Egin supports communities in taking climate action and living more sustainably – but what does that really mean? The term “climate action” can already be vague enough, but when you add “community” into the mix it can become even more confusing.
Community climate action could be anything that brings together different voices from the community to reduce carbon emissions, change lifestyles to live in better balance with the earth, rethink how much we really need to use and throw away, or to help adapt to climate change. Some examples might include, but are not limited to: repair cafes, Libraries of Things, community gardens, community energy projects, car sharing, electric bike sharing, and green skill-building projects.
Our Egin Peer Mentors have experience of being involved with, or setting up, community led climate action projects. In this webinar, you’ll be able to hear from a selection of our Mentors about real-life examples of community climate action – including a little about the specific challenges that their communities face.
The session will be delivered as a panel discussion with Q&A, as well as including time in breakout rooms so that you can get to meet each other and think about ideas for your own community.
We’ll be joined by:
Confirmed so far, but subject to change:
Alicia Stark, Tanio (Bettws, Bridgend County) – Tanio’s Spring Forward sessions for families at Ogmore Washeries are Forest Arts workshops which families attend together, with the aim of building stronger pathways of communication between generations, especially around emotional literacy and eco-anxiety. The sessions have seen ever-increasing community engagement, with an increased understanding and appreciation for the woodland, which seems to lead to communities taking better care of their environment.
Ken Moon, Tir Pontypridd – Ken has worked on community led sustainability for 20 years and is chair and founding member of Tir Pontypridd, which aims to purchase land for community use. Ken will talk about some of the challenges the community has faced in trying to act on and implement their targets, which sometimes means lobbying or engaging with the public sector to change policy.
Lowri Hedd Vaughan, GwyrddNi (Eryri, North-West Wales) – Lowri is a regenerative practitioner and recently a facilitator for the GwyrddNi movement in Eryri, North Wales. GwyrddNi is a community-based, community-led climate action movement funded by the Lottery’s Climate Action Fund, currently operating in five areas of Gwynedd – facilitating spaces to discuss, share and act locally in response to the climate and ecological emergency. She will discuss their Community Climate Assembly process and schools programme that has generated 5 ambitious Community Climate Action plans.
Nina Finnigan, The Listening Project (Cynon Valley) – Nina is the Coordinator for the Listening Project, a befriending and intergenerational programme to combat loneliness and isolation among vulnerable older communities in the Cynon Valley. She manages a food poverty programme, which works to supply 100 hot meals once a week to the older community and which works to reduce food waste.
Fay Hollick, Aber Food Surplus (Aberystwyth) – Fay joined the staff team as a Food Hub Coordinator when Aber Food Surplus (AFS) secured funding for their first community space. In the four years since then, AFS’ focus has evolved from redistribution of food waste, and using food as a way to lower barriers and start environment-focussed conversations, to include a number of practical interventions inspired by the ambitions of our volunteers, staff, supporters, and wider community, to have a positive impact on the food system in west Wales.
Event format:
- Introductions
- What is Community Climate Action? A few opening thoughts from our speakers
- Breakout rooms – a chance to meet a few other participants and share your own ideas
- Panel Q&A – Stories from different communities in Wales: the unique challenges they face, the projects that our speakers have worked on, and how they got their communities engaged
- Breakout rooms – a chance to ask more in-depth questions to our panelists and to generate your own ideas