Banter 91: 15Oct25 Community Sustainability Hub, with Parisa Wright

Parisa Wright, founder of Community Sustainability Charity Greener and Cleaner, presented a case study on their work creating community hubs focused on sustainability and social connections.

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This is the video of the whole session. It includes its own video clip, which is published separately below for your convenience. Parisa is very happy to be contacted at [email protected]

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Video Clip: This is the video clip that was built into the recording, placed here separately for your convenience

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Presentation:

67MB

GCB-251015-Greener and Cleaner Community Hub Model & CSSN - Presentation.pptx

You are welcome to download this presentation. A markdown copy is available at the bottom of the page to help the AI search engine analyse and index the contents

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Meeting Summary:

Quick recap

Parisa Wright, founder of Community Sustainability Charity Greener and Cleaner, presented a case study on their work creating community hubs focused on sustainability and social connection. Parisa detailed their successful pilot project in a vacant shopping center, which has evolved into a bustling community hub hosting regular events and attracting thousands of visitors annually through various sustainability-focused activities. The discussion concluded with Parisa sharing her experience managing community spaces, addressing challenges of scaling projects in rural areas, and exploring strategies for securing funding and volunteers, while participants shared their interest in adapting similar approaches for their own communities.

Next steps

• Interested participants to email Parisa at [email protected] for more information about the Community Sustainability Hub model.

• Interested participants to contact Parisa if they want to be kept in the loop about the blueprinting work, one-to-one sessions, or the Community Sustainability Support Network for England.

• Linda to connect with Parisa on LinkedIn to discuss the emotional aspects of climate work and the Inner Climate Response Alliance .

• Community groups and charities to consider joining the Community Sustainability Support Network for England when it launches in January.

• Parish councils and community groups to explore funding options through carbon reduction budgets or waste management budgets for community sustainability initiatives.

• Participants to consider referring community groups and charities working in sustainability to Parisa for potential support and resources.

Summary

Community Sustainability Pilot Project

Parisa Wright, founder and Chief Partnerships Officer at Community Sustainability Charity Greener and Cleaner, presented a case study on their work over the past three and a half years. She explained how the charity empowers local communities to create positive changes by focusing on accessible and relatable concepts like life skills and community building, rather than technical terms like sustainability. The presentation highlighted a pilot project in a vacant shopping center unit, with plans to expand to more central community locations such as post offices, town halls, or libraries.

Community Sustainability Hub Overview

Parisa presented the Community Sustainability Hub, a welcoming space that hosts 10-15 events weekly and receives 10,000 visitors annually. The hub, which started as a community group, has grown into a charity offering various sustainability-focused activities and support services, including energy efficiency clinics, repair cafes, and skill-sharing workshops. Parisa emphasized the hub's role in addressing community needs, such as loneliness, employability, and cost of living issues, while fostering intergenerational and intercultural connections. The organization aims to create a blueprint for other communities to replicate and is currently piloting a support service for micro-sized businesses in South London.

Community Sustainability Hub Overview

Parisa presented an overview of their community hub's activities, including equipment lending, skill-sharing programs, and regular events like repair cafes and energy clinics. She highlighted their success in reducing energy use and promoting sustainable practices among community members. Parisa also discussed their new initiatives, including blueprinting work to share their model with other communities, one-to-one consulting sessions, and the launch of a new Community Sustainability Support Network for England in January.

Community Hub Scaling Strategies

Parisa shared her experience of starting a community hub in Ely, which began as a Facebook group in March 2019 and grew to involve thousands of people and 70 volunteers. She emphasized the importance of having regular, paid staff to manage the space and suggested starting with existing community initiatives like repair cafes or community gardens. Peter raised concerns about scaling such a project to a smaller, rural area like Ely, where the challenge would be engaging enough volunteers. Parisa advised focusing on waste reduction and nature-based projects, which are generally more accessible and non-controversial, and suggested seeking funding from local councils' carbon reduction or waste management budgets.

Community Space Management Strategies

Parisa and Peter discussed the challenges of running a community space, particularly in a smaller area with limited resources. Parisa shared her experience of managing a community hub, highlighting the importance of having paid staff to run the space and organize activities, even when volunteer numbers are low. They explored various strategies for making the space welcoming and useful, including offering basic crafts and collaborating with other community groups. Peter raised concerns about the difficulty of securing funding and volunteers in a smaller area, and Parisa suggested considering creative solutions like offering tailored volunteering opportunities for people seeking to build skills or gain UK experience.

Community-Driven Sustainability Initiatives

Parisa shared her experience running a community hub that combines environmental sustainability with community building, noting that people are more likely to engage when issues are framed as non-controversial like nature and waste management. She discussed how the project has successfully attracted volunteers and built community resilience through skills training and collaborative projects. Linda from the Climate Psychology Alliance expressed interest in Parisa's work and discussed the importance of addressing emotional aspects of climate change, while Gillian, a parish councillor from Duxford, sought advice on adapting similar approaches for her smaller community.

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Chat:

00:21:28 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: Can you put the email into the chat

00:21:34 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration, Isle of Wight: Parisa's email address: [email protected]

00:39:23 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: Can you opur your phone no in the chat

00:40:01 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration, Isle of Wight: 07811 117523 phone nor for Parisa 0

0:41:20 Allan Wilson Edgmond PC Shropshire: How many volunteers do you have to assist with your work

00:44:05 Gillian Heath: …and how many paid staff please?

00:46:22 Allan Wilson Edgmond PC Shropshire: I liked your community library cupboards, were they DIY design with volunteers?

00:51:47 Gillian Heath: Is there a cafe/ tea/ coffee available?

00:55:50 David Morgan-Jones Ewshot PC: Many thanks - fascinating presentation. 0

0:56:09 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: @Linda Aspey, Climate Psychology Alliance Can you let be have more info about your organisation? [email protected] 0

0:57:12 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: @Parisa Wright Can we have your slides

00:57:34 Julia Ewans -Woolpit: Sorry folks - I have to leave the meeting too.

00:58:42 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: @Parisa Wright can you let me have a link to the research on lack trust with public authorities

01:04:51 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration, Isle of Wight: Peter, all the video, presentation, chat links and comments become available soon after the presentation on our Knowledgebase: https://wiki.greatcollaboration.uk/knowledgebase/events/banter-sessions-inc-table-of-all-sessions/

01:06:53 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: WE are working with the Climate Majority Network to run the Ely SAFER Initiative

01:07:36 Linda Aspey, Climate Psychology Alliance: Reacted to "WE are working with ..." with ❤️

01:07:36 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: “Strategic Adaptation for Emergency Resilience” (SAFER).

01:08:20 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: See https://actionnetwork.org/forms/interested-in-ely-safer-initiative?source=direct_link& but don’t fill in unless you are a Community Leader in Ely 01:10:15 Linda Aspey, Climate Psychology Alliance: Replying to "@Linda Aspey, Climat..."

www.climatepsychologyalliance.org and our new lottery funded partnership with CMP and MI which is ICRA - ICRA is still being formed - please do join our mailing list so we can keep you updated https://www.innerclimateresponse.org/

01:12:25 Allan Wilson Edgmond PC Shropshire: Sorry I have to go for a meeting at 1:30 Parisa Brilliant presentation and I loved the approach to engage people as a whole

01:12:30 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: Duxford is also part of the County wide Nature Recovery - From the Ground-up Project I think?

01:14:02 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: So I need to go now. Thanks a lot

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Audiotranscript:

121 00:18:10.570 --> 00:18:28.780 Parisa Wright: Brilliant. Hello, everyone. My name is Parisa Wright. I am the founder and the Chief Partnerships Officer at community sustainability charity Greener and Cleaner, and I'm going to quickly share with you a little sort of good news story case study, that we've been working on over the last three and a half years.

122 00:18:28.780 --> 00:18:36.609 Parisa Wright: And sort of, I… my background was I was a lawyer for 20 years, started off in human rights, ended up in working for ITB, making

123 00:18:36.610 --> 00:18:49.059 Parisa Wright: you know, random TV shows. And basically, in 2018, I saw the school climate strikes, and I saw 5-year-olds and 10-year-olds having to set aside their childhood and beg adults to take

124 00:18:49.400 --> 00:19:05.300 Parisa Wright: action on, sort of, climate and social justice and community, and not very much happening, and so I set up Greenery and Cleaner to help empower local people to work out what they could do and how they could come together to create the changes they wanted to see in their community.

125 00:19:05.300 --> 00:19:14.030 Parisa Wright: And so it's all been very much about mainstreaming, about making accessible, about leaning into words like life skills.

126 00:19:14.030 --> 00:19:25.519 Parisa Wright: common sense, balance, community building, rather than words like sustainability, climate, planet. Because actually, when people think about their own homes, their own families, their own communities.

127 00:19:25.520 --> 00:19:44.239 Parisa Wright: they do care, and they do want to do something, and they love hearing from their neighbors. So what I'm going to do is share with you, if that's alright, I'm going to try and share a presentation. I'll run through it really fast, so there's lots of slides that I won't touch on, but I want to play you the video, because I think that tells you so much more than I can.

128 00:19:44.960 --> 00:20:05.230 Parisa Wright: and then just a few key points, and then you guys can then ask questions. And what I would say is that though this has been piloted for a vacant unit of a shopping center, the idea is that it has to just be a mainstream location, which is at the heart of the community and has high footfall, and doesn't have a stigma attached to it. So that could be…

129 00:20:05.480 --> 00:20:10.919 Parisa Wright: your post office, that could be your town hall, that could be your library. In Bromley.

130 00:20:10.930 --> 00:20:21.439 Parisa Wright: Where we are, the library is more niche. It is not the mainstream location, it does not have the high footfall, so is the church hall. But somewhere else, that could be the heart of the community.

131 00:20:21.440 --> 00:20:33.379 Parisa Wright: So whether it's a shop on the high street, or in a shopping center, or in your post office, it's about being in the heart of the community rather than hidden away somewhere. That's what's really key to the model. So I'm just going to try and share…

132 00:20:34.330 --> 00:20:36.999 Parisa Wright: Now, let's see if we can make this work.

