Banter 89: The Three Pillars, with Mike Eccles

Since his last presentation (session 34) Mike has received some funding. Here he describes which actions the funding has made possible

Video Timeline (min:sec)

00:00 - 31:52 Presentation

31:52 - 60:10 (end) Q & A

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Presentation:

12MB

-Hay Resilience Presentation 2 to Great Collaboration 1 Oct+25-compressed.pdf

pdf

You are most welcome to download the presentation for viewing. A markdown copy is presented at the bottom of this page for AI search engine purposes

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Meeting Summary:

Oct 01, 2025 11:51 AM London ID: 834 5460 8536

Quick recap

The meeting began with introductions and casual discussions about local climate action initiatives before transitioning to a presentation on community resilience initiatives by Mike, who shared updates on various projects including food assemblies, energy initiatives, and social inclusion efforts. Mike detailed the challenges and successes in securing funding for these projects, highlighting specific grants and collaborations with organizations like Extinction Rebellion and the Welsh Government. The group discussed practical aspects of implementing community energy projects and mapping tools for renewable energy potential, with participants sharing experiences and seeking advice on replication and integration strategies.

Next steps

• Mike to continue seeking funding opportunities to sustain the Hay Resilience Initiative beyond February 2025.

• Graham to upload Mike's document "How to replicate the Hay Resilience Initiative" to the knowledge base.

• Mike to connect Sue with his mentor who has experience setting up community energy roof solar initiatives.

• Mike to follow up on the Parish Online mapping system that Graham mentioned for identifying suitable locations for renewable energy.

• Frank to explore connecting local GP practices to climate action initiatives for social prescribing.

• Sue to research Energize Sussex Coast and Battle Solar Town website for their solar mapping capabilities.

• Mike to incorporate Frank's idea about working with local healthcare providers to recommend community involvement as a well-being intervention.

Summary

Community Assemblies for Sustainability

Mike discussed the establishment of community assemblies to address food well-being and energy, with a focus on reducing emissions and promoting sustainability. He highlighted the success of the food assembly, which resulted in five key points including the creation of a food hub and an online supermarket. Mike also mentioned ongoing efforts to collaborate with various organizations, submit a research grant, and influence planning rules to support horticultural farmers. He noted the challenges faced in implementing changes and the need for further action in certain areas.

Project Funding Success Stories

Mike discussed the challenges and successes in securing funding for various projects, including a grant from Egin that was initially rejected but later awarded after resubmission. He highlighted the support from Extinction Rebellion and the Welsh Government, which funded the first food assembly. Mike also mentioned receiving a £15,000 grant from Egin, which allowed them to hire a project coordinator, Heulyn Greenslade, for tfhree days a week. Subsequently, they secured an Awards for All grant from the National Lottery, extending Heulyn's funding to four days a week until February next year. Mike concluded by describing the successful Energy Assembly, which had 70 attendees and was funded by the Welsh Government through a Climate Conversations grant.

Hay Resilience Initiative Progress Update

Mike discussed the progress of the Hay Resilience Initiative, highlighting the development of company policies and the engagement of consultants to support their business plan. They have made strides in mapping community energy sites and are now networking with key figures in the community energy sector following a successful presentation at a conference. Heulyn was invited to join the board of Community Energy Wales, providing further opportunities for collaboration. The initiative is still in the early stages of youth and schools engagement, and more work is needed to develop practical materials.

Community Mental Health Initiatives

Mike reported on the attendance and impact of recent community assemblies, noting that 10% of Hay's 2,500 citizens have participated, which Mike considers sufficient to justify future funding requests. He discussed plans for a community hub dedicated to mental well-being, which aligns with the food assembly's goals. Mike also proposed developing a mental health first aid and basic listening skills training program to help the community better handle mild mental health issues, distinguishing this from accredited NHS courses.

Community Resilience Initiative Progress Update

Mike presented an update on the community resilience initiative, highlighting progress on three main pillars: food, energy, and social inclusion. He described efforts to establish a food hub, develop a business plan, and collaborate with local organizations, as well as the addition of a new board member with energy expertise. Mike emphasized the complexity of setting up multiple organizations and businesses, noting the need for further funding to sustain the initiative. He also mentioned an upcoming 5-year National Lottery application and the addition of a new team member from Cultivate. Graham commended Mike's bottom-up approach and asked questions about the early funding sources, which Mike did not fully address in the transcript.

Community Assemblies and Well-being Initiatives

The meeting discussed the cost and logistics of community assemblies, with Mike explaining that each assembly costs around £2,000 and can accommodate up to 84 people. Frank inquired about integrating a well-being model into sustainability efforts, particularly focusing on social prescribing and volunteer engagement. Mike shared plans to train volunteers to handle situations involving mental health issues, including climate anxiety. Sue mentioned a local solar energy initiative in Battle and sought advice on replicating successful community energy projects, which Mike offered to help with by connecting her with a mentor.

Community Energy Initiatives Overview

The meeting focused on community energy initiatives, with Mike presenting on renewable energy projects and their challenges. He explained that while direct community energy sales are limited, there are ways to use wind power to support local institutions and potentially create wealth funds for redistribution. The group discussed retrofitting efforts to reduce energy demand in rural areas, with Mike mentioning available grants for insulation and solar panels. Stuart inquired about community involvement strategies, and Mike shared that emotional appeals and intrinsic motivation were key factors in their success. The conversation ended with discussions about mapping tools for solar and wind energy potential, and Graham announced the next presentation would be about better integration across multiple dimensions.

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Chat:

00:12:32 Andrew Maliphant, Great Collaboration: Wendover Parish Council

00:49:50 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: Home - Bridport Food Matters

00:53:11 Linda Aspey, Climate Psychology Alliance: Thank you for sharing such inspiring work! Apologies I need to leave for a meeting shortly.

01:00:04 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: [email protected]

01:04:56 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: @Sue Burton Battle East Sussex Sue, you may wish to get ln touch with Linda Aspey - who was on the call earlier, but had to leave early for another meeting - who runs courses on Climate Anxiety. Try [email protected]

01:10:08 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Reacted to "@Sue Burton Battle E..." with 👍

01:10:29 Sue Burton Battle East Sussex: Thank you.

01:13:44 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: Digital mapping for parishes and towns: Parish Online by Geoxphere, see parish-online.co.uk

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Audio Transcipt:

194 00:14:43.260 --> 00:14:51.530 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Okay, so, this is Hang on Y, which is the picture I began with last time in Banter 34.

195 00:14:51.890 --> 00:14:58.030 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And, I've got my Back to the Black Mountains, and we're looking down on the town.

196 00:14:58.390 --> 00:14:59.400 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So…

197 00:14:59.510 --> 00:15:13.230 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: The next slide is actually the Resilience Initiative, which, anybody who wasn't here last time effectively were using community assemblies in order to launch three pillars.

198 00:15:14.570 --> 00:15:27.879 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And the three pillars are addressing food, well-being, and energy. And in order to do that, we had to set up the powers facilitators team, because we needed facilitators and note-takers.

199 00:15:28.590 --> 00:15:49.719 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: In order to run our assemblies, and we, because I'm a director of haypubliclibrary.org, which saved Hay Library, we created a new Hay Public Library, assembly service, so that that could be used by the community to run community assemblies, if they so wished to do.

200 00:15:49.720 --> 00:15:54.820 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And that was kind of the beginning of that, but…

201 00:15:56.080 --> 00:16:10.310 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: The point about this is that this initiative, if you address the emission cuts, we reduce sustainable food by 22%,

202 00:16:10.330 --> 00:16:18.290 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Sustainable land use by 31%, and sustainable energy by 50%. 52%, actually.

203 00:16:18.590 --> 00:16:25.220 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So, that's what we will achieve if we can become self-sustatable in food and energy and set up our well-being pillar.

204 00:16:25.790 --> 00:16:35.400 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So, let's get into the first assembly, which was the food assembly. Now, we ran that in January 2024.

205 00:16:35.500 --> 00:16:39.560 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And this is the question we asked.

206 00:16:40.980 --> 00:16:48.889 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So, but basically, first of all, you start off with, why should anybody want to do this? So,

207 00:16:49.080 --> 00:16:54.670 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: in order to do that, in effect, I talked to over 150 people in the community, and

208 00:16:54.670 --> 00:17:09.679 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: found out what they knew about climate change, and asked them, what we should do, and why we should do it. And they came up with the concept of looking after food, looking after energy, and looking after mental well-being.

