Climate change action plan 2021-23

The Community Climate
Champion scheme will give
residents and community groups
the opportunity to educate their
communities and empower them
with their own community
climate action plans at a
local level.
toolkit will be developed and updated frequently to
help encourage positive changes in lifestyle which
make a tangible impact at a local level. Networking
events will also be held to help ensure there is a
shared good practice approach.
The scheme will initially be developed around a pilot
group of individuals who are already proactive in their
local communities, with plans to roll out the scheme
to all Northumberland residents by May 2021.
Projected timescale for the Community Climate
Champion scheme:
Oct to Dec 2020: Initial planning and discussions
of scheme format
Dec to Feb 2021: Development of training
programme and toolkit
Mar 2021: Rollout pilot scheme to selected
individuals and groups
Apr 2021: Pilot community Action Plans agreed
Jun 2021: Collate feedback and make changes to
scheme
Aug 2021: Promote champion scheme to the
wider public
Oct 2021: First Community Climate Champion
forum event
Schools and young people
We will prioritise engagement with our schools and
early years settings, to ensure the county’s youngest
minds are educated in how they can best to tackle
climate change.
Working with colleagues in Early Years and Education,
we will create resource packs to enable our teachers
have the knowledge and tools to educate our
children in the importance of tackling climate change.
The Third Sector
Northumberland is home to a wide range of voluntary
and charitable organisations, many of which share the
aims of the Council regarding climate change and
have established enthusiastic networks of volunteers.
The Council will work closely with the Third Sector in
order to deliver this action plan and to coordinate an
approach to climate change activity which creates a
shared focus across the county. Third sector organisations
will be encouraged to join the Community Climate
Champions scheme and to access the resources made
available. The Council also hopes to learn from and
harness the expertise of voluntary organisations in
coordinating community action. By summer 2021, a
detailed plan for climate change engagement with
the Third Sector will have been created, supported
by the Climate Change Steering Group.
Free Tree scheme
Another community engagement campaign is the
Free Tree scheme. To help increase tree planting
across the county, and further increase negative
emissions, the Council aims to giveaway thousands of
young tree saplings to residents, community groups
and schools to plant on their land, with the aim of
giving away a free tree to every household in the
county. The scheme was first run in 2020 and saw an
incredible uptake.
Whilst it is acknowledged that these trees will only
have a small impact on the county’s overall carbon
emissions, it is a good way of engaging with residents
across the county and encouraging them to take their
first steps in acting to reduce carbon emissions. With
each tree, information is given out about changes
people can make to reduce their carbon footprint.
22
Climate Change Action Plan 2021-23