133 00:20:37.380 --> 00:20:38.190 Parisa Wright: chat.

134 00:20:38.570 --> 00:20:43.839 Parisa Wright: Hooray! I'm going to go from beginning, and please tell me if you can't see this.

135 00:20:43.840 --> 00:20:49.419 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration, Isle of Wight: And we can see it. You probably need… there you go, full shadow load. Perfect, you're all set.

136 00:20:49.420 --> 00:21:02.449 Parisa Wright: Wonderful, okay, great. And my email address is there, which is pariza at greenerandcleaner.co.uk. I will give that again at the end, but, please take it, and feel free to get in touch.

137 00:21:02.450 --> 00:21:17.239 Parisa Wright: And also, feel free to put community groups and charities that you're working with in this sort of space, whether that's even Friends of the Earth groups, or Friends of Parks groups, or Repair Cafes. Feel free to put them in touch as well, because there's a couple of things we can support with, which I'll come to at the end.

138 00:21:17.680 --> 00:21:32.699 Parisa Wright: Okay, so this is the Community Sustainability Hub, a welcoming space for everyone, so it's not about siloing people into, you're elderly, you have a disability, you're dealing with poverty, it's about people coming together, whatever their backgrounds and needs.

139 00:21:32.700 --> 00:21:43.680 Parisa Wright: and sort of sharing skills, sharing knowledge. So, again, mainstream setting, as I said, and we get about 10,000 visitors a year. We put on 10 to 15 events a week, but when we started for the first

140 00:21:43.680 --> 00:21:50.120 Parisa Wright: two, two and a half years, I'd say we were doing about four events a week, but we were open 5 days a week.

141 00:21:50.270 --> 00:21:51.829 Parisa Wright: So that it was reliable.

142 00:21:52.050 --> 00:22:03.910 Parisa Wright: And people could come and use the space. Who are we? We started off as a community group, wanting to normalize sustainability and sharing of skills locally and building of community.

143 00:22:03.910 --> 00:22:21.360 Parisa Wright: And now we've grown to CIC, then a charity, now we've been funding, piloting this community hub model, which I'm going to share with you guys, and now we've also got some funding to create a blueprint which we can share with others, have one-to-one sessions with groups wanting to set something up.

144 00:22:21.360 --> 00:22:24.839 Parisa Wright: and even setting up a network for England.

145 00:22:25.100 --> 00:22:29.059 Parisa Wright: For different groups to share what they're learning in templates with each other.

146 00:22:29.630 --> 00:22:45.419 Parisa Wright: So, as I said, we're trying to normalize and increase engagement, trying to enable people to build the projects and services that they want, so it's all run by the local people, for local people, fostering community, civic engagement, and building healthier, stronger communities.

147 00:22:45.830 --> 00:22:50.690 Parisa Wright: It's 360, so you can come in for any area of sustainability.

148 00:22:51.400 --> 00:23:10.129 Parisa Wright: But even people who are doing repair cafes, we just sort of suggest that, you know, they consider whether they can also sort of signpost people on other areas, especially leading people on a journey around energy and transport, because we know those are the two biggest emitters, and two of the biggest impacts on household costs as well, and well-being.

149 00:23:10.280 --> 00:23:29.009 Parisa Wright: So anything from energy to nature, transport to food, but also 360 community need. What started off as a pilot of a community sustainability hub is very much now seen as a community hub. So people will come in there initially, over 50% of people come in for loneliness, for employability skills, for cost of living issues.

150 00:23:29.010 --> 00:23:37.709 Parisa Wright: For language skills, for lots of different reasons, and then they come on a journey, because everything is delivered through the lens of sustainability.

151 00:23:37.710 --> 00:23:49.430 Parisa Wright: And people will come in for crochet, and suddenly they're reducing their energy consumption, or they're getting access to fuel poverty vouchers, or they've changed their transport, etc. So, what I want to do is… yes.

152 00:23:49.520 --> 00:23:50.599 Parisa Wright: Are you this?

153 00:23:54.100 --> 00:23:55.110 Parisa Wright: Hopefully.

154 00:23:55.410 --> 00:24:04.259 Parisa Wright: I really loved coming to the Hub. I just left for Monday to come here. I came into the hub for an energy efficiency clinic, and I picked up a few tips.

155 00:24:04.260 --> 00:24:15.829 Parisa Wright: And now we're saving a bit of cash at home, and also saving some energy, which is good. So, we have got 39 laptops that have been donated today, lots of those, and bags and boxes of cables.

156 00:24:16.460 --> 00:24:24.300 Parisa Wright: at the Hub through various mental health support groups. It's a wonderful place to come. It's probably the one thing that saves me

157 00:24:24.660 --> 00:24:26.780 Parisa Wright: From absolute despair in one of them.

158 00:24:27.100 --> 00:24:32.860 Parisa Wright: Since 2019, greener and cleaner has been going, but in 2022, we set up

159 00:24:33.300 --> 00:24:42.830 Parisa Wright: developed community hub here in the Glades Shopping center in Bromley. And it's been opened five days a week. Since then, for the last three and a half years.

160 00:24:42.910 --> 00:24:47.329 Parisa Wright: And well over 30,000 people have come through these doors. On top of that.

161 00:24:47.330 --> 00:25:10.580 Parisa Wright: We've been doing pop-up events out in hospitals, in universities, schools, in parks, all over southeast London, and these have been inspired by what people have said they want, and they need, and what they care about for their local environment, for their wellbeing, and building community resilience. Greener and Cleaner did an energy saving visit to you a few months ago, and we advise you to switch your

162 00:25:10.680 --> 00:25:24.229 Parisa Wright: tariff to a fixed… Yeah, which I do. I can phone John at any time of the day, and he'll always help me. I know and love what we do in here, and it gives me energy every time I come through the doors. It became very clear.

163 00:25:24.590 --> 00:25:33.169 Parisa Wright: as soon as I got engaged with people in Greener and cleanham, that this was a community I could become a part of, that it would become something more than work.

164 00:25:33.730 --> 00:25:46.909 Parisa Wright: Once you start looking for litter, it's very therapeutic, but it's great to do it as a social activity as well. I think there's a lot of people who want to get involved, who want to do more. Picking up litter like this.

165 00:25:47.450 --> 00:26:06.380 Parisa Wright: is hope, because it looks like everyone else has given up, but actually, we need to bring power really back into the community. It is an uphill challenge. Well done. Good job. I rented a, an SDS hammer drill from the Library of Things here in Blades and Bromley, and it's easy to pick up and collect. I can just come to the kiosk here.

166 00:26:06.380 --> 00:26:09.510 Parisa Wright: tap a few buttons, and I've got my drill.

167 00:26:09.510 --> 00:26:24.409 Parisa Wright: And I've learned today about some of the other things the, the hub does, like the community sewing machine. I think it's really, really good that people can learn these things, at little to no cost as well, and they're skills for life that they can pass on.

168 00:26:24.410 --> 00:26:44.350 Parisa Wright: Carol initially brought us the sewing box at the Beckenham Repair Cafe, and it's been such a joy to see it restored, and it just looks so, so lovely. And it's so nice to hear the history of it, and know that we've restored something that's so loved. Well, I think they've done it very well indeed, don't you?

169 00:26:44.350 --> 00:26:59.389 Parisa Wright: I'm very impressed with their skills. I saw that there's a Nelly Clinic, and the drinks that I brought in today, we need to do some repairs on it. The staff, the volunteers, they're very, very helpful. It has helped me to learn some few things on how to

170 00:26:59.390 --> 00:27:08.280 Parisa Wright: do the things myself as well. Another thing that we've grown over the past 12 months is our community allotment and garden, where we're teaching each other

171 00:27:08.470 --> 00:27:21.570 Parisa Wright: amazing food growing skills, where we're learning about creating habitats for local wildlife, and it's wonderful seeing all the generations and cultures coming together. Oh, you're gonna put your little pad in here? Yeah!

172 00:27:23.370 --> 00:27:37.019 Parisa Wright: We've also developed an amazing new offering for 18 to 25 year olds called Connect the Buds. It's quite hard meeting people in real life. It can be a space to come and learn a skill, or do a workshop.

173 00:27:37.020 --> 00:27:48.090 Parisa Wright: Have a cup of tea, learn something new. We don't have a lot of those kinds of places anymore. I think the vision for Greener and Cleaner is that every community across the UK should have access

174 00:27:48.130 --> 00:27:50.590 Parisa Wright: To a space that feels like it's owned by that.

175 00:27:50.830 --> 00:28:03.349 Parisa Wright: and that is invested in the future of this planet and those communities that they're serving. We try to demonstrate, through doing it in our space, what's worked and what hasn't worked, so that other communities

176 00:28:03.450 --> 00:28:13.810 Parisa Wright: can set up, and the blueprint is our contribution. We've recently opened a support service for micro-sized businesses in the borough, and we want to be more equitable, more sustainable.

177 00:28:14.010 --> 00:28:32.240 Parisa Wright: We designed that because businesses were telling us that they couldn't get any help across South London. We're already networking with incredible groups on how do we do things together. Everybody has something that they can grab hold of and make a difference with, and if we are all doing that all of the time, we will get to where we actually need to be.

178 00:28:33.340 --> 00:28:35.700 Parisa Wright: It makes my mute.

179 00:28:36.250 --> 00:28:39.949 Parisa Wright: I know, food is too… all of this stuff in…

180 00:28:46.810 --> 00:28:47.650 Parisa Wright: Sorry.

181 00:28:49.070 --> 00:28:49.900 Parisa Wright: Alright.

182 00:28:50.070 --> 00:28:53.279 Parisa Wright: Oh, see if I can actually make that straightforward, please.

183 00:28:56.220 --> 00:28:58.459 Parisa Wright: Now it's gonna turn into something else.

184 00:28:59.520 --> 00:29:01.060 Parisa Wright: There we go. Right.

