Community action/Birmingham

| Map | |
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| Location | Birmingham, West Midlands |
| Coordinates | 52° 29' 38.47" N, 1° 54' 42.10" W |
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 Birmingham.
News
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Climate storytelling often ignores young people – arts-based research can change that, theconversation.com (Feb 06, 2026)
‘Brummies united against racism’: poster campaign takes on the far right, theguardian.com (Oct 12, 2025)
Re:Assembling The Future, Alternative Editorial (Jun 08, 2025)
How volunteers are saving the River Wye with citizen science, cpre.org.uk (Mar 30, 2026)
Heritage railway launches hydrogen-powered train, BBC News (Feb 27, 2026)
Climate storytelling often ignores young people – arts-based research can change that, theconversation.com (Feb 06, 2026)
WL Meets: Zoe Gilbertson who is refashioning textiles from the ground up, wickedleeks.riverford.co.uk (May 13, 2026) — Nick Easen meets designer Zoe Gilbertson who wants to revive the UK textile sector, with sustainability woven in from the start
Fixing social care: Report highlights potential of co-op model in the UK, thenews.coop (May 08, 2026) — Commissioned by Co-operatives UK and Cwmpas, the study found co-ops provide ‘fairer, better quality, community-rooted care’
Our Land: who owns the countryside? New documentary explores the access divide in England and Wale, theconversation.com (May 08, 2026)
Rewilding giants: captive elephants rehomed in Europe’s first sanctuary, theguardian.com (May 07, 2026)
Sail-power offers passengers new crossing between England and France, reuters.com (Apr 28, 2026)
Europe needs affordable, low‑carbon homes – here’s how Barcelona is reimagining its housing system, theconversation.com (Apr 08, 2026)
How one Kenyan community is building a new future on reclaimed ground, globalvoices.org (May 14, 2026)
Data Centres Need a Social License to Operate, demnext.substack.com (May 13, 2026) — How lessons from citizens' assemblies are highly relevant for the future of AI infrastructure and data centres, Another Democratic Future and Claudia Chwalisz
Argentina’s co-operativas escolares: A case study in co-op education, thenews.coop (May 12, 2026) — In 1946, national legislation formally established the teaching of co-operativism and the creation of school co-operatives
Networks and sustainability initiatives
[edit | edit source]- CIVIC SQUARE, "A bold approach to visioning, building and investing in civic infrastructure for neighbourhoods of the future."
- Balsall Heath Is Our Planet
- Birmingham Friends of the Earth
- Kings Heath Transition Initiative
- Northfield Ecocentre
- University of Birmingham People and Planet Society on facebook
CDC videos
[edit | edit source]Each week 3 different short videos from across the UK or world.
Rural sustainability UK, Community energy UK, Community action/Argyll and Bute / ...This week's featured Global videos / ... read more about Cosmolocalism
UK and international events
[edit | edit source]UK events
May 2026 — National Walking Month, livingstreets.org.uk
May 4 - 10, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — National Hedgerow Week, hedgelink.org.uk
May 11 - 17, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Mental Health Awareness Week, mentalhealth.org.uk
Global or international events
May 1 - 3, 2026 (Fri - Sun) first weekend of May every year — Jane's Walk, How to Lead a Jane's Walk, Video, janeswalk.org
May 03, 2026 (Sun) — International dawn chorus day, first Sunday of May, wildlifetrusts.org
May 3 - 9, 2026 (Sun - Sat) — International Compost Awareness Week, compostfoundation.org
May 9 and Oct 10, 2026 — World Migratory Bird Day, worldmigratorybirdday.org
May 20, 2026 (Wed) — World Bee Day, May 20 each year, fao.org
May 21, 2026 (Thu) — Outdoor Classroom Day, celebrating and inspiring outdoor learning and play, outdoorclassroomday.com
May 22, 2026 (Fri) — International Day for Biological Diversity, May 22 every year, cbd.int
2021-2030, UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, International community action events
Birmingham video
[edit | edit source]Bioregionalism
[edit | edit source]- Bioregion Birmingham, "A resilient, sustainable city embracing a bioregional approach to economics, governance and culture." (historical initiative, link no longer available)
Community involvement
[edit | edit source]- The Front Room, "the beginnings of an ambitious, long-term neighbourhood platform in Birmingham to be designed, grown and co-owned by local communities."
Communities online
[edit | edit source]Hyperlocal sites in Birmingham, June 2014
Food activism
[edit | edit source]Martineau Gardens is a community garden on Priory Road in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England. It adjoins the Priory Hospital on Bristol Road. It features over two acres of woodland and formal gardens.The Gardens are administered by a registered charity and are a member of the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens.
- Martineau Gardens, link checked 16:24, 20 December 2023 (UTC)
- Slow Food Birmingham
- Growing Birmingham
Community energy
[edit | edit source]BirminghamEnergy Savers, Birmingham City Council originated scheme
Towards sustainable economies
[edit | edit source]FutureShift, programme to encourage civic innovation in Birmingham and the Black Country...podnosh.com
Community resources
[edit | edit source]Citizens data initiative
- Data to decarbonise in a decade, makes available a range of data sets including open data on housing, travel, waste, energy, and emissions. Easy to use, with some features to help with visualisation. added 15:43, 18 November 2021 (UTC)
Funding sources
- Birmingham SOUP
- LoveBrum, charity supporting 'hard-to-reach' projects across Birmingham that are often volunteer led and that deliver real change, with outcomes that can be seen, measured, enjoyed, and loved.