209 00:17:09.859 --> 00:17:21.320 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And the why was for, really for concern for, their children and their grandchildren into the future. So the assembly deals with the how.

210 00:17:21.940 --> 00:17:27.959 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: You get people to an assembly to ask them, how might we do this, that, or the other?

211 00:17:28.089 --> 00:17:46.919 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And the Assembly itself then comes out with the what. So, we had over 80 attendees at that, and 40 on the waiting list, and it was funded by Rebellion and the Welsh Government.

212 00:17:49.550 --> 00:18:02.249 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So, that was pretty cheery, because we had no idea who would come, or whether they'd come, or how many would come, and it was a significant success.

213 00:18:02.830 --> 00:18:05.840 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Anyway, so…

214 00:18:07.450 --> 00:18:16.769 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: In effect, this Assembly then came out with five, points that they prioritized that we should get involved with.

215 00:18:16.900 --> 00:18:22.700 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And, the first one is a hub, and to share information.

216 00:18:22.840 --> 00:18:23.790 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Well…

217 00:18:23.880 --> 00:18:41.059 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Black Mountains College is taking a lease on a property about 3 miles out of Hay, and this would provide, us with space for a food hub, and locations for sorting food, sold on our proposed Hay Real Food online supermarket.

218 00:18:41.120 --> 00:18:53.269 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And, however, we also have ambitions to have a building in Hay to house the offices of all three pillars, to hold workshops, and as a friendly drop-in, supportive drop-in center.

219 00:18:53.530 --> 00:18:58.340 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So, and that comes up also in the wellbeing assembly later.

220 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:15.160 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: We're working with 3 connected organizations in order to make this possible, and the first one is… in other words, in order to be able to create a food hub and an online supermarket.

221 00:19:15.270 --> 00:19:26.019 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Cultivate is the name of, one of the organisations. Boyd Food, Powers Food is the second, and the South Paris Food Partnership is the third.

222 00:19:26.260 --> 00:19:28.200 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And…

223 00:19:28.720 --> 00:19:39.550 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: with support from an organization called Food Sense Wales, Social Farms and Gardens, and the Roderick Foundation, and you might remember from my last, presentation.

224 00:19:39.550 --> 00:19:53.670 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: that the Welsh Commissioner for Future Generations called a meeting to introduce us to the founders of Food Sense Wales, that's Katie Palmer, in August last year, and also to Gary Mitchell, Senior Manager.

225 00:19:53.670 --> 00:20:01.970 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: for Social Farms and Gardens, who co-founded Cultivate. So, there's a connection here in what we're doing.

226 00:20:02.180 --> 00:20:07.180 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And Cultivate is hiring a supply chain development officer four days a week.

227 00:20:07.350 --> 00:20:13.719 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And that person will work with us on one day a week to set up the hub and the supermarket.

228 00:20:18.880 --> 00:20:35.849 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Now, on awareness and increasing demand for real local food, in June this year, we attended the Wales Community Energy Conference at CAT, the center for Alternative Technology, so we got to know them, and I'll be talking more about that when we get to the energy bit.

229 00:20:35.970 --> 00:20:57.540 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: At the beginning of August this year, we became aware of a research grant possibility, so we wrote to Paul Allen, who we'd met, who was head of CAT, asking if we could collaborate on this grant. He said yes, and we needed a further academic institution on board, so CAT found us someone in Cardiff University's business school to work with us.

230 00:20:57.780 --> 00:21:07.010 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And jointly between the three organizations, we have just submitted our first academic research grant. It's for 55 grand.

231 00:21:07.090 --> 00:21:18.820 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And this research project has been designed to help us understand the psychology needed to entice our householders to become members of our proposed Our Hay online real food supermarket.

232 00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:24.960 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And that means going back into the community and doing research with them.

233 00:21:25.350 --> 00:21:33.939 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Now, we may not get that grant, because it's highly competitive, but even if we don't, we now have a closer connection with CAT and with,

234 00:21:34.050 --> 00:21:46.650 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Cardiff University, which no doubt will go on into the future, so that's a plus for us, whatever happens. Now, removing barriers to access to land, we've done a lot

235 00:21:46.700 --> 00:22:00.780 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: to influence that, with Bannerbra County National Park, and with, Powers County Council, where both the Park Planning Authority and the Powers Planning Authority

236 00:22:00.790 --> 00:22:06.920 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: have had their interpretation rules rewritten

237 00:22:06.940 --> 00:22:11.179 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: In order to give horticultural farmers access to land.

238 00:22:12.240 --> 00:22:17.650 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And that's been put in place, but I have to say it's not very effective.

239 00:22:18.340 --> 00:22:23.829 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And there was huge opposition from the actual planning officers.

240 00:22:24.570 --> 00:22:28.360 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So the new rules don't really go

241 00:22:28.580 --> 00:22:36.039 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Far enough. And one has to take into consideration, and this may be a cynical view, but it does appear to be

242 00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:45.740 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: something that I've learned in this process. Planning officers are, by and large, a lobby for the landed gentry in rural Wales.

243 00:22:45.910 --> 00:22:53.099 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And the big landed estates don't want hippies who grow food to be given the right to live on the land, even if they own it.

244 00:22:53.200 --> 00:23:06.769 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And that's largely the reason for the opposition to the change in the interpretation to the rules and the way that they're now being interpreted.

245 00:23:07.600 --> 00:23:15.240 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: This assembly, this, this first assembly came up with two more particular points.

246 00:23:15.420 --> 00:23:19.740 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: This was, infrastructure support for growers.

247 00:23:19.860 --> 00:23:23.530 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And for growers to access funds.

248 00:23:23.670 --> 00:23:35.570 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And, support for food, production in community gardens and public spaces. Now, we actually haven't done much of those two, but we've done quite a lot on the rest.

249 00:23:36.140 --> 00:23:43.040 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And just to remind you of the organizations involved in everything that we've done here.

250 00:23:43.280 --> 00:24:01.590 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So, by, and this was to help us start up Race to Zero. However, it meant that we started working with these various different organizations. So, we've got Bannerber Craneog, Powers County Council, Climate Kumri, who's been supportive all the way along.

251 00:24:01.810 --> 00:24:07.899 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And then we've got, Community Energy Wales,

252 00:24:08.170 --> 00:24:19.759 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: and, Green… Green Valleys, they… Langattock Green Valleys, they actually presented at our energy assembly,

253 00:24:19.760 --> 00:24:34.380 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Our Food 1,200 have been supporting us all the way along, and they're now active developing the number of growers in Wales in order to achieve the possibility of feeding Birmingham with real food from Wales.

254 00:24:34.630 --> 00:24:38.340 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So that's a really big task. We're just feeding our local community.

255 00:24:39.640 --> 00:25:03.760 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And I've presented at, the Wales Real Food and Farming Conference, and I've been to a couple of the March's conferences, Real Food and Farming conferences, and in fact, we're going to one on Thursday and Friday as well. And we've also had very close relationships with, Boyd House Food.

256 00:25:04.170 --> 00:25:09.229 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So those, those are the organizations. And…

257 00:25:12.880 --> 00:25:22.390 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: The reason I'm bringing this up is what we achieved by national support. The reason I'm bringing these people onto the page here is because

258 00:25:22.390 --> 00:25:37.530 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Actually, even well before I spoke last year, in November 2023, EGIN, the organization that I joined in order to be able to get funding in the first place, turned down our grant.

259 00:25:37.530 --> 00:25:41.129 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And, I was absolutely furious.

260 00:25:41.360 --> 00:25:59.809 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So, I wrote a report, I looked up their terms and reference, they definitely had rejected the grant on spurious terms, and should have stuck to their own terms and references, and I sent… I took a real risk. I sent that report to everybody I could possibly send it to.

261 00:26:00.190 --> 00:26:03.640 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Because I just sort of felt, come on, guys.

262 00:26:03.670 --> 00:26:22.679 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: they had actually thought that Egin was basically set up maybe to do a bit of solar roofing, or maybe, you know, a community garden, or maybe an organization that wanted to grow a field of cabbages. And if I was doing any of those things singly, I would probably have got the grant.

263 00:26:22.680 --> 00:26:27.000 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: But because we were doing something strategic, they just couldn't get their heads around it.

264 00:26:28.120 --> 00:26:32.649 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And that left me in a huge problem, because in November 2023, I had no money.

