Shade the UK

Aim

Help us build the UK's climate resilience movement. Your support will enable Shade the UK to protect vulnerable people from hotter weather.

Shade the UK is a Community Interest Company (CIC) working to adapt buildings, public spaces and communities to protect people from the impacts of a changing climate, particularly the impacts of increasingly hot weather.

Our mission is:

• Zero deaths from overheating, and a UK where everybody can live, work and thrive in hot weather.

And we plan on achieving this mission through our Theory of Change (see image below).

Since Shade the UK was established over five years ago, the conversations around heat in the UK have shifted, along with our climate. It's getting hot in the UK (see image below).

In that short space of time, we have experienced:

• The 40°C heatwave of summer 2022, with more than 3,000 heat-related deaths across the UK.
• The hottest UK summer on record in 2025, with approximately 1,500 heat-related deaths.
• A record-breaking heatwave in May 2026, with an estimated 250 heat-related deaths before summer had even officially begun.
• A second record-breaking heatwave in June 2026 and a third record breaking heatwave in July 2026. 
• An estimated 2,700 people lost their lives to the heat during May and June 2026. We don't have figures yet for how many lives may have been lost in July.

And in our view, these are all unacceptable and avoidable deaths. 

The reasons for this view are:

• We are not the hottest country in the world, but we remain one of the least prepared when hot weather arrives.
• Hotter temperatures, the urban heat island effect, a lack of awareness and insufficient adaptation of our homes, schools, workplaces and public spaces are all contributing to the challenge.
• We have, in the UK, some of world's best scientists, planners, designers, engineers and creatives yet we have a huge communication, construction and cultural problem around heat. But this problem is solvable.

Despite receiving no core funding, Shade the UK has delivered nationally recognised work to help address these issues. 

With the support of a small, unfunded but dedicated team, and an incredible network of ambassadors, volunteers and partners, we have delivered training, guidance, research, campaigns and community projects that have helped put heat resilience firmly on the agenda. 

Examples of our work include:

• Began our 40 Degree Stories project, an evolving national repository of people's lived experiences of heat, with high quality portrait photography of our storytellers.
• Curated the 'Shade the UK - Shading for a Resilient Future' exhibition, where our 40 Degree Stories project was exhibited, along with interactive content demonstrating the range of our work.
• Contributed to national heat awareness and communication campaigns such as 'Cool off in Culture' and regional exhibitions such as 'London's Climate Story Bank'.
• Produced heat adaptation guides for homes, early years settings, arts and cultural venues, and offices.
• Created and delivered original heat health training webinars and videos for four London Boroughs.
• Engaged with representatives from London's voluntary, community and faith sectors to inform the Mayor of London's 'Heat Ready London Plan'.

However something has changed.

• More and more people are contacting us asking for help.
• We hear from people struggling to keep their homes cool. 
• Teachers want guidance for their schools. 
• Community groups want support for vulnerable residents. 
• Healthcare professionals want training and resources.
• Local authorities are doing what they can, but not at the scale required.
• At the same time, people from across the UK are reaching out because they want to volunteer their time, skills and expertise to help.

The need is there.

The willingness to help is there too.

What is missing is the capacity to connect the two.

This Crowdfunder will help us build the foundations of the UK's climate and heat resilience movement. Your support will enable us to:

• Coordinate a network of Shade the UK volunteers e.g. working with existing charities such as Trees for Cities and National Park City London.
• Work with communities to understand how heat is affecting them, choose heat adaptation and resilience solutions that work best for them, and protect the most vulnerable people.  
• Develop practical guidance and campaigns e.g. new adaptation guides for schools and prisons, and our 'Shade London' public art and shade structure project.
• Establish the social infrastructure needed to respond to growing demand e.g. establish a 'Community cool packs distribution hub and network'.

Importantly, it will also enable us to measure and report on our impact, helping us unlock further funding and grow Shade the UK into the long-term national resource that communities, organisations and supporters are increasingly asking for.

This is about more than funding a project.

It is about helping build the UK's long-term capacity to adapt to extreme heat.

With your support, we can create a future where nobody loses their life because of overheating, and people can actually thrive during hot weather.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made