Stories of Change is a programme of free online workshops and webcasts exploring how successful low-carbon initiatives can lead to permanent change and meaningful action on climate breakdown on a larger scale. These events are part of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research‘s 20th Anniversary Celebrations.
In the first webcast of this programme we spoke with three community organisations about how they’ve translated their actions into wider action on climate breakdown. Watch below, and join us for our live webinars on September 14th and September 15th.
Our storytellers for this webcast were…
Claire Stocks, Chorlton Bike Deliveries.
Chorlton Bike Deliveries is a new, innovative, free, resident-led scheme to support our community as we respond to the threat of the Covid-19 virus, primarily offering delivery of food to our neighbours who find it hard to get to the shop.
Launched on Earth Day on April 22nd it is an entirely voluntary organisation based on cooperative values. It is affiliated to Walk Ride Greater Manchester, a group campaigning for safer streets and cleaner air. As such the organisation is here for the long term, seeking to encourage residents to forsake their cars when shopping locally.
Claire’s take home messages include:
- Get going as quickly as you can with whatever you have
- Capture and measure the key stuff
- Put your values front and centre
Find out more about Chorlton and District Co-Ops here or watch a short presentation from Claire on the process of setting up and running this initiative. You can follow also follow Chorlton Bike Deliveries on Twitter.
Dr John McCrory, Repair Cafe Wales
Repair Cafe Wales was launched in April 2017 to start and support repair cafés in Wales. They aim to provide a fun, social way to combat the general frustration with wasted materials, resources and a loss of skills. It’s a community, a space for empowerment and the site of transformation where people’s relationships with their household items shift from consumer to owner.
John explained how Repair Cafe realised that the idea was rapidly catching on, and that they could create wider change by creating a toolkit allowing others to set up and run their own events across Wales. The COVID-19 crisis has encouraged new ways of working for Repairs Cafes, including online repair tutorials and pick up/ drop off services.
Find out more and even start your own Repair Cafe by visiting the Repair Cafe Wales website.
Dr Dafydd, Chair of Governors at Ysgol Hamadryad, a Welsh medium primary school in Wales). Dafydd has also recently become Chair of the Welsh Assembly’s Cross Party Group on the Active Travel Act.
In 2016, the governors at Ysgol Hamadryad met with the senior staff and decided that the new build school which would be their permanent home would be an Active Travel School – they now bill themselves as the first Active Travel School by design in Wales with a goal of every child travelling actively to the school. Their walking bus provision has attracted a lot of media attention and they have provided advice to other schools as well as evidence to the Wales Cross Party Group on the Active Travel Act.
Dafydd felt that starting from that shared decision and bold vision to reimagine travel to the new school building was key. Working closely with pupils, families, local residents and the local authority, and normalising active travel for children and parents, has led to learning from the school’s success being replicated elsewhere.
You can read a full case study with guidance on planning your own active travel scheme here.
We’d like to thank all the contributors for sharing their inspiring stories with us.