Futureproof Cumbria

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  • Meet our new CEO!

    Meet our new CEO!

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    We were very excited to welcome on board our new chief executive, Karen Mitchell, this month. Karen is now settling into her position at our helm, while her predecessor, Hazel Graham, gets busy in her new CAfS post, bringing some of the most influential organisations in Cumbria together to tackle climate change. Watch this space to hear more about what Hazel’s been doing in the new year. Meanwhile, Karen shares her thoughts about the challenges and opportunities ahead for CAfS…

    I’m delighted to be writing to you as the new CEO of Cumbria Action for Sustainability. I have long admired the impact of CAfS so I feel tremendously privileged to have been given the opportunity to work with this dedicated team at such a critical time for all our futures. I’m particularly pleased that Hazel Graham, the previous CEO, is now able to forge ahead in her new development role at CAfS, a visionary and vital role for both the charity and Cumbria.

    For 20 years CAfS has been true to its vision of a zero-carbon Cumbria, working away diligently towards that outcome in many different ways – from tackling fuel poverty and developing renewable energy initiatives to inspiring communities to reduce waste and grow food and giving young people a voice. It works collaboratively at all levels across the county – with individuals, communities, businesses, local authorities and partnerships. It is an organisation that punches well above its weight.

    In the last year, demand for the expertise, knowledge and networks that CAfS has developed over two decades has shot up – the need is intense and growing. A key priority in my first few months is to ensure we can respond to this demand and provide the kind of support that individuals, communities, businesses and local authorities are calling for to most effectively navigate a course towards zero carbon.

    Funding for non-governmental organisations like CAfS to work on climate change has historically been very, very low. We need this to change rapidly and for foundations and trusts to realise that this is indeed a climate emergency, there is no time to waste and that support for action needs to be prioritised.

    We all face the challenge of climate change – it can seem scary and unknowable at times, but there are solutions and actions we can all take. I look forward to helping bring those solutions to Cumbria.

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  • Tips for a sustainable Christmas

    Tips for a sustainable Christmas

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    With just a few days left for those Christmas preparations, here are our last-minute tips for celebrating this festive time of the year, without costing the Earth!

    1. Still looking for last-minute presents? There’s a big trend this year for buying experiences instead of physical gifts. Vouchers for local restaurants, theatres, cinemas and other venues are a great way to support your area’s businesses and they don’t come in wasteful packaging.
    2. If you’re wrapping physical gifts, try using some nice cloth material – it’s two gifts in one, as your recipient can reuse it. You can use narrow strips of cloth as ribbons to tie up your present. An alternative is to simply use newspaper and string (a good way to avoid cellotape). If you explain why you’ve chosen a more sustainable wrapping, perhaps you’ll inspire your recipient to do the same!
    3. When it comes to protecting the environment and cutting your carbon footprint, your food choices will make a big difference. The food we eat is responsible for 80 per cent of tropical deforestation – including to produce feed for the 10 million turkeys bought in the UK at Christmas. Could this be the year you try a meat-free Christmas dinner?
    4. The equivalent of about two million turkeys end up in the bin over the festive period, along with lots of other food. Our top tips to avoid food waste are to plan how you’ll use up your leftovers in advance, and to dish out a small quantity onto plates. People can then come back for seconds if they’d like. That way, most of your leftovers will be in your pots rather than on plates, so you can put them away to use up later.
    5. If you’ve got lots of folk coming to your house over Christmas, here are a few tips for avoiding disposable plates, cups and cutlery:
      i. Check out the charity shops for some extras – you can always donate them back afterwards.
      ii. See if you can borrow some.
      iii. Would your visitors go along with bringing their own, to help you out and reduce waste?
      iv. If you’re using disposables, choose ones that don’t contain any plastic.

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  • Ambleside to zero carbon – the story so far

    Ambleside to zero carbon – the story so far

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    Could Ambleside become a zero carbon community? That’s certainly the goal of the town’s sustainability organisation, Ambleside Action for a Future (AAFAF), and CAfS is helping to make it a reality.

    In 2019, we began a package of support for the town, thanks to support from South Lakeland District Council and the Space to Connect fund. Here’s a quick guide to what’s been happening.

