Show of support: CAL event combines applause, learning, and invite for future action

Well over 100 people gathered in central Leeds to look back on 4+ years of Climate Action Leeds work and to share a vision for how the movement can continue and grow stronger.

A sold-out venue and a packed agenda made for a buzzing evening as politicians, community activists, and charity workers gathered to reflect on CAL's journey and how the movement can continue to benefit Leeds in years to come.

In beautiful surroundings at Holy Trinity Church on Boar Lane, speakers who praised CAL's work and voiced their desire for continued collaboration included Leeds City Council boss Ed Whiting, Alex Sobel MP, and Leeds Community Foundation Chief Exec. Steph Taylor.

Leeds City Council Chief Executive, Ed Whiting OBE, holds the Climate Action News published by CAL especially for this event.

Among the listeners were members of community groups from across Leeds, individuals interested in climate action possibility, and staff from the National Lottery, which has provided the crucial funding for the work CAL has delivered in the past few years.

Voices from across the partnership - and across the city - gave a flurry of examples of successful CAL projects, from Walk to School Week to the Roots of Change event; from the thousands of people who have visited Imagine Leeds to the community gardens and orchards which have transformed wasteland in various Leeds postcodes.

Guests learn about what communities have achieved through CAL in the past four years.

Alongside the photos and personal testimonies was an update from CAG Consultants, where CAL's Learning & Evaluation partners showed the potential carbon savings for the city if even one CAL project was scaled up.

As well as revealing a special edition newspaper which celebrates the work done through CAL to date (download your copy here), the City Movement Building team outlined the aim for CAL's next stage, once Lottery funding ends on September.

A key change was CAL shifting from a partnership to a network, made up of community organisations in Leeds with a central team helping those groups to connect, collaborate, and achieve the biggest possible results from their collective efforts.

There was plenty of time for discussion among everyone who attended.

As well as presenting a model for how organisations could choose to connect with CAL, the team extended an invitation to anyone who wants to attend an open strategy meeting for "Climate Action Leeds Phase 2". This will take place on July 17th, 10am - 12pm, venue TBC depending on number of registrations. If you would like to attend this event, please email simon.dixon@ourfutureleeds.org to register your interest.

On June 5th, two of the most consistent themes across the different speakers were the importance of community-led action, and supporting that action, and of the effort to learn from the experience of CAL and ensure that the movement is increasingly diverse, inclusive, and representative of all communities in Leeds, points reinforced by Climate Justice Partner Claude Hendrickson in his address to the room.

CAL's Andy Goldring with Leeds City Council's environment lead, Cllr Mohammed Rafique, and Alex Sobel, MP for Leeds Central & Headingley.

Claude was part of the event's concluding section, a panel discussion which also featured Leeds Climate Commission Lead Rosa Foster, Cllr Katie Dye, and Lewis Hemingway of Roadblock Soundsystem.

Andrew Howarth, of Otley 2030, and Jen Roberts, of Alwoodley 2030, spoke about the huge success at their community hubs.

Feedback on the event has included some really positive comments so far. Alia Nessa, CEO at Asha Neighbourhood Centre in south Leeds, shared her thoughts on the evening here.

The Climate Action Leeds team would like to thank everyone who came to this event for their attention, energy, and contributions on the night.

We hope to see you at future CAL events; check out our Climate Action Festival schedule for details of what's happening through June and July.