185 00:29:01.270 --> 00:29:05.090 Parisa Wright: Sorry, a bit emotional. We…

186 00:29:05.330 --> 00:29:15.109 Parisa Wright: It doesn't kind of matter what part of the organization you are, you kind of build a relationship with the people who use that space, and during the weekdays, it's a lot of vulnerable people.

187 00:29:15.300 --> 00:29:20.140 Parisa Wright: Who are isolated at home, who can't afford to heat or cool their homes.

188 00:29:20.580 --> 00:29:36.870 Parisa Wright: And some of those isolated people are elderly, some of them are adults, with learning difficulties who are regulars, some of them are parents of under threes or carers of under threes who are quite isolated as well. So, there's a lot of things going on there, but I love the intergenerational skill sharing, the intercultural skill sharing.

189 00:29:37.080 --> 00:29:42.410 Parisa Wright: This… some of these slides are from what we delivered at Civil Service Live recently.

190 00:29:42.650 --> 00:29:50.070 Parisa Wright: So this is around equipment people can use for free, like the sewing machines, or they can access the library of things, or they can borrow the party kits.

191 00:29:50.160 --> 00:29:55.299 Parisa Wright: Again, intergenerational skill sharing, intercultural skill sharing.

192 00:29:55.300 --> 00:30:18.360 Parisa Wright: People value reliability and regularity, as well as variety, so we always have certain things that are always happening weekly, like the energy clinic, the mending clinic, the baby toddler group, young people's program, family crafting. We have things that are always regular monthly, we have things that are regular annually, and then in the community, and then obviously we have other ad hoc things.

193 00:30:18.440 --> 00:30:20.819 Parisa Wright: And then in the community.

194 00:30:21.690 --> 00:30:27.809 Parisa Wright: We have weekly allotment days, we have repair cafes, and other bits and bobs.

195 00:30:29.090 --> 00:30:43.979 Parisa Wright: And then it's a hub-and-spokes model, so we have the hub, and the spokes are the pop-up events and projects in the community, but also the regular events out in the community. So we have four repair cafes, one of which is in the hub, three of which are out in the community.

196 00:30:44.050 --> 00:31:00.280 Parisa Wright: We have a community allotment Garden, which does a day every week, which people can go out to, which is in a different location, and then we do work with schools, with food banks, with hospitals. We usually do something every month, whether that's Talks to Residence Association, or a stall at a fair, or…

197 00:31:00.290 --> 00:31:07.640 Parisa Wright: And we do a lot around energy, and we do home visits with energy, as well as doing pop-up stalls and a clinic at the Hub, for example.

198 00:31:07.760 --> 00:31:23.359 Parisa Wright: And then co-designing, I'm sure you guys know a lot about this. We've done work in terms of research collaborations, we've done work in terms of community co-design, both in terms of co-design days and working specifically with specific charities and community groups, representing vulnerable groups we're trying to reach.

199 00:31:23.360 --> 00:31:31.179 Parisa Wright: Working on specific services or workshops that we think will be useful, but they're not limiting it to just those people coming to them.

200 00:31:31.560 --> 00:31:33.850 Parisa Wright: Having those things open to everyone.

201 00:31:33.850 --> 00:31:56.070 Parisa Wright: So, for example, like, the board game cafe that was really, sort of, initially set up to support neurodiverse young people with social skills, and actually it's helping lots of neurodiverse adults, and lots of adults dealing with loneliness, and lots of older generations who are isolated, and, you know, it's been amazing having those people coming together and feeling that they can support each other and play with each other and meet each other. It's amazing.

202 00:31:56.070 --> 00:31:59.000 Parisa Wright: And then feedback in lots of different ways. We've… we've…

203 00:31:59.000 --> 00:32:13.859 Parisa Wright: collected. Lots of volunteering, it's all just people from the local community, so you look in there and people can see people who look like them, who speak their language, etc. And then energy is a big one, because obviously that's the biggest emitter, so…

204 00:32:14.520 --> 00:32:25.790 Parisa Wright: We, got a little bit of funding, so we've been doing an energy advice clinic every week. We do, crochet, sewing, and knitting, workshops, where we call it Getting Cozy.

205 00:32:25.790 --> 00:32:45.369 Parisa Wright: And we'll teach something like a scarf or a hat, or making a draft excluder, and we'll talk about what funding's available, what scams are out there, you know, options for energy efficiency, that sort of thing. And then we'll do talks to community groups, and we'll do pop-up stalls at Christmas fairs, summer fairs, etc. And then we'll do home visits as well for the vulnerable.

206 00:32:45.370 --> 00:32:49.080 Parisa Wright: And those are some of the partners we've worked with.

207 00:32:49.240 --> 00:33:08.999 Parisa Wright: That's the community hub again. Yes, and so one of the things that you may or may not have come across is that trust in government, trust in local government, trust in councils is very low, but also trust in the terms sustainability and climate and planet is very low, because it's all been extremely politicized, the environmental side of things, which obviously it shouldn't be.

208 00:33:09.090 --> 00:33:20.780 Parisa Wright: And so what we're doing really helps address the problematic nature of social media, the problematic nature of the toxification of language. It's just humans talking to humans.

209 00:33:20.800 --> 00:33:32.619 Parisa Wright: And we reframe sustainability, we emphasize the relatable concepts and language, we, you know, make clear how it's addressing, you know, sort of short-term community needs, whether that's cost of living, loneliness.

210 00:33:32.660 --> 00:33:49.569 Parisa Wright: you know, employability, and we try and mainstream the conversation by having it in those key spaces, rather than hidden away or in a sort of more fringe or siloed space. And we highlight that it's led by the community, and it's all local people sharing their knowledge and skills.

211 00:33:49.920 --> 00:34:01.189 Parisa Wright: And then, yeah, we actually address people's concerns. So someone will come in and say, I'm worried about this, or can we put on something like that? And we'll say, yep, let's work together to make that happen. But also.

212 00:34:01.890 --> 00:34:17.460 Parisa Wright: We know that people want to be able to ask one-to-one questions around funding that's available, infrastructure, new technology that's coming in, and we can do that in a way that councils and government can't. And also, people can have one-to-one conversations, even if it's zero skeptic.

213 00:34:17.530 --> 00:34:32.670 Parisa Wright: Net zero skeptic, I should say. And we can be really clear about what the net, sort of, the day-to-day benefits are for this change that they're skeptical about, or this thing that's coming out from government or from the council, this funding that's available.

214 00:34:33.060 --> 00:34:36.219 Parisa Wright: In a way that, you know, is really confusing online.

215 00:34:37.030 --> 00:34:54.479 Parisa Wright: So, we talked about trust at Civil Service Live again. Again, we're creating thriving spaces, reducing pressures of the poly crisis on public services, so reducing pressures on NHS and employment centres, adult services on schools, on local charities, and all of the work contributes to key government missions.

216 00:34:54.480 --> 00:35:09.500 Parisa Wright: And we know, we've done research at lots of universities, most recently with Karst and Bath University, showing that 46% of people have reduced their energy use, even though most of them coming in, nothing to do with the environment. 46% of people have reduced their energy use.

217 00:35:09.500 --> 00:35:22.059 Parisa Wright: 42% using more public transport, 36% doing more active travel, as you can say, in the 60s, around reducing waste, which, again, is a local cost issue as well as an environmental issue, which is fantastic.

218 00:35:22.410 --> 00:35:38.449 Parisa Wright: And also, what's lovely is it's not just changing people's habits at home and when they're shopping, it's changing how they interact with their schools, with their residence associations, with their faith groups, and with their councils, and with their workplaces, which is wonderful as well. Again, creating thriving spaces.

219 00:35:38.450 --> 00:35:44.199 Parisa Wright: And sort of more equitable spaces, I'd say, and again, supporting government missions.

220 00:35:45.530 --> 00:36:02.600 Parisa Wright: And yeah, we've been diversifying funding streams, we've been diversifying the people who are coming through the doors and who are volunteering, and we've now got key funding for blueprinting, which is exciting. So, we have got some funding now from Eze, 50% of the funding, to do some blueprinting work on our model.

221 00:36:03.210 --> 00:36:16.829 Parisa Wright: And that will create a sort of package where people can either go and set up their own community hub, or they can take elements of it to… and, you know, when we say their own community hub, they can scale this up or down, you know, to make it, sort of.

222 00:36:17.200 --> 00:36:26.510 Parisa Wright: location relevant, obviously. But also, some people already have a repair cafe or a transition town, and they prefer to stick with that, so they can just take the elements

223 00:36:26.510 --> 00:36:41.079 Parisa Wright: that they find useful, the templates they find useful, out of that Blueprints package. And we've also got some funding to have some one-to-one conversations with organizations who are thinking about setting up a more permanent community, sort of, sustainability-type space

224 00:36:41.080 --> 00:36:54.759 Parisa Wright: In their area. So that could be charities and community groups, but it could also be parish councils who want to work with charities and community groups to set those up. And so we've got some free consulting, one-to-one sessions that have been funded by Esme Fairbane for that.

225 00:36:54.960 --> 00:37:04.450 Parisa Wright: And then finally, we're also piloting a new community sustainability support network for England, which we've just had funding for, and that will mean that

226 00:37:04.450 --> 00:37:21.720 Parisa Wright: any community groups, charities, who are, you know, PTAs, who are running community sustainability projects, that could be, I don't know, biodiversity-friendly allotment space, that could be a repair cafe, that could be a transition town, that could be a school uniform exchange, could be a community fridge.

227 00:37:21.720 --> 00:37:32.300 Parisa Wright: Or it could be a climate cafe. Any of them can join the network for free. It's a community of practice, it's about cross-pollination, sharing learnings, sharing challenges.

228 00:37:32.300 --> 00:37:47.889 Parisa Wright: signposting funding to each other, opportunities to co-bid on funding, but also sharing templates. So, as we create our Blueprints package, any bits will go straight into that network, but also other people will have their own wonderful templates, handbooks.

229 00:37:47.890 --> 00:37:57.070 Parisa Wright: examples of forms, video case studies that they'll be sharing into that network, and members can get hold of that for free. So that's quite useful to councils.

