Can Do Communities  

A guest blog by Lindy Stone

There’s a ‘can do’ mood developing in lots of communities, across South Yorkshire and elsewhere, as people wonder what they can do to help tackle the climate and nature emergencies.

We know that the trials of COVID lockdown times brought many communities together in their localities and the strength of mutual support was one of the few saving graces of that very sad time.

In many localities, of course, strong community groups already existed such as allotment societies, church groups, school parents and friends, community libraries or ‘Friends of’ groups for local green spaces.

Many of these groups are now turning some of their attention to small acts and activities that boost their own sense of well-being and community while at the same time taking some small steps to help with the challenges of climate and nature change. Alongside these are groups of people coming together with the specific intention of taking this sort of action.

So what sorts of activities are we talking about? Well, the new South Yorkshire Climate Alliance ‘Can Do South Yorkshire’ website has gathered many examples from which to take inspiration. It’s a new website but takes its own inspiration from a National Lottery Climate Action Fund project of the same name which operated in those difficult days of 2020 – 2022.

Many of the new activities over the past couple of years have been prompted by the costs of energy and the desire to reduce ‘carbon footprints’ alongside saving money, so groups like High Storrs Environmental have borrowed thermal imaging cameras, undertaken home surveys, visited homes, chatted with homeowners who have had some ‘retrofit’ measures installed and also had talks from experienced retrofit assessors about possibilities and costs.

Taking action on issues of waste and recycling also features highly with established initiatives such as Reyt Repair in Pitsmoor and Harland Works Repair Café near Bramall Lane providing examples of how much cheaper, easier and more sustainable it is to repair than chuck away.

On a smaller scale, new group Bannerdale Climate Champs meet monthly to talk through issues over a cuppa and has taken inspiration from the ‘No More Bin Days’ website which signposts to places locally where we can take the ‘hard-to-recycle’ items to be recycled. They collect together such items as old cosmetics bottles and small electrical appliances and share out the travel to recycling points.   

A simple clothes swap such as in Lowedges, a street-level WhatsApp group which makes swapping, borrowing or exchanging items easy or the more extensive Green City Action Community Toolbank all have a big sustainability tick while also saving money.

Many activities featured on the website are nature-related with examples such as the Friends of Newfield Spring Woods who have joined up with the Don Catchment Rivers Trust to reduce flood risks by natural means, and hold monthly volunteer days creating and maintaining leaky dams in the woods which slows the flow of water downstream after heavy rains. The Steel Valley Project in north Sheffield focuses on managing habitats for the benefit of wildlife, people, heritage and landscape; and encouraging access to open green space/wider countryside and Bradway Action Group have taken up nature-related activities such as helping manage nearby Poynton Woods and planting a beautiful wildflower meadow with their local primary school.

Community growing is also beginning to feature highly with new groups such as Woodseats Community Garden and a potential community orchard in the Totley area running alongside the brilliant work of allotment groups who so often now donate surplus produce to food banks as well as sharing their expertise with new growers.

In my part of Sheffield, over the last two years, the Greener Greenhill network has taken on all sorts of activities which aim to help tackle the climate and nature crisis. Several Bike MOT sessions have been held, where volunteers help bring bikes back into use, and local walk maps have encouraged people out into the green spaces with more seats provided for people to enjoy those green spaces. Both of these in a small way support a move to ‘active travel’.

Several local green spaces have been enhanced for people and nature through the planting of bulbs, wildflowers and trees and guided bird walks and bat walks have alerted people to nature in a new way. Talks and advice on gardening for wildlife, home insulation and the importance of local growing have been held and the local churches, schools, Scouts and Guides groups have been encouraged and supported in their own activities to promote nature and think about sustainability issues. TakingAnd taking inspiration from the Can Do website has encouraged a group to work to set up a repair café in the area.

You can find all these examples of ‘Community Climate Action’, along with plenty more, on the Can Do South Yorkshire website, with examples from schools, churches and workplaces too.  Taking action alongside others to help tackle the climate and nature crisis is a small but powerful step and can be great fun into the bargain. And if you want ideas on how to get started – well, they are on the website too!

See https://candosouthyorkshire.org.uk