Ashden Climate Solutions
People power for the planet
Think & Do in Camden, north London utilises underused spaces in local communities and estates as hubs for climate action called Sharing Spaces. Local people come together in these spaces and get involved in projects that are good for the city and the planet. These include recycled craft workshops, clothes and book swaps, repair workshops, bike mending, sharing meals cooked from surplus food and more. Councils across London are keen to create their own Sharing Spaces but Think & Do Camden can’t realise the project’s potential beyond Camden on their own.
We are pleased to support Ashden Climate Solutions with a grant of £197,366 to roll Sharing Spaces out beyond Camden. Our grant will enable Ashden to turn eight underused spaces into climate action hubs, engaging more than 3,000 Londoners in at least 16 climate action projects in three London boroughs over the next two years.
- The project will directly benefit approximately 3,190 Londoners.
- 150 community and council representatives in London will be directly involved in the project.
- Ashden will disseminate information about Sharing Spaces to approximately 100,000 people.
Community solutions for the climate
Sharing Spaces have shown the potential of local people working together. One Sharing Space identified that information only being in English was excluding a lot of residents and contributing to poor rates of recycling on their estate. Another has launched two social enterprises: Sharing Space Eats, a network of chefs providing catering in Camden; and Sharing Spaces Produces, showcasing the skills of local unemployed people making upcycled products. Others have run projects to save energy by getting residents to replace lightbulbs and swap energy saving tips, and have planted fruit trees to improve biodiversity.
Community groups running (or interested in running) Sharing Spaces will become a network, learning and sharing good practice. This could include applying for funding for projects, sharing examples of climate action projects and how to engage their communities from door knocking to social media.
“Sharing Spaces are vital in these times. We need well-facilitated and creative spaces where people can come together to connect, to reimagine and to learn. The deeply inclusive work of Think & Do is exemplary, and in these times where the need to build an imagination infrastructure is ever more evident, the lessons Camden can teach the wider country are more needed than ever”.
More Success Stories
Earthwatch Europe
The Design Museum
