Cornwall has many vibrant communities. Individuals and local groups strive to make Cornwall a cleaner, greener place.
There's lots going on in Cornwall. from beach cleans to repair cafes and climate action groups - and you can get involved too.
Climate Literacy training
Cornwall Council has developed climate literacy training for our employees and elected Members.
We are making the online training available to city, town and parish councils, and community groups. Each local council or community group can have two free accounts to access the training, which is hosted on the Council's Learning Hub.
If you would like to request access to the Council's climate literacy online training please email: learndevelop@cornwall.gov.uk
Environmental projects
Our own Grow Nature Toolkit, has some great tips and resources for communities. Our Grow Nature Seed Fund provides grants to schools and community groups. Grants of up to £1,000 are available.
The Woodland Trust give free trees to schools and community groups. Which can help with planting trees for the Forest For Cornwall. You can help by starting or joining a community planting scheme.
The Woodland Trust has a separate scheme for people with large areas of land for tree planting.
Explore the Carbon Neutral Cornwall Hive
Visit the Carbon Neutral Cornwall Hive our new web space to share information and ideas to help tackle climate change together.
We understand that not everyone knows where to start or how to reduce their carbon footprint. We know that some people need support and encouragement. We also know there are people in Cornwall who can help other people.
We hope the Carbon Neutral Cornwall (CNC) Hive will become a place where we can get together to learn from each other and 'bee' inspired.
There's plenty to do on the Carbon Neutral Cornwall Hive:
- Find out how you can help Cornwall become carbon neutral
- Learn what other people are doing
- Be inspired by articles from guest bloggers
- Join in with discussions about low carbon living
- Share ideas so we can tackle climate change together.
Please visit the Carbon Neutral Cornwall Hive and join in with our collaborative 'hive mind' thinking.
IMPACT Community carbon calculator
The IMPACT Community carbon calculator is a parish-level carbon emission estimator, gives parishes and small communities usable data on their carbon emissions that is easy to interpret and easy to share.
Impact gives you a visual representation of your community’s carbon footprint, helping you spot the areas where your community climate change activities can make the biggest difference.
IMPACT Community carbon calculator/p>
Innovative projects in the community
There are many projects in Cornwall solving local issues with innovative solutions.
Crowdfunder and Cornwall Council have teamed up to support brilliant projects which are tackling climate change in the county. Will you join us? Simply pledge on our Love Where You Are campaign and help tackle the climate emergency by making ideas a reality.
Watch our short films below that showcase some of the great climate action happening in Cornwall.
- How we grow things and what we eat
- How me move around
- How we heat and power things
- How we buy and use things
- How we adapt and improve things
- How we make things and provide services - starting your business net zero journey
- Isles of Scilly - part one
- Isles of Scilly - part two
Cornwall Council is working with partners and local businesses on innovative projects as well. Watch our short film below to find out about some of the projects we are involved with.
You can read about some other projects below.
Sustainable transport
Sustainable transport supports healthy lifestyles and helps reduce air pollution, road congestion and casualties.
The Age UK Cornwall Sustainable Transport project has electric vehicles for communities to use. The vehicles are multi-person vehicles (MPVs) to connect local communities.
Cornwall Council also supports Co-car. This is a social enterprise that operates an electric car membership scheme.
Sustrans create places that are walking and cycling friendly. They support community projects across the UK. They have maps showing national cycle networks and also have opportunities for volunteering.
Volunteering opportunitiesRepair Cafes
There are a growing number of Repair Cafes in Cornwall. Instead of throwing items away, people can get them repaired and learn a new skill at the same time.
Cornwall Council is working in partnership with the Repair Cafes. We have developed the Repair Cafe Network to help volunteers set up new cafes. The network also lists all the repair cafes that are running.
Beach cleans and litter picks
Anyone can join in with beach cleans. You can pick up rubbish yourself as you walk across a beach on your own. Or you can join an organised beach clean.
Surfers Against Sewage organise regular beach cleans. So do Cornwall Wildlife Trust's Beach Rangers Your Shore Network.
Clean Cornwall organise beach cleans and litter picks.
Beach cleans and litter picks are a great way to improve your local environment and meet people. Most importantly they protect marine and other wildlife from plastic pollution.
Schools and youth climate action
There are links to educational resources on our Education page The resources can be helpful for schools, colleges and youth climate action.
Funding
Visit our Grants advice service page for funding for community projects. It has a link to our Grow Nature Seed Fund and other environmental funding schemes. The funds and grants support projects that will help create more space for nature. Projects can include local tree and hedgerow planting on public land.
You could also look at crowdfunding options, such as Crowdfunder or JustGiving.
Cornwall Council, in partnership with Crowdfunder, offers match funding for Crowdfunder projects in Cornwall. These include Council Community Chests.
There are a number of financing options available. Especially around funding for community renewable energy projects. For example the Community Shares Unit, Abundance, Leapfrog, Thrive Renewables, Ethex, C02Sense, Charity Bank and Co-op.
Climate Action Groups and charities
Most areas in Cornwall have a climate action group nearby which you can join - or if there isn't one you can start your own. The Climate Action website has some great tips on how to start and hold your own climate action group.
You can sign up to join the Cornwall Climate Action Network and find out more about the network members on their Facebook page.
Community groups across Cornwall are working together to reduce their own and Cornwall's carbon footprint. Here are some community action plans and guides.
- Helston Climate Action Plan
- Rame Peninsular Green Guide
- Bude Catchment Climate Resilience Review
- Chacewater Energy Group share information to help make their community more energy self-reliant
Organisations and charities may be able to help you find local action groups to join. For example Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund. As well as the Cornwall Wildlife, the Climate Coalition and others.
Town and Parish Councils
Many town and parish councils in Cornwall have declared a climate emergency already. Many others are consulting their communities about what actions and projects to undertake. Visit our Town and Parish Council page for information for Town and Parish Councils.