Year: 2022

What you said about smart meters
Last month, we asked our kind followers to lend us their thoughts on smart meters. The technology is slowly spreading through homes as energy providers determinedly pursue us over the phone to commit to an installation date.

Basically, a smart meter measures your energy use in real time and shows it to you on a display unit. The idea is that this will allow you to get more accurate bills and see for yourself where you are spending money on energy. It also, in theory, cuts out the inconvenience of needing to read your meter manually yourself.

We wanted to find out how people view smart meters whether they have them or not. In our last newsletter, we distributed this survey. Over 50 generous people took time to record their thoughts and this is what the results were.

Firstly, we found that people are confident in their understanding of the technology. 81% of respondents rated their knowledge of smart meters as either good or very good.

Of those who answered the questionnaire, two thirds of them have already had a smart meter installed in their home and just under a third of respondents were over the age of 65.

Focussing first on the 33% of respondents who do not have a smart meter, 60% of these were not interested in getting one. In fact, absolutely none of them rated themselves as ‘very interested’ and only 20% rated themselves any more positively than ambivalent.

Similarly, this group of people also had absolutely no one with any positive opinions on smart meters. 68% of them had either negative or very negative opinions of the technology.

If, however, we look at the 66% of respondents who do have a smart meter installed, around 50% of them have a positive or very positive opinion of them. 29% of these people held negative opinions.

Alongside these statistics, most of the respondents also provided their own insights with both positive and negative thoughts coming from people who had and don’t have smart meters.

These results are certainly interesting and we will be using these to inform how we approach the subject of smart meters in future. A huge thanks to every person who filled out the survey and shared their thoughts.
27 May 2022
Climate change training rolling out to educators in Cumbria

CAfS will be helping to create a national climate training toolkit for educators as part of a new government plan.

We will be one of the partners developing the toolkits, as part of the Department for Education’s Climate & Sustainability Strategy, announced in April. Every maintained nursery, school, college and university in the country is to have a sustainability lead among their staff, all of whom will have ‘carbon literacy’ training on the climate crisis and how we can respond.

We’ve been delivering accredited Climate and Carbon Literacy training in Cumbria since 2019 and we’re now running a pilot with local colleges to tailor the course for the education sector, supported by the National Lottery through the Zero Carbon Cumbria programme.

Speaking at the launch of the strategy, Secretary of State for Education, The Rt Hon Nadhim Zahawi MP, said:

“We are going to speed up carbon literacy training throughout our education communities so that by 2025 every nursery, school, college and university can put in place a Climate Action Plan. Innovation and green growth will not flourish unless we deliver a workforce with the right skills to make this a reality.”

Hazel Graham, carbon literacy training manager at CAfS, said:

“This announcement by the Department for Education is fantastic news. We have some fantastic examples already of schools leading on emission reduction in Cumbria. This announcement means all schools and colleges will gain the extra knowledge and support they need to reduce their own carbon footprint and also to inspire and involve their students. We’ve trained hundreds of people in organisations and communities around the county, and we’ve seen first-hand the impact that carbon literacy training can have.

Our course is designed to do more than just build knowledge. Delegates tell us that they feel more able to then go on share that knowledge with others, more confident to communicate about the climate crisis, and more motivated to act. We get regular feedback about the significant, meaningful, lasting changes that individuals, communities or organisations have made, after attending our courses.

“We’re excited to be asked to help develop the national carbon literacy kit for educators, which we’re well placed to do as we’re already rolling out climate and carbon literacy training for schools and colleges in the county, written by educators, for educators.”

Among them is Lakes College in West Cumbria. The college principal, Chris Nattress, said:

“We recently engaged with CAfS to plan and deliver climate training to our whole college staff during our annual Staff Conference Day. Staff found the session informative and thought provoking. It was an ideal way for us to give our staff an evidence-based, well-informed overview of the challenges we all face in reducing carbon emissions.

“As a college, climate education is a priority for us, and there is a huge amount of interest from staff and students in full-day, accredited carbon literacy training. We have therefore commissioned CAfS to deliver several sessions for us in June to help us achieve our climate ambitions as an organisation. It is great to see DfE’s announcement that other colleges may soon be doing the same.”

Cumbria County Council, the local education authority for the county, has already offered carbon literacy training by CAfS to a large number of its staff and elected members and is a Bronze Carbon Literate Organisation under the national accreditation scheme.

Councillor Celia Tibble, Cabinet Member for the Environment, said:

“This is a fantastic initiative and fits perfectly with our drive to see a golden thread of climate education right from primary up to adult education. This is a key priority for us and, having been trained by CAfS ourselves, we can fully appreciate the impact this training could have if rolled out for educators in the county.”

Louise Atkinson, who is National Vice President of the National Education Union as well as a primary school teacher in Cumbria and governor at a secondary school, said:

“We are pleased to see this announcement from DfE, and here in Cumbria we are ready to respond. We are lucky to have an expert organisation like CAfS in the county to partner with on a roll-out. We at NEU believe that this training is a positive step. Climate change is real and is threatening our future. It is our young generations that will lose the most if it is not addressed now. We all have a role to play and a contribution to make about the necessary changes. We look forward to working with CAfS to roll out this important training for sustainability leads in schools.”