230 00:37:57.280 --> 00:38:10.640 Parisa Wright: Who support and work alongside charities and community groups doing this kind of work, but don't actually have the funding to give them advice on templates, or advice on negotiating a lease, or, you know, don't have the time or resource to signpost

231 00:38:10.640 --> 00:38:19.150 Parisa Wright: sort of more niche funding opportunities to them, for example. But you can signpost this, they can join up for free, and it can give them some of that support.

232 00:38:19.500 --> 00:38:24.190 Parisa Wright: So that's it, really. So basically, lots of opportunities there.

233 00:38:24.710 --> 00:38:41.260 Parisa Wright: But hopefully what you can take away from this is there's opportunities for those one-to-one support sessions for groups who might want to set up something more permanent in their community, whether that's one day a week or seven days a week. We're doing five days a week. But having that regularity and that permanence is really important.

234 00:38:41.260 --> 00:38:53.699 Parisa Wright: And then also for people who are interested in hearing more about the network, so they can signpost, so they can join it, when we launch in January, or so that they can signpost people to us.

235 00:38:53.700 --> 00:39:09.309 Parisa Wright: So if you have my contact details, here we go, which has got my email and my phone number there, and also a QR code to my LinkedIn, but if you've got my contact details, then you can always reach out and say, actually, we'd like to know more about the one-to-one sessions.

236 00:39:09.310 --> 00:39:24.619 Parisa Wright: for our community group, or for this community group or charity that we're working about… working with, or we'd like to know more about the network when it goes live, so we can either join it ourselves or recommend it to charities and community groups we're working with, PTAs, whatever it is.

237 00:39:24.660 --> 00:39:42.559 Parisa Wright: So that their projects or their spaces can get the support that we can't give them at the moment, or not only the support, but really there's such value in learning from other communities, doing different things, as we can see. And so, having this network set up, because our lived experience was there wasn't something like this.

238 00:39:42.560 --> 00:39:53.470 Parisa Wright: And in the regions of Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland, regional government has funded this. So the idea is to pilot it for two years, and then ask national government to fund it for the region of England.

239 00:39:53.830 --> 00:40:11.679 Parisa Wright: So it is not… the CSSN is not branded, the network is not branded Greener and Cleaner. It's very much Community Sustainability Support Network England, so that anyone can join it, and then government will, hopefully in two years' time, take over funding that. So, I'm going to stop sharing now.

240 00:40:12.170 --> 00:40:13.010 Parisa Wright: Boop!

241 00:40:13.520 --> 00:40:14.819 Parisa Wright: Does that work? Yes.

242 00:40:15.250 --> 00:40:19.189 Parisa Wright: Wow. So, I hope that's interesting or something.

243 00:40:19.190 --> 00:40:34.490 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration, Isle of Wight: Well, I'm absolutely breathless with astonishment at all that you've achieved, and what you managed to cram into 30 minutes of great excitement. Thank you very much, Parisa. And I sort of feel envious that you are,

244 00:40:34.650 --> 00:40:53.870 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration, Isle of Wight: doing what I… I was going to say in miniature, what we're trying to do at the Great Collaboration countrywide, but you're already on the path, and as you were going through, I was writing down question after question after question, and then you went ahead and spoiled everything by answering them all in your last few slides, so I'll pass over to those people who do have questions, but…

245 00:40:53.870 --> 00:40:57.830 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration, Isle of Wight: If they don't answer the other questions I've got, I'll come back later, so…

246 00:40:57.830 --> 00:41:01.550 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration, Isle of Wight: Fantastic stuff, Parisa, thank you, and over to Peter.

247 00:41:02.470 --> 00:41:18.040 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: Yeah, great, fantastic. I can see already we've got lots of the elements already going on in Ely, City of Ely in Cambridgeshire. I guess the question that is going through my mind is…

248 00:41:18.190 --> 00:41:22.290 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: capacity, human resources.

249 00:41:22.470 --> 00:41:33.040 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: Can you tell me how it all got started? I can see it can work in an urban area, like Bromley. I can see it's working, I think it already works to a certain extent.

250 00:41:33.040 --> 00:41:46.799 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: in Cambridge, but when you've got a population in probably the smallest city in England, in Ely, of around about 19,000 people.

251 00:41:46.800 --> 00:41:47.130 Parisa Wright: Yep.

252 00:41:47.130 --> 00:41:50.339 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: I think the biggest issue is…

253 00:41:51.310 --> 00:42:14.280 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: getting people involved. I mean, there is the potential of an empty property, a lot smaller than what you've got, an empty shop one, which could be arranged, but then again, it's the capacity of people. How do you actually get enough people to sustain it, you know, in that respect? That's my biggest concern. How do you… how did you start?

254 00:42:14.280 --> 00:42:17.549 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: And how can you actually scale it down in some respect?

255 00:42:17.550 --> 00:42:18.080 Parisa Wright: Yeah.

256 00:42:18.080 --> 00:42:21.000 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: To a much more rural area.

257 00:42:21.000 --> 00:42:30.750 Parisa Wright: Yeah. So… so just in terms of how we started, when we started as a community group, we had a Facebook group, 20… March 2019, it started. We put it on Facebook.

258 00:42:30.870 --> 00:42:32.390 Parisa Wright: And we also…

259 00:42:32.390 --> 00:42:51.549 Parisa Wright: So we started meeting above a pub. So I'd created an A to Z of donation and recycling for the area while I was on mat leave and these student strikes were happening because I needed to do something. I shared it, and then I said, shall more of us come together and try and do something locally? We started meeting above a pub once a month, but every month from March 2019, we put on at least one or two public events.

260 00:42:51.550 --> 00:43:07.499 Parisa Wright: which was around skills sharing and some sort of sustainability. And it basically grew from 20 people above a pub, them sharing their skills, and then over time, thousands of people joined the Facebook group, and more and more people got involved with the, sort of in-public, sort of in different

261 00:43:07.540 --> 00:43:18.769 Parisa Wright: places, events. And then in, sort of, within 2 or 3 years, then we sort of set up, and we did some big community projects as well. We set up the,

262 00:43:19.320 --> 00:43:26.229 Parisa Wright: Hub, but it was only because… and the reason that I say it's good to be working, like.

263 00:43:26.830 --> 00:43:41.260 Parisa Wright: I feel like what you need to have is a kind of ready-going… let's say it's… it could be a Friends of the Earth group, it could be a Friends of Parts group, could be a Men in Sheds group. You need, ideally, to have a community group or charity that already has some sort of reach.

264 00:43:41.590 --> 00:43:53.779 Parisa Wright: And that, you know, has some sort of regular team or volunteers who are interested in doing something, ideally once a week, because when you have that regularity, more and more people get engaged. But when it's once a month.

265 00:43:53.940 --> 00:43:56.259 Parisa Wright: It at least needs to be the first

266 00:43:56.530 --> 00:44:02.079 Parisa Wright: Something of the month, or the last something of the month, because once it's in the middle of the month, everyone forgets about it.

267 00:44:02.080 --> 00:44:17.530 Parisa Wright: But I think if… what we did was we started with the volunteers who'd been helping us, and like we say and think in the slide that we have about 70 volunteers and about 15 staff and stuff now, part-time. Everyone's part-time, so minimum it is, is somebody doing a day a month, the maximum it is is the

268 00:44:17.530 --> 00:44:20.719 Parisa Wright: sort of CEO doing 3 days a week now.

269 00:44:20.940 --> 00:44:32.159 Parisa Wright: But most of the hub team… you have… if you have a space, it has to be. Really, if you want to have a regular and good quality offering, you have to have somebody who's paid to be there.

270 00:44:32.570 --> 00:44:35.980 Parisa Wright: And even if it's one day a week, you would need

271 00:44:36.260 --> 00:44:50.500 Parisa Wright: Some sort of project lead, some sort of space lead, some sort of hub manager, really, to coordinate with either the, you know, to be from the community group or charity that's going to be running the space, or to be coordinating the different ones you might want to bring together in that space.

272 00:44:50.740 --> 00:44:59.599 Parisa Wright: And then what's good is if you already have a repair cafe, or you already have something that you can then grow into being a bit more permanent, so…

273 00:45:00.090 --> 00:45:13.559 Parisa Wright: It could even be a community allotment garden that then becomes just a little bit more 360, but it doesn't have to be as 360 as this. But something that is already there that can be added onto is much more effective than trying to start from scratch.

274 00:45:13.710 --> 00:45:27.379 Parisa Wright: I think that's… and also, I think there's an opportunity, some parish councils and some councils are talking to their communities about what they want, you know, doing, like, listening exercises, and even, sort of.

275 00:45:27.450 --> 00:45:35.310 Parisa Wright: eco-councils around what changes they want to see in their communities, so potentially taking that. But I think

276 00:45:35.500 --> 00:45:39.709 Parisa Wright: Ideally, if a parish council was going to do it, and it was me.

277 00:45:40.050 --> 00:45:58.530 Parisa Wright: I would look at it potentially starting from either the carbon reduction budget or the waste management budget, and try and have a bit of money going towards somebody to help organize it and tying it into something that's already happening. That could be regular litter picks growing in something else. That could be a repair cafe growing in something else.

278 00:45:58.730 --> 00:46:14.679 Parisa Wright: whatever it is, certainly we got some money from the Council in terms of teaching people how to make reusable gift bags at Christmas time, because it fitted into their reducing waste budget, and some of the work we've done around clarifying what is recyclable, what's not recyclable, that sort of stuff.

279 00:46:14.680 --> 00:46:19.110 Parisa Wright: And also the Library of Things got paid for through the carbon reduction budget.

280 00:46:19.320 --> 00:46:29.080 Parisa Wright: if I was starting from scratch, or if I was trying to grow something, I would think about what's most accessible, which is waste reduction and nature. Those are the two things that people find the least contentious.

281 00:46:29.260 --> 00:46:42.929 Parisa Wright: And so the easiest things to grow a movement around, or grow more engagement around, get more regular volunteers, get more people on board. So, a repair cafe is an amazing place to start, because there is not one person, whatever their political beliefs.

