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With lots of great community environmental projects happening across Manchester, delivered in different ways by different communities, there have been a series of workshops held to help build the idea of ‘Eco Neighbourhoods’ where others can learn from good ideas and actions.

The aim is to build networks of effective environmental activity across communities, building links to other groups and activities so that communities are able to share best practise, learn from each other, and pool resources and experience.

The aim is to build networks of effective environmental activity across communities, building links to other groups and activities so that communities are able to share best practise, learn from each other, and pool resources and experience.

More sustainable and better ways of living our lives are a key feature, including activities such as cycling to the shops instead of driving, growing our own fruit and veg, installing solar panels on our roofs, teaching our children to respect and care for the environment. Changing our behaviour is challenging, and requires support from our community, friends and family - effective networks can provide that support.

The approach needs to be flexible enough to reach out to all our diverse communities, whilst being coordinated and cohesive. To pilot this new approach a series of 5 workshops were held across a number of wards earlier in the year . Groundwork Manchester, Salford, Stockport and Trafford, in partnership with the MACF Steering Group and Manchester City Council, held five Eco Neighbourhoods workshops in the spring of 2015.

The aims of these workshops were:

• Bring together people who are making a difference on a range of community-based environmental projects, or who want to get involved.
• Enable participants to learn from and be inspired by one another, to plan ahead for even more and better projects and to contribute a strong neighbourhood dimension to MACF.  
• Produce priorities and partly worked-up projects for local Eco Neighbourhood Action Plans.
• Provide information about sources of help, advice and funding.

A summary of workshops can be found for download below, along with the Action Plans for the five neighbourhoods.

If you’d like to know more or comment on the plans, please email the M:ACF team by clicking here.

Image of cat on blue wall in Whalley Range by Sue Langford via Flickr