transformation of three unused, previously overgrown spaces, into green space on Highbury Quadrant estate.

The programme comes as part of Islington council’s wider vision to re-imagine public spaces and create a cleaner, greener, healthier borough.

Cllr Rowena Champion, Islington Council’s executive member for environment, said: “We’re reimagining Islington’s public spaces, to help create a more attractive, environmentally-friendly, and biodiverse borough that everyone can enjoy.

“Islington Greener Together is the latest step in achieving our bold ambition, and will help maximise the borough’s spaces, and support and empower local people to turn grey areas into green oases.

“The programme is open to gardeners of all abilities, including those that have never planted before.”

Other efforts by the council to tackle the climate emergency include the planting of nearly 700 trees this year - boosting the borough’s canopy cover to an impressive 25 per cent.

The annual horticultural competition Islington in Bloom also encourages green activity by urging residents to spruce up their gardens, create a colourful window display, or grow house plants.