Environmental Projects
The Bath & West Community Energy Fund (BWCE Fund) provides grants to local community projects that reduce carbon emissions and/or tackle fuel poverty. Operating as an independent charity, the Fund distributes surplus income from renewable energy company Bath & West Community Energy (BWCE) for community benefit. The Fund opens for applications in September each year – Visit their website
Quartet Community Foundation brings together people who want to help the local community with projects that make a real difference. They award thousands of grants per year, supporting hundreds of thousands of people through local frontline charities and voluntary groups - Visit their website
The Forest of Avon Trust are the West of England's tree and woodland charity and one of England's Community Forests. They support tree planting, woodland management, public access projects, woodland health and wellbeing courses, forest school and many other activities, all based on increasing our tree cover and the access everyone has to it - Visit their website
Further funding...
We have partnered with Bath & North East Somerset Council who have kindly provided a comprehensive list of Funding opportunities for Climate and Nature Emergency Projects
Bath & North East Somerset Council also provides regular updates on local and national funding opportunities in a Funding Journal. This is updated regularly and kept on the Council’s website, currently as a pdf document which can be searched using key words. Information on training and networking opportunities is also included along with local and national consultations. The link to the page is here.
Highlights from the Funding Journal are included in the regular Interagency Bulletins. You can sign up to receive these here.
Regular Interagency Meetings are also held to encourage networking and information sharing between voluntary and community organisations. The meetings take place every other month by Zoom. They are very informal, held over a lunchtime and everyone is welcome.
We created this online resources page as part of the event we ran for the BaNES Climate & Biodiversity Festival, on Monday 20th September. The theme of the event was ‘Delivering & Funding local environmental projects’ and it was open to all individuals and organisations wanting to tackle the challenges of the environmental crisis.
This event took place at Bath Apex Hotel, as well as being streamed online for the speaker series element. Below you can find the recording of the speaker series, slides and further information about the speakers and stalls. Plus an extensive list of funding opportunities for environmental projects was produced for this event, more info on this can be found below.
Recording of Event via Livestream
Presentation Slides (Full Download Here)
Higher quality version of the recording can be found via this link.
Link to specific talks: BWCE Fund (0:19:24), Quartet CF (0:32:30), Forest of Avon Trust(0:47:44), Middle Ground Growers (1:03:42), EcoWild (1:21:26), Grow Batheaston (1:39:42)
Thank you to Apex Hotel for the venue space and also a big thank you to BEM Josh Hale, Rufus Jones, Jesse Armstrong and Piers Lloyd who volunteered on the night.
Also a special thanks to all the speakers who braved going up on the stage after over a year of being behind a zoom screen! We really hope all the attendees (both in-person and online) enjoyed the night and found it useful.
Middle Ground Growers (MGG) was born in 2020. They grow organically on a 2-acre orchard and market garden in Bath. Like all vegetables, MGG started with an idea: producing ecologically grown food for local communities - Visit their website
EcoWild (CIC) is a Community Interest Company that aims to enhance people’s relationship with their environment, creating inspiring opportunities for engaging with the natural world. In this way the seeds are sown for a long term fascination in the complexity and beauty of nature and a sense of stewardship towards the environment - Visit their website
Grow Batheaston is about empowering ourselves, our children and each other to create a greener, more sustainable way of life in our local area. They aim to strengthen community, create food security and encourage biodiversity - Visit their website
Delivering Local Environmental Projects
Bath & West Community Energy
A not for profit community benefit society delivering community owned renewable energy in Bath & North East Somerset and surrounding areas.
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Clean Local Energy. We build renewable energy generating projects e.g. rooftop solar, ground mounted solar arrays. Almost 13MW installed so far, enough to power 4,000 average homes.
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Community Owned. We raise funds though local people investing money in us and becoming voting members. Over £10 million raised from around 1000 members and bondholders.
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For Community Benefit. We re-invest surplus income in community projects through our BWCE Fund. Over £200.000 donated so far.
Contact: nick.bird@bwce.coop · 07517 100889 ·
Website: www.bwce.coop · www.bwce.coop/community-benefit
Bath Climate Emergency Centre Group
A group of local people who are working towards establishing a Bath Climate Emergency Centre which will be a local, community-oriented organisation seeking to provide a community space that will be inclusive and welcoming to all, where people can come together in response to the climate and ecological emergency (CEE) and work for climate, ecological and social justice and promote compassionate citizenship and community resilience.