CAfS is inviting schools and colleges in Cumbria to get ahead of the curve.

“We haven’t seen the detail yet of when the DfE roll-out will be but there’s no need to wait,” Hazel said. “Any school or college that wants to be at the forefront of this exciting initiative can get in touch with CAfS now, as we can arrange carbon literacy training for you.”

CAfS also runs carbon literacy courses that are open to the public, for anyone who’d like to learn more about the causes of climate change and what they can do about it, or who would like to get a feel for how the course works.

Our next carbon literacy training session for the public begins on 22 June, you can book on to it here.

You can also email [email protected] for more information about the courses,

18 May 2022
Job: Fundraising officer
Closing date: 10am on Tuesday 14 June 2022.

We’re looking for a knowledgeable and articulate person to help us raise money through donations, grants and contracts. You’ll be a clear and confident communicator with the ability to create persuasive digital material with a strong attention to detail. You’ll have knowledge of fundraising and will be able to research potential new income streams working alongside our development manager.

Application & Interview Process

Please apply by completing the application form below. Please do not send a CV. Guidance for submitting your application is included in the form.

CAfS Application Form

Closing date for return of applications is 10am on 14 June 2022.

Interviews will be held via Zoom on Tuesday 21 June 2022.

Job description

If you prefer to download the job description and person specification, please use the link below:

Fundraising Officer – Job Description

BENEFITS: CAfS offers an excellent working environment, with benefits ranging from flexible working to a pension contribution. Find out more about the benefits of working at CAfS >

EMPLOYER: Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS)

LOCATION: Contractually based at our office, Eden Rural Foyer, Old London Road, Penrith, CA11 8ET, however we are open to flexible working patterns and blended (home, site and office-based) or home working is possible for this role.

REPORTS TO: Development Manager

HOURS: 22.5 hrs a week. There may be some flexibility with the contracted hours, which can be discussed at interview if of interest to the applicant.

SALARY RANGE: £21,000-£25,000 per annum full-time equivalent (£12,600 – £15,000 for the 22.5 hour week), depending on skills and experience.

DURATION: Fixed-term 12-month contract. With potential for extension subject to funding.

APPLICATIONS BY: 10am Tuesday 14^th June, 2022. Interviews 21^st June, 2022

Please apply using the application form. CVs will not be considered.

ABOUT CAFS:

Our vision is a zero carbon Cumbria which is socially, environmentally, and economically beneficial for all.

Our mission is to promote and facilitate low carbon living and its benefits – inspiring and supporting individuals, communities, and organisations across Cumbria and beyond to take action to decarbonise lives, communities, and businesses by 2037 or sooner. We do this through events, advice, training, and practical projects across the county as well as providing specialist consultancy services. We share our knowledge, skills, and practical experience as widely as possible.

CAfS is an award-winning charity with a team of 28 highly skilled staff, working with a pool of specialist contractors and volunteers to deliver around 20 major, transformational low-carbon projects each year. Now in our 24th year, CAfS is the first point of reference in the county for information on sustainability and low-carbon living.

CAfS continues to see a rapid rise in the demand for its services and has grown to a turnover of almost £1.5 million. However, if we are to meet our vision of zero carbon in Cumbria, within the timescales that the climate emergency requires, then we need to do more. At present most of our funds are restricted to projects, and less than 1% of our income is from donations or corporate partnerships. Working alongside our Development Manager and our marketing team, this is an exciting opportunity to help us increase our core and unrestricted funding streams.

MAIN PURPOSE OF ROLE:

To help implement our donor and corporate fundraising strategies including campaign and stewardship support.

To increase core funding through development of Trust and Foundation fundraising.

To research grants, contracts and other funding opportunities and feed these into our funding pipeline.

KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY:

Undertake research about potential donor, corporate and funding prospects, providing briefings for meetings and updating our databases.

Provide stewardship support to, our donors, funders and corporate partners – building and maintaining relationships including thank you letters, updates and invitations to events.

Provide support to donation campaigns and funding applications including drafting cases for support, developing beneficiary case studies & videos and working with our marketing team on digital fundraising content.

Provide support to community fundraising activities.

Develop a pipeline of, and coordinate applications to, Trusts and Foundations including writing creative and compelling funding proposals which meet grantors requirements.

Researching opportunities on funding platforms and websites, passing these onto project managers, and tracking them in our pipeline and funder database.

Working with project managers to compile information and supporting documentation for bids and funding applications.

Supporting the development and implementation of a fundraising CRM, including ensuring the information we hold is data protection complaint.

Support the development and delivery of fundraising events including developing appropriate materials, dealing with bookings, event preparation, event set-up and event follow-up.

Support the monitoring of our impact and reporting on our effectiveness to our funders.

Assist with the preparation of trustee and funder reports

Undertake work as directed by line manager, including collecting and inputting data, data analysis, emails, meeting minutes, etc.

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT:

Manage suppliers as required to support the delivery of the projects.

Manage volunteers as required to support the delivery of the projects.

OTHER RESPONSBILITIES:

Represent CAfS and help to raise the profile of CAfS’ work as opportunities arise.

Contribute to news articles, web content and other information for publicity and CAfS’ profile raising

Ensure documents are completed and filed appropriately.