265 00:26:32.710 --> 00:26:48.830 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And so I turned my attention to Extinction Rebellion, and the Welsh Government announced a Climate Conversations Grant. And, Extinction Rebellion agreed to underwrite our first food assembly, which happened in January.

266 00:26:48.920 --> 00:27:00.649 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Last year. And, the Welsh Government, came in and paid for, a significant amount of it. So we were able to run our first assembly.

267 00:27:00.840 --> 00:27:05.080 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: at that time. Now, if I hadn't…

268 00:27:05.430 --> 00:27:14.360 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: in… later, in 2025, 2024, sorry,

269 00:27:15.660 --> 00:27:21.720 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: got these people on board, which I mentioned in the previous talk that I gave.

270 00:27:21.910 --> 00:27:24.810 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And whoever… who knows who else?

271 00:27:25.390 --> 00:27:34.959 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: The next thing that happened after I gave that talk was I went to attend a food event outside Cardiff.

272 00:27:35.740 --> 00:27:47.859 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And while I was there, this guy I didn't know came up to me and he said, hey, are you Mike from Hay? And I said, yes, and, you know, Hay Public Library, hey, Resilience. And I said, yes, absolutely.

273 00:27:48.040 --> 00:27:59.580 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And he said, well, I'm a lottery funding officer, and I want to tell you that we want to ask you to resubmit your application.

274 00:27:59.810 --> 00:28:05.159 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: We've got it, we understand what you're trying to do, and we want to give you some money.

275 00:28:05.330 --> 00:28:10.270 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So, after that, I submitted the application.

276 00:28:11.110 --> 00:28:20.010 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And, in November, we were awarded our first, large grant from Egin.

277 00:28:20.770 --> 00:28:28.459 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And, that was, a £15,000 grant, which is, paid for a number of different things.

278 00:28:28.740 --> 00:28:42.449 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: But the first thing I did was got to get a professional on board as a project coordinator. Her name is Heulyn Greenslade, and this funding then secured Halen for 3 days a week.

279 00:28:42.560 --> 00:28:48.379 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And it ran out in July at the… in the middle of this year.

280 00:28:48.650 --> 00:28:54.770 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So, between, December and July, we,

281 00:28:55.210 --> 00:29:00.960 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: got on and got cracking on everything that we needed to do.

282 00:29:01.970 --> 00:29:03.460 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And basically.

283 00:29:03.790 --> 00:29:15.909 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Once we got the Egging grant, we've now made friends with the National Lottery, and our new appointed funding officer, advised that we apply for an Awards for All grant, which we did.

284 00:29:16.150 --> 00:29:22.680 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And we got that in, in… actually, in July.

285 00:29:22.700 --> 00:29:36.160 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And so, hailing is now funded for 4 days a week until the end of February next year. And of course, we have to apply for more granted applications in order to be able to keep the whole ship on the road.

286 00:29:36.170 --> 00:29:47.520 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: But let's get to the energy assembly, which we managed to run in January this year, and this time this one was, this one was actually

287 00:29:48.150 --> 00:30:05.130 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: It had 70 attendees, and it was funded by the Welsh Government. They got back in touch and wanted us to apply for the Climate Conversation grant that they'd given us the previous year.

288 00:30:05.560 --> 00:30:09.909 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: This time I applied for a much bigger grant, and the agents.

289 00:30:10.010 --> 00:30:29.020 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: who, sort of, are sort of in between us and the Welsh Government, got in touch with me and said, well, they're never going to accept this and that and the other. And I said, well, okay, well, if they don't accept this, that, and the other, that's fine, because I'll… somehow I'll find the rest of the money. But whack it in anyway.

290 00:30:29.180 --> 00:30:44.270 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And, let's see what happens. And, evidently, someone had got through to, the Welsh Government funding group that actually decides who gets the Climate Conversation, grants.

291 00:30:44.340 --> 00:30:58.700 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And they decided to give us everything that we asked for, so we were able to run the energy assembly, because of that funding. And then that assembly came out with a number of proposals.

292 00:31:01.610 --> 00:31:02.520 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Well…

293 00:31:04.810 --> 00:31:20.709 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Going back a bit, to do any of this, we need a raft of company policies on volunteering, grievance procedures, safety data, data protection, et cetera, et cetera. And these take time, and so that was the first task I gave to Haylin.

294 00:31:20.710 --> 00:31:26.960 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: With the second to build our website, both of which had now been achieved.

295 00:31:27.000 --> 00:31:38.969 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: We can't actually… go out and do a campaign to the community until we have done,

296 00:31:39.490 --> 00:31:44.490 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Both this… And this.

297 00:31:46.510 --> 00:31:54.719 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So… What actually, happened was that

298 00:31:54.980 --> 00:31:59.620 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: In order to map community assets, well, what we ended up with…

299 00:31:59.820 --> 00:32:15.689 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: immediately after the assembly, was we gained a free consultant from an organization called Compass, and that's paid for by the Welsh Government, and they are top-notch consultants, and ours is helping us with our business plan.

300 00:32:16.110 --> 00:32:24.539 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: We also had a local resident who came to the Assembly, who happened also to be a community energy consultant in the UK,

301 00:32:24.850 --> 00:32:42.439 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And, he has joined the energy management team and is absolutely invaluable. He understands watts and megawatts and all of that stuff, which neither Halen nor I do, which means that he's able to provide us with all sorts of information which we otherwise wouldn't be able to get hold of.

302 00:32:42.640 --> 00:32:57.669 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So mapping potential energy site… production sites was one of the things he helped us with, and this summer, we spent walking local streams and exploring hydropower opportunities and seeking out sites for solar… solar and wind power.

303 00:32:57.820 --> 00:33:14.510 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Now, we have to find the sites first of all, then we have to go to find out who owns the land, and then we have to talk to them before we can start to consult further with our community about the reality of going forward with the project, basically.

304 00:33:14.700 --> 00:33:17.180 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So we've started on that process.

305 00:33:17.480 --> 00:33:25.940 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: As for collaborating with other stakeholders,

306 00:33:26.110 --> 00:33:35.919 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: there was a Community Energy Wales conference held this year in June at CATS, the center for Alternative Technology in Mahunklith.

307 00:33:36.710 --> 00:33:38.380 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And,

308 00:33:38.480 --> 00:34:01.279 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Hayland had never presented publicly before, and she's absolutely an amazing person. She's far brighter than I am, and really full-on, and extremely engaged and excited by the project. And I thought she should be given a head and given the chance to do a presentation. It was a discussion presentation, but nevertheless.

309 00:34:01.820 --> 00:34:21.510 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And in that discussion presentation, it became a bit of a double act, because there were lots and lots of questions given to her. And Haylin was on the stage, and I was in the audience, so where she couldn't answer something I did from the audience. And afterwards, Paul Allen, who's head of CAT, spoke with both Haylin and me.

310 00:34:21.739 --> 00:34:31.210 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Saying that he was really impressed with how thought through the Hay Resilience Initiative was. And, and because

311 00:34:31.360 --> 00:34:42.229 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: we made, our presence felt at the Community Energy Conference. We found we are now networking with major movers and shakers within the community energy field.

312 00:34:42.810 --> 00:34:51.850 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And a month ago, as a result of all that, Community Energy Wales asked Halin to join their board of directors.

313 00:34:51.960 --> 00:34:57.899 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So now we have both an entry and access to everyone that we need in order to make

314 00:34:58.330 --> 00:35:01.360 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: The, energy pillar happen.

315 00:35:03.670 --> 00:35:16.159 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And we can't do youth… we haven't been able to get to youth and schools engagement yet, and we haven't been able to develop the practical materials, because we haven't pretty much got started.

316 00:35:16.470 --> 00:35:24.120 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So, that was the second assembly that we launched, and it turned out pretty well.

317 00:35:25.170 --> 00:35:38.169 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So, the next assembly was the Wellbeing Assembly, and you'll probably recognize this person. This is Marie, the Deputy Director for Future Generations. She…

318 00:35:38.410 --> 00:35:55.850 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: came and stayed opposite us for the weekend with her family, and not only did she do a keynote street, speech at this event, she also, actually sat at the table and did the work. And…

319 00:35:55.980 --> 00:36:02.459 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: She was… Really, really supportive, and that was a great boon for us.

320 00:36:02.790 --> 00:36:22.589 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: 51 people came to that event, so we'd had 80 at the first, 70 at the second, and 51 at the third, which not… which is not as many, but it's perhaps more difficult to get your head around mental well-being than it is the other two.

