Community groups to receive climate action grants
Eleven Oxfordshire groups have been awarded funding to help them kickstart projects that address the impacts of extreme weather events.
The grants, ranging from £100 to £1,700, will be used by organisations across the county to fund measures including rainwater harvesting, allotment improvements and flood advice.
The community resilience small grants programme, administered by Community Action Groups Oxfordshire (CAG) and funded by £12,000 from Oxfordshire County Council, supports local events and activities which address or raise awareness of climate adaptation.
Katherine Chesson, Director of CAG Oxfordshire, said: “Community groups are at the heart of ensuring that Oxfordshire's residents are resilient to the impacts of climate change, such as extreme weather events.
“From rainwater harvesting at community gardens to raising awareness of local emergency plans, we're proud to support these fantastic groups to deliver locally led resilience work.”
Since 2007, Oxfordshire has experienced 20 significant flood events, 12 named storms, eight cold snaps, four major heatwaves and three periods of drought.
Councillor Judy Roberts, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Place, Environment and Climate Action, said: “We know that one of the best ways to mitigate against the impact of these increased incidents of extreme weather is to support activities and events that empower local groups to act.
“We received a great field of applications and we are delighted to be able to fund an exciting range of projects. We hope these grants will help some amazing organisations create new connections and raise awareness in order to support new people, local businesses and organisations to take climate action.”
The recipients are:
- Banbury Community Action Group: It will hold a film night and workshop to raise awareness of the need for community resilience and climate adaptation measures.
- Bridge Street Community Garden, Banbury: Funds will be used to upgrade the rainwater harvesting system at the garden to make the site more resilient to climate change.
- Bioabundance, Wallingford: Recognising the potential impacts of food shortages, the group will improve two allotment sites, which were set up to create a citizen network that could rise to support residents in time of crisis.
- Greener Henley: It will deliver a local resilience briefing for the town, tailored to local risks and resilience.
- Hendreds Environment Group: Funding will support the design, printing and distribution of leaflets to communicate the local emergency plan to the community and to educate residents on how they can become more self-reliant and prepare in advance in the event of an emergency.
- Her Land, South Oxfordshire: The group will deliver a workshop on the impact of droughts and flooding and outlining solutions such as rainwater harvesting. It will also install a rainwater harvesting system to better protect its site against extreme weather events.
- One Planet Abingdon: The group will engage with the community to raise awareness of Abingdon’s emergency plan workshop sessions and help residents create personal emergency plans.
- Steventon Parish Council: As a flood response group, it wants to provide every home with a flood education booklet describing what help can be provided within the village and from outside agencies.
- Stonehill Community Garden, Vale of White Horse: Its grant will support expanded rainwater harvesting to better protect the garden against future droughts, thereby improving the biodiversity of the site.
- Sustainable Didcot: Funding will support a month of themed climate resilience events, focused predominantly on water, as drought and flood are the biggest risks Didcot faces due to climate change.
- Transition Lighthouse Empowerment Space, Oxford: The group will purchase and install a yurt for shade at the Wellbeing Community Garden in Sandy Lane, to serve communities who face barriers in accessing and connecting to nature rich spaces.
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