Contact: bathcec@gmail.com
Further info: They are also running a monthly pop up called the Green Outreach Hub generally in Kingsmead Square to provide information & ideas for practical action in response to the CEE - Join facebook group
Bath Tram group
Want to participate in the Trams discussion?
To provide a public forum for discussion, BathTrams.uk has opened a "forum" on this website. To express an opinion for or against the trams concept, you can register to do so via the website below.
Contact: taymcleanforeman@hotmail.com · tyningroad@gmail.com · 07941 280096
Website: https://bathtrams.uk/
ChangeMakers / BEAN
ChangeMakers is Bath & NE Somerset's newest business network, with a specific focus on helping SMEs and community groups understand and align their organizations with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
BEAN is a "sister" network comprising most of the environmental groups and organizations, currently 30 members.
Contact: hello@changemakers.uk
Website: http://www.changemakers.uk/ · http://www.beanet.org.uk/
Forest of Avon Trust
The West of England's tree and woodland charity and one of England's Community Forests.
They support tree planting, woodland management, public access projects, woodland health and wellbeing courses, forest school and many other activities, all based on increasing our tree cover and the access everyone has to it.
Any questions do just give them a call or drop an email and they will get in touch.
Contact: alex.stone@forestofavontrust.org · 0117 963 3383
Website: https://forestofavontrust.org/
Further info:
Genesis Trust Furniture Shop
Genesis Trust is a local charity that supports homeless and vulnerable people in the Bath area. We have a Furniture Shop that sells pre-loved, quality furniture to raise funds for the charity, but also supply furniture for people in need.
Contact: furniture@genesistrust.org.uk · Gateway Centre Snow Hill London Road Bath BA1 6DH
Further info:
Genesis Trust Furniture Shop Flyer - The Furniture Shop is online using eBay as a platform.
Meadow In My Garden
Meadow in my Garden is the easy way to a beautiful bee-friendly garden. Stunning seed mixes to transform outdoor spaces and benefit the natural environment.
Contact: info@meadowinmygarden.co.uk · 07717096888
Website: https://meadowinmygarden.co.uk/
Further info: Since 2011 they have been helping people to go wild in their gardens and working with community groups, councils and landscapers to create wildlife friendly planting schemes across the UK.
More Trees BANES
More Trees BANES is a not-for-profit community group, that works hard to protect and plant trees in the local area. Set up in 2008, they are run entirely by volunteers.
They’ve planted approximately 9,000 trees so far, and are currently scaling up our work significantly. There is a huge groundswell of desire to plant and protect trees – they provide a simple means for people to take easy, positive actions.
Contact: adam@moretrees.earth · 07739 737274
Website: http://www.moretrees.earth/
Further info:
They are now partnered with www.growyourself.co.uk and are setting up a network of community tree nurseries. “We need an army of people to come on this journey with us!”
Quartet Community Foundation
Quartet Community Foundation brings together people who want to help the local community with projects that make a real difference.
They recently published the Vital Signs 2021 Report ‘Climate and communities: a fairer, greener future in the West of England’. This highlights how Covid has hit our most disadvantaged communities hardest – and warns the climate crisis will do the same.
Published in March 2021, the report examines how the climate crisis is already affecting lives in the West of England and includes local and national data on energy and transport, food, weather and nature.
Contact: vitalsigns@quartetcf.org.uk
Website: https://quartetcf.org.uk/vital-signs/
RSPB Bath Local Group (no longer able to attend)
They are a support group in Bath for RSPB with about 200 members. They put on monthly talks and run visits to places of wildlife interest. Over the last two years they have supplied over 100 swift nest boxes to residents of Bath and are keen to develop links with a wider community.
Contact: rspbbath@gmail.com · 01225834424 · Meet at St Andrews Community Church, Hawthorn Grove, Combe Down
Website: https://ww2.rspb.org.uk/groups/bath
Further info: RSPB Bath & District Local Group Flyer
Share & Repair
Share & Repair is a charity in Bath and North East Somerset. Our aims are to help local people save money and the planet through reduce, repair and reuse. They have various projects running:
Contact: hello@shareandrepair.org.uk
Website: www.shareandrepair.org.uk
Your Park Bristol & Bath (No longer able to attend)
They connect communities in Bath & Bristol with their park to address local needs as well as responding to the ecological and climate emergencies by enhancing our parks for nature.
Contact: info@yourpark.org.uk
Website: http://www.yourpark.org.uk/
Funding Local Environmental Projects
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