321 00:36:23.280 --> 00:36:32.759 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And, it was funded by, EGIN, the Egin grant that we got. We had money left from that in order to fund that… this particular assembly.

322 00:36:33.590 --> 00:36:40.500 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So, if you add up now everybody who has either been to our, assembly.

323 00:36:40.530 --> 00:36:56.590 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: or one of our assemblies who is on the mailing list, or who was on the waiting list, our attendees and subscribers to our newsletter comes to exactly 10% of our immediate population.

324 00:36:56.710 --> 00:37:12.260 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: There are 2,500 citizens in Hay, and we've had slightly… we have engaged slightly over 250 people. As far as I'm concerned, that means we have a mandate.

325 00:37:12.320 --> 00:37:17.290 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And if we have a mandate, we can ask for whatever we need.

326 00:37:17.410 --> 00:37:25.730 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: for… at any time, from any organization in Wales, and we have a spitting chance of maybe getting it.

327 00:37:26.730 --> 00:37:27.640 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So…

328 00:37:28.250 --> 00:37:42.400 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: The Wellbeing Assembly is a slightly different, animal, because we're going to bring about a shift in cultural change about mental wellbeing within the community.

329 00:37:42.680 --> 00:37:43.780 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And…

330 00:37:44.630 --> 00:38:03.179 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: the first thing that they wanted to do was to develop a community hub or dedicated safe physical space. Well, that also aligns with the food assembly that also wanted to do something similar, and although we may have a food hub outside of Hay, we will

331 00:38:03.580 --> 00:38:08.330 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: hopefully end up with a building in Hay, which will serve our needs.

332 00:38:10.730 --> 00:38:25.069 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Now, this was one of the things I didn't expect, and that is that we should develop and promote a mental health first aid and basic listening skills training.

333 00:38:25.470 --> 00:38:33.860 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Now, this is not the same as a mental health first aid course run by the NHS.

334 00:38:33.860 --> 00:38:47.940 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Because that's accredited, nor is it a first aid course run by the NHS or accredited bodies, which then gives the individual who goes through that process an accreditation to practice.

335 00:38:48.040 --> 00:38:52.989 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: This is going to be something that we develop in order to

336 00:38:53.020 --> 00:39:11.829 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: enable us to have at least 50% of our community understanding how to handle and deal with a member of our family, or our neighbors, or anybody that they come across who appears to be mildly depressed, or

337 00:39:11.830 --> 00:39:19.510 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: mildly, anxious about the climate. So climate, showing signs of climate anxiety.

338 00:39:19.830 --> 00:39:28.900 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And, having discussed that with mental health practitioners before, We actually ran this.

339 00:39:29.070 --> 00:39:43.379 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: We thought that we hoped that the community would come up with, giving us an opportunity to be able to address mental well-being well before somebody needs help from the NHS.

340 00:39:43.380 --> 00:39:54.450 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And all the practitioners that I spoke with, one of whom actually triaged for mental health services in the whole of Paris.

341 00:39:54.450 --> 00:40:02.300 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Were really supportive of that possibility. So, we're going to go ahead and do that.

342 00:40:04.850 --> 00:40:15.170 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: That, again, is something that improving mapping, communication, and sharing resources, well, that hopefully will come together later on, and,

343 00:40:16.560 --> 00:40:28.560 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: fostering connection and inclusion through activities and resource sharing. I mean, effectively, the way that we're doing it now is growers will be supplying the online supermarket for food.

344 00:40:28.690 --> 00:40:47.530 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: That will mean that members of our community will be invited to their farms for, events and meals. We will put on events and meals in the town, so the whole, of our community involved in the Resilience Initiative will be,

345 00:40:47.530 --> 00:40:57.059 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: actually, communicating with each other and sharing, and helping, sharing resources, fostering connection and inclusion.

346 00:40:57.330 --> 00:40:59.690 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And…

347 00:41:00.870 --> 00:41:13.550 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: The final one is to recognize and address structural barriers, inclusion, poverty, and access. Now, that has to be built in how we subsidize food, and how we deliver it, and how we subsidize energy, and how we deliver it.

348 00:41:14.380 --> 00:41:17.429 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So, we've ended up with,

349 00:41:17.620 --> 00:41:25.169 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Effectively launching the three pillars, and the overall objective for each of them are as follows.

350 00:41:36.920 --> 00:41:46.869 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So that's, effectively what we're… what we've, set out to do, and we've been given a mandate to do that by our community.

351 00:41:48.080 --> 00:41:58.850 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So, on the food pillar, there are five, action… addressing those five action points that, that, I, I, I put up.

352 00:41:58.850 --> 00:42:13.789 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Previously. So, the immediate action of the food pillar was to inspire an evening food market, which actually, unfortunately, we've lost, because we've lost the location in which it was, held.

353 00:42:13.790 --> 00:42:22.890 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: But anyway, that was one of the first things that the food pillar, that the food assembly people organized, and they organized that themselves.

354 00:42:23.320 --> 00:42:27.099 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And, a working relationship.

355 00:42:27.320 --> 00:42:42.989 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: has been established, with Cultivate and the South Paris Food Partnership in order to get our, food, hub and our new supermarket, up and running.

356 00:42:45.610 --> 00:42:58.169 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: wider collaboration with aligned organizations is underway. We're always talking to more people, and more people get involved in the initiative.

357 00:42:58.610 --> 00:43:04.790 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: The business plan is under development, not just for the food pillar, but actually for the entire initiative.

358 00:43:08.880 --> 00:43:11.620 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And, funding. Well.

359 00:43:12.160 --> 00:43:22.770 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: because we… we… we got in touch with CAT again in order to take up this, fund… potential funding opportunity,

360 00:43:22.910 --> 00:43:39.660 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: that opportunity is actually designed to help us optimize our marketing strategy, and to work on increasing demand for local food. And so, that is a win for us all.

361 00:43:39.790 --> 00:43:43.840 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Now, the… here's the energy list.

362 00:43:45.620 --> 00:43:54.719 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: We found somebody in, at our assembly who was an expert, he's joined the board, and I've already spoken about him, and that's fantastic.

363 00:43:57.110 --> 00:44:02.780 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: We've now got our own Director on Community Energy Wales Board of Directors.

364 00:44:02.970 --> 00:44:13.900 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: We started the process of identification of energy generation sites, and there is more to do.

365 00:44:16.750 --> 00:44:20.719 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: this is… this is a minefield.

366 00:44:20.830 --> 00:44:40.819 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: But because we have access to so many people who really have either done it or know what they're talking about doing it, we are in a position to be able to navigate our way through this minefield. And we're not going to go through the normal route. We're going to hit this sideways, and I'm not going to explain it to you all.

367 00:44:40.820 --> 00:44:47.590 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Because it's way too complicated, and I haven't even got my head around it yet. But that's what's going to happen.

368 00:44:49.990 --> 00:44:59.649 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: When we have got that far, then we will start, going into the community again with what we call the Community Spirit Campaign.

369 00:44:59.750 --> 00:45:17.950 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Actually, at the Assembly, they were talking about a love bombing campaign. We decided that that wasn't language we wanted to use, so we changed the language. And, we will be spending a lot of time winning over an even greater proportion of our citizenry, particularly for energy.

370 00:45:18.160 --> 00:45:32.069 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: But this gives you, this next slide gives you an idea of what we're doing in the way of social media, softening up, basically. So we've put this out, on social media.

371 00:45:32.400 --> 00:45:34.490 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Followed by this.

372 00:45:40.700 --> 00:45:43.120 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And finally, this.

373 00:45:44.850 --> 00:45:56.820 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So we're emphasizing that we're keeping wealth, jobs, and profit in hay by, building, running, and owning our own community energy, initiative.

374 00:45:57.890 --> 00:46:04.589 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So, getting back again to the objectives and action points in that assembly,

375 00:46:06.770 --> 00:46:13.940 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: That is what we want to achieve in mental well-being training in the community.

376 00:46:19.500 --> 00:46:24.109 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And that's basically it. So, thank you very much.

377 00:46:24.400 --> 00:46:28.889 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And I'll try and see if I can stop this presentation, and…

378 00:46:29.870 --> 00:46:34.180 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Stop sharing. Unfortunately, stop sharing seems to be on a…

379 00:46:36.200 --> 00:46:37.450 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: Hold on, hold on.

380 00:46:37.670 --> 00:46:38.610 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: We're that?