Ensure CAfS’ ethical funding policies and protocols are followed.

Take part in staff meetings, team meetings and training.

Perform other duties that may be required from time to time.

Person Specification

Essential skills and attributes:

An understanding of the different types of fundraising and ways to develop these to support the charity.

Knowledge of fundraising information sources, and familiarity with research techniques for fundraising prospect research.

Proven ability to write clear and articulate prose, strong attention to detail and editing skills, with the ability to transform project information into compelling and persuasive proposals.

Ability to create compelling online and digital fundraising materials using the experiences of our beneficiaries to inspire supporters.

Proven ability to develop and manage ongoing relationships with people and organisations e.g. donor journeys

Ability to work with and interrogate databases and spreadsheets

Strong interpersonal and verbal communication skills

Confident, with the ability to work independently, and as part of a team

Proven ability to use initiative and make effective decisions.

Ability to prioritise work, manage time effectively and meet deadlines

Organised, dedicated, highly motivated and reliable

Proficiency in Microsoft computer packages (Word, Excel, Outlook), and working knowledge of SharePoint and Teams.

A passion for local climate change action and a commitment to CAfS’ aims, values and objectives

Desirable skills and attributes

The following attributes are desirable but not essential:

Experience of developing proposals and securing funding from trusts, foundations, and statutory sources

Experience of developing and managing supporter/donor journeys

Experience of using a fundraising CRM to profile donors and target communications and fundraising activities while focused on long term growth

Comfortable with networking and collaborating with project partners, stakeholders and other NGOs to develop joint funding proposals

A good level of numeracy and an understanding of budget development and management

Experience of event organisation

Experience of database/customer relationship management systems.

Experience of data gathering and collating e.g. event participant feedback data.

Experience of setting up and helping to run online meetings eg MS Teams, Zoom.

An understanding of the work of CAfS and the impact of climate change on the environment and economy.

If you would like more information about the role, please contact CAfS Development Manager.

Email. [email protected]

Tel. 01768 593272
13 May 2022
Over £19,000 awarded to locals tackling climate change

Two local projects have been granted funds to combat climate change in Cumbria following a special meeting of the Cumbria Sustainability Network (CSN).

Local sustainability projects were invited to apply and present their ideas to reduce carbon emissions to the CSN and to the public for a chance to be awarded the grants of up to £10,000.

An audience of over 60 people voted on their preferred local projects that targeted the areas of energy use, land use, waste, and transport.

The first ‘winning’ project was the Ulverston Food Waste Project, which received £9,815 to aid in their effort to ensure that food at the end of its shelf life goes to people who will make good use of it.

An additional £9,700 was given to SENS from Staveley to develop their pilot electric-bike hire scheme that will enable locals to access sustainable transport.

Linden Grieve from the Ulverston Food Waste Project said: ‘We were overjoyed to be successful in our bid for funds to make sure that we can continue to save as much edible produce as possible from disappearing into landfill. It was an amazing moment when we realized that so many people had voted for our project! I’m so pleased that we can continue to build and grow our project to benefit people in Ulverston as well as the planet.’

Alistair Kirkbride from SENS said: ‘e-bikes are a great carbon-neutral way of getting out and about for short journeys, and a really effective option to replace short car journeys. Our pilot will enable local people to use this fun and convenient mode of travel day-to-day without having to commit to buying a bike.

‘We are aware of how hard it is for young people to access work or other services without a reliable, frequent bus service, and we want to encourage people of all ages to keep their cars parked up as much as possible or even replace their cars with their own e-bike. We hope to include a pay-as-you-do cargo bike as part of our offer, and we hope that local business will pick up on this as an alternative for deliveries.’

The funding for the grants came from the National Lottery Climate Action Fund, as part of the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership’s (ZCCP) ambitious emission reduction programme to make Cumbria carbon neutral by 2037. The grants are awarded by CAfS on behalf of ZCCP.

Coordinator of the CSN Helen Attewell said: ‘The Community Climate Grants are an excellent way of encouraging new methods of tackling climate change by raising awareness and cutting carbon emissions.

‘Although the large grant programme is closed for now, we are still allocating grants of up to £2,000 for small and medium amounts so it remains a great opportunity for community-based groups to take action in support of a Zero Carbon Cumbria’.

Community groups interested in finding funding for their sustainability projects can find more information on our page on Community Climate Grants.

28 April 2022
Vote against climate change in local council elections
At the local elections on May 5^th 2022, Cumbrians will be voting for the councillors who will decide the priorities and policies of the two new Unitary Authorities for Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness.

This is a historical moment for Cumbria and a unique opportunity to put action on climate change at the very heart of local government. Whilst directly responsible for only around 2-5% of local carbon emissions, local authorities can have a big influence on over more than 30% of local emissions through their policies, partnerships and funding streams.

Action on climate change can bring many benefits to individuals, communities and businesses eg cleaner air, more active travel, warmer, drier homes, lower bills, more choice of local food, less road congestion and much more.

We urge people voting and the candidates who are standing to ensure the critical issue of climate change and the benefits of acting on it are acknowledged and prioritised.

