Partnerships and community action

The Council works with lots of different groups and organisations, from large institutions like the University of Essex, to community groups like Eco Colchester, to help share learning about tackling climate change and reducing environmental impacts.

To help tackle climate change, we need residents across the city to help. That’s why on many of our projects we have ways for residents to take part, whether that’s by donating bikes for use by others through Community Cycle, tree planting as part of the Woodland and Biodiversity Project or turning your engine off when stationary or parked to help improve air quality as part of the CAReless Pollution campaign.

Here's some of the Council’s projects and actions that have involved working in partnership and with communities to take environmental action:

• Supported delivery of Eco Festival led by Eco Colchester
• Promoted Essex County Council Climate Action Challenge Fund that did provide funding for local environmental projects led by community groups, parish councils and schools 
• Produced clean air toolkit for schools containing activities and lesson content for learning about air quality and how we can all act to improve air quality
• Collaborate with University of Essex to share knowledge on tackling climate change, and apply academic research and expertise to tackle local environmental challenges in Colchester such as coastal erosion, sea level rise and use of single-use plastics.
• Support schools with environmental learning and action, supporting initiatives like the Essex Schools Green Day and providing opportunities in our projects such as designing signage for our nature recovery sites and producing a clean air toolkit which contains activities and lesson content for learning and taking action on air quality.
• Work with Essex Climate Action Commission to understand how the Council can support Essex wide work on tackling climate change

Case study: Go Green Schools

The ‘Go Green Schools’ project was a collaborative initiative between the University of Essex and the Council, funded by the Local Government Association.

The project aimed to understand how schools were already embedding environmental action and education into their ethos. 6 schools were interviewed during the project.

The project also trialled a ‘whole school’ approach to introducing environmental considerations and action. The Council and University worked with Unity Primary Academy, to help deliver environmental improvements in the schools grounds such as making bird and bat box, planting of trees, marine wildlife demonstrations, planting for pollinators and more.

The school then sought funding to continue their outdoor gardening sessions with Together we Grow CIC, creating and maintaining a vegetable garden, as pictured below.

Vegetable garden created by Together we Grow CIC, as a follow on activity from the Go Green Schools project