381 00:46:38.790 --> 00:46:40.280 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: Mike?

382 00:46:41.300 --> 00:46:47.669 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Sorry, I rushed through that, and I've still taken half the time, or slightly more of it, and

383 00:46:47.890 --> 00:46:51.250 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: But I hope it does give you an overview of,

384 00:46:51.420 --> 00:46:58.120 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: What we've done since we last spoke, and it's been… Haptic.

385 00:46:58.240 --> 00:47:04.120 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: You know, nail-biting, exhausting,

386 00:47:04.210 --> 00:47:11.439 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And even though I've got, more, another person on board.

387 00:47:11.440 --> 00:47:30.260 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: It seems as though, you know, the reality of the situation is we're running five, what is it, 4 different organizations. We're setting up three businesses, and food, well-being, and energy, but we're also setting up another business which owns all of that in the town, and we have to set up everything to make all that happen.

388 00:47:30.320 --> 00:47:33.050 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And…

389 00:47:33.220 --> 00:47:50.540 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: I didn't even look at any of the details of the stuff that we've achieved this year. I just plodded on trying to get the next thing done and the next thing done, because I didn't think I'd get anywhere if I didn't have that approach.

390 00:47:51.190 --> 00:48:01.589 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And the net result of that is there was never any website, there was never any communication to the outside world until we ran our first assembly.

391 00:48:01.650 --> 00:48:20.299 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And then there had to be a whole pile of people who had to get on board in order to be able to get the support that we needed to get the funding that we needed to get the rest off the ground. So, that's basically what we've managed to achieve, but it's an ongoing process. I mean, we run out of funding again.

392 00:48:20.360 --> 00:48:36.200 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: in February next year. So by February next year, we have to have got enough funding to be able to make this more significant. The National Lottery wants us to make an even bigger application

393 00:48:36.350 --> 00:48:53.630 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And it'll be a five-year application. But in order to put that together, we've got a lot of pre-work to do in business planning and so on and so forth, and deciding exactly what it is that we need the money for over those periods of years. So there's a lot of work.

394 00:48:53.630 --> 00:49:00.929 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: To do before we go for that. And in between times, we have to find other sources of funding. So…

395 00:49:01.120 --> 00:49:17.880 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: I spend my time promoting what we're doing and finding, funding opportunities. And Helen spends her time doing everything else, pretty much. And that's how we've worked together. And, we get on extremely well.

396 00:49:18.260 --> 00:49:26.719 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And she is, quite, quite an amazing person. So, I'm really, really glad that we've…

397 00:49:26.810 --> 00:49:42.059 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: got her on board. And we're shortly going to be having somebody from Cultivate come and join us, so… so that means we will have 5 days of paid work a week, and, myself working

398 00:49:42.200 --> 00:49:44.300 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: All those days and nights.

399 00:49:44.590 --> 00:49:48.259 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: I've been on this for four and a half years now.

400 00:49:48.370 --> 00:49:54.569 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: But it's off the ground. It is gonna happen. And, so as far as I'm concerned.

401 00:49:54.710 --> 00:49:59.460 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: It's not a done deal, but I'm a lot further forward than I was when I spoke with you last.

402 00:50:00.480 --> 00:50:18.920 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: Well, Mike, thank you. I think that the… your session 34 was the, announcement of an idea that I thought was really going to incentivize people. I thought it was very exciting, I thought it was very community-based, and I thought that was certainly the way to go, rather than

403 00:50:18.920 --> 00:50:23.539 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: Top down, how delightful to find somebody who's going from the bottom up.

404 00:50:23.630 --> 00:50:32.680 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: And it's been really tremendous to see how that idea has fostered what you've grown into now with, you know, businesses and business plans and so forth.

405 00:50:32.700 --> 00:50:44.940 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: There are a couple of questions that I'd like to start the ball rolling with, if I may, because I was slightly puzzled. You said that the early funding that you found enabled you to run

406 00:50:45.260 --> 00:50:47.150 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: The three assemblies.

407 00:50:47.510 --> 00:50:53.879 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: And my question is, what is the cost of those assemblies? What is it you're funding there?

408 00:50:53.880 --> 00:50:59.540 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Right, okay. An assembly costs us just under £2,000 to run.

409 00:51:00.200 --> 00:51:06.970 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And, that's made up of marketing, hire of Hall.

410 00:51:07.180 --> 00:51:11.790 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: the cost of tea,

411 00:51:12.180 --> 00:51:18.780 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: oh gosh, I can't remember what the entire budget of, but when you go through it all,

412 00:51:18.780 --> 00:51:20.939 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: It, it… It adds up.

413 00:51:20.940 --> 00:51:26.929 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: comes to that amount of money. And, initially, the Welsh Government didn't want us to.

414 00:51:27.590 --> 00:51:31.610 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: use leaflets. They wanted us to do it all by social media.

415 00:51:31.980 --> 00:51:51.039 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: But we have an aging population in Hay, and we got the results through the leaflets that we developed, and leaflets are more expensive. You have to… you have to pay for them, and you have to pay for them to be delivered, and so on and so forth. So… so… so… but basically.

416 00:51:51.120 --> 00:51:57.079 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: we can keep the cost of running an assembly to slightly below £2,000.

417 00:51:57.350 --> 00:51:58.160 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Each.

418 00:51:58.550 --> 00:52:07.950 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: Okay, thank you. And a question that comes from that is, you noticed in the couple of the first assemblys, you had so many people showed up, and then you had waiting lists.

419 00:52:08.350 --> 00:52:12.839 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: And I wasn't sure why they hadn't shown up. Why are they on a waiting list?

420 00:52:12.840 --> 00:52:18.090 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Because we couldn't fit them in the room. We had a hundred…

421 00:52:18.090 --> 00:52:18.520 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: Yeah.

422 00:52:18.520 --> 00:52:32.509 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: We had 109 people in the room. There were 10 facilitators, 10 note-takers, and 9 staff, that's, you know, PA person and, film crew, and, and front of house, and so on and so forth.

423 00:52:32.510 --> 00:52:44.030 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And, which meant that we could only fit 80 people in… into the room. Actually, we put in 84, and we had slightly over 109 people.

424 00:52:44.030 --> 00:52:55.560 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Which we probably shouldn't have done at the first one, but… but at the second, we didn't have that problem. And of course, the other thing is that those people who were on the waiting list were also on our

425 00:52:56.100 --> 00:53:02.710 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: email list, so we could get them involved, that way. And,

426 00:53:02.890 --> 00:53:05.509 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: That's the way that happened. Frank.

427 00:53:06.500 --> 00:53:08.609 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Oh, sorry, Graham, have you got more to add?

428 00:53:08.610 --> 00:53:13.570 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: No, well, I do have more, but I think you're absolutely right to get other people involved, so please do.

429 00:53:13.730 --> 00:53:14.890 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: I was really frank.

430 00:53:14.890 --> 00:53:29.650 frank deas, Killearn: Okay, thanks very much. In the well-being, I'm really interested to see the well-being model. That's one of the things that I see as being part of sustainability, and we try and run it in Killerne, and it's a key aspect, and we use, I think it's Belfast's five-step model of well-being.

431 00:53:30.320 --> 00:53:47.269 frank deas, Killearn: because I've just managed all this optimism or naivety, I really want to see us use it to try and get some of our local TP practices to do social prescribing, so that people will actually get involved and volunteer. If you look at the steps of well-being, of connect, be active, give.

432 00:53:47.270 --> 00:53:59.879 frank deas, Killearn: be aware, and so on. All those things people get when they volunteer and take part in climate action in their local communities, so we can get that virtuous circle. Have you had any success in that, or is that something you've been thinking about?

433 00:54:00.410 --> 00:54:15.979 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Well, yes, I mean, if we were, we would begin with our existing volunteers, and at the first assembly, I think 61 people filled in a form

434 00:54:16.230 --> 00:54:34.230 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: offering various skills, that they had available. And, so we're in touch with those, and each of the assemblies have done a similar sort of thing. So we would start with, our volunteers, and,

435 00:54:34.590 --> 00:54:47.149 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: But before we do that, we need to get to the professionals in order to be able to create whatever it is that we're trying to teach the volunteers so that they engage with the community.

436 00:54:47.150 --> 00:54:57.779 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And we want to teach them to teach others, how to do this, or a group of them, at least. So that, I mean, my…

437 00:54:57.780 --> 00:55:11.199 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: My ambitious target is that half of our community should know how to handle a situation when they come across somebody who looks or feels mildly depressed or suffering from climate anxiety.

