CONTEXT & BACKGROUND The project has been designed within a context that includes: • The widely agreed general need for massive levels of transformative change to achieve a sustainable low carbon future, and the more specific wide interest in and need for community-based climate action. • The development and sharing of innovation and good practice in learning about and demonstrating sustainable, low carbon living • The importance of transformative learning to create climate-positive behaviour change, for individuals and communities • The emergence of blended learning methods and systems, which can enable massive affordable accessibility and linking this to experiential learning for deep engagement, and inner and outer transformation OBJECTIVES Specific project objectives are: 1. To develop a system to train, support and enable Community Climate Coaches (CCC) across Europe, and to work toward ensuring this role is deeply embedded in the climate response and sustainability movements 2. To capture, formalise and disseminate the experience and innovation of the partners and wider stakeholders through intellectual outputs and a structured dissemination programme 3. To support the development and mapping of new and existing community climate initiatives and education systems in Europe 4. To expand and strengthen learning and collaboration with partners in and beyond our movement 5. To develop a CCC support system that enables a better understanding of the positive impacts and benefits arising from climate action education, for learning participants, local communities and the climate Achieving these objectives aims to bring about massive personal and community-led change over time, in response to the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Climate Agreement and related goals. PARTICIPANTS 16 people will engage in core CCC project meetings, with 200 in-person attendees of multiplier events, and a target of 200+ on-line participants. 42 people will be engaged in in-person CCC training, with at least as many participating in online training. Dissemination activities across the partnership’s extensive networks will benefit many thousands of people, by giving them access to and use of the CCC project outputs. The CCC project participants are composed of a mix of people from larger networks of community-led initiatives and smaller adult education providers. They have complementary domains of expertise (including community resilience, social innovation, collaborative and asynchronous working, online learning) and most have long-term collaborative engagement with each other through ECOLISE. ACTIVITIES The project activities will produce 5 inter-related Intellectual Outputs, linked Training and Multiplier events that are designed to generate deep, long-lasting benefits for the partners and particularly for the wider partnerships, network and collaborations these partners are engaged with. The project activities include online and Transnational Project meetings through which partners will progress the tasks to deliver the project outputs, project evaluation, and extensive dissemination to ensure wide and ongoing take-up of the project’s outputs. METHODOLOGY: COMMUNITY FACILITATION AND BLENDED LEARNING The project will train, build, map and gather data on climate action through a Community of Practice for continuous peer support that will sustain and extend collective learning, and nurture sharing of innovations amongst Community Climate Coaches. Blended learning methods will optimise the advantages of in-person and online learning to achieve Transformative Learning for the Coaches and their communities, with specialised knowledge, good practice and innovations shared online. The participants will engage with an online peer group as they progress their local-to-regional initiatives as the pioneers and facilitators of change, with peers providing confirmation and support, which maintains behaviour change. Participating in face-to-face training enhances the online learning by increasing the identification with the group and embodying individual and social learning experiences more deeply. RESULTS, IMPACT & LONG-TERM BENEFITS The project results will enable a growing network of Community Climate Coaches to deliver highly accessible and affordable transformative learning and action for individuals and communities at scale. It will deliver the new role of Community Climate Coach, that pilots and develops methodologies for maximising effective community engagement with a set of tools and good practice that deliver significant carbon reductions. The impact will be that Europe's communities will be set up to have access to high quality transformative learning and community facilitation that will help bringing about significant shifts to sustainable low carbon lifestyles and communities.
By implementing the CCC project, the primary goal was to achieve effective community climate action through the integration of facilitation and coaching thinking. The project aimed to develop a support system, tools, and training specifically tailored for community catalysts. The overarching objective was to shape a new vocation for climate activists, coaches, and facilitators within our networks. The project recognized the importance of good facilitation in driving community engagement and empowering individuals to respond to the biodiversity and climate crises. By equipping community catalysts with the necessary skills and resources, the project sought to enhance their capacity to lead and support climate action initiatives at the local level.
The CCC project was initiated by the Sustainable Ireland Cooperative, and the British Permaculture Association in response to the need for transformative change towards a sustainable, low-carbon future. The project aimed to address the need for innovation, good practice sharing, and training in coaching and facilitating practices for community-led climate action. A survey conducted during the application process revealed the specific needs of partner organisations, such as support in implementing climate action at the citizen and community level, fostering collaboration, developing a common language for environmental movements, and enhancing skills and capacity in community-led initiatives. The project outputs were designed to directly address these identified needs, ensuring their relevance, impact, and alignment with the target audience's requirements. The survey results provided valuable insights, allowing the project to tailor its outputs and effectively benefit the partners and their networks.