Engaging residents in climate adaptation creates more effective protection from risks like flooding and extreme heat. Building trust with residents – or collaborating with those that residents already look to for support – is key to success.
The basics: make climate adaptation real, normal and possible – and be ready to pass the mic
Communication experts Climate Outreach advise three steps to successfully engaging residents on adaptation – making the issue real, and the solutions normal and possible. This means highlighting what the dangers are for your community, but also the achievable local responses that everyone can get involved in. This includes sharing a positive vision for how action would make local life better – for example, by boosting people’s physical and mental health.
All of this relies on trust. But with this in mind, Climate Outreach add that local authorities aren’t always best placed to reach residents directly – you might do better supporting another local voice, such as a resident’s association or faith leaders, to tackle the issue. It’s vital that you’re able to ‘pass the microphone’ to others if you want your message to get through.
Collaboration tackles heat and flood dangers in Oxfordshire
Sustainability West Midlands, who have compiled a powerful resource of adaptation case studies from local authorities, highlight the Beat the Heat campaign from Oxfordshire County Council as an approach putting this principle into action. Oxfordshire used relationships with local community and voluntary groups to share information about heat waves, with specific advice for vulnerable people. This work drew on the government’s Heat Health Alert Action Cards.
Oxfordshire has used a similar approach to pilot a programme of local flood wardens – trained online and equipped with resources and contact details for relevant council staff. Sustainability West Midlands describe volunteers as a great source of ‘hyper-local knowledge’ about climate risks, as well as a partner in creating change.
Coastwise Cafes get residents talking
Communication shouldn’t be a one-way street – that’s once principle inspiring Coastwise cafes from North Norfolk District Council and the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research. They’re part of an initiative helping engage residents on the issue of coastal erosion, which threatens local property and people’s safety. Local authorities here are facing a particularly urgent adaptation challenge – so their response is well worth examining to inform future responses elsewhere.
The coastwise cafés are drop-in sessions allowing the authority to hear feedback, get residents’ views and share ideas. The authority heard feedback on their communities’ priorities and better understood people’s lives.
The council’s lessons for other authorities include being prepared to make a serious investment in engagement. Another lesson was to carefully consider accessibility, so all can take part, to employ a range of formats and tools – and to make clear that you’ll be listening and engaging for a sustained length of time.
- Discover more climate insights for local authorities on our Learning Out Loud pages.
