Community action/East Midlands

The aim of this page is to recognise, celebrate and encourage the self-empowerment of community agency networks (CANs) and community groups' activism for climate, environment and many other sustainability topics across the East Midlands.
| Map | |
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| Location | East Midlands, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 52° 47' 47.62" N, 0° 40' 18.46" W |
News
House builders 'failing to deliver on nature pledges', BBC News (Jul 21, 2024)
North Northamptonshire Council given £3.8m to reduce carbon footprint of three key facilities, BBC News (Jul 13, 2024)
Wolds oil drilling plans quashed in landmark ruling, BBC News (Jul 11, 2024)
Green Football Weekend: Newark & Sherwood United - the vegan non-league club doing things differently, bbc.co.uk (Feb 03, 2024)
National Trust asks public to join call for urgent Government action after hundreds of wildfires break out, and full extent of nature loss at Dunwich Heath emerges, nationaltrust.org.uk (Aug 07, 2026) — “The climate crisis long predicted by scientists is happening here and now. Ferocious wildfires, unprecedented temperatures and record-breaking droughts are already hitting communities and nature across the UK – they are not a distant threat. Tackling this emergency must be a cross-Government priority because it touches every aspect of our lives, our society and our economy. So we’ve launched a petition to demonstrate to Ministers the strength of public feeling on this issue." National Trust Director-General Hilary McGrady. To sign the petition, visit: nationaltrust.org.uk/wildfire-petition
All of England's rivers and lakes polluted with chemicals, officials say, BBC News (Aug 06, 2026)
Firefighting aircraft aren’t enough – Britain needs to build a wildfire‑resilient society that involves everyone, Komal Raj Aryal, Lecturer in Crisis and Disaster Management, Aston University, theconversation.com (Aug 06, 2026)
Europe’s rivers are running dry, and the knock-on effects are disastrous, Yiannis Baboulias, theguardian.com (Aug 05, 2026)
How Australia combines modern tech and Indigenous knowledge to fight wildfires, BBC News (Aug 01, 2026)
May and June heatwaves killed about 2,700 people in England and Wales, data suggests, theguardian.com (Jul 13, 2026) — Extreme heat led to 440 deaths a day during June peak, say scientists, with climate crisis ramping up temperatures
South Korea's president orders all-out response to heatwave, reuters.com (Aug 06, 2026)
Young activists in the Maldives confront climate threats to their island nation, seattletimes.com (Aug 06, 2026)
Philippines steps up solar transition as Iran war hikes energy costs, eenews.net (Aug 06, 2026)
Video
Networks and sustainability initiatives
- Transition New Mills, Derbyshire, Reimagining the future and building a stronger community, added 15:50, 7 January 2022 (UTC)
- Melbourne Area Transition, voluntary group in South Derbyshire
- Transition Belper
- Transition Buxton
- Transition Chesterfield
- Transition Horncastle
- Transition Town Louth
- Umbrella Fair Organisation, Northampton-based community co-operative of local people promoting sustainable living and community cohesion
- Wirksworth Transition, on facebook
Community involvement
Loundsley Green Community Trust, Chesterfield
Localism
Supporting community business in the East Midlands, powertochange.org.uk, added 11:51, 13 November 2021 (UTC)
Community and voluntary action
One East Midlands, regional network
Food activism
- Serpentine Community Farm, Buxton
Community energy
Torrs Hydro, New Mills, Derbyshire, community owned hydro electric scheme. Torrs Hydro is a community share scheme supported by local action group, H2OPE and the Co-op Community Fund. The community group of 230 members invested over £125,000 and then raised the remainder of the scheme's full cost (£330,000) from community bank loans and grants. The scheme earns an income from the energy exported to the local Co-op supermarket. According to DECC "This is a clear example of the power of local action and the sound investment from hydro projects that can be rolled out across the UK."...decc.gov.uk, Press release: 10/113, October 28, 2010
Towards sustainable economies
Community resources
- Sharewear clothing scheme
- Whistlewood Common, ten acres of community-owned land in Melbourne, South Derbyshire, designed along permaculture principles (a sustainable design framework) so that it will work for people, for wildlife and be a welcoming space for people of all ages and backgrounds.
