Aim

A programme of training on skills which people need for the post-COVID economy, focused on green industries such as solar and eco-housing.

Who we are

The Neighbourhood Project CIC delivers training in venues such as community centres and village halls, usually on topics which raise people's awareness of their rights and how they make positive changes in their neighbourhood (e.g. how to set up a residents association, a neighbourhood watch scheme, a compositing project).  We then support people to turn ideas they have from this training into workable projects that will benefit their community through providing a service or activity and benefit themselves through improving confidence and experience to help with employment.  We have been around since 2013 and have a track record of developing spin-off ventures through this approach.  Further details and case studies are on our website www.neighbourhoodproject.org.uk

Our proposals

We wish to run a programme of training and mentoring in the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, introducing residents to green topics and how they can make their community more sustainable, then encouraging participants to act with their new knowledge, setting up new community-led projects.

The report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) flagged up just how urgent it is that all countries take positive action to reduce their carbon emissions and work quickly towards sustainability if we are to avoid runaway climate change. Whilst governments may have to lead on this, it also requires communities to 'think global, act local' as was the mantra of Agenda 21 back in the 1990's. We need to change in how we live and work to contribute to avoiding runaway climate change.

For a city the size of Bradford with a population fast approaching half a million people, there is only so much the local authority and other public agencies can do and this needs to be owned by residents and applied at the scale of the neighbourhood to have any meaningful impact. Our approach is therefore to work with individual communities at this level, up-skilling residents and encouraging them to take action (e.g. set up a waste reduction and recycling scheme for 'hard to recycle' materials, or a land sharing scheme for growing more food locally). It is also at this scale people can relate to activities, can develop a sense of identity and loyalty towards them and are more likely to offer their time as volunteers and supporters.

Following consultation with residents, we have designed the following programme of topics:

1. Calculating your carbon footprint - where we are and where we need to get to. 

2. Local food growing - food miles and land-sharing schemes. 

3. Community owned energy - PV solar, thermal solar, wind, hydro and other opportunities. 

4. Community waste management - reusing materials and avoiding landfill. 

5. Green transport - car sharing and community transport schemes. 

6. Plastics - a global problem and local solutions. 

7. Community woodlands - how trees absorb carbon and help reduce flooding. 

8. Low impact housing - increasing your energy efficiency. 

9. Creating and preserving green spaces - greens, commons and assets of community value. 

10. The importance of the micro-economy to sustainability.

 The training will be delivered through a veneu in the City Centre with limits on numbers due to the ongoing COVID restrictions and we will also stream it live on Zoom and allow people to interact that way.

After each training session, we will bring people with ideas together in a workshop session to discuss them further, get feedback from others and wherever proposals overlap we will encourage participants to collaborate.  We will then offer coaching and mentoring to individuals and small groups to turn these ideas into workable ventures.  They may be a one-off activity (e.g. a community clean-up) or a longer-term initiative (e.g. a waste upcycling enterprise).

The benefits

Our project aims to up-skill residents on green topics which, in addition to avoiding runaway climate change, are highly relevant for the future economy. We need to reduce our carbon emissions, increase our use of renewable energy sources, stop producing waste that cannot be recycled and increase our self-sufficiency, for instance through more locally grown food. There are opportunities for new enterprises and jobs concerning all of this.  The experience of attending the training, being supported in developing a project and our policy of providing references for participants will improve the employability of those who participate.

This project successfully funded on 16th June 2021