Gloucestershire awarded bursary to develop Community Climate Action plan
8 May 2024
Gloucestershire has become one of six Bristol organisations to join forces with the Community Climate Action Project aimed at enabling businesses to co-develop their own responses to the climate and nature crises.
The Community Climate Action Project learning and mentoring programme will see Gloucestershire County Cricket Club & The Next Test, Shirehampton Community Action Forum, Rising Arts Agency, Bristol Older People’s Forum, Hotwells and Cliftonwood Community Association, One Green Kitchen be provided with a £7,750 bursary, a series of free workshops, peer mentoring and resources to co-develop climate action plans with their communities.
The expansion of the project will help to increase the diversity of people taking part in climate and nature conversations and action in Bristol, following in the footsteps of the eleven community organisations that have already developed community climate action plans.
The Community Climate Action Project puts community leadership at the heart of citywide and local action on climate and inequality. Through the project’s learning and mentoring programme, this new cohort of organisations will learn from community climate leaders who pioneered Bristol’s first community-led climate action plans.
The project is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund’s Climate Action Fund and coordinated by Bristol Climate & Nature Partnership with support from the Centre for Sustainable Energy and Bristol City Council. A range of climate and nature experts from across the city will provide additional support to the new cohort.
Gloucestershire will work alongside The Next Test to engage with the cricket community on climate issues.
Neil Priscott, Chief Operating Officer at Gloucestershire Cricket, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to be a part of the Community Climate Action Project. At Gloucestershire we have ambitions to be trailblazers in the world of cricket when it comes to promoting environmental sustainability and are passionate about our goal to achieve Net Zero and inspiring others to follow us on that journey.”
Xeena Cooper, from The Next Test, added: “The Next Test are a growing hub for climate concerned cricketers. We are excited to be a part of the Community Climate Action Project beside some amazing community organisations in Bristol led by Bristol Climate & Nature Partnership. During this project we will be supporting the Gloucestershire Cricket to meet their sustainability goals. Together we will be reaching out to Bristol’s cricketing community at all levels of our game from grass roots to professionals.”
Amy Harrison, Head of Community Partnerships, Bristol Climate & Nature Partnership, said: “We are excited to welcome six more communities of place, demography and interest to the community climate action project. By next year there will be 18 community climate action plans for Bristol, helping to ensure the city’s transition to net zero is shaped and informed by diverse community priorities and insights.”
The focus of the plans created by each organisation will be climate, nature and social priorities, developed through engagement with their communities, and it is hoped that the project will inspire and encourage a more diverse range of people to take local action for climate and nature.
To find out more about the Community Climate Action project, click here.
