Creative climate action projects get funding boost

Several community-led projects in Bradford tackling climate change have been awarded up to £1,500 each from council-funded grants to help their work.

Arts and culture programme The Leap chose 17 organisations to receive funding to support projects which address climate change while strengthening local communities.

Among them are a musical instrument recycling project in Shipley, a youth horticulture course in Undercliffe and creative events including "compost puppet theatre".

Shabz Musaji, from The Leap, said: "By putting resources directly into the hands of grassroots leaders, we're ensuring climate action is shaped by the people who understand their communities best."

"These projects show that meaningful environmental change starts at a local level, with solutions designed by the communities they serve," Musaji said.

She added that the "demand and quality" of applications for funding showed the extent of the "passion and ambition for change" across Bradford.

One grant recipient was the Yorkshire Women's Forum, which supports upcycling and recycling of household and textile products.

Tanu Patel, the forum's director, said the money would help them "take things further and try something different" by introducing an educational programme.

"If we educate women, we educate families, and we now need to teach young people about environmental responsibilities," she said.

"We've already got a line of women joined up to join the separate programme. It's upwards and onwards."

The funding, distributed through the Creative Climate Action Awards, aimed to empower people whose voices had traditionally been underrepresented in conversations about climate, according to The Leap.

The awards are part of The Leap's wider £1.5m climate action fund, which the organisation said "puts people and places at the heart of addressing climate issues in local communities".

Musaji, The Leap's community development manager, said: "We're the facilitators, but the ideas and inspiration come from individuals and community groups we work with.

"It's to empower people and places, especially in underrepresented communities where arts and culture is very rarely thought of as being part of the fabric of every day."

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