Community action/Cumbria
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 Cumbria.
News
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How restoring rivers' natural curves can prevent flooding, BBC Future (Sep 19, 2024) - Whitehaven coal mine plan quashed by High Court, BBC News (Sep 13, 2024)
- Cumbria coalmine was unlawfully approved, government says, theguardian.com (Jul 11, 2024)
- E-bikes are freewheeling through rain and over hills, with huge promise for sustainable transport in rural tourist areas, theconversation.com (Feb 06, 2024)
- Young Atlantic salmon seen in three English rivers for first time in a decade, theguardian.com (Dec 30, 2025)
- Drought declared in north-west England amid declining reservoir levels, theguardian.com (May 29, 2025)
- Whitehaven coal mine plan quashed by High Court, BBC News (Sep 13, 2024)
- Plans for major overhaul of councils halted, BBC News (Sep 07, 2026)
- Sardines are having a moment but could this humble fish turn the tide for the UK’s local fisheries?, wickedleeks.riverford.co.uk (Sep 03, 2026) — Can the UK learn from Iberian traditions and turn its booming love for tinned sardines into a lasting win for coastal communities?
- Andy Burnham announces thousands of new homes, but is the government much closer to its target?, theconversation.com (Sep 02, 2026)
- European farmers face ‘unprecedented crisis’ after successive heatwaves, theguardian.com (Aug 17, 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)
- Why I choose to build commons, rather than being an ‘activist’, growingcommons.substack.com (Sep 06, 2026) — And why I think you should, too, Dil Green
- What Brazil’s supercentenarians can teach us about living to 120, positive.news (Sep 02, 2026)
- How a South African town cleaned up its polluted river using stones, wood and sand, theguardian.com (Aug 31, 2026) — Scientists say system to treat contaminated wastewater offers a model for ensuring food security in a fast-warming climate
Networks and sustainability initiatives
[edit | edit source]UK and international events
[edit | edit source]UK events
Sep 7 - 11, 2026 (Mon-Fri) — Zero Waste Week, zerowasteweek.co.uk- Sep 11 - 20, 2026 (Fri-Sun) — Heritage Open Days, celebrating our fantastic history and culture. Your chance to see hidden places and try out new experiences – all of which are FREE to explore, heritageopendays.org.uk
- Sep 18 - 27, 2026 (Fri-Sun) — Great British Beach Clean, mcsuk.org
Global or international events
- Sep 15, 2026 (Tue) — Free Money Day, Global invitation for people to explore, in a liberating and fun way, what it might be like if our relationship to money was a little different. Sep 15, annually, freemoneyday.org
- Sep 18, 2026 (Fri) — Park(ing) day, global, public, participatory project where people across the world temporarily repurpose curbside parking spaces and convert them into public parks and social spaces to advocate for safer, greener, and more equitable streets for people, myparkingday.org
- Sep 21-27, 2026 (Mon-Sun) — Global Week Of Action For Peace And Climate Justice, climatemilitarism.org
- Sep 21, 2026 (Mon) — International Day of Peace, Globally shared date, Sep 21 each year for all humanity to commit to Peace above all differences and to contribute to building a Culture of Peace, internationaldayofpeace.org
2021-2030, UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, International community action events
CDC video
[edit | edit source]Each week 3 different short videos from across the UK or world.
