Wotton Area
Climate Action Network
All over the UK, Climate Action Groups exist to help communities work together on agree ways to reduce their impact on the environment whilst also promoting resilience. I helped to found (and currently Chair) one such group…
Wotton Area Climate Action Network site
A survey and workshops helped us understand the priorities of local residents and businesses
Establishing what matters to our audience
One of the first steps we took as a community-led group was to establish what mattered to residents and businesses in our area. We circulated a questionnaire asking people to tell us what most mattered to them from a shortlist of activities that affect our impact on the environment. We combined this with workshop-style public meetings which allowed us to further explore our audience’s thoughts on areas where we might be able to make positive changes.
Priorities identified by our audience:
Top 4 high priorities
Reduce single use plastic
Using resources more efficiently (recycling & reducing waste)
Reducing the emissions from transport
Projects that support nature conservation and biodiversity
Top 4 “medium” priorities
Making homes use less energy
Organising community activities (sustainable living)
Promoting local food and farming, shops and services
Projects that generate electricity in greener ways
“We need to take positive action NOW without delay.”
— Local Resident
A carbon footprint pop-up shop helped local residents gain an idea of their current carbon footprint against the worldwide average and reducing towards the 2030 target
Public meetings, guest speakers, workshops and events to encourage climate-positive steps
Since launching in June 2019 we have held public meetings, workshops and events to help residents:
Get an idea of their personal carbon footprint at our Carbon Footprint Pop-up Shop
Plant trees around the area
Plant wild-flower meadows
Swap pre-loved clothes as an alternative to buying new
Tactics to reduce single-use plastic
Investigate options for bulk-buying Solar PV within the area
eBike demo (in collaboration with another local group working to build a safe cycling, walking and jogging route connecting key locations)
Hear from guest speakers on subjects including farming and agriculture, and other successful Climate Action groups
Learn and share skills including sewing and making everyday essentials such as soap
Continuing the dialogue
Within the group we stick to a number of guiding principles, one of which is always to work WITH our audience and never ‘lecture’ them.
Our Facebook and Instagram channels have proven a great way to engage with a large audience locally, regardless of whether they are able to attend our public events. They also give us an opportunity to welcome ideas and feedback.
We also publish a monthly newsletter which helps us communicate our work alongside that of similar groups (and businesses) in the area. Together, we are able to help residents reduce their impact on the environment and support the local economy.
Our newsletter and Facebook channel
Creating an ongoing resource, on a shoe-string budget
Wotton Area CAN website
During the Covid-19 restrictions the safety of our audience has been paramount, which meant getting a website live as quickly as possible to retain engagement in the absence of public events was hugely important to us. Much like any other volunteer-led group, we needed something with no set-up fee and no on-going costs. And much like any other group we are very ambitious!
Working on the uCraft platform, I created a small responsive site that allows us to communicate what we have done to date, what actions our audience can take to reduce their environmental impact (and local businesses and organisations who can help them do that, including subsidised initiatives).
Community resilience and climate action
To date we have had a high level of engagement from local residents and businesses. Together we have planted over 500 hundred trees, held more than 30 events (with attendance around 30-50 people each time) and had commitment from local businesses and residents on plastic-free pledges. We continue to work with other local organisations and Climate Action groups to ensure that we invest in the resilience of our community and to take positive steps on climate change.