How climate change affects Cumbria

We are already experiencing the effects of climate change in Cumbria. As carbon emissions continue to rise, we will see:

more and more extreme weather events such as storms, high winds and floods

sea level rise combined with storm surges leading to more coastal flooding.

hotter, drier summers with increased risk of heatwaves and wildfires.

damage to landscapes, habitats, buildings, infrastructure and the Cumbrian economy.

interruptions to food and water supplies.

The key sources of carbon emissions in Cumbria

A report on the Carbon Baseline of Cumbria by Small World Consulting identifies that in 2019 Cumbria emitted greenhouse gases equivalent in impact on climate change to 7 million tonnes of CO₂ from the following sources of greenhouse gas emissions:

the burning of coal, oil and gas in Cumbria (excluding from vehicles travelling on the M6 over which Cumbria has little influence)

the electricity used in Cumbria (whether the power is generated in Cumbria or elsewhere).

the food we eat and the stuff we buy (regardless of where the goods have been produced).

resident and visitor travel to and from and in and around Cumbria (excluding international visitor travel).

the impact on emissions from different forms of land use, which may be positive or negative.

What the new Unitary Authorities need to do

Local authorities have a crucial role to play in achieving Cumbria’s target of net zero carbon emissions by 2037. The new Unitary Authorities need to show strong and ambitious leadership on climate change.

The Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership, which comprises around 80 Cumbrian organisations working together to plan the pathway to net zero including the existing local authorities, has already adopted 2037 as the science-based target for net zero.

The new Unitary Authorities should do the same and set out net zero action plans with clear deliverables, targets and resources – both for their own operations and for the geographical area they cover.

For their own operations, they should:

Consider the carbon impact of ALL decisions made by the authority and align all policies, services, functions and funding with the net zero carbon by 2037 target.

Ensure the right resources are available in the authority – both staffing and skills

Ensure there is a Cabinet position with responsibility for delivering climate action.

Ensure local authority buildings are low carbon

Ensure council vehicles use low carbon fuel

Minimise, reuse and recycle waste.

Act to reduce the carbon emissions from transport used by local authority service users.

Reduce staff commuting.

Manage local authority owned land to reduce carbon emissions, help to sequester carbon through peatbog restoration and tree planting and also benefit wildlife.

Influence supply chains by requiring contractors and suppliers to take action to reduce carbon emissions

Ensure pensions and other investments are climate friendly

Ensure understanding of climate change and solutions is embedded through the whole authority with ‘carbon literate’ employees and elected members

Where carbon emissions are irreducible, identify options

Be accountable – report on operational carbon emissions annually

For their area of influence, they should:

Communicate, engage and consult with local communities and young people on priorities for action on climate change, through initiatives like citizens juries and people’s panels

Use their powers in relation to planning to ensure that developments are net zero.

Use their powers over infrastructure development to enable people to ditch motorised vehicles in favour of safe walking and cycling

Influence the availability of public transport

Encourage electric vehicle use and increase publicly available EV charging infrastructure

Ensure street lighting is low energy and wildlife friendly

Improve domestic and commercial waste reuse and recycling services

Ensure that people are supported through the transition from high carbon to low carbon jobs with help for training and skills development

Fund local climate groups to help get energy saving messages across to friends and neighbours

Champion community owned renewable energy generation

Embed climate change and biodiversity in school curriculums and encourage practical climate action by young people

Support local sustainability groups which are building community resilience

Be transparent – report on carbon emissions for the area annually.

Further reading and references:

https://www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/learning/weatherandclimate/factsclimatechange

https://cumbria.gov.uk/planning-environment/climatechange.asp

https://cumbria.gov.uk/elibrary/Content/Internet/536/671/4674/17217/17225/4414012219.PDF
26 April 2022
Young people in Copeland make their voices heard on climate change

Young people are highly aware of the threat to their futures from climate change yet are rarely able to influence the ‘gatekeepers’ of climate emissions – those decision makers in Cumbria whose strategies and plans can most affect our carbon emissions. To help address this we worked with Shared Future (a local not for profit organisation) to fund and create interactive sessions with youth groups which explored their views on climate change and shared their ideas with people and organisations across Cumbria.

In total 62 young people aged from 11 to 19 years took part in the workshop sessions which were co-designed and led by youth workers in Seascale, Millom, Frizington, Cleator Moor, Distington and Mirehouse and Woodhouse in Whitehaven during summer 2021. The participants focused initially on identifying their vision for their local area and then explored the issue of climate change and carbon emissions.

In parallel to these youth sessions, Shared Future also ran a Copeland People’s Panel on Climate Change with the help of funding secured by CAfS from the National Lottery’s Climate Change Action Fund. This Panel brought together 30 randomly selected local people who, over the course of several weeks, heard from experts about climate change and the actions that can be taken to tackle it. The Panel then debated and agreed its recommendations for action.

The parallel initiatives of the youth sessions and the People’s Panel were brought together by the presentation of the outcomes of the youth group sessions to the People’s Panel just before the latter drafted its recommendations. This had a significant effect on the Panel which said ‘We have been inspired by the work of young people in youth groups across Copeland and our recommendations echo what many of them have said.’

The outcomes of the youth group discussions have also been presented more widely and directly to key decisionmakers across Cumbria through the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership – which is a group of around 80 organisations including local authorities, community groups, businesses and other influential bodies that are collectively planning Cumbria’s pathway to net zero.

