Grass Routes Movement CIC (GRM) was established in Autumn 2023 to create opportunities for marginalised people to experience a sense of belonging, well-being and joy through movement, indoors and outdoors, in urban and rural spaces. GRM works across Greater Manchester and has developed a strong track record in delivering impactful projects with a range of partners to make a difference to people’s lives. Here are some highlights which demonstrate impact: Movement with people who are migrants to address isolation: Between November 2024 – June 2025 GRM delivered a programme of fun, energy-boosting wellbeing movement sessions with migrants being supported by an established charity, Rainbow Haven. Rainbow Haven is a city-wide Manchester service which, among other activities, supports refugees, people seeking asylum and migrants struggling to navigate mainstream services. Participants are located across the city and our movement activities included dancing, Tai Chi, therapy drumming, introduction to micro bushcraft activities, nature walks and active travel using buses and trains across the city and a semi-rural local town. Over 50 people engaged in the programme and those needing additional support were signposted to specialist agencies. Three participants were trained to plan and support the project in order to gain experience, skills and confidence to support delivery. Participants described how much fun they had at the sessions and enjoyed connecting with each other. Many described feelings of isolation and struggles with English to access support. They felt the project created a safe space to practice English, connect with people and build confidence. Empowering women to become Community Walk Champions: From November 2024 to the end of April 2025 GRM partnered Nacro Greater Manchester Outdoor Learning (GMOL) to develop a team of women Community Walking Champions from ethnically diverse communities in Greater Manchester. We trained and supported them to develop skills, knowledge and confidence to lead their own walks and activities with less active community members. Twenty-seven women accessed a programme of workshops, walks and resources to become role models and community walk champions, empowering other women to benefit from movement outdoors. Three women have now gone on to attend lowland training and two are now being mentored by GRM and GMOL as part of a national positive action pathway walk scheme administered by the National Trust and Mountain Training. Supporting minoritised women impacted by cancer to enjoy physical activities: Between August 2024 – June 2025 GRM developed a movement project with and for 20 Asian, Arabic and Middle Eastern women who are directly impacted by cancer and to develop a bespoke programme of movement and outdoor activities that supports their well-being. twenty women shared their experiences of the physical and mental impacts of cancer, explained how they were significantly less active than before their cancer diagnosis and enjoyed coming together to try Tai Chi, badminton, baseball, basketball, pool and active travel trips. Women spoke about feeling less isolated, making new friends, gaining support from each other to talk about issues they hadn’t spoken to their families or health practitioners about and having fun together. Women have shared a desire to set up their own support group and are looking at ways they can access support to do this. Delivering a talk on movement: In January 2025, Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) invited GRM to deliver a law lecture at the launch of the Sylvia Pankhurst Centre on the role of movement as a catalyst for social justice. The talk generated discussion about the connecting social justice movements and led to an invitation to GRM to submit an article based on the talk for publication in MMU’s student led law magazine. The article is currently with the editorial team. Discussing the importance of community engagement at a regionwide conference: In May 2025, at the annual Greater Manchester Moving Conference, GRM took part in a panel discussion about engaging communities to move and engage with physical activity. GRM will now sit on an Inequalities Network Steering Group convened by conference organisers. GRM will, with other members: provide strategic leadership for the Inequalities Network; design and support Inequalities Network meetings; plan and make decisions about the Inequalities Network. Evaluating EDI for a community action programme on climate change: GRM was commissioned by the In Our Nature programme to assess and evaluate their Steering Group’s equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) aims, mechanisms and metrics for success, to report on our findings and to make recommendations on implementing EDI. The programme has taken active steps to implement the recommendations which has included a practical workshop facilitated by GRM to upskill two steering group members. Celebrating community groups and their achievements – GRM planned and facilitated a celebration event for Chit Chat Chai, to mark three years as a South Manchester community-based women’s language support group who support women from diverse communities to improve their English language skills through classroom-based activities, conversation, a community cafe and a range of cultural activities such as art gallery trips. The event included a skills audit and updating the group’s values for the next stage in their development. GRM’s facilitation helped Chit Chat Chai participants to have fun as they learned more about each other’s roles, recognised their strengths and areas or skills they needed to develop and agree a set of values as they plan ahead.

GRM has developed an extensive network of national, regional and local stakeholders who have enabled GRM to shape and develop impactful projects. They engage with us in ongoing conversations that help shape our focus on supporting marginalised communities to enjoy the outdoors. Here are some examples of the broad range of stakeholders we engage with who have a national and regional scope: Greater Manchester Moving; Nacro Greater Manchester Outdoor Learning; University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University; Women’s Environmental Network; Macmillan Cancer Support and the National Trust. Each stakeholder relationship has enabled GRM to build connections and to develop collaborations with key delivery partners. By also pooling our unique experience and skills with those of local service providers we work together creatively to increase impact. At GRM, we draw from our stakeholders on the benefits of physical movement projects, from our work and life experience, and we translate this learning into creative projects that fit the contexts of the people we work with. This approach led to the creation of the projects described in Part 1. Central to the work of GRM, is our commitment to build alliances with people from diverse marginalised communities; understand their experiences, strengths and needs; and identify ways to use this awareness to inform our activities and those of other organisations to ensure fair access to opportunities to feel joy through being active. Working collaboratively with people from marginalised communities underpins our approach, ensuring that they are active in shaping and delivering projects so that everything we deliver is rooted in communities’ needs, builds on their strengths and works towards maximising skills, experience. enjoyment, well-being and confidence. This participative approach ensures that GRM remains responsive in an ongoing and proactive way. During and at the end of each project we capture feedback from participants, partners and collaborators and gather suggestions for how projects can develop to continue to meet needs.

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