Maps
Cycle Map, mappa-mercia.org
Visions
New Mills 2030, transitionnewmills.org, added 10:53, 11 January 2022 (UTC)
Climate action
- Hope Valley Climate Action, group of villages taking effective action on climate change, with a vision of the Valley becoming more sustainable and rich in wildlife. added 14:53, 10 October 2022 (UTC)
- Climate East Midlands
- Everybody's Talking About Climate Change, climate change portal for Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, Community Support
Sustainable transport activism
Grantham Canal, (Wikipedia): Since the 1970s, the Grantham Canal Society have been working towards its restoration, and two stretches are navigable to small vessels.
Biodiversity
The Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust founded in 1963 is a wildlife conservation charity working to protect and enhance the wildlife and habitats of Nottinghamshire. They care for over 60 nature reserves covering more than 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) of wildlife habitat ranging from wildflower meadows to wetlands to ancient woodland. Key reserves are Attenborough Nature Reserve and Idle Valley Nature Reserve.
They engage the local community through events, information, volunteering and education opportunities and seek to ensure the county is a healthy and wildlife rich place to live. They are one of the 46 members of The Wildlife Trusts and have 11,000 members.
Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust also advise other landowners how to manage their land to benefit wildlife.
Attenborough Nature Reserve is a nature reserve at Attenborough, Nottinghamshire, England, located 5 mi (8 km) south west of Nottingham city centre. It is owned and managed by Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, supported by Broxtowe Borough Council, following the completion of purchase from Cemex UK in December 2020.
At its centre is a building called Attenborough Nature Centre, comprising visitor services and educational facilities.
The Idle Valley Nature Reserve, also known as Lound Gravel Pits or Sutton and Lound Gravel Pits, is a wetland Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) situated north-west of the town of Retford in the Bassetlaw district of north Nottinghamshire. The nature reserve is situated along the western bank of the River Idle and east of the villages of Sutton cum Lound and Lound. The nature reserve is managed by the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust.
Open spaces
There are two nationally designated areas of outstanding natural beauty - the Peak District and the Lincolnshire Wolds W
Groundwork in the East Midlands
Trees, woodland and forest
- Greenwood Community Forest on twitter.com
The National Forest is an environmental project in central England run by The National Forest Company. From the 1990s, 200 square miles (520 km2) of north Leicestershire, south Derbyshire and southeast Staffordshire have been planted in an attempt to blend ancient woodland with newly planted areas to create a new national forest. It stretches from the western outskirts of Leicester in the east to Burton upon Trent in the west, and is planned to link the ancient forests of Needwood and Charnwood.
- National Forest, Video channel on youtube.com, added 11:01, 16 December 2023 (UTC)
News archive
Plans approved to transform Lincolnshire golf course into wildlife haven, birdguides.com/news (Dec 30, 2023)
‘We’ve had untold support’: how farmers are getting creative with tree-planting, positive.news (Dec 12, 2023)
Alter Natives: Deana Wildgoose from the Coalville CAN, on the creativity and joy released when communities take over buildings, The Daily Alternative (Jan 11, 2023)
'Natural Health Service': Derby approves UK's largest urban rewilding project, Nov 11, 2021...theguardian.com
- Returning Land Back to the Commons... transitionnetwork.org, Feb 10, 2020
- Swadlincote to make waste history: Sainsbury's awards the town £1 million to become the pioneers of wasting less and saving more, December 1, 2015... j-sainsbury.co.uk
- Transition Buxton take on former council plant nursery, January 14, 2015... Transition Network
- How a community association can spark community action, December 4, 2012... Guardian Professional
About the East Midlands
Past events
- Aug 12 - 15 2021, Northern Green Gathering, on facebook.com
- June 3 - 5, 2016, Belper Goes Green 2016 ECO Festival
- August 16 - 17, 2014, Umbrella Fair Festival, Northampton
The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire (except for North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire), Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, and Rutland. The region has a land area of 15,623 km2 (6,032 sq mi), with an estimated population 5,063,164 in 2024. With a sufficiency-level world city ranking, Nottingham is the only settlement in the region to be classified by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.
The main cities in the region are Derby, Leicester, Lincoln and Nottingham. The largest towns in these counties are Boston, Chesterfield, Coalville, Corby, Glossop, Grantham, Kettering, Loughborough, Newark-on-Trent, Northampton, Mansfield, Oakham, Swadlincote and Wellingborough.
Near you
Lincoln - Nottingham / Leicestershire
| Authors | Phil Green |
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| License | CC-BY-SA-3.0 |
| Cite as | Philralph (2014–2025). "Community action/East Midlands". Appropedia. Retrieved August 12, 2026. |