282 00:46:42.960 --> 00:46:56.540 Parisa Wright: however harrowing in my mind, who can object to a repair cafe, basically. So that… that's, I suppose, a suggestion. And again, like, ideally once a week, but even if it's something started off as once a month.

283 00:46:57.240 --> 00:47:13.340 Parisa Wright: But again, trying to think about how one might fund not just the space, but some sort of basic, regular project manager, space manager, to make sure it gets delivered and is reliable is really key, I think. I don't know if that's helpful, Peter, but we can always have more of a…

284 00:47:13.340 --> 00:47:16.600 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: In many respects, we've already got that. We've got a computer…

285 00:47:16.600 --> 00:47:35.940 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: interest company. Right. We have had regular, monthly Earth Cafe, events at a cafe. Yeah. And we've got, you know, there's a separate, completely, you know, e-litter group of people who go around and do a great job. Yeah. I guess the question I'm asking you is.

286 00:47:35.940 --> 00:47:38.930 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: Are you doing all this full-time on a voluntary basis?

287 00:47:38.930 --> 00:47:42.000 Parisa Wright: So the first 3 years.

288 00:47:42.060 --> 00:47:59.680 Parisa Wright: Everything was on a voluntary basis, so the two events a month in the community and the Facebook, and blah blah blah, but I was probably spending 30 hours a week on top of my full-time job. When… in 2022, when we launched the community hub, I was supposed to… basically, I think.

289 00:47:59.680 --> 00:48:04.379 Parisa Wright: 3 or 4 of us were supposed to be paid, to cover the 5 days a week.

290 00:48:04.590 --> 00:48:22.550 Parisa Wright: And then maybe one or two days extra on top of that, in terms of the sort of, like, partnerships work, and getting funding work, and all of that sort of stuff. And that's obviously grown, but no, you… you have to have… if you're having a space, as soon as you have a space, people think space is the answer. Space is not the answer, it's space and

291 00:48:22.550 --> 00:48:30.210 Parisa Wright: capacity. It's space and somebody to run that space. Because you can have space, but if it's not open regularly, if it doesn't have something good happening.

292 00:48:30.460 --> 00:48:31.859 Parisa Wright: No one's gonna come.

293 00:48:31.860 --> 00:48:36.230 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: So, it's kind of seeing what community groups you have, how those community groups.

294 00:48:36.230 --> 00:48:38.439 Parisa Wright: Either if there's one strong enough to, like.

295 00:48:38.660 --> 00:48:54.390 Parisa Wright: raise the money or apply for, funding, or to bring a couple of them together to run the space, maybe alongside the Council, and have a bit of money from the Council's Community Fund, or the Carbon Reduction Fund, or the Waste Management Fund, and also they apply to something like, say.

296 00:48:54.390 --> 00:49:01.880 Parisa Wright: The National Lottery has an Awards for All grant, for example, which is up to £20,000 a year.

297 00:49:02.280 --> 00:49:18.360 Parisa Wright: Which you can get a response on quite quickly. And obviously, there's other sort of, like, regional and local kind of funding pots that you can apply for. But definitely, when you're thinking about what to apply for, minimum, you need somebody who's going to run that space, organize what's going on, open and close it.

298 00:49:18.360 --> 00:49:23.699 Parisa Wright: And, you know, sort of ideally reach out to other community groups and let them know what's going on, promote it on Facebook.

299 00:49:23.860 --> 00:49:31.999 Parisa Wright: So, when you think about even opening one day a week, that's a minimum two, two and a half day a week job, I would say, for one person, minimum.

300 00:49:32.480 --> 00:49:36.629 Parisa Wright: Ideally 5 days a week, but, you know, and they really…

301 00:49:36.630 --> 00:50:01.560 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: The issue is, I mean, I've already raised £10,000 in the first year of operating as a CIC. It's capacity, it's people is the biggest problem, I think, and I can see Linda is probably nodding as well. In a much smaller area, in the Bromley area, which is in an urban area, which has got more than 10 million

302 00:50:01.560 --> 00:50:11.540 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: people in London, I can see it's easy to do. How can it… but in a much smaller area, with a population of,

303 00:50:11.720 --> 00:50:26.659 Peter Bates - East Cambridgeshire Climate Action Network: 87,000 in the whole of the district, and about 19,000 in Ely, it gets increasingly difficult to actually do that, you know, because of the limited number of people who are actually willing to do it.

304 00:50:26.660 --> 00:50:32.380 Parisa Wright: Yeah, I mean, that's where, I think, if I'm honest, Peter, even us, we have days where there's no volunteers.

305 00:50:33.400 --> 00:50:44.609 Parisa Wright: So what I'm saying is, is that I think you've got to assume, if it's a smaller space, there's two things. One is the importance of having somebody to run that space, both run that space and be in that space.

306 00:50:44.830 --> 00:50:45.640 Parisa Wright: First.

307 00:50:46.250 --> 00:50:55.789 Parisa Wright: And there's things that you can do so that that space has always got some basic craft thing going on without them having to manage that. There's always some sofas people can sit on, there's always some books

308 00:50:55.790 --> 00:51:06.340 Parisa Wright: that people can look at. There's some basics that you can line that space up with that will always be a community space without someone having to physically be running a workshop. And then you obviously build on what you offer, and that

309 00:51:06.340 --> 00:51:17.159 Parisa Wright: I don't know, Sunday, Monday, or whatever it is that you're doing. But there has to be a paid member of staff, and that just has to be the budget, because then you know whatever happens with volunteers, the space is open.

310 00:51:17.400 --> 00:51:29.269 Parisa Wright: And then every time someone comes in and says, can we do… and often… and what we've also found is we've leant into… if someone says, can I run a, I don't know, ADHD mums group at the Hub?

311 00:51:30.770 --> 00:51:41.209 Parisa Wright: we've become more and more relaxed about going, well, actually, that's not really environmentally related, but we have… we are quiet on a Sunday morning, so we can agree with them for the next 6 months, they can do that.

312 00:51:42.120 --> 00:51:55.659 Parisa Wright: And then in six months' time, if we've got something that's really, really sort of like, okay, someone wants to run art and activism, that's the only day that's left, then we have to talk to that ADHD mums group and say, look, we might have to split the space between you and these guys, but I mean.

313 00:51:55.930 --> 00:52:08.250 Parisa Wright: I suppose leaning into what there is and using it as a community space is one way to have people running activities without your hub manager having to put it on themselves. Having things in that space that people can just use

314 00:52:08.260 --> 00:52:16.590 Parisa Wright: Without that hub manager having to physically do it for them. So there's basic crafts and stuff that we always put out for adults and children to be able to use.

315 00:52:16.590 --> 00:52:31.660 Parisa Wright: But also we collaborate with other community groups, let's say Bromley Y, which works with children and young people with mental health vulnerabilities, CASPA, that helps with autism-friendly families, and we say, look, we can put on a eco-crafting workshop with you guys.

316 00:52:31.660 --> 00:52:39.969 Parisa Wright: you just come with your volunteers who know how to help those people, and we will give you the space, and we will give you the materials. So there's different hybrids of

317 00:52:40.210 --> 00:52:47.400 Parisa Wright: putting on every activity yourself, and having to find the volunteers to run those activities. We've also worked with employment,

318 00:52:47.620 --> 00:52:50.290 Parisa Wright: Agencies and charities that work with

319 00:52:50.660 --> 00:52:52.670 Parisa Wright: Mum's trying to get back to work.

320 00:52:53.670 --> 00:53:03.410 Parisa Wright: and said, like, you know, how about your, you know, you're trying to help mums get back into work. We can give tailored volunteering opportunities under event organising, around marketing and social media.

321 00:53:03.410 --> 00:53:17.879 Parisa Wright: around, you know, sort of bookkeeping, around whatever it is, kind of, that we need help with, and that they want to grow skills in. And the same thing, actually, with community groups, supporting charities and churches supporting refugees and asylum seekers.

322 00:53:18.400 --> 00:53:25.970 Parisa Wright: especially asylum seekers who don't yet have the right to work, A, it gives them a place to build their language skills, to build community.

323 00:53:25.970 --> 00:53:41.220 Parisa Wright: But also, and to give back to that community, but also to get something on their CV, although it's not paid work, which can help them feel that they're not losing all their skills, and that they are sort of gaining some UK-based skills that can then later on down the line help them. So I think it's…

324 00:53:41.570 --> 00:53:48.579 Parisa Wright: it's… yeah, you have to think more creatively. You're absolutely right, Peter. The smaller the area that you're in, the smaller the, sort of.

325 00:53:48.840 --> 00:54:07.139 Parisa Wright: range of volunteers you can reach out to. So, strategically thinking about what community groups and charities are there, and how one can work with them to support their goals, but also, run in a wonderful community space that can be, sort of, multi-layered and support on multiple levels.

326 00:54:07.140 --> 00:54:08.939 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration, Isle of Wight: Okay, just jump in a second, Price?

327 00:54:08.940 --> 00:54:10.110 Parisa Wright: Yes, please.

328 00:54:10.290 --> 00:54:16.029 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration, Isle of Wight: Well, two things. First of all, I'm desperately worried about the plumber that's going to take Linda away before she gets a job.

329 00:54:16.030 --> 00:54:16.360 Parisa Wright: Oh, God.

330 00:54:16.360 --> 00:54:16.740 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration, Isle of Wight: North Carolina.

331 00:54:16.740 --> 00:54:18.160 Parisa Wright: In the quake.

332 00:54:18.160 --> 00:54:26.329 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration, Isle of Wight: Secondly, I just want you to say, for Peter's sake, that I'm working with a parish council in Somerset that has got 850 people in it.

333 00:54:26.440 --> 00:54:35.210 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration, Isle of Wight: And somebody on the council suggested that we start a nature reserve, and it's extraordinary how the volunteers have come out of the woodwork.

334 00:54:35.210 --> 00:54:35.580 Parisa Wright: Yeah.

335 00:54:35.580 --> 00:54:40.299 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration, Isle of Wight: Because you made the point that people love nature, and they love waste management.

