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Midway Report for the In Our Nature Manchester programme November 2021 1
Executive Summary As the scale of the climate crisis becomes ever more apparent, Hubbub is passionate about creating campaigns that deliver significant impact and that can be rapidly taken to scale. In Our Nature is an ambitious programme that aims to support households and communities in Manchester to take positive action in response to the climate emergency. The aim is to create a campaign that will leave a genuine legacy for the city, as well providing inspiration for any of the 290 UK local authorities who have declared a Climate Emergency and are seeking positive and impactful ways to engage local residents and communities. Since we launched in May 2021, we have trialled a series of positive, creative approaches. This midway report provides an overview of progress against the programme’s key objectives:
• Building a movement • Inspiring climate action • Ensuring a strong legacy for Manchester and developing approaches that can be scaled elsewhere Our partners We would like to thank our funders - Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation and the Wates Family Enterprise Trust – as well as our coalition of corporate funders: the Co-op, Coca Cola GB, Danone UK & Ireland, JCDecaux, Suntory Beverage Food I&E and Tetra Pak. We are running the project in partnership with a local coalition of organisations who are funded by the National Lottery’s Climate Action Fund: Manchester City Council, Manchester Climate Change Agency and Partnership, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, Amity CIC and Commonplace.
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Together we have: Launched a range of
innovative urban greening community projects exploring how
Conducted extensive consultation to ensure the project is directly responding to local needs, providing a model for community engagement in other cities
Delivered a series of
creative public activations including an
Created a strong,
recognisable brand
and year-long programme of activities under the umbrella In Our Nature Set up a smart
phone redistribution scheme
Launched a city-wide communications campaign
design competition seeking innovative ideas Run a
to support digitally excluded residents
Provided funding
for seven local groups to
deliver innovative projects responding to local needs and priorities
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interactive installation in Moss Side inviting residents to feedback on what they want to see in their area, and an immersive nature pop-up shop bringing the benefits of nature to the heart of the city
spending time in nature can help connect the huge issue of climate change to our everyday lives
from students
Established 5
Community Fridges to tackle food waste and increase access to healthy food in the city
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At a glance In Our Nature was successfully launched in May 2021 and has already delivered significant social and environmental impact in Manchester and rich learnings that can be shared with other local authorities across the UK. Conducted extensive consultation with more than 1,000 residents and stakeholders in the city Launched an online hub of tips and resources for residents with more than 15,500 visits, a social media campaign that has reached 900k people to date, media coverage with opportunities to hear over 23 million, a podcast on green roofs and a video on making our cities greener that was viewed 33,000 times Welcomed more than 1,000 visitors in our immersive nature pop-up shop Gave away more than 1,500 plants as part of public engagement activities Established 5 Community Fridges which already redistributed 7 tonnes of surplus food and welcomed more than 900 visitors Gifted 1,500 surplus smart phones to digitally excluded residents, reducing e-waste and cutting almost 80 tonnes of carbon Launched 8 urban greening projects and involved more than 350 people through events and workshops, as well as 40 corporate volunteers Provided £55k of community grant funding to 7 local groups Connected 10 households to members of their community to get expert advice on ways to make their homes greener
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Phase 1 of In Our Nature (May – October 21) have generated rich insights into how we can best inspire and support communities to take action on climate change:
1. Keep it simple
- most people want to take positive climate action but are unsure of where to start
2. Make it about more than climate
by focusing on things that people are passionate about and the benefits to them or their community
3. People engage more with creative content such as graphics, videos, and photography
4. Keep it local by sharing stories of local people doing amazing things
5. Be creative with resident consultations - a bit of playfulness goes a long way
6. Unlock community potential
- communities are full of great ideas and offering relatively small sums of seed-funding is a powerful way to unlock them
7. Meet people where they’re at
by building on existing networks and channels such as faith groups, sports clubs, schools, or resident associations
8. Nature is a powerful hook
for engaging the public on climate issues
9. Collaboration is key
- encourage partners to get involved from across society including local authorities, academics, community groups, businesses and enthusiastic residents
10. The first step is the hardest
and engaging people beyond the already converted is complex, but it is possible
For more information please see the full report. 8
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Thank you Curious to find out more? Please see the full report.
To find out more about In Our Nature visit inournaturemcr.co.uk and follow @InOurNatureMCR 10