The young people of Copeland want to see better, more affordable and reliable public transport, electric cars and chargepoints and walking and cycling encouraged, along with more recycling. They want more solar and wind turbines and energy efficiency improvements at home. They want their local environment to be cleaned up and they want more jobs, especially low carbon jobs, with training.

The Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership is committed to ensuring young people have more opportunities to speak, to be heard and to influence action now which affects their futures.

A report detailing the youth group process and the findings in full is available here Youth-Group-Report-Draft-10.pdf (cafs.org.uk).

The recommendations of the Copeland People’s Panel are available here: Copeland-report-v0.4.pdf (sharedfuturecic.org.uk)

For more information about the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership see our project page.

For more information about CAfS youth engagement programme see our Youth Climate Action project page.

14 April 2022
Job: Home Energy Adviser
Closing date: 9am on Tuesday 3 May 2022.

We’re looking for an experienced and knowledgeable individual to help vulnerable people improve their home energy efficiency, giving advice through in-home visits, over telephone and at events. You will be tasked with helping implement our Cold to Cosy Homes Cumbria service across districts within the county and providing excellent customer service to our clients. You’ll have excellent communication and accurate coordination skills, supporting our pool of contractors and advisers.

Application & Interview Process

Please apply by completing the application form below. Please do not send a CV. Guidance for submitting your application is included in the form.

CAfS Application Form

Closing date for return of applications is 9am on 3 May 2022.

Interviews will be held via Zoom on Wednesday 11 May 2022.

Job description

If you prefer to download the job description and person specification, please use the link below:

Home Energy Adviser – Job Description

BENEFITS: CAfS offers an excellent working environment, with benefits ranging from flexible working to a pension contribution. Find out more about the benefits of working at CAfS >

EMPLOYER: Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS)

LOCATION: Contractually based at our office, Eden Rural Foyer, Old London Road, Penrith, CA11 8ET, however we are open to flexible working patterns and blended home, site and office working.

REPORTS TO: Project Manager – Cold to Cosy Homes

HOURS: 22.5 to 30 hours a week, with flexibility to work across 3, 4 or 5 days. The working times are flexible but must include core office hours of 10am-3pm unless agreed otherwise. There may also be occasional need to work evenings/weekends for event or meeting support.

START/END DATE: Start as soon as possible. Fixed-term contract to 30 April 2023. (with potential for extension subject to funding)

SALARY RANGE: £21,336 to £25,400 per annum full-time equivalent, (£17,068, to £20,320 for a 30-hour week) depending on skills and experience.

LEGAL RIGHT TO WORK: You must have a legal right to work in the UK as CAfS is not in a position to act as a sponsor. 

APPLICATIONS BY: Apply using the CAfS application form. CVs will not be considered. Application forms must be received by 9am on 3rd May 2022.

INTERVIEWS: Interviews will be held on 11th May 2022.

Interviews will be via Zoom. The interview process will also involve one or more tasks relating to the role. Candidates shortlisted for interview will be contacted by 17:00 on 6th May 2022.

ABOUT CAFS:

Our vision is a zero carbon Cumbria, and we strive to bring about a better way of life, in balance with our environment.

Our mission is to empower and enable people, communities, and businesses to live and work more sustainably by sharing our knowledge, practice, skills, networks, and practical experience. We manage and deliver events, advice, training, and practical projects across the county as well as providing specialist consultancy services to enable individuals, communities, businesses and local authorities to drive a shift towards a Zero Carbon Cumbria.

We are expanding our Cold to Cosy Homes service to deliver more free home energy advice support across all districts of Cumbria. The service supports vulnerable people who may be living in cold, draughty, or damp homes and includes: 

Advice about home energy efficiency by telephone and in-home by trained CAfS employees and contractors.  

Events and training about home energy efficiency for householders and volunteers. 

The installation of energy measures such as draughtproofing, low energy light bulbs and insulation by professional installers. 

We also increasingly offer a range of commercial services to householders for energy audits and advice.  

This job description is not exhaustive but is provided to assist the postholder to know what the main duties are. It may be amended from time to time without change to the levels of responsibility appropriate to the grade of the post and in discussion with the postholder. 

MAIN PURPOSE OF ROLE:

This role is to:

Provide home energy advice in clients’ homes, by telephone and through events to clients across Cumbria.

Oversee the day to day running of energy advice related projects across Cumbria.

Help deliver growth in our Cold to Cosy Homes service.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS:

Implement the Cold to Cosy Homes Cumbria project across districts in Cumbria.

Delivering energy advice in clients’ homes, by telephone and through arranging and delivery of advice at events throughout Cumbria.

Provide a high quality of customer service, building a friendly rapport with clients and a strong and credible reputation for the advice service and CAfS.

Oversee energy advice related projects that support the delivery of our Cold to Cosy Homes service.

Manage relationships with specific stakeholders to develop the Cold to Cosy Homes service, for example Electricity North West.

Manage the reviewing and learning from our service to inform developments

Develop and support our team of professional energy advisers to provide telephone-based advice and visits.

Develop new ways to support our clients to save energy and afford to heat their homes.

