The Totnes Climate Change Response Centre

The centre will be set up in the middle of Totnes town, to inspire, educate & enable the community to respond effectively, intelligently & creatively to climate & ecological breakdown at a local level. 

We will enable individuals, families, groups, businesses, organisations & councils to make more sustainable choices, reduce their carbon footprints, protect & reconnect to nature, & to live in more regenerative & caring ways. 

At the same time, we are helping our community to become more resilient, prepared for & able to adapt to the changes that are occurring now & will continue in the coming years.

Helping us all to respond & make changes more easily

Facing the challenges of climate change & ecological breakdown can be scary & incredibly overwhelming. Recognising what we personally can & should do often seems confusing & difficult. Realising that even as individuals we can make a difference & then being given some of the tools & the knowledge to make new & sustainable choices much more easily, is both empowering & an effective way to support both individuals & the whole community to make the shifts that are required of all of us right now.  

We intend to do this in an enjoyable, generous & accessible way that raises people’s quality of life & leads to the creation of a much stronger, & more connected & caring community.

The kind of things that we would like to make available & to happen there...

We hope to provide: workshops on all things sustainable & regenerative; a meeting space for groups & people’s assemblies; an eco-business work hub; climate cafes (places where people can express their feelings & talk about our planetary challenges); counsellors & emotional support;  education/school outreach programs; speaking events; film evenings; repair cafe sessions (a time & place when people can get things fixed); energy & retrofit advisors; a creative space for reimagining & new solutions generation & development; a listing of all the local green/sustainable businesses, etc.

Easy & inclusive information about: all of the present local, sustainable, regenerative, eco projects; how we can each live more sustainably & resiliently; how to understand & measure our carbon footprints; renewable energy options; insulating & retrofitting our houses; actions & campaigns to encourage faster changes at the national & international levels; growing & buying local food; ways to care for & protect nature locally; carbon sequestration; rewilding; learning wellbeing skills; repairing & recycling; reducing plastic & pollution; green transport options; sustainable building; creating neighbourhood groups to enable your local street to shift to more sustainable lifestyles; etc.

Totnes is already leading the way

There are a lot of local groups who are already working on sustainable & regenerative projects here in Totnes. Having a central hub will:

• Enable them all to come together, share, mutually support each other & make their projects more visible.
• Allow the public to see these groups as part of a cohesive whole.
• Make it easier for our community to understand the sustainable changes that we can all make & enable us to make those changes.
• Provide an inspiring & effective template for other climate emergency centres around the country to adopt.

A matter of urgency

Taking action & making changes is important because we are facing an unprecedented threat to our human world & the biosphere. Climate & ecological breakdown will severely affect our community’s ability to continue to live comfortably or perhaps even to survive, if we do not make every effort that we can to change the way we are living. It will have a massive impact on our nature, our food accessibility, our energy security, the air that we breathe, the weather that we can tolerate, our society, our families, our need to accept climate refugees, etc.

There are many things that we can all do to reduce our carbon footprint & our impact on the environment. 

If we all start making these changes on an individual & local level, around the world then we can have a bigger impact & reduce the likelihood of the worst potential outcomes of climate & ecological breakdown. We don’t need to (and cannot afford to) wait for Governments to make the changes, we can start now.

Who we are...

This centre is inspired by the Climate Emergency Centre network that is encouraging the setup of more such centres around the country & through which we will be able to share our local experiences & learn from the experiences of others. The project is being supported & enabled by Transition Town Totnes Ltd, a registered charity.

Our core team have experience working in a variety of relevant work backgrounds & our team have previously established and worked with INGOs (including the UN), NGOs, non-profit organisations, housing associations & local climate emergency response council & community groups. We are also supported by a group of local environmentally conscious volunteers and are deeply woven within the community.

The centre is of course, also being set up as a collaborative project where the many local inspiring sustainable & green organisations, can support each other & their projects & services showcased.

What we need the money for...

• Building Lease - We need to raise this money to obtain a suitable building & the more that we raise, the better the building that we can afford to lease will be!
• A Welcoming Space - We want to create a comfy, bright & relaxed place for local residents & groups to come to. We also want it to be a great place for having meetings, running workshops, giving trainings & advice, etc. This will, no doubt, require redecorating & furnishing it.
• Services – Where we can, we want to provide services for our community for free or at reduced costs so that we can make them as readily available as possible & thus support a faster transition to a more sustainable lifestyle for everyone.
• Community Outreach Programs - we want to create programs & train people to involve, support & inspire the whole community.
• Website - We will be creating a web presence.

The more money that we can raise now, the better the facilities we can create & the more accessible & prolific the services that we can provide.

Rewards & Gratitude

If you are able to support the centre to come into reality by donating money to this campaign, not only will you receive a great deal of gratitude from us but you can also receive many types of reward that have been offered by our fabulous community. Have a look at the list of brilliant rewards that have been offered to the right & if you would really appreciate any of them, then grab them before they go.

Please click the GIFT AID button if you are eligible, as this will result in us being able to claim an extra 25% of your donation from the Government.

In Summary

The centre will inform, inspire & enable our local community to learn about & live in a more caring, sustainable & resilient manner. It will support people to do so in a more enjoyable, easy & rapid way. 

It will also be a hub for all of the amazing local projects, businesses, groups & schemes that are already involved with helping us respond sensibly & effectively to the climate & ecological crises that we are facing. 

Having a centre like this will strengthen & make our community much more resilient & adaptable – qualities that will be essential as more challenging changes happen in our world.

Follow our progress on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/totnesclimateresponse