Free resources to guide community organisations in taking climate and nature action

Over the last five years, the Community Climate and Nature Action Project has been developing and testing how to engage communities in working towards the city’s climate and nature goals whilst improving resident’s quality of life.

The project is coordinated by Bristol Climate & Nature Partnership, supported by Bristol City Council and Centre for Sustainable Energy, and works closely with several community organisations. We’ve developed some resources from our experience of coordinating the project which you can read more about here, but in this post we’re sharing guides, blogs and videos from our core community and climate action partners. These resources are aimed at supporting other community organisations to take community-led climate and nature action.

Eastside Community Trust

In Easton and Lawrence Hill, Eastside Community Trust chose to focus on supporting climate action and building resilience through their community hubs. They worked with Bristol Energy Network to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings and train local Energy Champions to share knowledge amongst the wider community.

• Embedding climate action within our community: blog by Emily Fifield
• Guide: How to develop a resilience hub
• Eastside People Power impact report
• Easton Community Centre energy system artwork
• Case study: Rani
• Climate Leadership zine
• Watch their short film (also available in Somali and Punjabi)
• How to fill in gaps and cracks, keep the heat in, maintain your home and save money, and save energy and money in the kitchen.

Ambition Lawrence Weston

Ambition Lawrence Weston’s Grow, Cook, Eat project is regenerating local green spaces to maximise growing opportunities and giving residents the opportunity and skills to grow and cook their own sustainable fruit and vegetables.

• Future proofing our community: blog by Donna Sealey
• Growing with nature: how-to guide
• Community Food Growing Toolkit
• Community cookbooks: 2023, 2024, 2025
• Individual stories of change: Cooper, Evelyn and Maria, Century Park, St Bede’s, Liza Echevarria, Iain Stevens
• Short film about their project

Lockleaze Neighbourhood Trust

In Lockleaze, their Really Wild Lockleaze project tests new approaches to nature recovery in urban housing estates. They have been transforming public housing greens, private gardens, street verges and marginal land for nature, planting bulbs, putting in ponds, planting 1,350 trees, and creating 2,200 m2 of flower meadows. They’ve worked directly with a Community Ecologist from Avon Wildlife Trust.

• Rewilding our community: blog by Eleanor Fairbraida
• Guide: How to green your neighbourhood
• Huma and Noman Shaikh’s Really Wild Lockleaze story of change
• Short film about their project

ACH

ACH work with refugees and migrants from across the city, providing tailored integration support and learning from their lived experience. Their demonstrator project focussed on including refugees and migrants in the climate conversation, providing training on starting up a small sustainable business, and working with employers to create job opportunities in the environment sector.

• Knowledge exchange with our community: blog by Jah Caballero
• Organisational story of change video
• Guide: How to write a sustainability course
• Community climate action insights report

Heart of BS13

In Hartcliffe and Withywood, Heart of BS13 have focussed on tackling health inequality and climate change. They’ve grown a chemical free flower farm and a micro composting enterprise, creating local green jobs. As well as engaging young people though their Roundhouse community space and addressing food insecurity through their food programme.

• Sowing change in the heart of BS13: blog by Kirsty Tait
• Guide: How to turn waste into compost 
• Short film about their project

Centre for Sustainable Energy

Centre for Sustainable Energy provided community carbon footprints for the communities in Bristol that were a part of the project and undertook carbon monitoring of the demonstrator projects listed above. They hosted a webinar and created an accompanying resource on carbon footprints and measuring carbon in community projects.

Bristol Energy Network

Bristol Energy Network were a climate action partner on the project, working directly with Eastside Community Trust on energy efficiency and retrofit advice and training. They’re creating a Practical Guide for Healthier & more Resilient Community Buildings, we’ll add the link as soon as it’s ready.

Avon Wildlife Trust

Avon Wildlife Trust were a nature action partner on the project, working directly with Ambition Lawrence Weston and Lockleaze Neighbourhood Trust through a new innovative Community Ecologist in residence role. In their Community Ecologist impact report they shared method and learnings from this hyper-local way of working to maximise benefits for people and wildlife.

 

These resources are part of a series of learnings we are sharing from the National Lottery funded Community Climate and Nature Action Project. Make sure you’re signed up to hear from us, and check out our resource library.

Find out more about the Community Climate and Nature Action Project