THE Green & Healthy Frome partnership programme has been awarded just under £1.7million from the National Lottery’s Climate Action Fund.
The partners – Edventure Frome, Frome Medical Practice and Frome Town Council – will use the money to expand and deliver a number of pioneering projects which promote people’s health and wellbeing, whilst also reducing carbon emissions over the next three years.
For the past two years, the team has been testing out ideas to help people in Frome live green and healthy lives, from free energy advice sessions to e-bike loans, as well as encouraging and supporting people to develop their own green and healthy initiatives through Future Shed.
“We will now take what we’ve learnt and what’s worked, and scale it up to support and include more people in our community with a ‘whole town, everyone in’ invitation,” said the group.
Net zero target
“This funding means we can make further progress towards Frome Town Council’s 2030 target for net zero carbon, whilst boosting Frome’s health and wellbeing, and supporting its residents through the current cost-of-living crisis.
“Our work is funded through the National Lottery’s Climate Action Fund, and as such we are part of a national cohort of 23 programmes delivering climate action across the country.
“This funding is a big win for Frome, helping to further our reputation as a town which champions community, wellbeing and sustainability, as well as developing innovative and ground-breaking ideas that impact well beyond Frome.
“We will be working hard to inspire other market towns to take similar action, and play our part of this national change-making movement.”
Go Frome!
Mayor of Frome cllr Sara Butler said, “Frome is so lucky to be benefiting from this pioneering partnership which is now having a real impact on people’s lives and the fact that the project has been awarded further lottery funding speaks to its success. Go Frome!”
Senior partner at Frome Medical Practice, Dr Helen Kingston said, “Working closely with Frome Town Council and Edventure in this partnership has provided opportunities to support everyone in our community to live well. As a beacon in driving sustainability forwards in primary care, this climate action funding will provide Frome Medical Practice with the chance to amplify our work; benefiting those in the Frome community and within the wider healthcare system.”
Chair of the Green & Healthy Frome board, Johannes Moeller said, “The climate crisis is not a problem to be fixed in isolation – it’s connected to every aspect of our lives. That is why we need to work in partnerships and find solutions that are not only good for the planet, but also tackle the issues that matter to us day to day – our health and wellbeing and the cost of living.”
A spokesperson for the partnership said, “In the next phase, we will continue to deliver our existing offerings around active travel, health, housing and community enterprise, as well as beginning new projects with groups and organisations across the town. We have ambitious plans, with plenty of opportunities for people to get involved and benefit from the programme.
“Over the next couple of months, we will be planning and preparing to launch the full programme. We are also recruiting for four new roles including a project manager and communications lead at Edventure, a community retrofit lead, based at Frome Town Council, and a sustainability and evaluation lead at Frome Medical Practice – see our advert for further details. These are important times to be working in the climate and health sectors.
“The first events and activities of this new phrase are set to launch during Great Big Green Week in June. However, we will continue to deliver many of our existing activities in the meantime, such as our Mend & Repair Your Clothes sessions at SHARE on the last Saturday of the month, the Sprouts Under 5s sessions with Frome Seed Library, and our Future Shed Friday meetups at Edventure.
“Our Energy Advice Sessions and home visits also continue, with free energy and housing advice to help you save money and carbon, and our Green Community Connector training will continue at venues across the town, open to all for inspiration and signposting. You can also borrow an electric bike with all the kit, free for a month to see for yourself the benefits of their power in our hilly town!”
Project manager and Future Shed lead, Sue Palmer said, “At Edventure, and across our programme so far, we have been supporting our community to start initiatives and projects that tackle health and climate. Important networks have been created such as the Everyone Needs Pockets Clothing & Textile Reuse group, and the Frome Food Network which has connected over 130 people and organisations, and other projects launched such as the Frome Seed Library. We are really looking forward to working with the community to take even more inspiring action.”
The spokesperson added, “Everyone is invited to be a part of our programme and we’re looking forward to hosting events and activities where you can get involved. More news to come! Follow us on social media @ghfuturefrome across platforms for updates and through www.greenhealthyfuturefrome.org
“Contact us at greenhealth@edventurefrome.org for more information.”
