The grants, ranging from £85 to £3,000, will be used by organisations across the county to tackle the impact of high temperatures, floods, droughts, and storms in Oxfordshire caused by climate change.

The expanded community resilience small grants programme, administered by Community Action Groups Oxfordshire (CAG) and funded by £44,724 from Oxfordshire County Council, supports local events and activities which address or raise awareness of climate adaptation.

This year’s grants have increased from last year when 11 groups received a total of £12,000.

The money will help fund projects including practical ways to make homes more bearable during heatwaves, creating cooler community spaces, tree planting, growing food, harvesting rainwater, and tackling climate anxiety.

The full list of recipients can be found on the CAG Oxfordshire website.

Katherine Chesson, Director of CAG Oxfordshire, said: “Our role at CAG is to support community leaders who, in turn, are able to support their neighbours.

“With this strategic funding from the county council, we are able to make a direct investment in local knowledge and expertise in order to facilitate more connected, prepared communities from the impacts of the climate and nature crisis.”

Councillor Laura Gordon, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Economy, said: “The increase in funding allocated for these grants this year shows how important we believe it is to support communities in carrying out these projects.

“They are the experts and know their own areas better than anyone. This summer’s heatwaves were not one-off occurrences, but the new reality for the UK and we all need to adapt. So, it is inspiring to be able to help so many communities to help themselves tackle the heat and other instances of extreme weather.”

The awards also recognise that climate action will impact on people’s health and wellbeing.

Flooding in Oxfordshire in recent years brought this into the spotlight, with some people suffering a loss of livelihood and a negative impact on their mental health. These events are going to be more common going forward as extreme weather events become more frequent.

One of the recipients is the Cherwell Collective, which successfully applied in all three categories – heat safe homes grants, community resilience grants, and climate anxiety grants.

Victoria Russell, Programme Manager at Cherwell Collective, said: “We are incredibly grateful for the long and short term support of CAG Oxfordshire. The funds are going to help us tackle climate anxiety within Oxfordshire and go towards the work that Cherwell Collective is doing with the Oxfordshire Good Waste Charter, a grassroots initiative that is looking to pave the way for waste in Oxfordshire.”

The council has been increasing its focus on improving heat resilience in the county through a series of training and information events and seminars this year.

It has funded the CAGs to appoint a resilience coordinator to begin community-led learning and capacity building and launched a community of best practice for building resilience, with the first event taking place in September 2026.

Climate risks such as extreme heat, intense storms, and severe flooding are an increasing threat to public health, particularly for vulnerable residents, including older people, people with disabilities, and those with long-term health conditions.

In England, an estimated 2,877 heat-associated deaths occurred during this year’s May and June heat events alone. Many homes, schools, hospitals, public buildings, and other infrastructure are not designed for the weather events now being experienced and are becoming increasingly vulnerable.

Sign up to hear from us and receive the latest news and updates in our fortnightly newsletter, Your Oxfordshire.

Today Oxfordshire County Council approved a grant of £306,200 for the Community Action Groups (CAG) Oxfordshire to continue its work for 2026 - 27.

This includes £100,000 in one-off public health funding in support of enhancing community gardening and land skills, addressing climate anxiety through social action, and the Heat Safe Homes project.

Councillor Laura Gordon, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Economy, said: “CAG Oxfordshire has been running for 25 years in the county and is the largest network of its kind in the country. It is full of committed and passionate groups doing great things in their local communities, working on waste, energy, transport, biodiversity, food and social justice.

“As a council, we are delighted to enter a one-year grant funding arrangement and will be working with them going forward to ensure we continue to support their great work, while being mindful of the significant funding challenges faced by the council in future years.”

The county council has fully funded the network since 2001. The latest grant will run until 31 March 2027 while the council considers its other voluntary and community sector offerings.

In 2024 - 25, CAG Oxfordshire held over 8,000 events and activities, attracting more than 120,000 attendees, and brought almost £6 million in funding and income to the county.

Katherine Chesson, Director of CAG Oxfordshire, said: “CAG Oxfordshire is grateful to the county council for its ongoing commitment to the thousands of volunteers who are making a difference on issues of social change that affect us all.

