Empowering Communities Through Environmental Action

Groundwork is a federation of charities mobilising practical community action on poverty and the environment across the UK. They are passionate about creating a future where every neighbourhood is vibrant and green, every community is strong and able to shape its own destiny and no-one is held back by their background or circumstances. Here they share with us their new policy focussing on the empowerment of communities through environmental action.

“The consequences of the climate and nature emergencies for our quality of life are becoming more real by the day – with those who have least being impacted first and worst by floods, extreme heat, and air pollution.“

Taking a community centred approach to policy and practice will be vital to ‘levelling’ up, addressing health inequalities and supporting a just transition to a low carbon economy.

Groundwork is expert in achieving community development through environmental projects and, through our forty years of experience, we have identified key ingredients for successful community environmental projects: longevity, creating a ‘hub’, acting as mediators and capacity builders, offering a variety of activities, and being able to draw on a skilled workforce.

‘From the Ground Up: empowering communities through environmental action’ is the latest policy report from Groundwork and reflects on the range of work underway across our network to support local community action and, through interviews with those involved, draws lessons about what works and why.