Contribute to the ongoing work of CAfS generally, including attending appropriate networking meetings, team meetings and training sessions.

Person Specification

Essential skills and attributes:

Knowledge of domestic energy saving, the domestic energy market, tariff comparisons and switching, renewable energy and other schemes to help people save energy and afford their energy bills.

Experience of project delivery.

Good knowledge of the issues that vulnerable people can have in heating their homes.

Demonstrable skills and experience of providing high-quality customer service.

Strong team player and capability to work cooperatively as part of a small team as well as on own initiative without day-to-day supervision.

Excellent communication skills, to network and reach out to communities and organisations supporting vulnerable customers and to provide clear energy-efficiency advice.

Demonstrable knowledge and understanding of sustainability issues and an interest in the objectives that CAfS seeks to deliver.

Ability to deliver workshops and speak confidently to small groups.

Good written communication and Microsoft Office skills.

Ability to work to tight deadlines and juggle multiple priorities.

Ability to work flexibly including evening and weekend working by agreement.

Ability to travel independently throughout rural Cumbria.

Desirable criteria

The following attributes are desirable but not essential:

Experience of providing energy saving advice.

Experience of working in or with local authorities, housing association tenants or organisation supporting households.

Experience of providing services to vulnerable households.

A qualification in providing energy advice – such as City & Guilds Level 3 Energy Awareness.

Experience of working with people from a wide variety of backgrounds, including vulnerable individuals and community groups.

Experience of working in a dispersed team and using Microsoft Teams or similar. 

Practical experience of improving energy efficiency in domestic settings.

An existing network of contacts in Cumbria or demonstrable ability to build networks rapidly.

Additional experience / qualification in energy auditing/thermography.

Budgeting and project management experience.

Experience of securing grant funding and tenders.

If you would like more information about the role, please email: [email protected]
12 April 2022
Double your donation taking action for Earth day

Every donation given to CAfS during the week of 22 – 29 April will be doubled, thanks to match funding from some generous benefactors as part of the annual Big Give.

The week, which begins with Earth Day, will contain the Big Cumbrian Climate Challenge where we are attempting to raise a total of £10,000 from £5000 of donations.

We would be over the moon if some of our brilliant supporters wanted to get involved with some fundraising efforts on our behalf to help us meet this lofty goal.

We are willing to help in any way we can by providing posters and similar materials alongside guidance and advice in how to set up a fundraising event.

Examples in the past have included bake sales, sponsored cycles and many more types of efforts which can be tied into Earth Day. Donations can be pledged ahead of time.

The money raised will go towards increasing CAfS’ climate action across Cumbria. It will support the services we provide in helping people make the necessary changes to advance the cause of net-zero carbon in our county.

Last year, we raised £5000 so we’re being ambitious and doubling the goal to hopefully double our impact.

A donation as small as £25 could support young people to meet to plan their own action on climate change.

£50 would be enough to allow a small business to calculate its carbon footprint and plan action accordingly.

£75 could provide a place for a disadvantaged person on one of our training courses and ensure that no one is priced out of vital climate education.

£100 would be enough to enable one of our energy advisors to complete a home energy assessment for one of the growing number of people in a fuel crisis.

And for those feeling really generous, a donation of £500 could support an entire community to map its solar energy potential, paving the way for hugely effective action down the line.

We will be giving an update as soon as we have a page at which you can register your donation.

We can’t wait to hear what ideas you may have for fundraising efforts and have our fingers crossed that we can reach our ambitious target of £5000 in donations.

For more information about fundraising or donating, please email [email protected]

22 March 2022
Young people lead wave of climate action from school

A few months ago, school pupils in Cumbria penned a new storybook that took on the story of Driggsby, the whale that washed up on a Cumbrian shore in 2014. The young Fin whale was thought to have died due to developmental complications caused by plastic in her mother’s milk. In response, the kids produced Driggsby, a whales tale, an illustrated book while learning all about the issues of plastic pollution and participated in beach cleans along the coast from Allonby to Seascale.

This remarkable work which led to, as well as the book, an exhibition in Tullie House museum where the whale is now housed, was recently recognised at the first Cumbria School Eco awards.

Alongside the Distington Community School Cluster, who helped the kids along, a number of other initiatives were also given the spotlight at the awards.

Some of the initiatives that gained recognition included pushing schools to adopt sustainable packaging, tree planting, the installation of solar panels, establishing eco-councils, beach cleans, and recycling schemes.

There as also one secondary school recognised at the awards. Queen Katherine school impressed with its dedicated eco-hub and budgeted sub-groups delivering projects around waste and transport. They have reduced the amount of meat in school meals and increased the composting of food waste.

All in all, the future looks bright for effective and determined climate activism as these young people continue to grow and develop. The huge efforts across Cumbria demonstrate that the younger generation are desperate to begin making an impact on our planet’s climate for the better and have decided their schools are the best place to make a start.

Young Cumbrians find common purpose

Elsewhere in youth climate action, Cumbria 30, an empowering initiative for 18-25 year olds led by Common Purpose has just come to a close. Our Youth Projects Coordinator Ceri had been mentoring one group of young people as part of the programme as they identified and made efforts to solve a climate issue that was important to them.

