Community action/Stoke-on-Trent

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| Location | Stoke-on-Trent, West Midlands |
| Coordinates | 53° 1' 31.96" N, 2° 12' 7.67" 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 Stoke-on-Trent.
News
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‘This May Day is a Celebration of Work and Innovation’, Dave Proudlove, thestokemodel.com (May 01, 2024)
If 400,000 groups, causes and charities could consciously generate social capital, says Mike Riddell, a "caravan of love" would start, The Daily Alternative (Jul 23, 2022)
- "The Market Hall is going to become the Souk of Stoke". Regeneration practitioner Mike Riddell says Burslem will be a showcase for "communification", Mar 15, 2021...thealternative.org.uk
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
[edit | edit source]- Counter Community, describe themselves as "...a membership network and digital platform that enables organizations and individuals to work together for social change and to boost the local economy." They are currently running a pilot in North Staffordshire. added 17:11, 5 December 2020 (UTC)
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) — Neighbourhood Watch Week, ourwatch.org.uk
Jun 1 - 7, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Volunteers Week, celebrating and saying thank you to the millions of volunteers across the UK, volunteersweek.org
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) — 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 15 - 21, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Refugee Week, refugeeweek.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
Video
[edit | edit source]Community involvement
[edit | edit source]- All the Small Things, collective of community development practitioners - information on corganisers.org.uk
Community and voluntary action
[edit | edit source]Food activism
[edit | edit source]- Affordable Food Stoke on facebook.com, added 14:35, 30 June 2021 (UTC)
- Stoke-on-Trent Foodbank, added 17:01, 19 February 2021 (UTC)
Community energy
[edit | edit source]In 2014, Stoke-on-Trent City Council announced plans for a £52 million project to create a district heating network powered by geothermal energy. This will provide heating, in the form of hot water, to local customers. As of 2024, the heating network had finished building, but the geothermal project was yet to start. Planning permission was requested for the third time in 2024, after develop Star Energy had let previous permission expire twice.
Community resources
[edit | edit source]Maps
Research
- What Makes for a Good Life in Stoke-on-Trent? July 2017 cusp.ac.uk
Art, sport and culture
[edit | edit source]- Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire Cultural Education Partnership, stokecep.co.uk, added 16:42, 19 February 2021 (UTC)
- Port Vale Foundation Trust, registered charity, using the Port Vale brand to engage, inspire and motivate individuals of all ages and backgrounds, providing programmes, events and courses in four core areas: Sport, Health, Education and Inclusion.
Climate action
[edit | edit source]Research: Energy and carbon, information about Stoke-on-Trent from pcancities.org.uk, Place Based Climate Action Network, added 16:16, 19 February 2021 (UTC)
Sustainable transport
[edit | edit source]The city is served by the Trent and Mersey Canal, which sees traffic of some 10,000 boats a year. The Caldon Canal branches off from the Trent and Mersey Canal at Etruria, within the city boundaries, going to Froghall with one branch going to Leek.
Cycling activism
[edit | edit source]As of November 2009, there were 77 miles (124 km) of new National Cycle Network off-road bicycle paths through the city, connecting to the national long-distance paths which were completed in 2005. Together with those in Newcastle-under-Lyme, there are now over 100 miles (160 km) of cycle paths in the urban conurbation. A further £10 million of funding has now been secured for the city's cycling network, to be spent in 2009–2011 through Cycling England's support for Stoke as a Cycling City.
- Cycle communting guide, Stoke-on-Trent from britishcycling.org.uk, added 16:49, 19 February 2021 (UTC)
Biodiversity
[edit | edit source]Westport Lake is a lake and local nature reserve in Stoke-on-Trent, in Staffordshire, England, about 0.8 miles (1.3 km) south of Tunstall. It is alongside the Trent and Mersey Canal.
It is owned by the Canal and River Trust, and is operated by Stoke-on-Trent City Council.
The visitor centre at Westport Lake was operated by the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust until the end of September 2024.
The lake is the largest expanse of water in Stoke-on-Trent. There is a level footpath of about 1 mile (1.6 km) around the lake. There is waterfowl on the lake, and it is an overwintering site for many species.
Environment quality
[edit | edit source]- Air quality in Stoke-on-Trent, information from iqair.com
Open spaces
[edit | edit source]Stoke is at the centre of the Stoke-on-Trent Green Belt, which is an environment and planning policy that regulates the rural space in Staffordshire surrounding the city and Newcastle-under-Lyme, and extending into Cheshire. It is in place to prevent urban sprawl and minimise further convergence with outlying settlements such as Kidsgrove and Biddulph. First defined in 1967, the vast majority of area covered is outside the city.
Each of the six towns in Stoke-on-Trent has at least one park. At nine hectares, Burslem Park is one of the largest registered Victorian parks in the UK.[45] Park Hall Country Park in Weston Coyney is a national nature reserve, and its sandstone canyons are a Site of Special Scientific Interest.[46] Hartshill Park in Stoke is also a nature reserve, and Bucknall Park is home to the City Farm. Westport Lake in Longport is the largest body of water in Stoke-on-Trent and has a nature reserve. Queens Park or Longton park in Dresden is one of the city's heritage parks and is famous for its horticulture and lakes. It houses several buildings including a clock tower and three bowling pavilions. W
Towards sustainable economies
[edit | edit source]- The Stoke Model, #bekind is a Community Benefit Society based in Burslem, established and run by volunteers and activists and tapping into the Wedgwood spirit to build The Stoke Model, a pioneering approach to genuine community wealth building that is underpinned by a philosophy of creative collaboration. added 11:53, 1 May 2024 (UTC)
Social inclusion
[edit | edit source]News archive
[edit | edit source]2019-2020
- New fund to help communities tackle climate change, Nov 9, 2020...makeitstokestaffs.co.uk
- Students have designs on a sustainable Staffordshire, Feb 13, 2020...staffs.ac.uk
- Work Starts on Stoke-on-Trent's Sustainable Heating Network, Sep 30, 2019...makeitstokestaffs.co.uk
- Stoke-on-Trent hosts second CtrlShift Emergency Summit for Change in May, Mar 24, 2019...thealternative.org.uk
About Stoke-on-Trent
[edit | edit source]Stoke-on-Trent, often known as Stoke, is a city and unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It had an estimated population of 259,965 in 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire and one of the largest cities of the Midlands. Stoke is surrounded by the towns of Alsager, Biddulph, Cheadle, Kidsgrove, Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stone, which form a conurbation around the city.
The city is polycentric, formed from the federation of six towns in 1910. It took its name from the town of Stoke-upon-Trent, where the main centre of government and the principal railway station in the district were located. Hanley is the primary commercial centre. The other four towns which form the city are Burslem, Tunstall, Longton, and Fenton.
As the home of the pottery industry in England, the area is known as The Potteries. It is a centre for service industries and distribution centres. It formerly had a primarily heavy industry sector.
| Authors | Phil Green |
|---|---|
| License | CC-BY-SA-3.0 |
| Cite as | Philralph (2021–2025). "Community action/Stoke-on-Trent". Appropedia. Retrieved June 4, 2026. |