“Our member groups undertake activities that range from supporting residents to grow and cook nutritious food with zero waste; hosting libraries of things and repair cafes to encourage repairing and sharing over buying new; engaging people in nature recovery and nature engagement plans; and working to bring wealth and power back to communities.”

The council’s policies and strategies benefit from the groups’ activities and awareness-raising on topics such as social justice and equity, waste reduction and recycling, energy, climate mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity and flooding.

Sign up to hear from us and receive the latest news and updates in our fortnightly newsletter, Your Oxfordshire.

Fabia Cerra never expected to end up running her own community support business when she started looking for work that fitted around caring for her autistic son, Leone.

With support from Community Catalysts, a programme funded by Oxfordshire County Council to help people set up small, local care and support services, Fabia has gone on to establish a community micro‑enterprise providing flexible support for people with learning disabilities, autistic people, older residents, and others who can feel isolated in their communities.

Through her service, Fabia supports people to live independently at home and stay connected in their communities. Her work includes helping with everyday tasks such as cleaning, laundry, meal preparation, shopping, and managing correspondence, as well as accompanying people to appointments, supporting travel on public transport, and enabling participation in hobbies and social activities. She also offers companionship, providing a reassuring presence for those who need it.

As Leone’s primary carer, Fabia, who lives in Oxford, wanted work that was both meaningful and flexible. With mentoring and guidance from Community Catalysts, she was able to turn her lived experience into a viable service and set up her enterprise in just a few months.

Fabia said: “I was inspired to start my micro‑enterprise as I’m my son’s primary carer. I was looking for a role that fitted in with my personal life, including my son, and this was ideal for using my experiences and knowledge of being an unpaid carer.”

More than two years on, she has an established customer base and continues to support people in her local area to improve their quality of life.

She adds: “The support from Community Catalysts has been brilliant.

“My mentor is always there if I need guidance or advice, and the Zoom meetings and private WhatsApp group are really helpful. I get to hear from other community micro‑enterprises and learn from their experiences.”

Fabia says the biggest impact comes from small, everyday changes: “I would like to think I’m helping people in my local community improve their quality of life. Making a small change in their day can make a huge difference to them.”

Rebekah Fletcher, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, said: “By funding Community Catalysts, we are backing local people to build support that genuinely reflects the realities of their lives and communities.

“Fabia’s story shows how lived experience, with the right support, can be turned into something that benefits both families and the wider community.”

“Community‑led services like this complement wider adult social care provision and help people feel more connected, confident and supported close to home in line with The Oxfordshire Way.”

Fabia adds: “If you’d said to me two years ago that I’d be working for myself, I’d have just laughed it off.”

Fabia’s experience reflects the wider impact of the Community Catalysts programme across Oxfordshire, which has been working in Oxfordshire since 2020. The council funds the programme as part of its commitment to more personalised, community‑based approaches to care and support.

So far, the programme has delivered significant results across the county:

• In Cherwell, 89 community micro‑enterprises have completed the programme, together providing more than 4,000 hours of support and 118 activity sessions each week to over 2,000 people, while creating 150 jobs and 142 volunteering roles.
• In the Vale of White Horse, a further 37 micro‑enterprises have been supported since 2023, many offering activities for people with learning disabilities who previously had to travel much further to access support.

From 1 April 2026, Community Catalysts expanded into West Oxfordshire under a new two‑year contract extension, reflecting growing demand for local, flexible support, particularly in rural areas and among older residents.

Residents or community organisations interested in starting a micro‑enterprise, or exploring an idea, can contact Anita Wingad, Project Coordinator for Oxfordshire, directly or using the enquiry form on the Community Catalysts website.

Residents are also invited to attend free drop-in sessions at Chipping Norton Library, taking place on Tuesdays from 12pm to 1.30pm on 23 and 30 June and 7, 14 and 21 July, to speak with the local Community Catalysts coordinator and explore their ideas.

Existing CMEs in the county can be viewed on the Small Good Stuff directory.

Ends

Sign up to hear from us and receive the latest news and updates in our fortnightly newsletter, Your Oxfordshire.

Community Catalysts helps people access flexible, personalised support closer to home, and has been working in Oxfordshire since 2020 – first through a pilot in Cherwell and later under contract with Oxfordshire County Council’s adult social care service.