438 00:55:11.240 --> 00:55:16.900 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Initially, anyway. That's… That's, our intention.

439 00:55:18.610 --> 00:55:21.120 frank deas, Killearn: That's great. It is… I think I…

440 00:55:21.140 --> 00:55:33.590 frank deas, Killearn: I'm still trying to work… I mean, I think that's a very admirable thing to do, and I think you're absolutely right if your volunteers can do it, because they'll have the outreach within their own social networks, but I'm also trying to see if I can get the actual doctor practices

441 00:55:33.590 --> 00:55:52.799 frank deas, Killearn: to take on board what we're doing in terms of climate action, and what we can offer people in terms of volunteering and engagement, so that if someone turns up in the doctor's surgery saying, I feel down, I don't know what I'm doing, they can then recommend to them that they get involved in South and Southern Climate Action Network, because that's a good thing.

442 00:55:52.800 --> 00:56:00.890 frank deas, Killearn: or get involved in one of our local cycle groups, or get involved. There's a range of community activities, and I don't think NHS has taken that on board.

443 00:56:01.050 --> 00:56:05.980 frank deas, Killearn: To actually see, rather than… than… Drugs or placebos.

444 00:56:05.980 --> 00:56:09.009 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Yeah. Reconnect with your community and get more involved.

445 00:56:09.450 --> 00:56:20.070 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Well, that's an absolutely brilliant idea. I don't think we thought of it that way, but now that you've told me about it, we will.

446 00:56:20.070 --> 00:56:21.190 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: Wonderful.

447 00:56:21.990 --> 00:56:23.290 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Okay, Sue.

448 00:56:25.070 --> 00:56:31.520 Sue Burton Battle East Sussex: Yep, thank you. So, a couple of points, questions. So,

449 00:56:32.050 --> 00:56:43.289 Sue Burton Battle East Sussex: as somebody who's sort of full-on with what I'm doing at the moment, town council, district, supporting community groups,

450 00:56:43.290 --> 00:56:56.870 Sue Burton Battle East Sussex: I can't do the initiating, but what I do in sessions like, look, like this is, look, how can I bring that back to the structure that we have in my area? What new idea might help?

451 00:56:57.100 --> 00:57:05.659 Sue Burton Battle East Sussex: So, two points was really so that we've started an initiative in battle, which is called Battle Solar Town.

452 00:57:05.990 --> 00:57:21.260 Sue Burton Battle East Sussex: Which is the… the goal is that 25% of the energy used in battle will be produced by solar in battle. That is the goal of the… of that organization.

453 00:57:21.950 --> 00:57:29.219 Sue Burton Battle East Sussex: And, it started at 2%, so we've got a long way to go.

454 00:57:29.230 --> 00:57:39.049 Sue Burton Battle East Sussex: But, moving with both, trying… working with a community energy company, but also trying to stimulate individuals

455 00:57:39.050 --> 00:58:02.669 Sue Burton Battle East Sussex: to, put solar on their routes by information, etc. So I suppose that is sort of the solution, whereas where, Mike, you started, is what do the community want? What would they engage in? And I see that there would be lots to learn, especially if we… we can't move forward

456 00:58:02.830 --> 00:58:13.240 Sue Burton Battle East Sussex: quickly enough, really, so I just wondered if you thought that was, sort of a… not negative, but, you know, if we're missing a shot there.

457 00:58:13.420 --> 00:58:17.000 Sue Burton Battle East Sussex: Do you think, just your comments, really?

458 00:58:17.000 --> 00:58:26.709 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Yeah, well, I think it was the Community Energy Network, which is throughout the UK,

459 00:58:27.040 --> 00:58:41.850 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: announced an opportunity for whoever was working in energy to have a mentor. And, I got a mentor who has actually set up

460 00:58:42.110 --> 00:58:47.879 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: I think over 12 community energy roof solar,

461 00:58:48.450 --> 00:58:55.560 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: initiatives, in small communities of groups of streets in London.

462 00:58:56.470 --> 00:59:01.869 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And, if you email me, and…

463 00:59:02.390 --> 00:59:20.539 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: What I can do is I can talk to her and get her to give me the name of whoever might be the right person for you to talk to about replicating what they've already done, because if they've already done it, it gives you a pathway, and it makes it a lot easier for you to do it. Would that work?

464 00:59:21.140 --> 00:59:35.820 Sue Burton Battle East Sussex: Yeah, I think so. Yeah, like I say, I'm sort of one end of this, trying to support the community group. You could put your email address in the chat, that would be helpful, but… and we do, we have actually had two lots of money now.

465 00:59:35.820 --> 00:59:43.590 Sue Burton Battle East Sussex: We meaning, anyway, that's so… sort of pushing forward with the project.

466 00:59:43.590 --> 00:59:53.900 Sue Burton Battle East Sussex: And the other bit I wanted to ask you about, thank you for that, Mike, was about, the well-being and people

467 00:59:54.200 --> 01:00:03.839 Sue Burton Battle East Sussex: you mentioned about climate anxiety, and I was concerned that people can be… have wellbeing issues.

468 01:00:04.260 --> 01:00:18.379 Sue Burton Battle East Sussex: not necessarily to… related to climate, and how do you say, well, we will, or we'll talk to you about that, but we won't talk to you, we won't support you in that? I just wondered if that was an area of concern.

469 01:00:18.380 --> 01:00:20.750 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: No, absolutely not.

470 01:00:21.960 --> 01:00:25.880 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: To us, it doesn't matter why they're feeling depressed.

471 01:00:26.870 --> 01:00:27.480 Sue Burton Battle East Sussex: Hmm.

472 01:00:27.480 --> 01:00:36.050 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: What matters is that we identify that there is a growing number of people who are suffering from what's called climate anxiety, and they tend to be younger people.

473 01:00:36.280 --> 01:00:44.810 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And, this, this we know to exist, there's been research done on it, and it is growing fairly rapidly.

474 01:00:44.920 --> 01:00:58.729 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: As far as being mildly depressed, well, I think there's a fairly big surge on that. I mean, for example, if you were to go to your doctor at the moment.

475 01:00:58.730 --> 01:01:06.169 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: There's two options for the doctor. One is to give you pills, and the other one is to put you on a waiting list to see a psychologist.

476 01:01:06.170 --> 01:01:13.979 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Now, if you get put on the waiting list to see a psychologist, it will take you a minimum of one and a quarter years to get to see them.

477 01:01:13.980 --> 01:01:20.809 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: By which time, your circumstances would have changed, and it may not be the appropriate place for you to be at that time.

478 01:01:20.810 --> 01:01:37.290 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So what we want to do is we want to see if we can find something which we can do in the community. And, you know, one of the best ways of dealing with somebody in the street, you know, I mean, we all walk down our streets, and we all recognize people, and some of us have got more…

479 01:01:37.320 --> 01:01:39.959 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Community communication than others, but…

480 01:01:40.020 --> 01:01:48.400 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: But if you see somebody who is obviously feeling a bit down, you'd normally say, hello, how are you? And they'd say, oh, wonderful, and you'd know they weren't.

481 01:01:49.530 --> 01:01:59.120 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And under those circumstances, the best thing to do is, I was thinking about you the other day, I wonder if you could help me with something?

482 01:02:00.030 --> 01:02:18.020 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And then what you do is you direct them to whatever activity it is that you can find to get them involved in the community in a voluntary basis, in order to be part of this resilience initiative, or whatever else is going on in the community. That's the way I would approach it.

483 01:02:18.200 --> 01:02:22.200 Sue Burton Battle East Sussex: Yeah, yeah, that's good. So I thought, lovely. Thank you, Mike.

484 01:02:22.740 --> 01:02:23.590 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Frank.

485 01:02:25.870 --> 01:02:26.540 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: God, yo.

486 01:02:26.540 --> 01:02:29.410 frank deas, Killearn: But, on the energy one.

487 01:02:29.760 --> 01:02:36.590 frank deas, Killearn: It's probably, again, you gave us a tremendous overview across a very wide area, so I appreciate you had a chance to go into the same level of detail, but

488 01:02:36.670 --> 01:02:48.310 frank deas, Killearn: you're looking quite strongly at energy renewables and generating enough local energy for the community. Is the situation in England, certainly in Scotland at the moment, we can't sell

489 01:02:48.380 --> 01:02:57.850 frank deas, Killearn: directly to our communities, it's got to go through one of the electricity providers, and I think England's got that as well, or have you managed to navigate a way around that?

