The social impacts of environmental action

Changed Places, Changed Lives: The social impacts of environmental action
The report from BTCV summarises the results of a collaborative research initiative involving BTCV, the Black Environment Network (BEN) and the Evaluation Trust.
It is based on six case studies of work, mostly with groups of people facing some fairly serious disadvantages, including Asian women with mental health problems, travellers in Belfast and refugees in Glasgow. The report and supporting materials can be found at: http://www2.btcv.org.uk/display/changedplaces

If you would like a copy send an email to S.Frempong@btcv.org.uk (with your name and address)

This has been a very interesting piece of work. I’ve been involved in drawing together some very diverse case studies. The final report highlights the fact that for many people, especially those in poorer urban communities, interaction with their surroundings includes little or no opportunity to engage with the natural environment. That lack of engagement may be just one part of a wider alienation but it may also contribute to a lack of interest in and respect for the environment. This may affect not just people’s perceptions of their locality, but also of how they see global issues such as climate change and how they engage in a healthy lifestyle.

One conclusion is that over the past decade organisations such as BTCV, City Farms and Groundwork Trusts have developed a new kind of worker, ‘community environment worker’ part environmental project developer and part community development practitioner. Focusing on this kind of work led to a set of guidelines to which an ‘exemplary worker’ might aspire
· The worker is able to work at different levels with individuals, community organisations, other agencies and communities at large to achieve environmental, health and social justice gains.
· She/he recognises that this demands a willingness to engage over a long period of time, building relationships and trust with groups and with people, and that there is an art in recognising and realising opportunities for creative work combining environment with health or other issues.
· She/he will have taken the time to develop an understanding of the way of life of those involved in any specific project and will be able to empathise over the problems they face.
· Her/his skills lie in focusing on the environment and the work in hand rather than on the distinguishing attributes or disabilities of individuals, whilst meeting those individual needs with awareness and sensitivity, and giving space for people to develop in their own way.
· She/he organises individual work programmes within a larger project to match people’s strengths, skills, abilities and aspirations while also ensuring that day-to-day activities are run in ways appropriate to the needs of all those involved;
· She/he helps people feel competent, confident and valued through agreeing and accomplishing tasks, through giving praise and recognition, and through encouraging those involved to take the initiative to find the best ways to continue to access learning opportunities and build their social and practical skills.
· She/he actively encourages participants to take ownership of the environmental work, framing it within their own life and identity.

A second key point is that the results (albeit limited) show a strong commonality in terms of the value of people-centred environmental action as a way to build individuals’ identity, confidence and self-esteem. The challenge arising from this work is to use a ‘socio-environmental’ approach to connect excluded social groups and disadvantaged communities with the natural environment and to do this in ways that helps build that identity and maximises both the social and environmental impacts.

Encouraging and enabling people and communities to see caring for the environment as a central part of who they are is an important aspect of building support for the major environmental and social changes that we need to deliver over the next decade. If this is done well then there will be truly sustainable development and the energy within those communities will be a powerful force for environmental action.