A new two year contract extension means that Community Catalyst Project Coordinator, Anita Wingad, will now focus on the West Oxfordshire district where demand for community‑based support has been growing, particularly among older residents in rural areas.

Anita will help people to set up and run community micro‑enterprises (CMEs). These CMEs are small, local providers offering care and support to adults.

The programme has already delivered significant benefits in Oxfordshire.

In Cherwell, 89 CMEs completed the programme, collectively providing more than 4,000 hours of support and 118 activity sessions each week to 2,028 people, while creating 150 jobs and 142 volunteering roles.

In the Vale of White Horse, a further 37 CMEs have been supported since 2023, many offering activities for people with learning disabilities who previously had to travel much further afield.

Anita said: "I’m really excited to begin this next chapter in West Oxfordshire.

“Every community has people with the passion and skills to make a difference locally, and my role is simply to help them turn their ideas into safe and sustainable micro‑enterprises that support others.

“We’ve already seen how powerful this model can be in Cherwell and the Vale of White Horse, and I’m looking forward to working with residents and local organisations to build community‑based support for people across West Oxfordshire."

Councillor Tim Bearder, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care at Oxfordshire County Council, said: "Community micro‑enterprises are a vital part of our vision for a more personalised and sustainable care system in Oxfordshire.

“They give people genuine choice about who supports them and how, while creating new local jobs and strengthening communities.

“We’re delighted to extend our partnership with Community Catalysts and bring this approach to West Oxfordshire, where it will help ensure that more residents are able to live well, independently, and close to the people and places they know best."

Fabia Cerra, who set up her own micro enterprise through the programme, said: "Community Catalysts gave me the confidence and support to turn my experience into something that helps others.

“My mentor was always there when I needed guidance, and being part of a network of other micro enterprises has been really encouraging.

“I’d like to think I’m helping people in my community improve their quality of life, even a small change in someone’s day can make a huge difference."

Extending the Community Catalysts model is expected to bring a range of benefits, including more personalised care options, new local employment opportunities, improved staff retention, and better value for money for people using CMEs.

As part of the launch, Community Catalysts will be running public drop‑in sessions at Witney Library between 12.30pm – 2pm on:

• 15 April
• 22 April
• 29 April
• 6 May.

Residents can meet Anita, learn more about the programme, and explore ideas for setting up their own micro enterprise. Witney Library can be found on Facebook.

Residents or community organisations interested in starting a micro‑enterprise, or exploring an idea, can contact Anita Wingad, Project Coordinator for Oxfordshire, directly or using the enquiry form on the Community Catalysts website.

Existing CMEs in the county can be viewed on the Small Good Stuff directory.

Sign up to hear from us and receive the latest news and updates in our fortnightly newsletter, Your Oxfordshire.

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. 

Sign up to hear from us and receive the latest news and updates in our fortnightly newsletter, Your Oxfordshire.

Community groups across Oxfordshire can now apply for a share of £773,000 in funding to help residents live well and independently in their local areas.

Launching today, the 2025/26 community grants programme builds on the success of previous years and will once again be delivered in partnership with Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action (OCVA), Community First Oxfordshire (CFO), and Oxfordshire Community Foundation (OCF).

Last year, 104 community projects across Oxfordshire received crucial funding.

Councillor Tim Bearder, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, said: “Community groups play a vital role in supporting and connecting people. They are often the first to step in with practical, compassionate support when people need it most.

“This funding helps these groups to grow their impact and continue delivering the kind of activities that enable people to thrive close to home, whether that’s tackling loneliness, improving wellbeing, or helping people stay independent for longer.

“It’s a key part of our Oxfordshire Way approach, which puts prevention and community at the heart of adult social care.”

Larger Community Capacity Grants – £5,000 to £20,000

The first funding stream is the larger Community Capacity Grant, which welcomes applications from community groups seeking between £5,000 and £20,000 from a total pot of £503,000. Administered by OCF, this programme is aimed at more established groups looking to make a significant impact through their work.

This funding stream opens today, 12 September 2025.

Last year, 24 groups received funding through this stream, with OCF also securing an additional £84,000 from private donors to support a further seven community groups.

One of last year’s beneficiaries was Maymessy, an empowering cooking and wellness centre near Wantage.

