With Alwoodley hosting one of eight local community hubs across the city, Climate Action Leeds is tackling the climate crisis from the ground up and inviting JLife readers to get involved.
Climate Action Leeds is a National Lottery funded project, based in communities across Leeds with the long term aim of creating a city which is zero carbon, nature friendly, and socially just by the 2030s.
Its first step is to cut the carbon emissions of the city from the current level of four million tonnes per year down to zero. The group will focus on energy, transport, housing, food, the things we buy, and how much we fly in order to help Leeds achieve this goal.
The organisation also aims to improve the city’s ecosystem by mimicking how the environment does this naturally. For example, how trees purify air and capture carbon or how forests support lots of different wildlife. Increasing the amount of green space in Leeds is also on the agenda, as is encouraging natural biodiversity among the city’s expanse of agricultural space.
Climate change does the most harm to those who are least responsible for it. The concept of climate justice came from activist groups in countries where global warming has already been affecting communities for decades. In order to tackle this, Climate Action Leeds is committed to ensuring decision making is accessible to everyone, creating local hubs, and empowering marginalised communities to set priorities.
A mainstay of the project is working in eight unique areas across Leeds to establish climate action groups in their communities. These areas include Alwoodley, Seacroft, Beeston, Armley, Little London, Horsforth, Garforth, and Otley.
The Alwoodley group is currently working on its climate action plan and is inviting people to get in touch if they would like to get involved in the group or if they would like to add their voices and opinions to the creation of the plan.
Using money from the National Lottery Climate Action Fund, each area will receive funding for the next three years to employ a local person for two days per week to be the climate action hub worker for that area. The worker will support climate action projects locally to help the community take actions which create a zero carbon, nature friendly, socially just Leeds.
If you are interested in applying, please scan the QR code to find out further information about the role and how to apply.
There are lots of ways folks in Alwoodley can become involved with the group. Getting in touch and sharing information about the climate positive, nature friendly projects you are already doing is a huge help! Also, if you are interested in doing some climate positive work locally, and want help with where to start, joining the group can be a great starting point to making a positive change.
Climateactionleeds.org.uk