336 00:54:40.300 --> 00:54:41.410 Parisa Wright: Yeah, excuse me.

337 00:54:41.410 --> 00:54:55.260 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration, Isle of Wight: A non-controversial, yeah. But I can just support the fact that it's amazing, A, the skills that people have got never cease to amaze me in this country, and B, the volunteers just keep coming if you're doing something with

338 00:54:55.260 --> 00:55:04.830 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration, Isle of Wight: So it's only a tiny parish, but it's got all the volunteers you could need working on this one item. And let me pass over to Linda before she gets dragged away.

339 00:55:06.130 --> 00:55:20.059 Linda Aspey, Climate Psychology Alliance: Happy to be dragged away by a plumber, thank you. Parisa, that was absolutely phenomenal. Absolutely phenomenal. It's so inspiring. And you presented it so well, so succinctly. But I've got loads and loads of questions, so I can connect with you on LinkedIn anyway.

340 00:55:21.530 --> 00:55:25.979 Linda Aspey, Climate Psychology Alliance: But a couple of things come to my mind, that maybe we would chat about another time anyway.

341 00:55:25.980 --> 00:55:26.480 Parisa Wright: Yeah.

342 00:55:26.480 --> 00:55:28.890 Linda Aspey, Climate Psychology Alliance: One is the,

343 00:55:29.080 --> 00:55:46.759 Linda Aspey, Climate Psychology Alliance: is the emotional side of things. As you can see, I'm with the Climate Psychology Alliance, and we've just been awarded some funding through a partnership with the Climate Majority Project and the Mindfulness Initiative, and we're called ICRA, which is the Inner Climate Response Alliance, and we're identifying people that are…

344 00:55:46.920 --> 00:55:57.120 Linda Aspey, Climate Psychology Alliance: Filling the missing gap, really, because there's… there are actions, there's things we can do locally, but there's also an aspect of that which is talking about how you feel.

345 00:55:57.360 --> 00:56:12.479 Linda Aspey, Climate Psychology Alliance: And I'm wondering if you've had experience… what experience you're getting from people. Are they… do they find that doing this stuff means they're avoiding talking about how they feel? Does it remove the need to talk about how they feel, and I mean express grief?

346 00:56:12.480 --> 00:56:13.150 Parisa Wright: Yeah.

347 00:56:13.150 --> 00:56:15.929 Linda Aspey, Climate Psychology Alliance: So I'd just love to know what your thoughts are.

348 00:56:16.060 --> 00:56:18.420 Parisa Wright: Yes, absolutely. I think,

349 00:56:18.830 --> 00:56:25.469 Parisa Wright: So there's a couple of things. I guess, like, you know, I'm one of those people, and… and I did find that

350 00:56:25.860 --> 00:56:39.480 Parisa Wright: I found taking action was really empowering, and felt… suddenly I felt like I had agency again, because I felt in 2018 that, my children were being held for ransom by politicians.

351 00:56:39.480 --> 00:56:55.360 Parisa Wright: who really didn't care. At a national level and at a local level, actually, it's an extremely conservative borough, with a leader of the council who told me to my face he didn't believe in climate change or air pollution, like they're a matter of opinion rather than scientific fact.

352 00:56:55.360 --> 00:57:07.299 Parisa Wright: He's still there now. But yeah, so I did find… I found taking action really helpful. I found a lot of people have found taking action really helpful, but what they've also found helpful

353 00:57:07.300 --> 00:57:18.759 Parisa Wright: Is that people are visually… they see their communities being reminded of the issue on a daily basis because of the location and the nature of this project, and all the socials that we put out.

354 00:57:18.760 --> 00:57:43.690 Parisa Wright: and all the community groups and schools we work with, they see it being raised again and again in their community, which makes them feel good about it. It makes them feel like they're not on their own, and that they're not abnormal or weird when they raise it in a conversation. I know that we've had feedback that they really love volunteering, many of them love volunteering, even if it's just once or twice a year that they're doing a workshop on their particular skills, but they love being part of a team and being able to talk to other people

355 00:57:43.690 --> 00:57:45.719 Parisa Wright: We're also deeply concerned.

356 00:57:45.720 --> 00:57:51.639 Parisa Wright: Because it's kind of like finding people they can safely talk to even more than, you know, certainly

357 00:57:52.540 --> 00:58:12.969 Parisa Wright: I found it very difficult starting off, because I'm Iranian… my Iranian background meant that my Iranian family was saying, this was a white middle-class thing, why don't I focus on the human rights in Iran? And I was trying to say that actually it's a massive human rights issue for any vulnerable groups, particularly people, from non-white communities, who have both, sort of, like, mental and physical health vulnerabilities beyond

358 00:58:12.970 --> 00:58:22.300 Parisa Wright: standard white communities in the UK, which are responding to high carbon lifestyles, but also we have family members in countries already being hit and ravaged by climate change.

359 00:58:22.300 --> 00:58:23.669 Parisa Wright: And I think…

360 00:58:23.760 --> 00:58:32.110 Parisa Wright: that I've not felt… I didn't feel, like, safe talking about it with them, and also a lot of people are dealing with a mental health crisis, so my husband, for example.

361 00:58:32.120 --> 00:58:48.939 Parisa Wright: And many others, including myself, you know, have on-off dealt with depression and anxiety, and so you don't always feel safe talking to people about these big things, because they don't want to be brought down, but actually having other volunteers, or having a space where people can go and it's safe to talk about it, have a cup of tea.

362 00:58:48.940 --> 00:59:13.710 Parisa Wright: is really empowering, both for me, for our volunteers, our staff, but also for people who can come in and express that grief and have a chat with someone. So, sometimes it's… they're expressing net-zero anger, you know, like, in terms of, like, I don't believe in this, but actually having a space where you can safely talk to at least one or two people at any one time is really, I think, empowering. But we also, though we talk mostly

363 00:59:13.710 --> 00:59:37.370 Parisa Wright: mostly about life skills and community building. We try not to use the words climate and planet too much, because unfortunately that stops a lot of people engaging. We do do things like art inactivism and craftism sessions, and sessions where people are sort of enabled to express themselves around the loss of biodiversity. So, like, arts and crafts sort of sessions around particular themes where people can express themselves.

364 00:59:37.540 --> 00:59:48.459 Parisa Wright: And we've done creative writing sessions where people can express themselves. And we are also linked with local climate cafes where people go and specifically sit down and sort of share their grief.

365 00:59:49.150 --> 00:59:56.660 Parisa Wright: I would like to do more of that work in the Hub, as in a specific sort of climate grief cafe, but I think

366 00:59:56.880 --> 01:00:14.260 Parisa Wright: we haven't had enough requests for it, but there are different ways that people are, sort of, being able to have the conversation and feel safe being heard, I think, at the moment, that, it's something we can build on, but we're getting quite a lot of feedback on that, which is positive.

367 01:00:14.260 --> 01:00:20.110 Linda Aspey, Climate Psychology Alliance: Yeah, Max, again, very inspiring. Yeah, I won't hog you, because I see those are the questions, because I've got.

368 01:00:20.110 --> 01:00:20.580 Parisa Wright: I wouldn't

369 01:00:20.950 --> 01:00:37.679 Parisa Wright: to you later about the inner… inner work, because what I didn't say was, in 2021, I burnt out, and I was very ill for 9 months, couldn't even, like, you know, talk, really, and in 20… and last year, when we almost lost our hub because of funding, I really did burn out, so…

370 01:00:37.680 --> 01:00:42.380 Parisa Wright: It's quite a lot of pressure feeling responsible for these projects.

371 01:00:42.390 --> 01:00:52.529 Parisa Wright: And I think it's important that you have a team, and it's important that you have people like you guys actually focusing on that inner work, which I'm really interested to hear more about it, and how

372 01:00:52.680 --> 01:00:58.590 Parisa Wright: Founders, but also our volunteers can sort of, like, you know, get involved.

373 01:00:58.590 --> 01:01:14.130 Linda Aspey, Climate Psychology Alliance: Absolutely. What we've found in general over the last few years is that, I mean, action is so important, because it is an antidote to thoughts, some very difficult feelings. However, sometimes in those action spaces, there can be peer pressure not to get too down about something.

374 01:01:14.130 --> 01:01:14.529 Parisa Wright: You know?

375 01:01:14.530 --> 01:01:22.530 Linda Aspey, Climate Psychology Alliance: Oh, you know, it's going to be fine, we're doing this, and it can be that one slightly gets gaslit by the culture of positivity.

376 01:01:22.530 --> 01:01:22.850 Parisa Wright: Yeah.

377 01:01:22.850 --> 01:01:39.080 Linda Aspey, Climate Psychology Alliance: It's not intentional, because it has its massive benefits. So what we find is with Climate Cafe listening circle spaces, which are a bit different from, you know, kind of any kind of cafe, they are listening circles, and other things that we do, and we have therapeutic support services and stuff.

378 01:01:39.080 --> 01:01:45.580 Linda Aspey, Climate Psychology Alliance: Is that being able to say your very worst thing, you know, you can't really sit in a knitting circle or a craft cafe.

379 01:01:45.580 --> 01:01:46.280 Parisa Wright: Thanks.

380 01:01:46.280 --> 01:01:59.430 Linda Aspey, Climate Psychology Alliance: I lie awake at night, and this is the dream I had last night about my grandchildren. It's very difficult, because the pressure is keep it light, you know. So I think there's so much need for both, and I'd love to talk to you about the work we do, and

381 01:01:59.430 --> 01:02:08.200 Linda Aspey, Climate Psychology Alliance: And about the work of ICRA, and just, you know, find out some more. And I've got another question, but I can see Gillian's got a question, so I'm not going to hog you.

382 01:02:09.030 --> 01:02:13.559 Gillian Heath: If you've got to leave, Linda, do go ahead, because I'm… I'm not in a hurry.

383 01:02:13.560 --> 01:02:24.919 Linda Aspey, Climate Psychology Alliance: Right, thank you. I'm wondering about adaptation. Sustainability is in some circles, and this is not with… this is with absolute respect for everything you're doing.