Awarded £19,866, Maymessy has been working with local GP practices to deliver social prescribing activities for older widowed men, a group particularly vulnerable to loneliness.

Participants have learned to batch-cook fresh meals, grown their confidence in the kitchen, and, most importantly, built new connections that have enhanced their overall wellbeing.

Anna Richards, Maymessy Coordinator, said, “We’re incredibly grateful to Oxfordshire County Council and the Community Capacity Grants programme for supporting our work with older widowed men.

“This funding has enabled us to run meaningful cooking and wellness sessions that not only teach practical skills but also foster connection, confidence, and resilience. It’s been heartening to see participants form new friendships and rediscover joy in everyday routines.”

Connected Communities Fund – up to £5,000

The second funding stream is the Connected Communities Fund, managed by OCVA and CFO. It offers grants of up to £5,000 from a total fund of £270,000 and opens for applications on 16 September 2025.

Intended for grassroots groups, the fund is issued on a rolling basis with no closing date, designed to be quicker than a formal grant process. OCVA and CFO provide advice and support alongside the funding process.

Last year, Great Company Drama Group received £3,000 from the Connected Communities Fund to expand its drama sessions for adults aged 18+ who are neurodivergent or have learning disabilities.

Based at Chipping Norton Theatre, the group runs three ten-week terms annually, helping members build confidence, discover new talents and form lasting friendships. The funding has enabled 60 participants - including those previously on a waiting list - to join the sessions.

Vanessa Managhan, Take Part Director, said: “Our sessions help build confidence, spark friendships and bring lots of fun.

“Thanks to the Connected Communities funding, we’ve been able to open a second group to meet demand – we’re incredibly grateful to OCVA, CFO and Oxfordshire County Council for making it possible.”

Community groups may apply to only one of the two funding pots: either the Connected Communities Fund or the Community Capacity Grant. Applications sent to both funds will not be accepted. Please read the criteria and eligibility for each fund to see which best fits your project.

How to apply

Groups hoping for between £5,000 and £20,000 can apply online at OCF.

Community groups looking to apply for up to £5,000, alongside additional support from OCVA and CFO, can find more information online.

More details, including the specific criteria and tips for a successful application, can be found here.

More information

• Oxfordshire Community Foundation is a charity that builds thriving communities through effective philanthropy. According to Oxfordshire Community Foundation, “Local donors choose to work with OCF because we bring an in-depth understanding of the needs in the county and priority issues, alongside trusted relationships with our network of grassroots delivery charities and community groups. We champion this vibrant local charity sector as a crucial way to combat issues such as homelessness, educational inequality, and loneliness and isolation, awarding around £2 million in grants annually.”
• Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action helps people to help others by supporting and empowering volunteers, networks, partnerships and non-profit organisations, both big and small. They provide training, advice and support to help Oxfordshire’s diverse voluntary and community sector flourish.
• Community First Oxfordshire is a community development charity which helps groups and individuals to identify issues that affect them and find their own solutions. Community First Oxfordshire supports and advises volunteer-led actions in Oxfordshire, helping hundreds of volunteers fulfil many roles in their communities. It supports the principles of asset-based community development and believes that stronger, more sustainable communities are built using the skills and gifts that people already have.

Read more about Oxfordshire County Council’s Oxfordshire Way strategic vision on its webpages.

Click Sign up to hear from us and receive the latest news and updates in our fortnightly newsletter, Your Oxfordshire.

Oxfordshire County Council has provided funding totalling £5,000 to nearly 30 community groups who are marking GBGW, which runs from 7 -15 June.

These grants range from £95 to £500 for celebrations, festivals, exhibitions, workshops, wildlife projects and events such as therapeutic gardening, making mini nature reserves, upcycling clothing, crop planting, hedgehog protection, and birdbox making.

Councillor Judy Roberts, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet member for Place, Environment and Climate Action, said: “What a privilege it is to be able to help local grassroots organisations put on events for Great Big Green Week.

“We know the appetite in Oxfordshire for this type of community involvement is huge, and it is always wonderful to work with the county’s ever-growing number of community action groups in Oxfordshire. Thousands of people will be attending these events, which will help inspire all ages to do their bit to tackle climate change.”

Some grants will be used to make events, including Oxford Pride – which is set to attract around 20,000 people to South Park on 7 June – more environmentally friendly.

