For decades youth charity Woodcraft Folk have engaged in climate change education, supporting its young members to raise awareness and encourage behavioural change amongst their peers and the wider public. Woodcraft Folk’s environmental themed projects such as C-Change, Face your Elephant, Edinburgh Power Pod and many more have supported and inspired a whole generation to learn more about climate change, environmental sustainability and climate action.
In 2019, Woodcraft Folk’s young members asked the organisation to set clear decarbonisation targets and create a working group to seek to reduce Woodcraft Folk’s impact on the environment. In recent years, the charity’s response to COVID has dominated its capacity, but as they come out of the pandemic, Woodcraft Folk’s Trustees have picked up the vital request from its young members and have kickstarted a Decarbonisation Working Group.
Last week saw the first meeting of the group which involves both volunteers and staff, who over the coming 9 months will be:
- Measuring the carbon footprint of each Woodcraft Folk centre
- Creating decarbonisation management plans for each centre
- Developing working principles for Woodcraft Folk’s local groups and camps, designed to reduce the environmental impact of their activities
- Reviewing the environmental approaches used by centre suppliers
Woodcraft Folk is proud to have a wide range of great climate action practice already in place at its centres, for example:
- Biblins generates all of its electrical power using solar panels
- Grey water is utilized to flush toilets at both Biblins and Park Farm
- Lockerbrook creates menu’s that identify both the financial and environmental cost
The Decarbonisation Working Group is keen to encourage additional members to join and are especially keen to hear from individuals with project management experience or those skilled in communications or the creation of infographics.
For more information email Debs at deborah.mccahon@woodcraft.org.uk
