On Friday 15th July, people from Frome and across the region gathered at The Cheese & Grain for a day dedicated to community action on health and climate change. At this sold out event, attendees heard from partners of our unique project, which is helping people in the town to lead lives that are good for their health and the planet.
Staff from our partnership shared how their pioneering work is having a positive impact in the community, whilst guest speakers, who are at the forefront of the fight for climate justice in different ways, reminded us of the urgency of the crisis around the world and encouraged the room to consider the bigger picture.
Throughout the day, associated activities took place at Frome library, including the launch of Frome Seed Library where the public can donate and swap seeds, alongside a display by the Future Shed Clothing & Textiles Network which featured a dress made of plastic milk bottles. We also hosted a teen climate workshop to debate the hot topic of flying and were thrilled to see young people getting involved.
Following a tasty plant-based lunch, the team hosted breakout sessions around different health-climate themes, inviting the audience to explore the issues further, share ideas and tackle challenges together. From this came new connections and inspiration with people of all different backgrounds joining in.
The day ended with ‘out and about’ sessions around the town and a reception at Frome Town Hall where people could meet up and reflect. The event was rich in knowledge-sharing and connection-building at all levels from curious local individuals to impassioned community groups and regional health and government organisations looking to make change in their own towns.
After the limitations of the last couple of years, we were delighted to welcome so many people from Frome and beyond to the event. Our Green Health Connector (probably the first role of it’s kind in the UK), Charlotte said “it was so lovely to have everyone in the room together” whilst Cycle Together lead Emma added “it was wonderful to make so many connections and share our work with people from all across the South West”.
Project Manager, Sue Palmer shared “we wanted the conference to bring people together from Frome and across the region and we were delighted that people came from as far afield as Cornwall. More locally we had people joining from towns in Somerset, including councillors and advocates and we felt a really healthy crossover of people being inspired to take action.”
Despite the global challenges we face as a result of climate change, the conference highlighted why taking action on a community level is such an important part of the solution and invited people to get involved. From free e-bike hire and energy advice to a meet up space for cooking up ideas together, the project offers lots of ways for people in Frome to make a difference. Take a look around our website for more information.
Finally, thank you to everyone who joined us! If you have any feedback or questions, please contact Poppy at poppy@edventurefrome.org.
