Video resources: engaging citizens in climate action

‘When it comes to faith-based climate engagement, Brent Council are leading the way. From including faith groups as pillars of the council’s pilot Green Neighbourhoods programme, to a community cookbook, to a ‘Climate Change and My Religion’ touring photography exhibition, find out exactly how Brent did it from Nadia Khan, Communications and Engagement Manager.

00:00 – Introduction
01:09 – Brent’s 10-year Climate Emergency Strategy
02:34 – Pilot Green Neighbourhoods
05:33 – Brent Demographics
07:29 – Faith and Climate Change
10:29 – Climate Change and My Religion Exhibition
14:27 – From Brent to Bowl Cookbook
15:12 – Faith Climate Action Group
16:42 – Long-term Vision
17:15 – Tackling Climate Inequality
20:18 – Tips for Engagement

Anna Bullen from the Centre for Alternative Technology Explains their Innovation Lab model, a collaborative process for problem solving and how it can be applied to the ‘wicked problem’ of climate change. Traditional decision making is no longer fit for purpose; co-creation is the key to unlocking solutions to the complex issues we collectively face.

Timestamps:
00:00 – Introduction
02:54 – Wicked Problems
04:33 – Traditional Decision Making
08:28 – Levels of Engagement
12:29 – What is Co-creation?
15:17 – Design Thinking
16:10 – Co-creation Done Well
18:03 – The Staffordshire Innovation Lab

Action For Conservation is nurturing the next generation of environmental leaders. Programme Manager Omar Abu-Seer talks about how to ensure children and young people from diverse and deprived backgrounds have access to nature on their terms, forging enduring relationships with the environment around them.

Timestamps:
00:00 – Introduction
01:37 – WildED
03:28 – Residential Camps
04:38 – Our Approach
07:58 – Ambassador Programme
10:12 – Accessible Messaging
13:41 – Key Lessons

Harriet Potemkin is the Head of Strategy and Policy at Enfield Council. She shares how the council worked alongside schools to promote climate action by setting up a Schools Climate Action Network.

Timestamps:
00:00 – Introduction
00:30 – Context
01:35 – Emissions
01:57 – Challenges
02:57 – Schools
03:44 – Nature-based Solutions
04:05 – Local Authority Role
05:50 – School Climate Action Network
07:17 – First Network Meeting
08:53 – Second Network Meeting
11:25 – Climate Action Handbook

The Welcoming are a charity and 2021 Ashden Award winner who work with refugees, migrants and asylum seekers newly arriving in Edinburgh. With support from the Scottish Government, they engage these newcomers in climate action through language lessons, sustainable cooking clubs and swapshops. Hear more about The Welcoming’s work from Chiara Puppi in this video.

The Bristol-based Black and Green Ambassadors focus their work on the intersection of climate change and racial justice. How can we make ‘greenness’ inclusive, rather than exclusive, of communities of colour? How can we build cities that are green for everyone? In this video, ambassadors Olivia, Asia and Roy pose these questions and offer their insights.

Timestamps:
00:00 – Introduction
01:28 – About the Project
04:35 – Activities
07:35 – Reflections

SCOREscotland are a charity working to address the causes and effects of racism, and to promote race equality. Jolly Oluka introduces their Green Futures project, which involves BAME communities in active travel, food growing, energy efficiency, waste reduction and more. Discover SCOREscotland’s secrets to success in this video.

‘The Bahu Trust is a Birmingham-based mosque that is intertwining faith, social justice and climate action. It has produced multiple Islamic climate learning resources and has undertaken innovative projects across Birmingham, including Retrofit Balsall Heath. Kamran Shezad stresses the critical role that faith groups can play and shares his top 5 recommendations for how local authorities and communities can collaborate.

00:00 – Introduction
02:59 – Five Top Dos and Don’ts
09:11 – Bahu Trust Projects
11:20 – Faith-based Resources

Louise Downing gives a tour of the BizGive online platform, which she founded to enable companies to find and fund community projects aligned to their values. BizGive is focused on the renewable energy sector and partners with funders such as Octopus Energy.

00:00 – Introduction
00:40 – BizGive overview
02:34 – Challenges in Community Funding
05:08 – How BizGive Works
07:13 – BizGive for Communities
10:10 – Tips for Working With Corporates
12:26 – How to Register

Hazel Scurr from Northumberland County Council discusses how they are engaging with communities through climate change champions, free trees and the ‘Big Gear Change’ transport behaviour change campaign.

Timestamps:
00:00 – Introduction
01:00 – Climate Action Plan
02:38 – Community Climate Change Groups
04:53 – Free Tree Scheme
06:20 – Northumberland Gear Change
07:05 – Engagement With the Council
08:40 – Communications

Dave Fuller of former Ashden award winner and community energy group Repowering shares his top tips for how community groups can get what they want out of local authority partnerships, including: Find your champions; understand local authority language; and be political.

Camden Think & Do are a grassroots group using the power of imagination to reinvent climate action. Hear how they engaged a diverse Camden neighbourhood in everything from tree planting on council estates to pop-up community sharing spaces, plus their advice for other grassroots organisations co-creating projects with councils.

Cumbria Action For Sustainability have been promoting low carbon living in the Northwest for 25 years. How can community groups work with local authorities as a ‘critical friend’ in mutually fulfilling partnerships? Chief Exec Karen Mitchell shares what CAfS have learned over the decades.