490 01:02:58.220 --> 01:03:13.599 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Well, there is a way if you use wind power, to have it directly support an institution in your locality, but to be honest, I don't think we've got an institution big enough that would take it long.

491 01:03:13.930 --> 01:03:23.400 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So, the vast majority of it would go to, the grid, and,

492 01:03:23.780 --> 01:03:31.539 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: there is a way of getting different levels of tariffs to being paid by the grid, which is the minefield that I was talking.

493 01:03:31.540 --> 01:03:32.080 frank deas, Killearn: Hmm.

494 01:03:32.080 --> 01:03:35.640 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: which, frankly, I haven't got my head around yet. But…

495 01:03:35.640 --> 01:03:53.239 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: If you do it sideways on, then you can get a better rate from the grid, and if you get a better rate from the grid, you can make more profit. And if you get more profit, then you can use that profit in a wealth fund to redistribute wealth within your community, so…

496 01:03:53.240 --> 01:03:56.709 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So that's our approach, but we're stuck in the same situation.

497 01:03:56.710 --> 01:03:59.339 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Now, if everything breaks down.

498 01:03:59.960 --> 01:04:14.129 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: which is not beyond the means of possibility, if everything breaks down, the mere fact that we are generating energy means that we can rewire it directly into the term if we wanted to. And that's the resilience part of it.

499 01:04:14.870 --> 01:04:28.390 frank deas, Killearn: The other thing, and again, it's probably happening, but you didn't have time to come to the slides, we're trying to do it from both ends, so there's looking at how we can generate locally, but also looking at retrofit to try and see how we can actually reduce the energy demand.

500 01:04:28.410 --> 01:04:48.150 frank deas, Killearn: Because, you know, we're collecting rural villages, lots of them are very old, lots of them are not particularly energy efficient, and rather… I mean, it's great that increasing planning constraints come out saying you've got to be this and this and this for building new houses, but 80% of our housing stock's already out there, and we've got to try and find ways of reducing its energy waste.

501 01:04:48.440 --> 01:04:56.480 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Yes, well, I mean, that's a big thing, but there are grants available, and I haven't looked at them for a while.

502 01:04:56.610 --> 01:05:03.070 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: But I do know people who have put,

503 01:05:03.750 --> 01:05:13.999 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Have been able to get grants for insulation and so on and so forth, in conjunction with putting solar panels on their roofs.

504 01:05:14.000 --> 01:05:27.749 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And so, you'd need… I mean, I don't know what the situation is in Wales, but some of these, I think, are actually government initiatives, not just regional government initiatives.

505 01:05:27.750 --> 01:05:50.199 frank deas, Killearn: I think that's right. I think what we've suffered from, certainly up in Scotland, is a series of silver bullet solutions from government. So, everyone should do cavity wall insulation. That's the answer. Then everyone should do loft installation, that's the answer. Then everyone should do condensing boilers. The current one is everyone should have air source heat pumps. And all these are good technologies, if they're well-fitted, and if they're part of a holistic approach.

506 01:05:50.200 --> 01:05:52.810 frank deas, Killearn: But if you don't have a fabric-first approach.

507 01:05:52.810 --> 01:06:01.380 frank deas, Killearn: single solutions aren't going to save money, and they aren't going to deliver the benefits. So it's trying to argue with government that it needs to be more holistic in its thinking.

508 01:06:01.840 --> 01:06:05.759 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Yeah, I would absolutely agree with that.

509 01:06:05.760 --> 01:06:27.719 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: But my feeling is that we probably wouldn't get into… involved in an initiative for insulation until we had funding and had a wealth fund in order to be able to at least pay towards it. Because otherwise it's, you know, we'll divert ourselves to an individual rather than doing something for an entire community.

510 01:06:30.850 --> 01:06:31.810 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Stuart.

511 01:06:33.050 --> 01:06:49.179 Cllr.Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow TC, Essex: Hi, thanks. I appreciate we're running out of time, but I would like to sort of congratulate you on an amazing effort. It sounds as though you've got more than a full-time job on your hands, just running the resilience organization.

512 01:06:49.780 --> 01:06:53.689 Cllr.Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow TC, Essex: But just to ask one question.

513 01:06:53.960 --> 01:06:56.570 Cllr.Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow TC, Essex: How did you get so much community involvement?

514 01:06:56.710 --> 01:07:09.939 Cllr.Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow TC, Essex: I mean, to get 10% of your population involved and volunteering and interacting is, from my point of view, actually quite amazing. Do you have any tips on how to do it?

515 01:07:09.940 --> 01:07:22.150 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Yeah, I sent Graeme a document, which I'm sure I'll improve, last night, which was how to replicate the Hay Resilience Initiative, and it's a PDF, and hopefully it'll be

516 01:07:22.150 --> 01:07:36.170 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: up in the knowledge base. And if you download that, you can… it tells you how we did that. Basically, we did it by using intrinsic

517 01:07:36.940 --> 01:07:49.950 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Motivation and intrinsic open sentences, in our copy. So we appeal to people emotionally.

518 01:07:50.160 --> 01:07:54.459 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And that's the reason why we got Brexit, because…

519 01:07:54.590 --> 01:08:10.490 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: You appeal to a part of the brain which doesn't have the ability to speak or think, it just feels. And if you can find a way of communicating with that, you will get people to come to your event.

520 01:08:10.610 --> 01:08:13.720 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: But… but we already knew

521 01:08:14.040 --> 01:08:30.200 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: you know, when I… I spoke to over 150 people, and every single one of them was concerned about climate change, and that nothing was happening, and that the national governments didn't seem to be doing enough, and they weren't being asked to do anything, and what the hell was going on?

522 01:08:30.200 --> 01:08:39.469 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: how were we going to deal with this? So there was a… there's an anxiety, even among those people that I spoke to about the future. A mild one, I'd say, because it seems far away.

523 01:08:39.710 --> 01:08:47.000 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: And that led me to believe that if you vocalize that to them.

524 01:08:47.229 --> 01:08:54.330 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: then, they would respond, and it appears that that is what happened.

525 01:08:55.930 --> 01:08:58.309 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Anyway, download that PDF and have a look.

526 01:08:58.319 --> 01:09:01.299 Cllr.Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow TC, Essex: Okay, I'll work. Anyway, congratulations.

527 01:09:01.300 --> 01:09:02.020 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Thank you, that's very kind.

528 01:09:02.020 --> 01:09:03.290 Cllr.Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow TC, Essex: Excellent effort.

529 01:09:05.270 --> 01:09:06.029 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Graham.

530 01:09:06.140 --> 01:09:08.520 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: You're on silent. Sorry.

531 01:09:09.500 --> 01:09:15.690 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: I'm just… Sorry, I just, wanted to cover up on a couple of points,

532 01:09:16.100 --> 01:09:27.689 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: the first to Stuarted that I will put that document up in the, knowledge base, but it's not there yet. Another for Sue to say that, I don't know if you'd noticed that I put an address in the chat for you.

533 01:09:27.850 --> 01:09:36.700 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: That, could be helpful. And lastly, for Frank, and for, I guess, everybody, really, the…

534 01:09:37.359 --> 01:09:50.049 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: but also particularly, Mike, for you in mapping. There is a very fast-moving operation in self-generated electricity, community-generated, that the rules are changing constantly, and

535 01:09:50.050 --> 01:10:03.969 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: The big issue, as you mentioned, is getting localized access to the grid for people producing energy, but there are lots of ways now of being explored of using locally generated electricity locally

536 01:10:04.170 --> 01:10:08.149 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: And not involving the… the…

537 01:10:09.450 --> 01:10:19.740 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: what I'm saying, not involving the grid, you are involving the grid, but you don't need to involve the grid manager to be able to do this. There are ways of linking up the local networks.

538 01:10:19.810 --> 01:10:31.689 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: to your solar community farm, or your wind turbine. So, the situation in your meeting is recognized, and there are lots of people working on getting around it.

539 01:10:31.890 --> 01:10:46.110 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: And this is for a question for Mike, really. One of the people that's deeply involved in this is the chairman of Parish Online, which is a mapping system, and I just wondered whether you are familiar with Parish Online as mapping?

