FOUR Inverclyde groups are to share in a £350,000 eco-friendly cash bonanza.

Greenock Morton Community Trust (GMCT), Belville Community Gardens, RIG Arts and Inverclyde Community Development Trust have all been awarded money from the Scottish Government’s climate challenge fund.

They are among more than 100 groups across the country which will benefit from almost £10m worth of funding.

Belville Gardens will receive the largest grant of just over £119,000 to run its food growing project to help reduce carbon emissions caused by production.

The project will support local people to grow their own produce sustainably and sell it to the wider community while also teaching volunteers new skills.

Inverclyde Community Development Trust has been awarded almost £99,000 for its Community Tracks initiative, which will encourage residents to ditch their cars and cycle to work instead.

The cash will be spent on bike training courses and a range of workshops plus maintenance, refurbishment and recycling services.

The Ton Trust will meanwhile kick off its ‘Greener Morton’ programme once again thanks to nearly £57,000.

It initially launched in 2015 and ran for a year providing a sports kit and boot recycling centre at Cappielow, pictured, to reduce the amount of perfectly good items being thrown away.

It’s also aimed at easing the financial burden of sports activities for families in Inverclyde.

The project will now include a mobile recycling facility, plus lessons for local schools on climate change.

Greenock-based RIG Arts won funding – £74,000, including nearly £27,000 from the European Regional Development Fund, to run ‘Recycle Upcycle – Plastic Fantastic’.

The scheme will see artists work with people living in the Broomhill area to salvage household textiles and furniture and give them a new lease of life.

The project will introduce innovative technology allowing members of the community to recycle rather than send household items to landfill.