Their idea was that young people don’t learn as much as they could about climate change while in secondary school. They proposed that the pressure that builds up during those years around GCSE/A-Level exams pushes the opportunity for extra climate education out of the window. Conversely, primary school aged kids have much wider opportunity to learn about and within nature.

The students came up with a plan which they pitched to Cumbrian leaders including co-chair of the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership Angela Jones. They put forward the idea that secondary school pupils could take responsibility for small patches of nature in their school’s urban communities. This involved collaborating with local people to maintain these small patches of greenery, raise beds, plant and otherwise familiarise themselves with the natural world at a time when school demands usually eclipse all other concerns.

The Cumbria 30 initiative was supported by groups like the University of Cumbria, Cumbria Constabulary, Anti-racist Cumbria and the National Trust who all set the scene in a briefing session with the students to inspire them to think big on climate action.

Young people make their mark on CAfS

In the final part of our round up of recent youth climate action, Ceri also met with the Cumbria Youth Council, a group who are involved with the Make Your Mark programme from the British Youth Council.

These young group members pitched ideas to Ceri and described the actions they’d previously taken in the hopes that other young people and schools can take ideas from them.

Among their main concerns was the heavy reliance in school canteens on single use plastics for packaging. Our Youth Projects Coordinator was particularly impressed by the action of one student who, noticing the popularity of a particular drink packaged in plastic bottles at the school canteen, researched and sorced an almost identical replacement stored in more sustainable packaging for the school to adopt.

Another had managed to push for the replacement of plastic cutlery in their school’s eatery. Their wish as a whole was to compile a list of suppliers they could use to help schools inform their choices in regard to sustainability in their canteens.

For more information or to share ideas that can support young people on sustainability, please contact Ceri Holman, Youth Projects Coordinator: [email protected]

22 March 2022
Job: Community Climate Champions Coordinator
Closing date: 5pm on Tuesday 29 March 2022.

Are you experienced in organising or delivering training, or coordinating the work of volunteers? We’re looking for someone with the skills and expertise to grow our network of community climate champions across Cumbria, and give them the support they need to increase awareness and understanding about climate change in their communities.

You’ll recruit and train new champions, and create materials for all our champions to use in the events and activities they organise in their communities. Our ideal candidate is someone who thrives on helping others to succeed. You’ll empower our champions and help them build the confidence and skills they need to influence people in their communities to take action on climate change.

This is an outstanding opportunity to make a real difference to climate action in Cumbria, spreading awareness and knowledge of climate science and solutions, and inspiring and motivating people to act. When you join Cumbria Action for Sustainability, you’ll be part of an organisation that’s been helping Cumbrians to live more sustainability for more than 20 years. We’re a friendly and dedicated team of almost 30 staff, most of us part time, offering a supportive and flexible working environment with lots of great benefits.

Application & Interview Process

Please apply by completing the application form below. Please do not send a CV. Guidance for submitting your application is included in the form.

CAfS Application Form

Closing date for return of applications is 5pm on 29 March 2022.

Interviews will be held via Zoom on Thursday 21 April 2022.

Job description

If you prefer to download the job description and person specification, please use the link below:

Community Climate Champions Coordinator – Job Description

BENEFITS: CAfS offers an excellent working environment, with benefits ranging from flexible working to a pension contribution. Find out more about the benefits of working at CAfS >

THE EMPLOYER: Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS)

LOCATION: Contractually based at our office, Rural Eden Foyer, Old London Road, Penrith, CA11 8ET. Home working may be possible with manager’s agreement.

REPORTS TO: Climate and Carbon Literacy Training Manager

HOURS: 15 hrs per week. An additional 7.5 hours per week may also be available for the role holder to act as a training deliverer – details of this can be found below and can be discussed at interview. Hours can be worked flexibly across the week.

SALARY RANGE: £21,000 – £24,000 per annum FTE, (equivalent to £8,400-£9,600 at 15 hours/week, or £12,600-£14,400 at 22.5 hours/week.)

DURATION: Fixed-term contract, starting May 2022 or sooner, to end February 2023 (with potential to extend or opportunity for extra hours subject to additional funding).

APPLICATIONS BY: 5pm on Tuesday 29 March 2022. Please apply using the application form. CVs will not be considered. Interviews will be held via Zoom on Thursday 21 April 2022.

ABOUT CAfS:

Our vision is a zero carbon Cumbria which is socially, environmentally, and economically beneficial for all.

Our mission is to promote and facilitate low carbon living and its benefits – inspiring and supporting individuals, communities and organisations across Cumbria and beyond to take action to decarbonise lives, communities and businesses by 2037 or sooner. We do this through events, advice, training and practical projects across the county as well as providing specialist consultancy services. We share our knowledge, skills and practical experience as widely as possible.

CAfS is an award-winning charity with a team of 28 highly skilled staff, working with a pool of specialist contractors and volunteers to deliver around 20 major, transformational low-carbon projects each year. Now in our 24th year, CAfS is the first point of reference in the county for information on sustainability and low-carbon living.

BACKGROUND TO THE COMMUNITY CLIMATE CHAMPIONS PROJECT

Over the past year, CAfS has set up and supported a network of people across Cumbria to raise awareness about climate change in their communities. We did this in response to demand from people, already embedded in their communities, who wanted to communicate more effectively about climate change to their existing networks.

