The BWCE Fund provided a grant of £3200 to enable Eco Together to employ a part-time coordinator to support the development of the programme and Eco Together groups.
Eco Together is an eco-empowerment programme, aiming to engage the 85% of people who care about the climate crisis. It has five simple, structured sessions where each participant can ‘find their own eco’; their unique way to create change. Any small group can self-run Eco Together, it has been run successfully by over 20 groups of friends, neighbours and colleagues. Eco Together started in Bath and is now also active in Birmingham.
What makes Eco Together different is it’s focus on the ‘powers’ that we all have to take action: Lifestyle, Community, Communication and Advocacy. The groups discuss the degree to which they are using these powers, commit to specific actions around Energy, Food, Transport and Resource Use, and support each other to undertake the actions. This is reflected in the range of actions people reported taking, such as
“I committed to a weekly organic veg box, cut down on gas consumption, committed to solar panels, committed to no-fly holidays, contracted the council about unnecessary use of polluting equipment, felt braver about taking to people about environmental issues”.
“I thought the ‘powers’ were a powerful tool. It is an original idea and fresh way of distinguishing ways we can make a difference. Helps identify our strengths and weaknesses”.
The BWCE funding provided a part-time coordinator who helped with the day to day running of the programme, ensuring we had a presence at events and evolving Eco Together for use in organisations. We piloted this with Bath & North East Somerset Council and University of Bath. We were also able to organise the first ever Eco Together Celebration event, bringing together the Bath and Birmingham groups for a lively day of reflection, inspiration and pétanque (pictured).
Eco Together is currently forming new groups in Bath and beyond, in neighbourhoods, community groups, faith groups and organisations. We are looking to evolve the programme to make it suitable for young people, schools and students. For more information, please see www.ecotogether.info or contact [email protected]