Other resources
Arts, sport and culture
[edit | edit source]Health and wellbeing
[edit | edit source]- The Active Wellbeing Society, community benefit society and cooperative working to develop healthy, happy communities living active and connected lives, added 17:16, 30 April 2020 (UTC)
Climate action
[edit | edit source]- Retrofit Balsall Heath on facebook.com, added 12:19, 7 November 2023 (UTC)
- Zero carbon house, "…has been designed so there’s no need to use fossil fuels. No carbon is released into the atmosphere from this unique family home and there are no fuel bills either. zero carbon house is the UK’s first zero carbon retrofit – the only existing house to have been upgraded to one of the most exacting standards in green design, Level 6 of the original UK Code for Sustainable Homes."...thealternative.org.uk/dailyalternative, 29 July 2023, added 10:45, 2 August 2023 (UTC)
Sustainable transport activism
[edit | edit source]Birmingham is at the hub of England's canal network. There are 35 miles (56 km) of canals within the city, of which most are navigable. W
- Birmingham Transport Plan 2031, Draft Birmingham transport plan
- Birmingham public transport maps are available from Network West Midlands as follows:
Cycling activism
[edit | edit source]Big Birmingham Bikes, information from Birmingham City Council - Bike North Birmingham, Birmingham City Council project delivered in partnership with Sustrans and Be Active, working to transform the profile of cycling in Erdington and Sutton Coldfield - Birmingham Cycle Revolution,part of the Birmingham Connected vision to reinvent the way people and goods move across the city - Critical Mass bicycle rides in Birmingham - Green Bike Project, community-led bicycle workshop and co-operative based at the University of Birmingham
Environment quality
[edit | edit source]- Brum Breathes, added 16:12, 13 May 2021 (UTC)
Resources
- School Streets: Reducing children's exposure to toxic air pollution and road danger, mumsforlungs.org, Research concerning 4 cities: London, Birmingham, Bristol and Leeds, Jan 2021
Open spaces
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- Birmingham Open Spaces Forum, volunteer-led network connecting and supporting the people who care for the city’s open spaces. added 17:42, 12 January 2026 (UTC)
Birmingham has 571 parks totalling over 3,500 hectares (14 sq mi) of public open space, more than any other European city. The city also has five Local Nature Reserves, one National Nature Reserve and a number of Wildlife Trust nature reserves. W
Trees, woodland and forest
[edit | edit source]News archive
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"Laying the foundations for the hopeful, creative, just transition that we know is in our hearts". Civic Square mapping eco-possibilities for the West Midlands, Daily Alternative (Dec 03, 2024)
‘Building something better’: the UK residents retrofitting their homes amid the climate crisis, theguardian.com (Aug 03, 2024) — From weekly skills-sharing to rewilding streets, communities are working to improve the planet while bolstering the health of people
Neighbours band together to tackle energy bills and show how climate action starts at home, bigissue.com (Nov 06, 2023)
Birmingham's Zero Carbon House is doable, scalable and beautiful - and expresses what the "climate majority" want, says Rupert Read, The Daily Alternative (Jul 29, 2023)
Birmingham’s Civic Square, so inspirational to many seeking to strengthen community power, is “refounding” itself, The Daily Alternative (Mar 30, 2023)
2013-2021
The Political Opportunity, Alternative Editorial (Jul 25, 2021)
- 'Cities have been invaded by cars. Now they are being liberated' - Positive News, Apr 7, 2020...positive.news
- How a Belgian port city (Ghent) inspired Birmingham's car-free ambitions, Jan 20, 2020...theguardian.com
- "Play Out Til Tea" is a great Birmingham Impact Hub idea - but their "neighbourhood of the future" is even better, Jul 21, 2019...The Alternative UK
- From Impact Hub Birmingham to Civic Square, Jun 16, 2019...birmingham.impacthub.net
- Pedal power to the people: Brum's £24m cycling boost, August 12, 2013...Birmingham Mail
About Birmingham
[edit | edit source]Past events
- Apr 17, 2017, Beyond (un)employment, collaborative learning circle, Programme starts Wednesday 19th April 2017 birmingham.impacthub.net
- March 7, 2015, Birmingham GreenFest, Birmingham Botanical Gardens
Birmingham (BUR-ming-əm) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. It is the second-largest city, urban area and metropolitan area in England and the United Kingdom, with roughly 1.1 million inhabitants within the city area, 2.9 million inhabitants within the urban area and 4.3 million inhabitants within the metropolitan area and lies within the most populated English district.Birmingham is commonly referred to as the second city of the United Kingdom.
Located in the West Midlands county and region in England, approximately 100 miles (160 km) from Central London, Birmingham, as one of the United Kingdom's major cities, is considered to be the social, cultural, financial, and commercial centre of both the East and West Midlands. Distinctively, Birmingham only has small rivers flowing through it, mainly the River Tame and its tributaries River Rea and River Cole – one of the closest main rivers is the Severn, approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of the city centre. W
External links
- Green Commission, Birmingham City Council
| Authors | Phil Green |
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| License | CC-BY-SA-3.0 |
| Cite as | Philralph (2014–2026). "Community action/Birmingham". Appropedia. Retrieved May 29, 2026. |