This is the fifth year that Oxfordshire has thrown itself into the campaign, which is run by the national campaigning organisation the Climate Coalition.

Residents can find out about GBGW events taking place near them on CAG Oxfordshire’s website.

Katherine Chesson, Director of CAG Oxfordshire – the county’s community action group network – said: “Great Big Green Week is a chance to celebrate the good that is happening and engage new audiences locally.

“It’s always a joy to see the breadth of activities and events taking place across Oxfordshire – organised by groups deeply embedded in their communities and run by people passionate about making change happen locally. We’re proud to support them through our network and grateful for the continued support of Oxfordshire County Council.”

Oxfordshire County Council has been supporting CAG Oxfordshire for nearly 25 years, organisationally and financially, as the number of groups has risen to more than 120. Their expansion forms a cornerstone of the county’s climate strategy – for both delivering a greener county and for increasing community climate resilience.

Click Sign up to hear from us and receive the latest news and updates in our fortnightly newsletter, Your Oxfordshire.

More than 100 community action groups (CAG Oxfordshire) and Oxfordshire County Council have scooped a national award for their joint efforts to improve recycling and reduce waste.

They won the partnership category at the 2024 Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee awards on 10 October.

The award recognises the work of the partnership, which has been going strong for over 20 years. It supports grassroots efforts to reduce, reuse and repair across Oxfordshire communities, and diverted around 2,000 tonnes of material from disposal in 2023/24.

Councillor Dr Pete Sudbury, Deputy Leader of Oxfordshire County Council with Responsibility for Climate Change, Environment and Future Generations, said: “It’s wonderful to see the strong partnership between Oxfordshire County Council and CAG Oxfordshire recognised at these national awards.

“Community groups play a crucial role in creating the social cohesion that is central to the resilience of societies when they are subject to sudden unpredictable shocks, like the pandemic, or increasingly extreme weather events. That's one of the reasons we doubled our funding support to the CAGs a year ago. 

“We are delighted to support local communities to act on the environmental issues that matter to them. We would like to thank the 112 groups across the county for doubling their impact over the last year, holding 8,800 events, putting true sustainability and the circular economy into real world action and making a positive impact on the environment and society.”

Katherine Chesson, Director of CAG Oxfordshire, said: “We are proud of our ongoing partnership with Oxfordshire County Council as we've seen the network grow and flourish over that time.

“The partnership has allowed us to support the amazing volunteers and community champions advancing important environmental and social initiatives in every corner of the county. This award is as much a recognition of their efforts as it is our partnership.”

In 2023/24 the CAG network delivered near 9,000 events and activities thanks to the support of 220,000 volunteer hours – in both cases, double the impact of the previous year.

These activities resulted in approximately 1,654 tonnes of non-food waste being reused and repaired. Another 678 tonnes of food was diverted from waste to be redistributed, cooked, eaten or processed, preventing nearly 1,695 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Events and activities have included:

• A riverbank clean-up which collected over 100kg of plastic.
• Over Christmas, one community fridge redistributed more than 14 tonnes of surplus food to families in need.
• Cooking classes supported people to eat and buy more sustainably, exploring food miles, how to eat on a budget, and how to cook using surplus ingredients.
• Five ‘libraries of things’ and swap shops, which reused over three tonnes of products.
• Over 260 repair cafes.
• Refill shops and pop-ups helping to eliminate waste, including repairing more than 2,000 bikes.

The partnership enables the council to support local communities to tackle the issues that impact them. The enthusiasm of local communities championing the projects they have identified and developed helps to ensure their success, widen the impact and, in many cases, helps the initiatives grow.

Click Sign up to hear from us and receive the latest news and updates in our fortnightly newsletter, Your Oxfordshire.

It is the largest network of its kind in the UK, with groups working on transport, energy, biodiversity, social justice, food and waste. Projects range from running repair cafes and community fridges to developing community-owned solar farms. 

Oxfordshire County Council has been supporting CAGs for 20 years, organisationally and financially, and the expansion of these projects forms a cornerstone of the county’s climate strategy – for both cutting carbon emissions and for increasing community climate resilience.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment, said: “It is wonderful news that we are celebrating our 100th community action group in Oxfordshire. Every CAG is a piece of the jigsaw we need to put together when it comes to tackling climate change. They prove that the appetite is out there for meaningful change in the way we live our lives to combat this urgent threat.

