£2m for communities to engage with climate change announced today

New climate change initiative announced in Wales

A new initiative to help address climate change is announced in Wales as a £2.2 million grant is awarded to create a mentoring service to help communities combat climate change.  

The grant uses money from Dormant Accounts and is awarded by The National Lottery Community Fund. The service will be led by Development Trust Association Wales who will build on their experience mentoring communities across Wales. They will work with partners to find communities new to climate change who want to take action to address the global issue. The mentoring service will be offered over seven years and will begin working with new groups in 2023.  

The mentoring service will identify and provide support and advice to community groups, charities and social enterprises to help them select which of the wide range of ways they feel is best to take action on climate change. Building on the approach to delivering mentoring, which they have been developing since 2012, Development Trust Association Wales and partners will provide practical, relevant and high quality advice to a minimum of 345 groups. It will be targeted at groups and communities who are not currently engaged in the climate conversation to empower them to take climate action and develop sustainability plans suitable for their community. 

The grant awards money from Dormant Accounts distributed through The Reclaim Fund, which work with banks to ensure money held in accounts which are no longer being accessed after 15 years (known as Dormant Accounts) is put to good use. The priorities for Dormant Accounts money in Wales are set by Welsh Government and The National Lottery Community Fund in Wales administers the grants on their behalf. Once the mentoring service has helped communities to develop their local plans to address climate change, the groups will be able to apply for individual grants of up to £15,000 to put their plans into action. 

 Adam Kennerley, CEO of Development Trust Association Wales explained what he hopes the mentoring service will deliver:  

“Communities across Wales can make a big contribution to tackling climate change. Many communities already do. We intend to support at least 345 new groups across seven years, 80% of these will have no track record of tackling sustainability issues and be actively engaging with climate change for the first time. The programme will build momentum across Wales, supporting groups who have not previously acted to do so. The mentoring approach is all about groups  being able to support each other, sharing what has worked for them and encouraging others to take action.  Working with Welsh communities we have built up substantial expertise in mentoring, the challenge will be reaching new communities and we will be working closely with partners across Wales to find communities to benefit from the scheme.” 

John Rose, Director Wales, The National Lottery Community Fund congratulated Development Trust Association Wales and partners on their successful application  to run the Mentoring service saying: 

“We know how important it is that we all engage with the climate and nature emergencies.  This mentoring service will be aimed at diverse communities including the people likely to be most vulnerable to the impact of climate change. It’s part of our broader commitment to help charities and community organisations play their part, contributing to becoming a more environmentally responsible country.”