Community action/Birmingham

| Map | |
|---|---|
| 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)
The English community that brought its river back from the brink: ‘If we can get it right here, we can do it everywhere’, theguardian.com (May 20, 2026)
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)
Record-breaking heat and dry spring leave parts of England without water, reuters.com (May 29, 2026)
The English restaurant turning hospitality on its head, positive.news (May 27, 2026) — At a pay-as-you-can restaurant in Stroud, radical hospitality and good food are bringing strangers together
Britain’s green transition should belong to everyone. Why is Labour so intent on stopping us having our say? George Monbiot, theguardian.com (May 27, 2026)
Amsterdam, along with other major European cities, bans public adverts for meat and fossil fuels [BBC], Daily Alternative (May 22, 2026)
How reindeer herds, nature and Sámi culture can thrive when forests are restored across northern Europe, theconversation.com (May 15, 2026)
Rewilding giants: captive elephants rehomed in Europe’s first sanctuary, theguardian.com (May 07, 2026)
Amsterdam, along with other major European cities, bans public adverts for meat and fossil fuels [BBC], Daily Alternative (May 22, 2026)
Solidarity fields in Syria: Reviving local seed production, globalvoices.org (May 21, 2026) — A community garden on Damascus's edge is quietly rebuilding Syria's agricultural memory
How reindeer herds, nature and Sámi culture can thrive when forests are restored across northern Europe, theconversation.com (May 15, 2026)
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
Jun 1 - 7, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Volunteers Week, celebrating and saying thank you to the millions of volunteers across the UK, volunteersweek.org
Jun 1 - 7, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Neighbourhood Watch Week, ourwatch.org.uk
Jun 5 - 8, 2026 (Fri - Mon) — The Big Lunch, the first weekend in June every year, everyone is invited, anyone can join in and whatever food people bring to the table is there to be shared, edenprojectcommunities.com
Jun 6 - 14, 2026 (Sat-Sun) — Great Big Green Week, celebrating communities taking action to tackle climate change and protect green spaces, greatbiggreenweek.com
Jun 07, 2026 (Sun) — Open Farm Sunday, farmsunday.org
Jun 8 - 14, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Bike Week, annual celebration showcasing cycling and how brilliant it is!, cyclinguk.org
Jun 8 - 14, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Carers Week, carersweek.org
Jun 15 - 21, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Refugee Week, refugeeweek.org.uk
Jun 15 - 21, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Loneliness Awareness Week, lonelinessawarenessweek.org
Jun 15 - 21, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Better Transport Week, annual, week-long celebration of sustainable transport, bettertransport.org.uk
Jun 18, 2026 (Thu) — Clean Air Day, actionforcleanair.org.uk
Jun 19 - 21, 2026 (Fri - Sun) — The Great Get Together, annual celebration organised by The Jo Cox Foundation, helping unite people, bridge divides, and tackle loneliness, while showing the collective power we have as a community, jocoxfoundation.org
Jun 29 - Jul 3, 2026 (Mon - Fri) — National Co-production Week, scie.org.uk
Global or international events
Jun 03, 2026 (Wed) — World Bicycle Day, The bicycle is a "symbol of sustainable transport and conveys a positive message to foster sustainable consumption and production, and has a positive impact on climate." (United Nations), June 3 each year, un.org
Jun 05, 2026 (Fri) — World Environment Day, June 5, annually, worldenvironmentday.global
Jun 08, 2026 (Mon) — World Oceans Day, June 8 each year, worldoceanday.org
Jun 12, 2026 (Fri) — World Day Against Child Labour, every year on June 12, ilo.org
Jun 17, 2026 (Wed) — World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, each June 17, un.org
Jun 21 and all of June — World Localization Day, worldlocalizationday.org
Jun 22, 2026 (Mon) — World Rainforest Day, June 22 is World Rainforest Day, worldrainforestday.org
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 |
|---|---|
| License | CC-BY-SA-3.0 |
| Cite as | Philralph (2014–2026). "Community action/Birmingham". Appropedia. Retrieved June 4, 2026. |










