What we do / Community Climate & Nature Action

Community Climate & Nature Action

Pioneering bold and fair community-led climate and nature action across the West of England.

Supporting communities to lead their response to the climate and nature crises

Since 2021 our Community Climate & Nature Action Project has been leading the way on the journey to a healthier, fairer city.

In Bristol we now have a collection of community-led climate and nature action plans, a strong network of leaders advocating for their communities, and on the ground projects delivering impactful change for local people. This has led to an effective place-based model for climate and nature action that we are working to expand across the west of England.

Our collaborative approach harnesses existing social and community infrastructure to support both community and climate resilience. It recognises community expertise and lived experience and puts communities at the heart of local action towards a just transition.

View the model

Read Impact Report

Four adults smiling at camera, sat around a red table with mugs, work books and a laptop presentation

Photo credit: Eastside Community Trust

Building capacity in community organisations

There is widespread support for climate and nature action and transformation happening from a neighbourhood level upwards. When solutions are shaped by communities, they reflect the views of local people and can lead to reduced inequality and improved quality of life.

Community organisations provide stable, trusted, and often the only, local infrastructure to connect, support, and include people in climate and nature action. They are essential to achieving a just transition – ensuring the changes we make for the planet and nature are fair for people too.

Our capacity building programme is a tailored programme of funding and support for community organisations to co-produce climate and nature action plans and start putting them into action.

Read the plans

Image © Knowle West Media Centre

Bristol network and advocates

Through the Community Climate & Nature Action Project, a collective of diverse Bristol community organisations have coproduced climate and nature action plans with, and for, their communities.

This network is now working together to advocate for the priorities identified in those plans, and identify opportunities for progress.

Eleanor Fairbraida

Really Wild Lockleaze

Community Leadership Panel

The Community Leadership Panel on Climate and Just Transition offers a scalable, place-based approach that empowers communities to actively shape strategic initiatives from the early stages of planning.

Composed of community leaders representing diverse perspectives, the panel reviews project, policy and strategy proposals on a city or regional level, providing invaluable insights to inform the decision-making process.

Influencing policy

Through the Community Climate & Nature Action model, diverse communities have been successfully included in influencing, developing and delivering low carbon transition plans in Bristol and beyond.

This experience is being used to further influence climate and nature policy, ensuring it is more fit for purpose, representative and legitimate.

Working with the University of the West of England we are undertaking research, hosting policy roundtables, creating case studies and developing policy briefings. Led by our Communities and Councils Associate who is also providing peer mentoring to other areas interested in the Community Climate & Nature Action Model developed in Bristol.

Get in touch to find out more about our policy influencing work.

Read Engagement Report

Climate & Disability

Disabled people are one of the groups that willbemostimpactedby climate change and nature loss, yet they are frequently left out of action, planning and policy. Since 2020 we have been working directly with our local community of Disabled people on strategic climate and nature action and advocacy.

Community Climate & Nature Action