SSCA is now four years old and we are halfway through our benefactor’s very generous donation. The coordinators have enabled SSCA to continue to strengthen networks across Shropshire, building closer links with local climate and environment groups and wider voluntary and local government organisations, to support the county’s transition towards net zero.  This in turn benefits peoples’ health, wellbeing and finances. This work has culminated in the development of our new website which showcases the fantastic work that is already happening across Shropshire to help inspire individuals, communities, and organisations to take climate and environmental action. We will notify you of the launch of the new website very soon.SSCA is now entering a decisive phase which requires us to make moves towards acquiring future funding to sustain our work.  This is more vital than ever. Any support, advice, or experience that readers can offer would be very welcome.

• This could take the form of a small monthly donation from as many supporters as possible. If you are willing and able to do this please set up a BACS transfer to the following bank account: Marches Energy Agency; Sort Code: 08-92-99; Account Number: 65044713; Reference: DONATION SSCA-NCZ.

• We need volunteers to support our many initiatives including the retrofit exhibition, producing and sharing user friendly toolkits and videos to support and inspire people to take local climate and Nature action, updating our new website, writing articles for the newsletter and representing us at events and talks.
  

Please contact us by email on SSCA@mea.org.uk you will be very warmly received.  Our next steps: Action Learning Project 

The major focus of our time and energy over the next 12 months will be on an Action Learning Research project.  We have received a grant from Shropshire Council’s Climate Change Taskforce to undertake an exploration of 3 or 4 communities in South Shropshire and how they can adapt and develop resilience in the face of the Climate and Nature crises as they transition towards net zero.  The purpose of the project is to learn from their experience, to find out what is successful, what is not and as far as possible the reasons.  One aspect to emphasize is that these projects have to be driven by the community itself, it is not being done to or for them!We are working on developing some project possibilities covering a number of types of community including:

• a primary school (how to decarbonise a school);

• a town at the beginning of the climate action process (how to decarbonise a community);

• a very rural parish (how to decarbonise a remote community);

• an organisation with county wide membership (how to use an existing network to effect change across communities);

• and finally an old community building (how to decarbonise a building and use it as a wider community resource to effect behaviour change).
  

I hope you find our future exciting and that you will enthusiastically support this refocusing of direction.