Government opens new front in climate campaign: climate challenge fund winners announced

The Government has today opened a new front in its campaign to change public attitudes to tackling climate change.

Fifty three projects from across England will form part of an innovative new approach aimed at raising awareness at regional and local level of the urgent need to tackle climate change.

Projects that will receive funding totalling £4.6 million from Defra will include the Scouts, who will be encouraging members to ‘Be Prepared for the Future', whilst the Women's Institute will develop EcoTeams to help bring home the realities of climate change.

Launching the initiative during a visit to one of the North West regional winners – Sustainability Northwest – Environment Secretary David Miliband highlighted the importance of developing new and innovative ways of tackling the greatest environment challenge we face. He said he was pleased with the number, variety and quality of the applications received.

“Climate change affects all of us and I believe that today's successful projects will reach new audiences and communities at national, regional and local level and shift people's opinions in favour of action to tackle climate change.

“Government is playing its part and giving the lead in tackling climate change. But we will not succeed without the support and active participation of all sectors of society”.

Sustainability Northwest has won a £40,000 grant to raise awareness of climate change among ethnic minority businesses in the region. The project aims to produce an awareness raising booklet, spread information through business support events, the internet and newsletters.

Speaking during a visit to one of the West Midlands winners – Winterbourne Botanic Garden – Environment Minister Ian Pearson added that the solution to climate change was in the hands of everyone – businesses, citizens and consumers:

“We are trying through this new and innovative Fund to reach audiences who have not yet understood or accepted that climate change presents a real challenge requiring immediate action to tackle it.”

Winterbourne Botanic Garden's project aims to communicate the impact of climate change in a domestic garden setting, targeting over 65's. The garden, in Edgbaston, Birmingham, which is to receive £10,000 funding from Defra will be used as a model to demonstrate climate change issues.

A further 32 projects submitted to Defra's Climate Challenge Fund worth in the region of an additional £4m have been provisionally accepted subject to further negotiation.

The Climate Challenge Fund was set up to provide financial support for communications projects across a full range of media, seeking to achieve positive changes in public attitudes about climate change. Defra received more than 500 applications from across England totalling nearly £60m worth of bids.

Fifteen of the winners submitted projects covering the whole of England; seven were from the West Midlands, six from London, five from the South West and Yorkshire and Humberside; three were from the South East, East Anglia, East Midlands, the North East and North West.

Case Studies

Among the winners announced today are:

Kingston Upon Hull City Council's “Below the waterline – what climate change means for Hull” (Yorkshire and Humber - £111,417 86% of the total project cost)

‘Below the waterline' aims to raise awareness of local impacts of climate change on individuals, businesses and the areas surrounding homes and workplaces. Using poster campaigns on bus stops, buses, poster boards, and postcards in many public venues Kingston Upon Hull City Council will ensure that people in the area develop an understanding of local and global causes and impacts of climate change. Defra's two-minute film, Tomorrow's Climate Today's Challenge starts to tell the story of why climate change is happening and why it needs to be tackled together, and will be screened on the Big Screen in Hull City Centre.

To enhance the impact of this activity, adverts in local press will further explain the messages communicated. Seminars with local businesses will enable them to further raise awareness of staff of the impact of climate change on their local environment and businesses, and will allow businesses to consider how to prepare to deal with climate change.

Contact:

Martin Budd, 01482 613336

martin.budd@hullcc.gov.uk

The Scouts Association aim to “Be Prepared for the Future” (Throughout England - £33,224 10% of the total project cost)

The Scouts Association aims to work with the Scouts, group leaders and non-scouting children, community groups and businesses that they are involved with to increase understanding of climate change.

Be Prepared for the Future will produce a range of resources that includes downloadable materials, sessions for weekly Scout group meetings, residential events, and an annual award for innovative ways to tackle climate change. Activities will be themed according to the seasons, and will encourage Scouts and staff to develop a clear understanding of the science behind climate change, and to create inspiration and motivation to act through respect for nature and humanity while promoting the Scouting ethos of developing responsible citizens.

Scouting groups will be encouraged to use their new knowledge to engage in initiatives to develop partnerships with non-scouting children, schools, community groups and businesses, further ensuring that the public are prepared for the future.

