Updates from Going Green Together - Issue #3

Hello and welcome to the Going Green Together newsletter. Our campaign supports VCSE organisations in the North East on their journey towards net zero.

We’ve been busy since the last newsletter - we’re still working on our National Lottery Community Fund Stage 2 bid, we’ve hosted our first monthly peer support session and have been promoting the campaign through the sector.

Our peer support session was a great opportunity to engage with organisations, find out where they are on their climate action journey and how they’re using our web tool. The key takeaway from the session is to remember not to belittle your efforts! Stop saying ‘I’ve only done…’, you’ve taken a step in the right direction and you need to commend yourself for that. By starting with small actions you can build confidence and progress to taking bigger ones - and this is what leads to more sustainable change.

We were invited to do a presentation at December’s VCS Emergencies Partnership network call to share the work we’ve been doing and give organisations an idea of how they can take climate action in their region. County Durham Partnership also invited us to talk about the campaign at the Better Together VCS Forum alongside VCAA member Joanne Appleby from OASES. It was a lovely opportunity to catch up with organisations in Durham and share the work we’re doing.

If you have any climate action events coming up, get in touch and we’d be happy to come talk to you more about the Going Green Together campaign - we’ve already got the slideshow ready!

We’re already halfway through December and the new year will be upon us before we know it. Get resolution ready by going to the Act page on our web tool. Choose a climate action as your 2022 resolution and help us to Go Green Together.

In this month’s spotlight we have Community Action Northumberland who have done an excellent job showcasing what work they are doing around climate change and promoting the Going Green Together campaign.

To start tackling the climate crisis Groundwork has committed to a green revolution both internally within the organization and throughout all project activity it does. 

An example is Groundwork’s youth board, called Youth of Today, supported NEECCo’s youth summit regarding climate change… 

“We agreed that as a collective, us all making small changes to our lifestyle can make a big difference. So for example; 1 meat-free day a week, reducing the use of single-use plastic, etc. I have pledged that on Friday I will have a meat-free day. If everyone wanted to pledge something that would be great.” 

Youth of Today also did a great video for Mental Health Awareness Week which is a few months old but shows the importance of nature in mental health in tackling the dual current climate and health crises. You can watch the video on their YouTube channel.

Groundwork handed over their social media to young people so they could have their say and to empower them to take climate action. Head over to their Facebook to find out more and read the Youth in a changing climate report. 

If anyone or organisation would like to chat about Groundwork’s journey to net-zero and how the organisation is trying to find simple ways to tackle the bigger climate crises, from green jobs and carbon literacy training to switch it off campaigns, please email Gaby.mckay-jones@groundwork.org.uk 

Go to the Act page on the Going Green Together website, pick an action and try to complete it for the session on Wednesday. We want to hear how you get on and what challenges you come across!

January is a big month for campaigns relating to climate action! Get ready for:

Follow us on Twitter to stay up to date and see what actions your organisation can take to get involved.

Join the Going Green Together movement today – to learn, take your first steps in climate action, and share your successes with the community to help inspire others. Connect with us and others by joining our network.