384 01:02:25.010 --> 01:02:42.699 Linda Aspey, Climate Psychology Alliance: But in some circles, professional circles included, sustainability is kind of been and gone. We are now moving into somewhere where, you know, we can't sort of tweak around the edges of lifestyle, that this thing is much bigger, it's a polycrisis, a meta-crisis, call it what you will.

385 01:02:43.120 --> 01:02:57.050 Linda Aspey, Climate Psychology Alliance: I'm wondering what your thoughts are about moving, as you… probably nature will force us to move more into adaptive… adaptation mode, if what your thoughts are about how you merge, how you move your organization into that.

386 01:02:58.080 --> 01:03:00.079 Parisa Wright: I think that's really interesting. I think…

387 01:03:01.310 --> 01:03:11.859 Parisa Wright: I think when we talk about sustainability, it's a bit more multi-layered than just environmental sustainability. It's kind of about a community sustaining itself, and that's why it works

388 01:03:12.450 --> 01:03:14.869 Parisa Wright: And that's why, actually, addressing those…

389 01:03:14.970 --> 01:03:27.240 Parisa Wright: Ranging community needs is so important, but also what we're doing, as far as I'm concerned, is building community adaptability and resilience, because if you can share their skills to grow food.

390 01:03:27.240 --> 01:03:35.180 Parisa Wright: to improve energy efficiency, to not use your car privately. You are creating the space where people

391 01:03:35.730 --> 01:03:57.940 Parisa Wright: can manage better when we have less access to energy or less reliable energy, can get access to places to grow food, but also can access the skills so they can use new, more and more community spaces to grow food, are creating the network so that when there is another pandemic, when there is another international war affecting food, accessibility, or health.

392 01:03:57.940 --> 01:04:18.139 Parisa Wright: or energy prices, that people are not as isolated as they have been. They are better connected and supported to create the appetite for local, sort of solar grids and community energy projects, and get more people understanding the benefits of those and getting on board with those. So we are more resilient, and we're adapting to the

393 01:04:18.140 --> 01:04:24.289 Parisa Wright: reality of… I mean, it's already here, isn't it, really? The reality of life now, and how it's going to become, so…

394 01:04:25.220 --> 01:04:32.069 Parisa Wright: From my perspective, the sorts of skills and knowledge that are being shared, and the projects that are being developed, and

395 01:04:32.480 --> 01:04:48.900 Parisa Wright: grown are not just about, sort of, sustaining our lifestyles now, but creating the appetite and skill sets that enable communities to be resilient and to adapt. Because it is energy use, it is how we travel, it is how we eat.

396 01:04:48.900 --> 01:05:00.839 Parisa Wright: It is those key things that actually are access to physical stuff, so the ability to grow, to repair, to insulate, to know other people, to collaborate.

397 01:05:01.040 --> 01:05:13.440 Parisa Wright: is absolutely going to become more and more key, and it's… it is absolutely terrifying, actually, as a parent. Like, you know, we're, like, trying to… we've moved house to be closer to a school for my daughter, and in my head, I'm like.

398 01:05:13.890 --> 01:05:31.050 Parisa Wright: God, what skills do I really want to learn? Do I want to have to go to university, or do I want to have to become a builder? Because actually, that might be more useful, in 20 years' time, sadly, in 30 years' time. So, no, you're absolutely right. But my hope is that this model, this approach.

399 01:05:31.770 --> 01:05:42.879 Parisa Wright: can be used exactly for that. And actually, we've become part of the Climate Majority Network, and, we're going to be doing a sort of presentation like this for their,

400 01:05:43.110 --> 01:05:45.310 Parisa Wright: for their group as well, but I think…

401 01:05:45.310 --> 01:06:08.789 Parisa Wright: it's very much aligned with resilience and adaptability, because you can't suddenly get people to adapt, and what we've learned is that when government changes policy, or says, you must do X, so many people are cynical. They need someone that they already trust, not someone that's brought in by government or by councils to explain it, but people who are already embedded in their community, who are actually their own neighbors.

402 01:06:08.880 --> 01:06:25.950 Parisa Wright: to explain to them what this thing is, and what the benefits of it are, and how it's led on from previous projects and conversations. Not something that just comes in fresh, and everyone's like, what? You know, it's a 15-minute neighborhood, and they're going to put a tag on our ankle, or whatever it is, the latest kind of, like, you know, conspiracy theory.

403 01:06:25.950 --> 01:06:26.410 Linda Aspey, Climate Psychology Alliance: Nope.

404 01:06:26.410 --> 01:06:28.889 Parisa Wright: So yeah, anyway, that's… that's my answer, sorry.

405 01:06:28.890 --> 01:06:35.980 Linda Aspey, Climate Psychology Alliance: And it's a fabulous answer, and it's what I was hoping… good kind of thing, I was, yeah, I think it's just great, you know, you're starting with something, you're not starting with nothing if…

406 01:06:35.980 --> 01:06:51.940 Linda Aspey, Climate Psychology Alliance: as adaptation's needed, you've already got this web of connections, this web of community that will then be more, you know, stronger together. You know, resilience lies in the connections, not in the individual, doesn't it? So, thank you, that was fabulous. Gillian, over to you.

407 01:06:52.680 --> 01:06:57.069 Gillian Heath: Thank you. That was so inspiring, Parisa. I, I just…

408 01:06:57.400 --> 01:07:10.339 Gillian Heath: I'm also very grateful that you've also shown us that it's not all easy, because it's not, and and I think the fact that you've… you've done such a fantastic job, and it's…

409 01:07:10.630 --> 01:07:15.149 Gillian Heath: it's not been easy, it's even better, really. So, well done.

410 01:07:16.050 --> 01:07:36.570 Gillian Heath: I love your idea of the 360 approach, that people come in for one thing, just maybe a bit of company, and then you give them this other information. I'm interested in whether you actually train your volunteers and your staff to do that, or whether it's just leaflets they… people pick up, or…

411 01:07:36.570 --> 01:07:40.739 Gillian Heath: How… how does… how do you get that 360 really going?

412 01:07:41.140 --> 01:07:57.859 Parisa Wright: So, we were incredibly lucky. So, the idea of this from the beginning, when we… was to do something that was a pilot, that we could share learnings with everyone all over the UK. I left my career in 2022 not to do something in Bromley, but to create… to test things that we could then share with other people.

413 01:07:57.860 --> 01:08:05.929 Parisa Wright: And in 2021, I went and spoke… at the end of my burnout, I went and spoke at COP26 about this project, and secured

414 01:08:05.930 --> 01:08:22.260 Parisa Wright: like, a chunky amount of seed funding from BASE, which is now DESNES, to do the first launch year, and part of that money we promised them we would spend, and we did spend, on designing carbon literacy training with the Carbon Literacy Trust for our volunteers and staff.

415 01:08:22.260 --> 01:08:23.120 Gillian Heath: Oh, okay.

416 01:08:23.120 --> 01:08:37.329 Parisa Wright: And so anyone who volunteers gets access to it for free, and obviously staff do as well. But we also put it on, I think, once a month now, so any member of the community can do it. I think they just pay the £25, which is the certification fee, to the Carbon Literacy Trust.

417 01:08:37.330 --> 01:09:00.150 Parisa Wright: got 100% success rate, and it basically gives people really good grounding in, you know, what is the science, what are the greenhouse gases, to what is, you know, what aboutism, and actually what are people's emissions around the world? We talk about China or America, you know, who per person has the highest carbon footprint. Where do emissions come from? What are the biggest emissions? So it's geography-based, so

418 01:09:00.149 --> 01:09:15.670 Parisa Wright: some of the stats will come from the local geography. We did this for… we also sometimes provide it for businesses and charities in other areas, so we went and did it for the Globe theater and their senior management team, so they could have that context behind the sustainability policies they were bringing in place.

419 01:09:15.670 --> 01:09:34.500 Parisa Wright: And we then looked at Lambeth as an area, and we said, okay, where are the biggest emissions coming from? Where are the biggest places that an individual can make a difference, the community can make a difference, and you as an organization can make a difference? And so I think that carbon literacy training does help a lot, and it's something where

420 01:09:34.899 --> 01:09:39.610 Parisa Wright: Sometimes we have community groups, and charities who will come and do it with us.

421 01:09:39.700 --> 01:09:55.090 Parisa Wright: And then I think they do the train the trainer type thing, so they then do the following, somebody delivering it, and then they deliver it, and we follow them, and sometimes we do collaborations like that, so that they can then go back to their community and train their volunteers and their staff as well.

422 01:09:55.430 --> 01:10:03.059 Parisa Wright: So… so that's kind of… that is a very good question, but it's… it's really important. We still haven't quite cracked

423 01:10:03.790 --> 01:10:18.949 Parisa Wright: Like, if I could control everything, we would have cracked it, but we can't, like, one person can't do everything, and you have to be able to delegate, and you have to… unfortunately, some things move slow, but what I would love to end up with, and I've tried before, is to have some key icebreaker lines.

424 01:10:18.950 --> 01:10:40.690 Parisa Wright: explaining what we do in the Hub, and like, you know, what people might be interested in. And everyone has their different approach to explaining that. But at least with the carbon literacy training, you know people have at least got that grounding, and they kind of 360 understand the different areas that we can make a difference, whether it's your money, whether it's your garden, whether it's your energy, and they also know that the biggest things we're trying to get people towards

425 01:10:40.690 --> 01:10:58.550 Parisa Wright: is energy transport, food, and the things that people like to start with is whether it's their mental health, their loneliness, employability, cost of living, or it's sort of nature and waste, for example, those are the things that sort of will bring most people along, kind of thing. So, that's kind of how we deal with it.

426 01:10:59.240 --> 01:11:11.110 Gillian Heath: That's a wonderful answer, thank you very much. I tried to put, where I come from on my name in the corner, but I couldn't do it because I couldn't remember my password. I'm a Duxford Parish Councillor, just south of Cambridge.

427 01:11:11.780 --> 01:11:21.180 Gillian Heath: And I also, I'm also, we have a group called Friends of Duxford Green Spaces, so I'm… I'm more on the greeny nature side.