    All in the plan

    Incredible Edible Ambleside volunteers planting up a raised bedWhat would it take for Ambleside to become carbon neutral? That’s the big question, and we’re helping to answer it. We’re creating a detailed, costed programme that would lead AAFAF towards their goal.

    “The first step is to learn what the community wants to happen, and then we’ll develop the plan in partnership with them,” said Rhona Pringle from CAfS. Rhona has been working closely with AAFAF, attending their monthly meetings to learn about their ambitions for the town, and to offer advice.

    She has also been supporting some of the sub-groups within AAFAF, including their ‘Ambleside to Zero’ group and the Incredible Edible Ambleside team.

    Becoming carbon neutral will mean working with a wide range of partners, and Rhona has begun making some of those links – for example, with the University of Cumbria, Ellergreen Hydro, the Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA) and local businesses.

    Funding

    Alongside South Lakeland District Council’s funding to develop the plan, Rhona has also secured £7,300 from the Co-op Foundation’s Space to Connect fund.

    Thanks to this funding boost, AAFAF has been holding community conversations about how green spaces could be used around the town. Two sessions took place on 20 and 20 November 2020.

    Based on the outcomes from these conversations, AAFAF will deliver workshops based on the outcomes of these conversations, and they’ll undertake training to prepare the group to deliver projects in the future.

    Inspiration

    Pam Warhurst with AAFAF and CAfSCAfS is helping AAFAF to capture learning and inspiration from what’s been achieved elsewhere. In November 2019, we organised a talk and discussion evening with Pam Warhurst, who co-founded the Incredible Edible movement. Pam told the story of how Incredible Edible got started, what it hoped to achieve, and how it has grown – from a herb planter in Todmorden, to hundreds of groups around the world.

    “The event gave people from Ambleside and the wider South Lakes district the chance to talk to Pam about the challenges and successes they’ve had with local schemes, hopefully giving encouragement and inspiring others to give community gardening a try,” Rhona said.

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    Where are we starting from?

    Incredible Edible Ambleside volunteers preparing a new community growing areaWe need to know what Ambleside’s carbon footprint is now, so that we can measure the impact of local actions to reduce emissions.

    We’ve arranged for a team of specialists to produce a very high-level carbon footprint covering both residents and businesses in Ambleside. The Lake District National Park Authority is funding the residential aspect of it, with CAfS funding the business element. This work, by Small World Consulting, is due to be completed in December 2019.

    Residents

    “The carbon footprint will give us a high-level measure for strategic planning, but we recognise that individuals need to understand what their own carbon footprint is, to inform their decisions on ways to reduce it,” Rhona said.

    “A CAfS volunteer has done short study looking into the various online carbon footprint tools, to see whether any of them might be suitable for Ambleside residents to use.”

    Our volunteer looked at eight tools in more detail and the two options we thought could work best are:

    The Carbon Footprint calculator www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator

    the Resurgence Carbon Dioxide Calculator,  www.resurgence.org/resources/carbon-calculator.html.

    “The main issue with most of the online calculators is that it’s not easy to save and share results, which makes it more difficult for people to track whether any changes they make in their lifestyles bring about a reduction in their carbon footprint,” Rhona said.

    Hospitality

    There’s a high number of hospitality businesses in Ambleside, so the carbon footprint of the hospitality sector here is likely to be much higher than the average town. As with the online tools for households, we’re looking into ways to assess online options for hospitality businesses. Watch this space!

    Energy

    Energy is typically one of the biggest contributors to any area’s carbon footprint – from generation to supply and consumption.

    AAFAF’s Ambleside to Zero group has done a preliminary assessment of electricity and gas consumption in Ambleside for the latest available year, 2017.  It’s based on postcode-level data from the government website: www.gov.uk/government/collections/sub-national-electricity-consumption-data.

    Their research has found that 3,816,047kWh of electricity were consumed in the Ambleside area in 2017, with gas consumption of 12,252,432.91.

    As well as reducing the amount of energy used, it’s important to identify what opportunities there are for generating renewable energy in Ambleside.

    We’ve begun exploring options for photovoltaics and hydro power.