Contact:

Chris Nagle, 020 8433 7148, chris.nagle@scout.org.uk

The National Federation of Women's Institutes ‘Bringing Climate Change Home' project aims to change attitudes towards climate change amongst members of the Women's' Institute (All England project £55,200)

The NFWI will recruit up to 160 WI members to carry out an innovative project that will change attitudes towards climate change amongst the wider WI membership (215,000 members) as well as their friends, families and communities. Global Action Plan will train these 160 WI members from all regions across England to act as EcoTeams facilitators. These facilitators will then recruit fellow WI members to carry out a practical community-based programme called EcoTeams. EcoTeams will be groups of six to eight WI members who each represent their household. They will meet once a month for 4 months to share ideas and support each other while taking a range of simple, practical actions to learn about how climate change is directly linked into their daily lives. EcoTeams gives participants the opportunity to learn more about climate change and understand how their actions are contributing to it, save money, improve their homes and quality of life as well as reduce environmental impact. EcoTeams will bring home the realities of climate change.

Contact: Emily Boost (Tel: 020 7371 9300)

e.boost@nfwi.org.uk

Cambridge Carbon Footprint (CCF) will promote climate change awareness amongst South Asian communities via regular articles in Asian Voice newspaper (All England - Total £5,160)

A fortnightly column about climate change issues will be published in the Asian Voice newspaper. The newspaper is a popular, lively, well-trusted existing channel of communication. The writer already has experience of discussing social and environmental justice issues within the Indian community in Cambridge. This project will facilitate further research and the writing of an engaging, pertinent fortnightly column in Asian Voice for a year in order to reach a much wider audience across the UK.

The articles will build on research about current attitudes towards climate change within the South Asian target audience & tailor the use of culturally specific examples to communicate a positive, inspirational, relevant message about climate change.

Contact: Rosemary Randall (Tel: 01223 313539).

Notes to editors

1   The Climate Challenge Fund was launched on January 26, 2006 by former Environment Minister Elliot Morley. It is a key part of Defra's Climate Change Communications Initiative – designed to increase awareness among the general public of the need to tackle climate change. Information about the Fund is available on the www.climatechallenge.gov.uk website.

2. A full list of approved projects is available at www.climatechallenge.gov.uk/whats_being_done/map/index.html

An interactive map depicting the location and basic outline of the funded projects will be available at www.climatechallenge.gov.uk from 10am Friday.

3) Other Projects that will be working nationwide:

Young people and members of the public will be asked to make their own climate change pledge through a London exhibition programme and educational workshops with online activities run by the Royal Geographical Society. The pledge will record how people's actions can contribute towards a 20% reduction in Britain's CO2 emissions by 2010.

Global Action Plan

Their project ‘Making the Carbon Connection' will target trade union members, shoppers at seven Land Securities shopping mall sites and holiday makers at four Center Parcs holiday villages. These groups will be reached through interactive displays which will involve carbon weights, a carbon rower, an energy bike and display boards highlighting connections between appliances and CO2 emissions.

International Visual Communication Association

By utilising existing communications channels, as well as seminars, awards schemes, best practice events, and electronic and paper based publications, this campaign seeks to engage the hearts and minds of senior communicators in both the corporate and public sector in England.

National Trust - Climate Change Here & Now will tour a photographic exhibition across England and will reach National Trust members and visitors as well as arts and schools audiences.

Schools Council UK

Through the development of an e-learning computer game and a 'Policy Maker' tool delivered through Schools Councils Networks and Demgames, this project seeks to target 11-15 year olds throughout England.

Yigal Allon Educational Trust

The project will develop a climate control game which will create an interactive learning environment in which pupils at KS 3 & 4 can learn about climate change

New Economics Foundation (NEF)

This project has a wide audience reach across England and aims to engage its audience primarily through a downloadable version of a climate change game, Democs. Regional events will be taking place across England, culminating in an Interdependence Day event in London.

British Association for the Advancement of Science

Their project the Climate Change Community X-Change will run a series of one-day workshops will enable 40 people from East Anglia from across the socio-economic spectrum including scientists, young people & individuals from hard to reach groups to discuss climate change. The outcomes of these workshops will then be used to shape a rollout of events that will take place across England.

Forkbeard Fantasy

Forkbeard Fantasy aims to reach young people across every region in England through a series of workshops, touring of a multi-media theatre production and an interactive exhibit for arts centres.

The National Energy Foundation (NEF)

LogiCity - A real-life climate change game….Will You Survive? Through the development of an interactive computer game illustrating climate change impacts, this project seeks to engage 16- 25 year olds across England.

WMnet: West Midlands Regional Broadband Consortium

Groups of young people from all over England, will work together, both in and out of school, to build up a shared knowledge about climate change. This will be done through technologies that support peer to peer communication such as video-conferencing, wikis, chats, blogs and texting.

Forum for the Future

Will run a competition to raise awareness of climate change among farmers and land managers. The project will use existing communication channels within farming organisations and the farming press, and point farmers in the direction of existing regional activities, information sources and expert advice. The project will include events, media supplements and face to face communications with farmers and growers.

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