“As a council, we want to make it as easy as possible for people to do the things that they know will make a difference and community action groups play a really important role in this.”

Henry Owen, Lead Coordinator at CAG Oxfordshire, said: “The CAG network has almost doubled in size in the last three years. This growth in people taking action locally shows the increased awareness of the issues around climate and the environment. 

“Supporting grassroots groups and activity not only feeds into the global impact on the climate crisis but also benefits individuals and communities through increased wellbeing, finding new connections to people and the natural environment and offers a collective a sense of purpose.” 

More details about CAG Oxfordshire are available on cagoxfordshire.org.uk

Click Sign up to hear from us and receive the latest news and updates thanks to our fortnightly newsletter, Your Oxfordshire.

We have over 60 Community Action Groups across the county, the largest network of its kind in the UK. Around 80, 000 residents got involved in community action last year. Many of the projects help us reduce waste and carbon emissions, re-use items and recycle more. These groups of volunteers offer and exchange skills and services that we all need when trying to improve our environment and communities.

Unique network that keeps on growing

Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for the Environment, Councillor Yvonne Constance, said “All these people are volunteering their time, energy and expertise for the good of the community and to increase sustainability. Oxfordshire County Council are very proud to support those who are coming up with creative ways to make Oxfordshire a better place to live.”

The project started in 2001 and the network just kept on growing. Now they organise over 2000 events per year with local people contributing 21,000 volunteer hours to the county. The Community Action Group Project offers support, advice and training to people setting up and running their activities and funding to get things off the ground. The CAG Project in Oxfordshire is currently funded by Oxfordshire County Council (£92,000 a year). The total financial output of the project is over £1.2 million which equates to an incredible 13:1 return on investment. The project also generated over £800,000 of income in grants, sales, donations and community-owned renewables.

Alice Hemming, Community Project Coordinator said: “Oxfordshire has such a strong network of community environmental groups due to the pioneering work of its citizens, and the leadership of the county council in supporting The CAG Project for many years. This has created a network that is unique in the UK, with thriving groups supported by shared resources (such as safety equipment, thermal imaging cameras, and apple presses) and staff mentoring, support and training.”

Thousands of events to choose from

In 2016/17, CAG Network activities led to 67 tonnes of waste being prevented and 52 tonnes of carbon emissions being avoided. Groups work in diverse areas such as carbon reduction, waste, transport, food, energy, biodiversity and social justice.

There are festivals like Tandem, food co-ops, community gardens, orchards and allotments, a farm-based programme for people with autism and learning disabilities, an eco-park, swap shops, as well as conservation and art groups. Through “Incredible Edible” initiatives people grow, cook and share healthy food locally. Food surplus cafes reduce waste by using surpluses that would have gone in the bin to make healthy nutritious meals using a pay as you wish system. SESI is a social enterprise which supplies organic, fair-trade and local food, as well as sustainable, locally made detergents which people can refill into their own container.

A recent example of the exciting work going on across Oxfordshire is Sustainable Didcot’s Repair Café. The first event last weekend was to match people who have broken household items with expert volunteers who love to fix things. Ed Polehampton from Sustainable Didcot explains, “We’ve been assembling a team of enthusiastic volunteers who have expertise in electrical items, computers, watches, clocks, and clothes and fabrics. We’ll also be able to glue broken things and sharpen tools. The volunteers are keen to share their knowledge, and we’re aiming for a relaxed social atmosphere with tea, coffee and cakes provided!”.

Similar “sustainable” groups exist in Blewbury, Kirtlington, Leafield, Wallingford, Wantage, Witney, Wheatley and Woodstock.

If there’s not already a Community Action Group in your area, you could be the spark that starts the action where you are. There are a whole range of ways to make a difference with your friends and neighbours. Some groups take action by working to prevent plastic pollution, others by insulating peoples’ homes or growing fruit and veg. You can see information on the existing Community Action Groups on our website. The CAG Oxfordshire Project is managed by independent environmental consultancy Resource Futures.

Check upcoming events here: http://cagoxfordshire.org.uk/events/