428 01:11:21.180 --> 01:11:21.930 Parisa Wright: Yeah.

429 01:11:21.930 --> 01:11:25.239 Gillian Heath: And we only have 2,000 people in Duxford,

430 01:11:25.260 --> 01:11:45.200 Gillian Heath: And… and we don't even have one public electric vehicle charging point, so I'm… we're… we're battling a bit. It's a bit of a long haul, but I… I very much appreciate that you've blueprinted it, and there will be elements that we can pull out. So thank you very much for that, yeah.

431 01:11:45.200 --> 01:12:02.369 Parisa Wright: No, no, my pleasure. And also, you can set… join the network once that's set up, because it won't then just be us sharing templates, it'll be other friends of parts groups, repair cafes, blah blah blah, and you can take the bits that's useful from all of those people. But one thing, I guess if it was me, and I had 2,000 people.

432 01:12:02.370 --> 01:12:12.999 Parisa Wright: but I did have some sort of thing going on, even if it's once a month in the community. What I might aim to do is go, well, how do we build on that to bring people from nature to, let's say.

433 01:12:13.000 --> 01:12:25.049 Parisa Wright: I don't know, food and energy. Food is an easier one, because you can go to biodiversity-friendly growing, and people are already outside, so it's… and energy is a trickier one, but I do wonder whether…

434 01:12:25.420 --> 01:12:45.130 Parisa Wright: something like a once-a-year thing could be something one aims for in that sort of situation, where you're just going, like, well, let's bring those people that we've got coming on a journey with us, and other people who are interested, just to think about these other bits that are connecting once a year. And even if that's, like, a summer festival, or a Christmas fair, or something.

435 01:12:45.500 --> 01:12:57.490 Parisa Wright: That might be a way of just dipping a toe in and getting, you know, some energy… energy, you know, community energy companies to come and talk, and some different people to come and have stalls, even, if nothing else.

436 01:12:58.520 --> 01:13:00.649 Gillian Heath: Brilliant, thank you, thank you.

437 01:13:00.820 --> 01:13:01.370 Parisa Wright: Shop.

438 01:13:02.390 --> 01:13:05.350 Gillian Heath: I had one more thing.

439 01:13:06.090 --> 01:13:12.729 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration, Isle of Wight: No, you seem to have exhausted the, no, it's gone. Well, unfortunately, people always have other, things to go to.

440 01:13:13.160 --> 01:13:19.319 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration, Isle of Wight: And, although we can't rely on plumbers to be on time, everyone else seems to have to get to their meetings when they need to.

441 01:13:19.320 --> 01:13:39.249 Parisa Wright: Well, everyone can always drop me an email anyway, and especially if people want to be kept in the loop around the blueprinting, around the one-to-one sessions, or around the network that's being set up, just drop me a line, and I'll add you to my little, sort of, waiting list for whether it's the sessions, or the blueprint, or the network, or all of them.

442 01:13:39.250 --> 01:13:47.469 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration, Isle of Wight: That's super, and thank you very much, Parisa. Does anyone else have anything that they want to capture whilst you can?

443 01:13:47.660 --> 01:13:57.120 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration, Isle of Wight: Now, let me say how brilliant it was, again, really, really wonderful, and we'd love to hear from you, and thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us today.

444 01:13:57.390 --> 01:13:58.829 Linda Aspey, Climate Psychology Alliance: Fabulous, thank you, fabulous.

445 01:13:58.830 --> 01:13:59.860 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration, Isle of Wight: Yep, really good.

446 01:13:59.860 --> 01:14:02.879 Linda Aspey, Climate Psychology Alliance: Pleasure. Thanks for organising, as always.

447 01:14:02.880 --> 01:14:17.149 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration, Isle of Wight: My pleasure. Next week, we do have some exciting stuff, but like always, I've completely forgotten what it is, so you'll just have to keep an eye on the knowledge base. But, Parisa, take care, and we'll see you again, hopefully, I'm sure.

448 01:14:17.830 --> 01:14:25.710 Parisa Wright: Thank you for everything all of you guys are doing, and thank you, Graeme, for bringing everyone together. I appreciate it. Good to see you. Take care all. Bye-bye.

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Markdown of Parisa's presentation (for AI search engine):

Greener & Cleaner: Community Hub Model & CSSN

Presentation: Community Hubs: Learnings, Blueprint, Support

Presenter: Parisa Wright, Founder, Greener & Cleaner

📧 [email protected]

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Overview

A welcoming and empowering local space for ALL, hosted in a mainstream setting:

• 10,000+ visitors per year

• 10–15 events per week

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Who We Are

Greener & Cleaner is a community sustainability charity piloting a Community Hub model by repurposing empty retail or high-street units.

The model:

• Normalises and increases engagement with sustainable living.

• Responds holistically to interconnected crises: climate, cost of living, loneliness, mental health.

• Empowers people to co-create projects and services, building resilience and people power.

• Fosters community while providing practical sustainability skills.

• Builds stronger, healthier, and more resilient communities.

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360° Community Hub

Accessibility

Designed and delivered by and for local people.

360° Sustainability

Covers all aspects of sustainable living — energy, transport, food, mending, growing, and more.

360° Community Needs

Addresses social, economic, and wellbeing needs through a sustainability lens — cost of living, loneliness, mental and physical health, employability, and language skills.

Outcomes:

• Lower living costs

• Improved wellbeing and connection

• Employability and enterprise opportunities

• Greener, fairer, and more resilient communities

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Borrow & Lend

Free access to equipment five days a week:

• Sewing machines, crafting tools, litter pickers

• Kids’ party sets

• Library of Things — reducing costs and carbon footprints

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Sharing Skills

Intergenerational and intercultural skills swapping:

• Boosts mindfulness, creativity, and connection

• Reduces isolation and waste

• Builds confidence and community cohesion

People value reliability and variety — each visitor takes a sustainability journey through the Hub.

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Weekly & Monthly Activities

At the Hub (Thu–Mon):

• Energy & mending clinics

• Baby/toddler groups

• Knit, stitch & crochet socials

• Family crafting, youth programmes

• SME Support Day, Film Night, Board Games

In the Community:

• Allotment & garden days

• Repair Cafés

• Energy pop-ups

• Local newsletters

• Annual fairs, swaps, and festivals

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Building Community: The Hub & Spokes Model

Community Allotment/Garden

• Safe, accessible nature connection

• Intergenerational food growing and biodiversity education

• Collaboration with social prescribers and charities

Projects & Collaborations

• Repair Cafés across multiple sites

• Partnerships with schools, food banks, faith groups, residents’ associations

• Energy advice pop-ups and home visits

• Local council collaboration & Bromley Environment Network

Growth Path:

Weekly mending clinic → Hub Repair Café → Beckenham / St Mary’s Cray / West Wickham Repair Cafés

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Co-Design & Research

Co-Designed & Co-Delivered Services

Local people help design and deliver what matters most to them.

Research Collaborations

Partnerships with:

• Imperial College London

• UCL & NESTA

• Queen Mary University

• Glasgow University

• CAST & Bath University

• British Academy

Community Co-Design Methods

• Feedback from local charities, schools, and vulnerable groups

• One-to-one meetings, co-design days, and online surveys

• Turning community ideas into real events and services

Feedback Collection

• Conversations, surveys, debriefs

• Monthly team meetings and volunteer sessions

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Volunteering

Friendly, diverse, local volunteers support visitors by:

• Sharing sustainability knowledge

• Tackling cost of living, loneliness, and employability challenges

• Offering empathy and practical advice through sustainability

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Energy Support

Helping communities with energy efficiency and affordability, addressing major emissions and human needs.

Energy Champions Deliver:

• Weekly Energy Advice Clinics

• “Getting Cozy” craft/info sessions

• Energy home visits

• Public info stalls

• Talks for local groups and charities

Providing:

• Advice on tariffs, funding, and efficiency measures

• Renewable options and funding

• Scam awareness and case studies

• Signposting to community energy projects

Collaborations With:

• BEIS/DESNZ Net Zero Review (Chris Skidmore)

• SELCE & UKPN

• Local residents’ groups, PTAs, faith and community organisations

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Addressing Inequality

Marginalised communities experience greater burdens from food, housing, energy, and health crises.

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Building Trust in Sustainability

Challenges

• Low trust in government and environmental messaging

• Lack of relatable engagement

• Misinformation on social media

Our Response

• Reframing sustainability in relatable, inclusive terms

• Community-led empowerment through peer-to-peer learning

• Trusted, local messengers bridging gaps between public and policy

How Hubs Build Trust

• Listen and care about real local concerns

• Staff and volunteers reflect the community

• Enable open dialogue, even for sceptical views

• Clarify confusing policies or technologies

Pillars of Trust:

• Competence

• Integrity

• Benevolence

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Impacts

• Strong, growing engagement

• Increased environmental awareness

• More low-carbon behaviours

• Reduced isolation and improved wellbeing

• Thriving community spaces

• Increased civic engagement

• Reduced pressure on public services

Measured Green Behaviours

• Home: 89.8%

• Community: 52.5%

• Shopping: 61%

• Workplace: 47.5%

  (Source: CAST Research)

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Thriving Places

Community Hubs:

• Provide practical, collaborative spaces

• Empower residents to address local issues

• Revitalise town centres

• Offer safe and warm community environments

Contributes to government missions:

• Community energy

• Skills & levelling up

• Wellbeing and youth empowerment

• Green economy development

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Scaling the Impact

Blueprinting & Collaboration

• National sharing of learnings and resources

• Identifying partners for Community Hub Blueprinting

• Piloting the Community Sustainability Support Network (CSSN) with Benefact Group

Opportunities

• Support grassroots innovation and policy learning

• Facilitate cross-government collaboration

• Provide a Blueprinting Package to help others establish Hubs

• Offer one-to-one support for organisations

• Build a national CSSN peer-to-peer network

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Get in Touch

Parisa Wright

Chief Partnerships Officer

📧 [email protected]

📞 07811 117253

💼 [LinkedIn (QR Code provided in presentation)]