Bristol Green Capital

The Community Climate Action Project partners are delighted to launch a new learning and mentoring programme to support and encourage more Bristol community organisations to codevelop their own community climate action plans. This programme provides a £3,000 bursary, a series of free workshops, peer mentoring and resources to support more communities on their journey of climate and nature action.

About the Community Climate Action Project

Over the last two years the Bristol Community Climate Action Project has been pioneering bold and fair community-led climate and nature action. In 2022 6 diverse local community organisations – ACH, Ambition Lawrence Weston, Bristol Disability Equality Forum, Eastside Community Trust, Heart of BS13 and Lockleaze Neighbourhood Trust – co-produced the city’s first community climate action plans with and for their communities. Coordinated by Bristol Green Capital Partnership with support from Bristol City Council and the Centre for Sustainable Energy, the Bristol Community Climate Action Project has received funding from the National Lottery’s Climate Action Fund to expand the project over the next 3 years.

Read more about the project.

Part of the project’s expansion is a commitment to supporting more, and more diverse, community organisations in Bristol with their climate and nature action journeys through the learning and mentoring programme which will support a further 12 community organisations (6 in 2023 and a further 6 in 2024).

Climate action requires collective action – by working together we can take community-led climate action which reduces carbon and improves people’s lives.

Why is community-led climate action important?

Empowered community leadership on climate and nature is an essential ingredient to how a city responds to the climate and ecological emergencies. Community organisations showed real leadership during the pandemic – they proved how essential they are when a city needs to respond to a crisis – demonstrating why they should be a critical part of a city’s strategic response to the climate and nature crises.

In Bristol, community has been key to so much the city has achieved. It’s people working together that makes real change happen. With community we can achieve great things. Climate and nature action are no exception.

We believe taking climate and nature action can and should improve the quality of life for local people. This project champions the positive social impacts which taking community-led action on climate and nature can have for Bristol’s communities.

“Our climate action plan in Lockleaze demonstrates that by working together and making even small changes, we can make a big difference for our community and our planet. Together we can and you can too!” Maria Perrett, Lockleaze Neighbourhood Trust

Who is the learning and mentoring programme opportunity for?

You don’t need to be a climate/environmental focused organisation to apply. We are keen to support building climate confidence and capacity within non climate and nature specialist community/civic organisations in Bristol to help develop the community insights and leadership on climate and nature within the city and promote greater representation of Bristol’s diverse range of communities. This programme and bursary aim to ‘pump prime’ community organisations who are interested in and committed to taking community-led climate and nature action.

Climate and nature action comes in many different forms…it’s happening in every community across the city but it’s not always labelled as ’climate/nature action’. Community activity to support people with the cost-of-living crisis and health and wellbeing also come with climate and nature benefits, for example: men in sheds, community allotment groups, school uniform swaps, repair cafes, community walking groups, tree planting and surplus food community meals.

The learning and mentoring programme will be co-hosted by community climate champions who have pioneered Bristol’s first community-led climate action plans, in partnership with Bristol Green Capital Partnership, CSE, Bristol Council, and supported by a range of climate and nature experts from across the city.

Important information for applicants

The learning and mentoring programme is open to all community organisations but applications from communities outside the existing geographic areas (Lockleaze, Lawrence Weston, Hartcliffe and Easton & Lawrence Hill) and demographic communities (Bristol’s community of Disabled people and refugee community) represented are particularly welcomed as we are committed to expanding the diversity and reach of the Community Climate Action Project.

We aim to select 4 organisations representing new geographic communities and 2 community organisations representing new demographic communities/community of interest to participate in the learning and mentoring programme in both 2023 and 2024.

The Bristol Community Climate Action Project is keen to support communities experiencing social and economic disadvantage who may face barriers to leading climate and nature action locally.

“It’s been exciting to start putting Easton and Lawrence Hill’s climate action plan into action, and even better working together with other communities in our city. As part of the Community Climate Action Project cohort, we feel able to tackle bigger challenges and raise our collective voice on climate in Bristol.” Emily Fifield, Eastside Community Trust

The focus is on organisations that work with communities within Bristol City Council boundaries, this is because the council is a key partner on the project and will be unable to offer support to groups that fall outside their jurisdiction. The organisation could still have their headquarters in other Bristol postcodes, but they would need to be working with a community based mostly within Bristol City Council boundaries.

Application process

If you are interested in participating in the learning and mentoring programme please first download and read:

• Learning and mentoring programme – key information
• Learning and mentoring programme – application criteria and process
• Learning and mentoring programme – bursary information

If you would like to apply then please complete and submit an expression of interest form by midnight on Monday 20 March 2023. Please note that applications for cohort 2 have now closed and we will be announcing the successful applicants shortly. There will be another opportunity to join the project as cohort 3 in 2024.

Submit an expression of interest via Google form or download Word version of expression of interest form and submit via email.
If you have any queries please email contact@bristolgreencapital.org

Information session

If you would like to find out more about the learning and mentoring programme before deciding if you want to apply, watch the recording of the information session below that took place on 1 March.

You can view the slidedeck from the information session here.

Applicants will be notified of the outcome by Friday 31 March and the workshop programme commences on Wednesday 26 April.