    Photovoltaics (solar)

    Working with Lancaster University, CAfS and AAFAF arranged for an intern to map the potential roof space in Ambleside that might be suitable for hosting photovoltaic (PV) panels.

    The work was carried out in October and November 2019, and the results are now being considered. We’ll be able to use this data to estimate the maximum potential generating capacity of roof-mounted PV for Ambleside.

    We have supported intern’s work by providing him with an induction about PV and we’re extremely grateful to Martin Sleath at the LDNPA and Ben Dyson from Lakes Renewables for their support with the project.

    Following on from this report, a software developer from Lancaster University’s Cumbria Innovation Platform will be developing software for mapping the PV. Hopefully this would allow us to change variables and re-estimate the maximum potential area and generating capacity of the remaining area. We’re hoping this work will be completed by the start of February 2020.

    We can then begin exploring how a whole-place approach to PV installation to meet local demand can be progressed.

    We’re also examining different models for community renewable energy.

    Hydro

    We’re looking into whether an existing hydro scheme near Ambleside could supply energy to the town. The challenge is that the existing regulatory framework for electricity supply is not compatible with such small-scale community energy schemes, and we’ve been looking into ways to overcome this.

    Find out more

    Visit the AAFAF website for more information on the group’s projects and events: http://aafaf.uk/index.html

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  • Calling all teachers & young people!

    Calling all teachers & young people!

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    Are you a young person or a teacher who’d like to take action on climate change in Cumbria? Please could you spare a few minutes to fill in our survey on how we can help you!

    We are planning to set up a programme of support for young people. There are grants out there that would make it possible for us to do this, but we need to show that there is a real need for our help, and an appetite to take action.

    That’s where our surveys come in. There’s one for teachers, and one for young people. By sharing your views, you’ll help us to understand how much demand there is.

    Earlier this year, hundreds of young people across Cumbria came together at the Youth Climate Summit and Youth Climate Question Time events to share their views with others and people in positions of power. At these events you told us that you’d like help to get your voices heard, and for those in power to listen and take action, as you don’t feel that this is the case right now.

    We’d like to help change this, so that you have the knowledge, skills, networks and power to become leaders on climate change, and influence change by other people and organisations.

    The survey is open until 18 December 2019.

    It’ll just take a few minutes and you’ll be helping us to help you! Please choose either the teachers’ or young people’s survey below. Thank you!

    Teachers’ survey

    Young people’s survey

    If you have any questions, please get in touch: [email protected].

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  • Whitehaven coal mine – what’s happened so far & next steps

    Whitehaven coal mine – what’s happened so far & next steps

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    Efforts to prevent a new coal mine in Cumbria suffered a blow in November after the Secretary of State decided not to ‘call in’ the county council’s decision to approve the mine.

    We asked one of the campaigners against the mine to share an overview of what’s happened so far, and what the next steps might be in the battle to prevent it. Our thanks to Maggie Mason for contributing this guest post for us and sharing her unique insight, as a retired minerals planner at Cumbria County Council.

    CAfS strongly supports the views of campaigners that the new mine should not go ahead at a time of climate crisis and that, instead, a transition to a zero-carbon Cumbria could create thousands of skilled new green jobs.

    Our patron and leading carbon footprinting expert, Mike Berners-Lee, has estimated that the emissions from burning coal extracted by the mine would be round 420 million tonnes, not far short of a whole year of UK emissions!

    Here, Maggie outlines what’s happened so far, what the next steps might be and her own perspective on the mine. The sentiments and opinions in the piece are Maggie’s own.

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    What’s happened so far?

    On 31 October 2019, Cumbria County Council ratified its original decision to approve the West Cumbria Mining planning application for the first new deep coal mine in the UK for 30 years. On 1 November, Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), rejected requests to ‘call in’ the planning application to decide it himself.

    Will the mine go ahead now?

    The mine can’t be started immediately as there are legal agreements with landowners to sign before the Decision Notice is issued, and both a coal extraction licence and a licence from the Marine Management Organisation are needed before any coal can be dug out. A crowd funding appeal to raise money for a legal challenge seems to have been fairly successful, which may or may not cause further delays.

    What are the different views on the mine?

