What's in a proposal?
So you’ve found somewhere that you want to plant wildflowers, found the person who owns it, told them what you want to do and they have asked you to send them something in writing, it may be to a city council, a resident’s committee or an individual with land in the city. Writing a proposal does not have to be difficult and should not be complicated. It does ,however, take a bit of time. First of all, check out the LCBN proposals on our website: limerickbiodiversity.weebly.com/projects Both are successful proposals but are different in format and content. Here is a list of what needs to go in your proposal, in this order. 1. Introduction. Who are you? What is it that you want to do? Why do you want to do this? Have you previous experience? Do you have support of local residents/others? What are the benefits of sowing a wildflower meadow in this area? Add photos here of any previous sowing that you’ve done or find images of what you would like to achieve – but be realistic! 2. The Area that you wish to sow. Describe it: Where is the area? What is there already? What is it currently used for? Have you a map of its location? It is always good to add photographs of the site here to back up any claims that you make about the uses of the site eg litter, antisocial behaviour, etc. 3. Planting scheme. Draw a map of the area, whether it’s a single flower bed or a larger area and show on the map what you intend to sow. If it is just wildflowers, specify that, if you’re planning to put in more trees and shrubs, mark the location of these too. Be as accurate as you can. Insert photos here of some of the plants and trees that you intend to sow. 4. Maintenance. What maintenance will this meadow need – cutting, weeding, tree pruning? Who is going to do the work? Is it you or the land owner? This is very important to establish responsibility for this as a meadow needs to be cut regularly in the establishment phase. Also, wildflower meadows can look ‘untidy’ in autumn and early winter when the flowers die back. Land owners may be very particular about this especially if you promised them a beautiful garden! 5. Costs. Who‘s paying for it? If you’re funding it yourself state that, but if it is council land then they may be willing to fund some of it. Do up a budget for the seeds and plants and include it in the proposal saying where you got the prices and how you came to that final figure. 6. Benefits, Future developments. Reiterate again the benefits of a wildflower meadow. Add in any evidence of support that you have from other individuals or groups. If you have some more ideas for the area add those in here too. It is important that you end on a positive note. Add photos of established wildflower meadows to show the potential of the area. Show photos of possible insects and animals it may attract. Show evidence of benefits of a meadow. On our Links page are some links that you may find useful to get information and images of wildflowers and wildflower meadows. Good Luck! LCBN |
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