Community action/Moray, Rewilding Scotland, Community action/Wiltshire / ...This week's featured Global videos / ... read more about Cosmolocalism
Cumbria video
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Housing
[edit | edit source]- Fairer housing, stronger communities, campaign aims to support local communities in the Lake District by reducing the amount of empty and under-used homes, and increasing the number of houses occupied by full-time, permanent residents. added 16:30, 4 April 2026 (UTC)
Community resources
[edit | edit source]Community run pubs:
- Lyvennet Community Pub, Eden
- The Old Crown, Hesket Newmarket
Climate action
[edit | edit source]- Zero Carbon Cumbria, hub for carbon reduction action across the county. A net zero carbon county by 2037, added 15:19, 15 January 2026 (UTC)
- Cumbria Climate Assembly, zerocarboncumbria.co.uk, added 15:19, 15 January 2026 (UTC)
- Copeland People’s Panel on Climate Change, copeland.gov.uk, added 15:44, 5 January 2022 (UTC)
- Furness Climate Change Citizens’ Jury, Nov 2021 - Feb 2022...barrowbc.gov.uk. Barrow Borough Council unveiled its ambition for the borough to become carbon neutral by 2037 in its Climate Change Policy and Action Plan, published in 2020. added 09:58, 5 January 2022 (UTC)
- Kendal Climate Citizens' Jury, "the UK's first ever Climate Change Citizens' Jury at town level"
- South Lakes Action on Climate Change
Biodiversity
[edit | edit source]Cumbria Wildlife Trust - Westmorland Red Squirrel Society
Rewilding
[edit | edit source]Wild Ennerdale, shaping the landscape naturally, added 15:57, 8 February 2022 (UTC)
Open spaces
[edit | edit source]Fix the Fells - Friends of Blencathra - Green Heart Den, user friendly urban oasis in which people can relax in and enjoy, possibly taking part in a range of activities and visiting again and again, Barrow-in-Furness
Trees, woodland and forest
[edit | edit source]News archive
[edit | edit source]- ‘Real’ public engagement must be prioritised for path to net zero to succeed, climateoutreach.org (Sep 05, 2023) — the UPPER Coalition Reports include examples of successful co-designing and collaboration with local citizens, including Camden Think & Do’s programme, Kendal’s Climate Jury, and initiatives in Hull and Hackney
- Locals in this British seaside town could revolutionise green energy – if the government lets them, Rebecca Willis, professor of energy and climate governance at Lancaster University, theguardian.com (Jul 18, 2023)
- Endangered marsh fritillary butterfly makes a comeback in Lake District, The Guardian (Jun 26, 2023)
- The shop where the currency is kindness, positive.news (May 16, 2023)
Kendal underlines the importance of community-led climate action, Jun 25, 2021...sharedfuturecic.org.uk
- New £75,000 community energy fund up for grabs in Cumbria, Sep 23, 2020... cumbriacrack.com
- Community fight against coal in Cumbria, Sep 23, 2020... @friends_earth
- Cumbria's first wholly community-owned hydro-electric power plant was officially opened yesterday, Jan 5, 2017... cumbriacrack.com
- One million cubic metres of waste near Sellafield housed at a site that was a mistake, admits Environment Agency, April 20, 2014... The Guardian
About Cumbria
[edit | edit source]'Past events
- June 8, 2014, Fix the Fells Volunteering Day
Campaigns
Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment
Cumbria ( KUM-bree-ə) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north; the English ceremonial counties of Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, and Lancashire to the south; and the Irish Sea to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Carlisle.
Cumbria is predominantly rural, with an area of 6,769 km2 (2,614 sq mi) and an estimated population of 510,680 in 2024. Carlisle is in the north of the county; the towns of Workington and Whitehaven lie on the west coast, Barrow-in-Furness on the south coast, and Penrith and Kendal in the east. For local government purposes the county comprises two unitary authority areas, Westmorland and Furness and Cumberland, the councils of which collaborate through the Cumbria Combined Authority. Cumbria was created in 1974 from the historic counties of Cumberland and Westmorland, the Furness area of Lancashire, and a small part of Yorkshire.
The interior of Cumbria contains several upland areas. Together they fringe the Vale of Eden, the wide valley of the River Eden, which runs south-east to north-west across the county and broadens into the Solway Plain near Carlisle. To the north-east are part of the Border Moors, and to the east part of the North Pennines; the latter have been designated a national landscape. South of the vale are the Orton Fells, Howgill Fells, and part of the Yorkshire Dales, which are all within the Yorkshire Dales national park. The south-west contains the Lake District, a large upland area which has been designated a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site. It includes England's highest mountain, Scafell Pike; its longest and largest lake, Windermere; and its deepest lake, Wast Water. The county has a long coast to the west which is bordered by a plain for most of its length. The north-west coast is part of the Solway Firth, a national landscape, and the south coast includes the Cartmel and Furness peninsulas. East of the peninsulas, the county contains part of Arnside and Silverdale, another national landscape.
| Authors | Phil Green |
|---|---|
| License | CC-BY-SA-3.0 |
| Cite as | Philralph (2014–2026). "Community action/Cumbria". Appropedia. Retrieved September 13, 2026. |