    There is no doubt some people have welcomed these decisions, because West Cumbria (and Whitehaven in particular) needs jobs, and past industrial contamination on the Marchon site needs to be cleared up. It is also true that Copeland Borough Council has been hit very hard by austerity and would welcome financial ‘community benefits’, and that many people have become dependent on food banks.

    However, young West Cumbrian objectors to the mine, and people concerned about climate change and flooding across Cumbria, have been dismayed by the news. They argue that the reports to the councillors on the Planning Committee have been seriously misleading, and failed to balance harms and benefits as planning policy requires.

    What arguments were put forward against the mine?

    There were two main issues raised by objectors.

    Firstly: will there really be ongoing need for coking coal that will persist and remain profitable enough to be economic, throughout the 50-year planning permission? The history of west Cumbria, and coal areas everywhere, is that funds for restoration and decontamination are rarely still there when mines close.

    Secondly: are the impacts of the greenhouse gas emissions unacceptable (global heating, flooding, etc.), and, if so, are they outweighed by the benefits of the investment and jobs in the area?

    On the first count, the planning officers’ reports, both in March and October this year, took a fairly simple (and, it could be argued, blinkered) view that one graph of global demand for steel showed a ‘business as usual’ rising curve, that coking coal is totally essential for making steel, and will remain so for the foreseeable future.

    Objectors presented evidence that you CAN make steel without coal, that the buyers of British Steel were rapidly switching from coal to gas, and then to low-carbon hydrogen, supported by new UK government funding of £150 million for low-carbon hydrogen production, and £250 million for a new Clean Steel Fund. Even on economic grounds, respected economic and industry commentators have said coking coal could be less economic for steel making than the low-carbon hydrogen alternative as early as 2030.

    On the second point, the planning officers argued that they could ignore the emissions caused by the use of the 2.8 million tonnes of coal a year because they could assume that it was a substitute for whatever mine was currently the source of UK and EU coal. (Can anyone prove which mine and that it would close?)

    It was admitted that greenhouse gas emissions would be caused from construction of the mine, its infrastructure, the processes of extraction, washing the coal, and pumping waste back into the mine, etc. However, the County Council guessed (with no quantification at all) that these emissions were roughly equal to a positive carbon benefit from savings in transport emissions, due to Whitehaven being closer to Europe than the USA. To laughter from the public gallery in the Committee Chamber, it was claimed it was a ‘zero-carbon’ mine – that is, it would have no impacts on global heating at all!

    At the Cumbria County Council meeting on 31 October, where the planning approval for the mine was ratified, members of the council’s DC&R Committee insisted in response to objectors that they were not ‘climate deniers’. However, one said that we all want a green planet in “20, or 40 or 60 years”. Anyone who believes we can wait that long is not reading the news or the science. Another claimed that mankind was in charge of the earth and we were doing really well, and another that he had worked in the steel industry for 30 years and knew that coking coal was essential.

    Have local election processes and public apathy left us with councillors who are bedded in the past, and have an unduly pessimistic view of UK industry to innovate and decarbonise? Have officers properly informed councillors about both the diminishing need for coking coal and the urgency of the climate emergency?

    The county council, the district councils in west Cumbria and the Local Economic Partnership (LEP) have long put their hopes in the ‘Energy Coast’, and in new nuclear in particular, to provide long-term, skilled and reasonably paid jobs. This mine is not the answer to the loss of new nuclear. They should be working out how to reduce Cumbria’s emissions, insulate our homes, protect us from flooding and ensure sustainable work for the young people of west Cumbria.

    Cumbria needs innovation, efficiency and a positive approach to carbon reduction to build a better future than this. Whether legal challenges halt the planning application for this mine or not, west Cumbria must be helped to develop a modern economy that is resilient, fit for the 21st century and provides benefits for all residents.

    Maggie Mason, BA (Arch) Dip TP

    Maggie, who is from Kendal, is a retired minerals planner at Cumbria County Council

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  • Raise funds for CAfS as you shop this Christmas

    Raise funds for CAfS as you shop this Christmas

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    Did you know that when you shop online, you can raise funds for CAfS at no cost to you whatsoever?

    We always encourage you to consume as little stuff as possible, and to support local businesses for the things you really need to buy. But for those purchases that you need to make online, it’s really easy to generate funds for CAfS.

