Nationwide Building Society is giving pupils across the country the opportunity to improve the biodiversity of their school grounds by taking part in CSV Action Earth. Nationwide has agreed to provide 150 schools with £50 grants to take part in the environmental volunteering campaign and help kick start a pupil volunteering environmental project.

This is the first year that Nationwide has supported the campaign run by CSV, the UK's largest volunteering charity. The £50 grants are funded through Nationwide's 'Statement Suppression Scheme, which funds charitable causes from the money saved by customers opting to download statements online.

Last year over 15,000 people took part in CSV Action Earth projects in England and Wales giving nearly 300,000 volunteering hours while planting more than 5,500 trees, collecting nearly 10,000 sacks of litter, cleaning nearly 6,000 metres of river bed and overall improving more than 3,300 acres of land.

Andrew Litchfield, Head of Community and Environmental Affairs at Nationwide says: "Nationwide is proud to support the CSV Action Earth campaign. The projects are totally relevant and important to the local community. They have a real impact upon people's quality of life and understanding of the environment."

Mike Williams, Director of CSV Environment says: "It is great news for the environment that nationwide is funding 150 schools to take part in CSV Action Earth. By getting children involved in caring for the environment through volunteering we are helping to ensure that the country will be left in capable hands."

Volunteering is not only good for the environment but is good for your health as well. Independent research commissioned by Action Earth's sister campaign, CSV Make a Difference Day show that 42% of volunteers in environmental and conservation projects say it helps them to lose weight while 61% say volunteering helps them combat stress.(1) Teachers can register to apply for a grant by contacting CSV on 0121 328 7455 or online at www.csv.org.uk/actionearth.