We recruited and trained around 20 of these community climate champions, giving them the confidence to communicate about climate change among their own networks, so that they can help people in their communities to play their part in the journey to a zero carbon Cumbria.

Overall through this project, we’re aiming to build a collaborative network of community climate champions, increase their confidence and feelings of empowerment, and support them to increase the knowledge of the people they go on to communicate with.

It’s been a very successful start, with champions running activities in their communities – from coffee mornings to talks for local groups. We want to build on this by recruiting and training another group of 20 champions in 2022. Our goal is for our new and existing champions to run or speak at a wide range of free events on climate science and solutions across Cumbria, engaging 700-1000 people over 10 months.

This post will sit within our existing climate training team, who run a comprehensive, professional climate training programme across Cumbria.

The focus will be on engaging Cumbrians who are harder to reach or whose voices are less heard – people who are concerned about climate change but who are not already connected with organisations or a supportive climate network. We particularly want to reach people from previously underrepresented communities in terms of income, areas of multiple deprivation, disability and ethnicity. We wish to increase this representation across both the champion group and those they reach.

MAIN PURPOSE OF ROLE:

The Community Climate Champions Coordinator will take overall responsibility for continuing CAfS’ Community Climate Champions project. Specifically, they will:

Recruit and train 20 new community climate champions and coordinate and support them, and our existing 17 champions, to deliver training, events and/or discussions to groups within a diverse range of communities;

Support our existing champions to share their learning with the new cohort of volunteers;

Develop a training package of information and interactive exercises for champions to use;

Support the champions to communicate with the people they want to influence in their communities, including businesses, councils, churches and other organisations;

Ensure that all champions receive an induction, a full day of training as a group, one-to-one support, opportunities for additional training and learning, and opportunities to socialise and support each other.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS :

Community climate champions coordination and support

Support the training, events and/or presentations (these may be virtual due to covid considerations) which are delivered by community climate champions to ensure that 700 – 1000 people are engaged within nine months (May 2022 to January 2023)

Recruit and induct 20 new community climate champions

Support the existing 17 community climate champions

Develop clear offer for community climate champions regarding CAfS’ expectations of them and what they can expect from CAS

Ensure all community climate champions attend full day accredited carbon literacy training. Ideally this would be delivered by the coordinator.

Ensure all climate champions are aware of requirements around safeguarding, GDPR and insurance

Coordinate 3 or 4 focused one-hour training sessions for community climate champions to meet any support needs they identify

Direct community climate champions to further opportunities for learning and development

Coordinate opportunities for community climate champions to socialise and support each other.

Ensure that community climate champions represent and engage with a diverse range of groups, reflective of Cumbria’s population and that they actively promote to underrepresented groups

Manage enquiries about training courses or events and direct to community climate champions or the Climate and Carbon Literacy Training Manager, as appropriate.

Develop a basic slide-set and script for use by community climate champions, if they wish to use it

Mentor and support community climate champions at the first session they deliver, if needed

Update and improve materials as needed

Support community climate champions with answers to queries

Administer community climate champion expenses claims, pay for room bookings, refreshments as required, where within the project budget

Project Management

Adapt and work to project Gannt chart

Manage project budget

Improve and apply the existing monitoring and evaluation approach

Ensure that community climate champions complete all required monitoring and evaluation

Liaise with and report to funder

General

Provide updates for CAfS Climate and Carbon Literacy Training Manager as required

To be a channel for information to individuals on wider CAfS projects.

To contribute news articles, web content and other information about the project to the CAfS Marketing Team for publicity and CAfS profile raising.

Take part in staff and team meetings and training sessions.

To carry out other tasks as required from time to time.

Every opportunity should be taken to ensure this work is integrated into the other work that CAfS delivers so that benefits are maximised.

Potential 7.5 additional hours per week as a CAfS Climate Trainer

Deliver professional, accredited Climate and Carbon Literacy training sessions to a range of audiences and organisations across the county, both face-to-face and online.

Support the Climate and Carbon Literacy Training Manager with other tasks as requested.

Person Specification

Essential skills and attributes:

Good knowledge of climate science, sustainable living and low carbon solutions.

Experience of volunteer coordination and support

Highly organised with experience of planning, scheduling and delivering projects and events

Ability to host and attend events and speak confidently in front of small groups, both online and in person

Experience of developing and delivering training sessions or presentations

Ability to work flexibly including evening and weekend working

Highly motivated and independent worker requiring minimal supervision

Ability to work cooperatively as part of a small team

Desirable skills and attributes

The following attributes are desirable but not essential:

Experience of managing grant-funded projects

Experience of holding meetings, events or delivering training remotely using Zoom, MS Teams or other means

Train-the-trainer experience

Knowledge of, and contacts across Cumbria’s network of sustainability groups

Experience of managing budgets

Good knowledge of Cumbrian geography and the ability to travel independently throughout rural Cumbria.

Certified Carbon Literate.

Knowledge of safeguarding, GDPR and copyright.

If you would like more information about the role, please email [email protected]

This project is part-funded by the National Lottery’s Climate Action Fund as part of the Zero Carbon Cumbria project and part-funded by The Emergence Foundation.
9 March 2022