    It’s like giving a little Christmas present to the environment with every purchase you make.

    Shopping with most big online retailers

    Some of the biggest online retailers will make a small donation to CAfS when you shop with them. Argos, Amazon, Booking.com, Boots, M&S, eBay… the list goes on! It’s all done through Give As You Live. Here’s what to do:

    1. Go to http://www.giveasyoulive.com/join/cumbriaactionforsustainability and fill in a few details to register.
    2. Then start your online shopping trip each time at www.giveasyoulive.com, and click on the retailer you want. You’ll go straight to their website, but your purchases will raise donations to CAfS.
    3. It’s even easier if you use Google Chrome. You can add the Give As You Live extension and it will pop up if you’re shopping with one of the retailers that are part of the scheme. With just one click, it’ll sort out any donations to CAfS.  There are instructions for adding the extension at the bottom of this page.

    Shopping on Amazon

    If you’re shopping on Amazon, you can help us by accessing it via Give As You Live. Amazon also has its own way of raising funds for charities when you shop with them. It’s called AmazonSmile.

    1. Instead of going to amazon.co.uk, go to https://smile.amazon.co.uk
    2. Shop as normal
    3. Amazon will donate 0.5% of the net purchase price (excluding VAT, returns and shipping fees) of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases

    When you go there for the first time, it will prompt you to log into your Amazon account and then ask you to choose your charity. Search for Cumbria Action for Sustainability. You should only have to do this once. Find out more about AmazonSmile >

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    How to add the Give As You Live extension to your Google Chrome browser

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  • General election 2019 – Ask your candidates the hard questions

    General election 2019 – Ask your candidates the hard questions

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    We go to the polls on Thursday 12 December 2019 to elect new MPs for Cumbria and a new government for our country. Will it be a government that will take the transformational actions needed to cut the UK’s carbon emissions in time to halt damaging climate change? That’s up to us as voters.

    Climate science demands that every country reaches zero carbon by 2030. The next government is crucial – by the time another general election comes around, it will be too late to put in place the range of actions the science demands. This is our chance to choose MPs who will prioritise tackling climate change and the ecological crisis – the two greatest threats that mankind is facing.

    Here’s our guide to working out what each party will do to address the climate and ecological emergencies, and what their targets for a zero carbon Britain are.

    1. Ask your candidates

    Visit www.whocanivotefor.co.uk and put in your postcode to find out which MP candidates are standing in your constituency, with links to contact details. Email or phone your candidates and ask them what their party will do to address climate change. Let them know that these issues are forefront in voters’ minds.

    Questions to put your MP candidates

    Earlier this year, we asked young people what questions they wanted to put to Cumbria’s MPs and other senior politicians. With their futures on the line, young people came back with a fantastic range of challenging questions. Have a look below for inspiration!

    Youth Questions for MPs

    2. Read the parties’ manifestos

    Parties are launching their manifestos now, setting out their policies on a wide range of issues, which should all include climate change and wider environmental challenges. Here’s where to find the environment and climate change sections in the manifestos of the main national parties fielding candidates in Cumbria, along with their targets for zero carbon emissions in the UK:

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    Party Link to environment policies in manifesto Net zero emissions target for the UK
    Conservative Party https://vote.conservatives.com/our-plan 2050

    “Reaching Net Zero by 2050 with investment in clean energy solutions and green infrastructure to reduce carbon emissions and pollution.”
    Green Party https://campaigns.greenparty.org.uk/manifesto 2030

    “New green homes, new green transport and new green jobs will get us on track to reduce the UK’s carbon emissions to net zero by 2030”
    Labour Party https://labour.org.uk/manifesto/a-green-industrial-revolution/ 2030

    “Our Green New Deal aims to achieve the substantial majority of our emissions reductions by 2030”
    Liberal Democrats https://www.libdems.org.uk/plan

    Click on ‘Our Plan for a Green Society and a Green Economy’

    		 2045

    “We will set a new legally binding target to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2045 at the latest, and implement a comprehensive climate action plan, cutting emissions across all sectors.”

