Spotlight on successful Community Climate Fund projects

Edition: March 2023

The Community Climate Fund is a grant available to local voluntary or community groups, that share our vision of becoming a carbon neutral District.

Groups such as registered charities, Community Interest Companies, social enterprises, schools, Parish Councils and faith groups providing inclusive projects can apply. In this article we look at two schemes that successfully secured funding in the Summer and Autumn 2022 rounds.

Scout hut upgrades

2nd Horsham Scouts (pictured above) previously secured funding for improvements to their scout hut, including water butts and a hot composter. Their recent successful application will provide new motion activated LED lighting units and upgrade taps to reduce water and energy wastage. Of the recent successful bid, the group said:

We often find that lights are left on needlessly and taps either leak or are left running. This climate change grant will help our Scouts see how we can all make small changes to benefit our planet.

2nd Horsham Scouts

The hut serves as a safe community space for over 350 regular users. The toilet facilities have not been updated since the hut was opened nearly 30 years ago. These initiatives will help to reduce the impact on the environment, improve the facilities and reduce operational costs. The group said:

These changes will ensure we can deliver activities and services for years to come.

2nd Horsham Scouts

Holy Trinity Church – small changes to make a big impact

Holy Trinity Church, who operate the Rudgwick Youth Centre, collaborated with Go Greener Rudgwick to provide the local community with an accessible recycling point for various forms of plastic. The 12-month pilot run by volunteers used 11 recycling bins outside the building to collect plastics not picked up by other schemes, saving approximately 400kg of waste.

Artist's impression of recycling point copyright Jane Silk

The funding will create a permanent covered shelter to house the bins, providing better access for users with mobility impairments. (Artist's impression pictured, copyright Jane Silk).

It will also have a sloping living green roof, showcasing the possibility for individuals to create similar projects at home. The group wants to inspire others. They commented:

One small change (building a green roof on a store) can have such a positive impact on biodiversity in different ways: attracting pollinators; reducing carbon emissions; filtering
pollutants from the air; retaining moisture etc. It is an ideal location in which to demonstrate how easy it is for individual homes to make a small change that, together as a community, can have a big impact.

Holy Trinity Church