Climate Connections Project - Connecting lives Inspiring action
Climate Connections told the stories of people living both in Brighton and Hove and across the world. People who are affected by the changing climate and are doing something about it.
In the last 20 years there has been an increase in extreme weather events such as floods and droughts, as well as a noticeable rise in sea levels, and increasingly unpredictable seasons.
People in countries around the world are already living with these changes. Crop harvests are failing, homes are being destroyed and people are suffering water shortages.
Countries in the Global South, who are least responsible for carbon emissions and the resulting change in climate are suffering the worst effects.We believe it is an injustice that these countries should have to bear the brunt of climate change, despite contributing to it the least. By sharing the stories of those experiencing these catastrophic changes, and by connecting them to the lives of those in Brighton and Hove, Climate Connections hoped to expose this inequity in an accessible and empathetic way, to inspire thought and action in people who heard and read the stories.
Our lives and actions are all connected and by engaging local people with these issues Climate Connections hoped to mobilise awareness and create change in our community.
Stories like Kotha's, experiencing decreased crop production due to changing seasons, and Steve and Ron working on an allotment to share skills about growing food.
Climate Connections was launched in Jubilee Square, Brighton at the end of March 2010. The project has three elements: a photographic exhibition; educational, interactive and accessible workshops; and a website. The exhibitions and workshop took place around the city until June 2012.
The resources and information used in workshops are all available through our library
Be inspired by the projects outcomes and learn wha you can do to bring about change in your own life and others around you.
The Exhibitions
Our series of photo exhibitions told stories of people from Brighton and Hove and across the world whose lives had been affected by climate change and who were doing something about it.
Duncan Blinkhorn from Brighton, creating change on his doorstep by setting up community gardens, bike trains and environmental initiatives.
Leyla Kayere from Malawi, adapting to increasingly unpredictable rainfall on her farmland by setting up an irrigation scheme with her community.
Climate Connections was able to share these stories with thousands of people, by displaying a stunning photo exhibition in various places throughout the city of Brighton and Hove.
From the seafront to Jubilee Library, members of the public learned about inspirational individuals, our changing world and how they could play their part.
The Workshops
Through a series of free workshops, Climate Connections reached out to community groups and individuals, creating a space where people could have their own say on climate change and find practical ways to take action.
Designed for everyone to get involved, swap information and build ideas, the workshops were an accessible way for people to understand how climate change impacts people in poverty and how individuals can make a difference.
Website
People with their own stories were invited to share them in the ever-increasing online display of people taking action.
This created a whole host of inspiring and imaginative ways in which people could adapt their lives in response to the changing climate.
News stories and events surrounding climate change and the interconnectedness of our lives were shared and publicised through social media.
Outcomes
Engagement
Over 90,000 people engaged with the project through exhibitions and over 4500 through workshops.
Awareness
94% of respondents became aware of an additional Brighton-based service, project or source of support to help them reduce their impact on Climate Change.
81% named one resource they were now more likely to use.
86% were more likely to act to reduce their impact as a result of engaging with the project.
50% of those who started a workshop disagreeing that there were actions they could take which would contribute to reducing global poverty, had changed their minds by the end
Result
Overall the project highlighted the fact that although people in Brighton and Hove are aware of climate change issues, many felt individual change too insignificant to impact globally.Through Climate connections we showed local people that small changes can have a global impact and that enough individual action makes for global change.
This project, funded by DFID - UKaid (from the Department of International Development) , was a partnership between BPEC, Brighton & Hove City Council and Oxfam GB
Below are a few photos and a short video from the launch day. Also on this page a few photos from the exhibition on seafront.