540 01:10:46.110 --> 01:10:59.590 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: But they're deeply involved with climate action, and they're adjusting their product to be able, for instance, to say, pick out all the south-facing roofs in your community, so that you can know immediately which ones should have,

541 01:10:59.700 --> 01:11:03.320 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: sort of PV to their benefit, even if they don't at the moment.

542 01:11:03.560 --> 01:11:19.389 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Well, we are aware of some sort of, mapping process, because, the guy came along and has joined us in order to do that. He, Ben, he, he…

543 01:11:20.410 --> 01:11:27.209 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Came up with maps showing us exactly where we could, actually locate.

544 01:11:27.470 --> 01:11:30.670 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Wind turbines and solar.

545 01:11:30.700 --> 01:11:41.979 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: But we had to go and look at the rivers and streams ourselves, and in fact, none of them are suitable. The river Y would be suitable, but

546 01:11:41.980 --> 01:11:51.750 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: we never, ever get permission to do it. And we might waste an awful lot of time trying. But, you know, with one turbine…

547 01:11:51.790 --> 01:12:01.559 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: and, some solar arrays, we can actually match our… our, energy consumption. But I… I…

548 01:12:01.970 --> 01:12:14.250 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: I, so I am aware of a mapping thing, but not particularly of that, and I'll… I'll… if you could stick that into the chat, then I'll… I'll make sure I get it and follow it up.

549 01:12:16.040 --> 01:12:19.280 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So, I'm constantly learning here, it's…

550 01:12:19.280 --> 01:12:25.940 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: Well, I think that's the whole point of these things, and I love the way that people are talking of beginning to work together.

551 01:12:25.940 --> 01:12:40.380 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: Because that's the only way we're going to get things done, and doing it at the community level, which, of course is the whole basis of great collaboration. So, I'm delighted, and everyone says, we've got to work together, or we've got to expand our community size, or whatever, so fantastic stuff.

552 01:12:40.590 --> 01:12:42.439 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: So, over to Sue.

553 01:12:42.440 --> 01:12:53.550 Sue Burton Battle East Sussex: Yeah, just to come back on that, so, I'm also one that doesn't get the megabots, megawatts, and all that stuff, but, on our…

554 01:12:53.810 --> 01:13:08.809 Sue Burton Battle East Sussex: our Battle Solar Town website now, I think we now… the residents have access to put in an address, and then get the… the roof and all that, and I… we're working with a company… with a community

555 01:13:08.810 --> 01:13:15.959 Sue Burton Battle East Sussex: energy company, well, it's not company, not-for-profit, sold Energize Sussex Coast.

556 01:13:15.980 --> 01:13:29.090 Sue Burton Battle East Sussex: And they are the ones who facilitated the software, or to be able to do that, so that might be relevant. You can do a bit of research on both of those and get the names that I can't remember.

557 01:13:31.250 --> 01:13:31.840 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Great.

558 01:13:37.260 --> 01:13:42.290 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: So… Looks as though we've come to the end of, questions.

559 01:13:44.130 --> 01:13:50.019 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: Yeah, sorry, I was just putting your, requested address in the, chat.

560 01:13:50.380 --> 01:13:51.160 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Great, thank you.

561 01:13:51.740 --> 01:14:04.359 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: Mike, as expected, it was a fascinating and wide mind-opening experience. Thank you so much, and what I love also is the way you've set yourself up for a rematch next year.

562 01:14:04.360 --> 01:14:12.799 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: to see how you're doing after the February money's run out. Thank you very much, really appreciate it, and thank you all for joining us.

563 01:14:12.800 --> 01:14:15.559 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: Next week, we have an almost…

564 01:14:15.700 --> 01:14:31.900 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: extraordinarily unpronounceable, presentation by someone from Middlesex University, who's going to take… show us how we can get better integration by working together, across multiple dimensions. So, I thought that was too exciting to miss.

565 01:14:32.010 --> 01:14:37.080 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: Before I log off, there was a hand… oh, sorry, capping hands from…

566 01:14:37.120 --> 01:14:52.259 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration Overseas Dept: Frank, and presumably something from Sue. So, thank you. See you all next time, and Mike, thank you again for a very reassuring and up-spiriting type presentation. Well done. Thank you, Meg. Take care more. Bye-bye.

567 01:14:52.910 --> 01:14:53.500 Mike Eccles - HayResilience.org: Bye, then.

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Markdown copy of Mike's presentation for AI search engine:

Hay Community Resilience Initiative

Presentation 2 to the Great Collaboration – 1 October 2025

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Executive Summary

The Hay Community Resilience Initiative represents a grassroots, multi-disciplinary effort to make Hay-on-Wye self-sufficient and sustainable across three key areas:

• Local Food Systems

• Renewable Community Energy

• Mental Wellbeing & Social Cohesion

It is supported by Welsh Government funding, the Future Generations Office, and the National Lottery’s EGIN programme. The project connects local assemblies, working teams, and cooperatives under a shared purpose: “Driven by Kindness.”

1. Organisational Structure

Core Collaborative Teams

• Resilience Communication Team – central coordination and outreach.

• Hay Public Library CIC – civic hub for meetings, assemblies, and communication.

• Food, Energy, and Wellbeing Working Teams – thematic operational groups.

• Powys Facilitators Team – regional support and integration.

• Hay Resilience Cooperative – overarching coordination body linking assemblies.

Cross-Cutting Themes

• Sustainable Food & Drink

• Sustainable Land Use

• Renewable Energy

• Wealth Redistribution

• Hope, Purpose, Belonging

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2. The Food Assembly — January 2024

Objective

To support Hay-on-Wye in becoming as self-sufficient as possible in sustainably-grown local food.

• Attendees: 80+ (40 on waiting list)

• Funded by: Extinction Rebellion & Welsh Government

Key Action Areas

Code	Action Description
A1	Create a central hub for sharing information
A2	Promote awareness and local demand
A3	Remove barriers to land access
A4	Support growers through infrastructure and funds
	Expand community gardens and public food spaces Outcomes & Next Steps Evening market pilot project in Hay. Collaboration with Cultivate, South Powys Food Partnership, and Bwyd Powys Food. Business plan and funding proposals underway. Strategic goal: creation of a Food Hub / Community Supermarket.

3. The Energy Assembly — January 2025

Objective

To achieve community ownership and self-sufficiency in renewable energy.

• Attendees: 70

• Funded by: Welsh Government

Action Framework

Code
A1	Clear and positive communication campaign
A2	Map community assets and needs
A3	Collaborate with stakeholders
A4	Engage youth and schools
	A5 Develop educational and practical tools Outcomes & Progress Community Energy Wales engaged (Hay representative on Board). Local expert appointed to advise on site identification and strategy. Ongoing work to overcome regulatory and logistical barriers. Community Spirit Campaign in development to grow public participation.

4. The Wellbeing Assembly — May 2025

Objective

To foster a culture-shift around mental wellbeing across the community.

• Attendees: 51

• Funded by: EGIN (National Lottery)

Action Framework

A1	Develop a community hub or safe space
A2	Train residents in Mental Health First Aid and listening skills
A3	Improve communication and resource mapping
A4	Build inclusion through shared activities
	Address poverty and accessibility barriers Planned Activities Delivery of mental health and communication training. Integration of Wellbeing Hub within shared community space (aligned with Food & Energy initiatives).

5. Regional and National Partnerships

2024 Support Network

• Derek Walker — Commissioner for Future Generations (Wales)

• Marie Brousseau-Navarro — Deputy Commissioner & Director of Health

• Jane Davidson — Architect of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act (2015) and lead of Wales Net Zero 2035

These partnerships provide national visibility, legitimacy, and access to funding pathways.

6. Strategic Alignment

		Lead Partner	Primary Funding Source
Food	Sustainable local production and distribution	Cultivate / Food Partnership	Welsh Gov / ER
Energy	Community-owned renewable generation	Community Energy Wales	Welsh Gov
Wellbeing	Inclusive, connected, and mentally healthy community	EGIN / Local NGOs	National Lottery

7. Future Priorities (2025–2026)

1. Establish a shared community hub combining food, wellbeing, and energy coordination.

2. Expand engagement campaigns to increase citizen participation.

3. Secure sustained multi-year funding to maintain operations and infrastructure.

4. Formalise governance structures within the Hay Resilience Cooperative.

5. Monitor progress against self-sufficiency and wellbeing metrics.

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8. Foundational Principles

Driven by Kindness

Hope, Purpose, and Belonging are the foundation of a resilient Hay-on-Wye.