Thanks to funding from Rochdale Borough Council, Action Together is offering small grants of up to either £2,000 or £5,000 to help the VCFSE sector run projects to raise awareness of Climate Change and deliver activities and events that will benefit individuals and communities.
The priorities for grant investment
Your project must fall within one or more of the following priorities:
- Raising Awareness & Education: Projects that aim to educate the community about renewable energy, active travel, and sustainable ways of living. For example, running workshops, campaigns, sharing educational materials, and community events that debunk myths and promote accurate information about these topics.
- Planting & Growing: Projects that focus on making communities greener and enhancing biodiversity. For example, projects that encourage community-led initiatives to plant trees, grow food, create green spaces on small patches of land and grass verges, whilst promoting the benefits of these ideas, such as improving air quality, enhancing mental well-being, and providing habitat for wildlife.
- Repairing and Re-using: Projects that encourage a culture of repair, reuse, and waste reduction. For example, running repair shops, repair events, and upcycling workshops that empower community members to extend the lifespan of products, reduce waste and upskill community members.
Projects funded via the Climate Co-operators Community Fund | Quarter 1 2024-2025:
| Member Organisation | Amount Awarded | Investment Projects |
| £4.872 | We will deliver two gardening sessions per week for six months in our community garden at Deeplish Community Centre, and in our local neighbourhood. Our Friday session will be facilitated by an artist and ecologist, who will focus on delivering sessions for adults who are isolated, lack confidence and who want to develop new skills. Our Saturdays sessions are for families who want to benefit from spending time together in green space, grow their own food and learn about climate awareness together. | |
Empowering Education CIC | £1,975 | We will deliver most of the project from our premises in Drake Street in central Rochdale but possibly also from a local primary school and/or mosque, the latter options enabling participants to combine attendance with other regular family commitments. The initial awareness-raising sessions will be held at Deeplish Community Centre. • Two, three-hour awareness raising sessions for 25-30 women per session, 50-60 in total. We are very confident that we can engage with at least number of participants. • Four, three-hour staff-led follow-up sessions (in groups of 12-15) where participants can choose and co-design one or more realistic (SMART) activities that will contribute to achieving Rochdale’s climate change objectives; micro outcomes aggregating towards borough macro outcomes, e.g. Rochdale’s ambition to become ‘carbon neutral by 2038’ (ibid p.3). |
| £2,000 | In Spring 2024, therefore, we decided that rather than encouraging schools to use resource independently, we would employ a freelance facilitator, Sarah Atherton, to undertake a digital tour of The Storm in Rochdale secondary schools and other youth settings. The aim of the tour was visit each school and model sessions of The Storm with pupils, showing them the film of the play and running the accompanying workshop, providing CPD for teachers and also gathering feedback and evaluation on the resource, so M6 could establish how best to use it going forwards. | |
| £5,000 | Maverick Lab proposes to organise a series of sewing workshops across Rochdale and Heywood, focusing on teaching community members how to repair and mend clothes. The textile industry is a significant contributor to environmental damage, and our project aims to address this issue by promoting sustainable practices through upcycling, repairing, and mending garments. | |
| £1,856 | Our project aims to transform an underutilized 2m x 30m (approximately) strip of land between the kick pitch at Rochdale AFC and a public footpath into a vibrant, green oasis. This initiative will involve local community groups across all ages, including our older people's social group, employability participants, youth groups, and our disability footballers (junior and open age). Together, we will create a thriving green space with plants, flowers, grass, and bug hotels, enhancing biodiversity and community engagement. |