    (See ‘Climate Action Now’ section under ‘Our Plan for a Green Society and a Green Economy’)

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  • Could you be our new marketing & communications officer?

    Could you be our new marketing & communications officer?

    [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” hundred_percent_height=”no” hundred_percent_height_scroll=”no” hundred_percent_height_center_content=”yes” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” status=”published” publish_date=”” class=”” id=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” gradient_start_color=”” gradient_end_color=”” gradient_start_position=”0″ gradient_end_position=”100″ gradient_type=”linear” radial_direction=”center” linear_angle=”180″ background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_blend_mode=”none” video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” video_preview_image=”” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ spacing=”” center_content=”no” link=”” target=”_self” min_height=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” hover_type=”none” border_size=”0″ border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” border_radius=”” box_shadow=”no” dimension_box_shadow=”” box_shadow_blur=”0″ box_shadow_spread=”0″ box_shadow_color=”” box_shadow_style=”” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” background_type=”single” gradient_start_color=”” gradient_end_color=”” gradient_start_position=”0″ gradient_end_position=”100″ gradient_type=”linear” radial_direction=”center” linear_angle=”180″ background_color=”” background_image=”” background_image_id=”” background_position=”left top” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_blend_mode=”none” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” filter_type=”regular” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″ last=”no”][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]

    If you are an experienced and enthusiastic marketer, a fantastic job awaits you here at CAfS!

    We are recruiting a new marketing and communications officer to spread the word about an exciting new project that will see 200 charge points for electric cars installed around Cumbria and the wider north of England.

    You’ll also work alongside our project managers across all our initiatives to tackle climate change, supporting our marketing manager. You’ll engage with the public and organisations around Cumbria on topics ranging from renewable energy and food to housing and transport.

    We’re looking for someone who has communications experience and who can get up and running quickly in this busy role. You’ll be a dab hand at producing all sort of marketing materials and content – from press releases and web content to leaflets and banners. You’ll be well versed in using social media, and you’ll have an advantage if you know how to set up advertising campaigns online. You really will need excellent written communication skills – you’ll have to be your own proofreader in this small, busy team!

    Speaking of busy, you’ll need to be able to juggle different tasks and demands on your time – often to meet tight deadlines.

    You’ll also need to be great at talking to people and motivating them to get involved in our projects. Engaging with organisations and partners is important, too. Your sound advice will ensure our communications are effective.

    You’ll be part of a friendly, supportive and skilled team, here in our Penrith office. You’ll be with us for four days a week for a year initially, which might potentially be extended if new funding becomes available.

    So, do you want to join us and use your brilliant skills to tackle climate change in Cumbria?

    See full details of the job and apply now

    The deadline for applications is 9am on Thursday 21st November 2019.

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  • Job: Marketing & communications officer

    Job: Marketing & communications officer

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    Posted: Thu 24 October 2019
    Closing date: Thu 21 Nov 2019

    HOURS: 4 days a week (30 hours a week – 0.8 full-time equivalent), with potential to extend to 5 days (subject to additional funding)
    START DATE: By agreement
    SALARY RANGE: £21,000-£24,000
    DURATION: Fixed-term contract for 1 year following appointment (with potential to extend subject to additional funding)
    LOCATION: Eden Rural Foyer, Old London Road, Penrith, CA11 8ET

    We are looking for an experienced, creative and enthusiastic marketing professional with superb written and verbal communication skills. You’ll be the dedicated marketing officer for an exciting new project to install 200 electric vehicle charging points in the north of England, and you’ll also support our marketing manager with the wider communications work of CAfS.

    The job description is below. You can also download it as a pdf:

    Job Description and Person Specification Marketing and Communications Officer Nov 2019

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    Application & Interview Process

    To apply, please download and fill in the application form below. Instructions for submitting your application are included in the form.

    Application Form – CAfS Marketing & Communications Officer Nov 2019

    Closing date: The closing date for return of applications is 9am on Thursday 21 November 2019.

    Candidates to be invited for interview will be informed by 6pm on Thursday 21 November 2019.

    Interviews: Interviews will be held on Friday 29 November 2019.

