Climate action charity Ashden is joining forces with community organisation Think & Do Camden to replicate their highly successful ‘Sharing Spaces.’ This project helps community groups join together to have fun sharing information and practical tips about living in a low-cost, low-impact way.
Think & Do began supporting local Camden residents in 2021 by establishing ‘Sharing Spaces’ – turning under-used spaces on local estates into community hubs for climate action. The original Think & Do pop-up was established in Somers Town, Camden, North London. Over a two-week period 1,100 local residents were inspired to participate in refuse, reuse and recycling initiatives. Activities included clothes swaps and sharing surplus food meals, fix it sessions, energy saving advise, craftivism, and much more.
The collaboration with Ashden will support more Sharing Spaces to be established around London. This will help build community resilience to climate impacts by inspiring residents to share skills, stories, food and stuff!
Supporting others to implement a Sharing Space in their community
Organisations applying for the grant need to be a registered charity, voluntary group, not-for-profit organisation with the support of a local authority.
Participating groups will receive a grant of £5,760, with additional small amounts of funding available to support ongoing projects, plus the support of a Think & Do project officer, a toolkit and template materials that provide a step-by-step guide to setting up a Sharing Space in their community, based on all the learning from the Think & Do projects.
The new Sharing Space community groups will also become part of a network sharing information and learning through regular workshops facilitated by Ashden.
Organisations taking part will need to commit to secure a suitable venue to host the Sharing Space and deliver workshops for and with the community between March-June 2024.
“We built connections and trust with local residents and through community listening sessions, the idea of Sharing Spaces emerged,” says Ellie Bryant of Camden Think & Do. “We’re delighted that we can join forces with Ashden to share our successful approach with other communities in London – there’s no point reinventing the wheel and we’re happy to share what worked and what didn’t.”
Ashden, a charity which collaborates with organisations to scale up and replicate successful climate solutions, will support Think & Do to share its expertise and knowledge with other residents’ and community groups in the capital over a 2-year period from September 2023 to July 2025, funded by The Kusuma Trust.
Cara Jenkinson, Head of Cities at Ashden, said “We have seen the incredible work that Camden Think & Do have done, working with residents in Somers Town estate in north London, and wanted to capture that learning and help other communities learn from it and expand on it.
“This grant is available for community groups that often find it hard to find funding – if a residents can find a community space to meet up in, the grant will cover the costs of funding community members to set up and run the sessions, creating workshop materials and communications that reach the local community, and the sharing of learning with others doing the same thing in other London community climate hubs.
Finding out more and applying
Ashden and Camden Think & Do are hosting a Sharing Space in Camden on 1 November (4-8pm) for interested applicants or local authorities, you can register your interest here.
To apply to run a Sharing Space, complete this expressions of interest form.
The deadline to submit this is: 30 November 2023.