    If you are selected for interview, you will also be asked to carry out a short marketing exercise in addition to a formal interview. Within the interview itself, you will be asked to deliver a 10-minute presentation on a marketing / environmental theme. (We’ll give you more details about this if you are selected for interview.)

    If you have any examples of previous press releases or marketing materials, we will ask you to bring these with you to the interview.

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    Job Description

    THE EMPLOYER Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS)
    REPORTS TO: Marketing & Communications Manager

    HOURS: 4 days a week (30 hours a week – 0.8 full-time equivalent), with potential to extend to 5 days (subject to additional funding)
    START DATE: By agreement
    SALARY RANGE: £21,000-£24,000
    DURATION: Fixed-term contract for 1 year following appointment (with potential to extend subject to additional funding)
    LOCATION: Eden Rural Foyer, Old London Road, Penrith, CA11 8ET

    CAfS ROLE AND PURPOSE

    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.

    MAIN PURPOSE OF ROLE

    There will be two aspects to this role:

    1) The postholder will be the dedicated marketing and communications officer for an exciting new partnership project that will see two hundred new electric vehicle (EV) charging points deployed across Cumbria and the wider north of England.

    2) The marketing officer will work with the CAfS marketing manager and project leads to develop and implement effective communications that are crucial to the success of CAfS many projects and activities.

    BACKGROUND TO THE ‘SOSCI’ ELECTRIC VEHICLE PROJECT

    CAfS has secured funding through the Government’s Innovate UK programme to accelerate the take up of electric vehicles. Currently the lack of charging infrastructure in rural areas and the prohibition of trailing charging cables across pavements and streets in urban areas is seen as a disincentive for homeowners to invest in electric vehicles.

    This 18-month project aims to deploy 200+ electric vehicle charge points across the north of England (and possibly further afield). In so doing, it will test the viability and impact of hosting these charge points in a number of different settings – for example outside community buildings, public car parks, schools, housing associations and even businesses.

    The ‘SOSCI’ programme (Scaling On Street Charging Infrastructure) is being led by the social enterprise ‘Cybermoor Ltd’ and is a partnership of 13 organisations (ranging from the Swedish state-owned energy company ‘Vatttenfall’ to the community-owned ‘Charge My Street’).

    CAfS’ part in the programme focuses on engagement and communication, including attracting and liaising with charge point hosts, raising the profile of the SOSCI programme at events and with stakeholders, co-ordinating press and publicity and gathering data in support of partners.

    Within CAfS, the programme will be staffed by a project manager, a project officer and a marketing and communications officer, together with administration support and input from CAfS’ marketing manager.

    MAIN TASKS OF THE MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER

    • Develop the marketing and communication strategy, action plans and materials for the SOSCI EV programme, including collaborating with partner organisations to ensure compatibility and consistency of marketing materials
    • Collaborate with the marketing manager of CAfS, the EV programme manager and EV project officer to develop these strategies, action plans and materials
    • Write, produce and distribute press releases, case studies, fact sheets, leaflets, posters and other promotional literature and publicity materials
    • Collate, write and edit copy and images for the EV project and CAfS email updates, including our monthly newsletter and targeted emails to specific audience groups
    • Source, edit and write content for the CAfS and ‘Charge My Street’ EV websites, and carry out other ongoing updates
    • Attend internal (and occasionally external) EV and other project meetings to provide advice, updates and guidance
    • Update information about CAfS on external websites and event directories
    • Support with updating the CAfS online supplier directory
    • Contribute to CAfS’ social media accounts and to the accounts of EV partners, including compiling and scheduling posts
    • Support the marketing manager in booking, designing and tracking advertising
    • Assist in the organisation, administration, promotion and delivery of events
    • Collate data and feed in ideas to support the evaluation of marketing and communications work, and ongoing improvement
    • Work with the whole staff team to carry out any other task or project required from time to time, as directed by the manager or trustees

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    Person Specification

    Essential skills and attributes:

    • Experience of producing a wide range of communications materials for diverse uses and audiences (for example, press releases, web content and leaflets), and working with external partners such as designers
    • High standard of written communication, grammar, spelling and proofreading abilities, along with excellent verbal communication skills and attention to detail
    • Basic knowledge of sustainability issues and an interest in the objectives that CAfS seeks to deliver
    • Ability to optimise and edit images for a wide range of uses
    • Experience of adding content to websites
    • Good working knowledge of a range of social media channels
    • Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office products, including Outlook, Word and Excel
    • Proactive and creative, with the ability to manage own workload, take responsibility for tasks, prioritising and scheduling work to meet deadlines, with minimal supervision
    • Ability to work cooperatively as part of a small team

    The following are desirable but not essential:

    • Experience of using WordPress
    • Experience of using social media management platforms, such as HootSuite and Buffer
    • Experience of online advertising (such as on Facebook, Twitter and Google)
    • Knowledge of Cumbrian / North of England geography
    • Basic knowledge of electric vehicles / charging EVs
    • Ability to plan for, create and react to media opportunities and attract free coverage
    • Experience of delivering project communications as part of a project team
    • Experience of advising others on best approaches to communications
    • Experience of event organisation, promotion and delivery
    • Understanding of data protection legislation
    • Experience of collaborating in the development of marketing and communications strategies and action plans
    • Experience of evaluating the effectiveness of communications
    • Basic knowledge of energy efficiency and renewable energy
    • Experience of making videos for social media use

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  • Space to Connect grant to boost Ambleside’s community spaces

    Space to Connect grant to boost Ambleside’s community spaces

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    CAfS has been awarded a £7,300 grant from a partnership between Co-op’s charity, the Co-op Foundation, and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

    We’ll use the ‘Space to Connect’ funding to support Ambleside Action for a Future’s Incredible Edible Group to develop community conversations about how green spaces are used in their area. The grant will also help to develop the group’s skills and capacity to deliver sustainable use of green spaces in the future.

    It is one of 57 organisations across England to receive a grant from the £1.6 million partnership, designed to help communities tackle loneliness by improving and protecting local spaces that bring people together.

    Space to Connect follows commitments made in the Government’s Civil Society and Loneliness Strategies, published in 2018, to help create sustainable community hubs and spaces where they are most needed.

    Funding also builds on the Co-op Foundation’s work to strengthen community spaces where people can connect and co-operate.

    “We are delighted to receive this grant, which will really boost efforts to create shared spaces in the Ambleside area,” said Rhona Pringle from CAfS. “We’ll be able to run two ‘Community Conversations’ around how spaces in Ambleside could be used in a way that better meets local needs and priorities, and we’ll explore people’s connection with food and growing as part of this.”

    Following on from these sessions, there will be three workshops to bring the community together, on themes such as Incredible Edible activities, Fare Share meals, health and wellbeing.

    “Thanks to this funding, and support from South Lakeland District Council, we’re also excited to be able to organise an evening with Pam Warhurst, one of the co-founders of the Incredible Edible movement,” Rhona added. “Pam’s talk will hopefully inspire individuals and organisations to engage in conversations about use of shared space and how they could get involved in practical activities.”

    The event will be open to other communities across South Lakeland, encouraging groups to network together and share information, and to build a wider community of interest to support each other in the future.

    “Training for Ambleside Action for a Future volunteers is an important part of the grant, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to sustain the organisation and activities in the future – from first aid to working with volunteers and vulnerable adults,” Rhona said.

    “The funding will support Ambleside Action for a Future to establish an organisation to take their shared spaces work forward. Through their Incredible Edible Group, they’ll work with local community organisations, such as the school, to deliver this exciting programme for the benefit of their community.”

    Minister for Civil Society, Baroness Barran, said:

    “Strong communities play a crucial role in tackling loneliness and social isolation. This £1.6 million worth of funding will create and enhance local spaces that bring people together, encouraging them to make new and lasting friendships.

    “It is part of our ongoing commitment to work hand in hand with local communities to build a shared, integrated and socially responsible society.”

    Jim Cooke, Head of the Co-op Foundation, said:

    “Our Space to Connect partnership with Government builds on our commitment to strengthen communities and tackle loneliness through co-operation.

    “Grants awarded today will empower people to work together to make better use of spaces to address local challenges, improving the well-being and skills of their whole community.”

    Space to Connect was launched in June 2019, at the same time as Co-op’s Endangered Spaces campaign to protect, support and improve 2,000 community spaces by 2022.

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