Renew Wales puts communities in touch with Peer Mentors who are willing to share their knowledge and experience to inspire, support and enable others, and stimulate action on climate change at a community level.
Since 2012, we have helped hundreds of communities across Wales take action on climate change and sustainability. For instance, by developing local renewable energy resources, starting food clubs and growing projects, making land more sustainable and buildings more energy efficient, setting up sustainable travel initiatives, establishing community owned enterprises, and engaging schools in climate change action.
Renew has been particularly successful at reaching groups beyond the environmental sector and mobilising more of the ‘unusual suspects’ to take action on these issues. Above all, the programme is about peer-to-peer support to stimulate action at a community level.
The programme is based on the following principles:
- Community groups will engage with and learn best from those who have travelled the same road – hence our focus on peer-to-peer support.
- The programme is distributed- and builds on the experience and knowledge of existing networks all over Wales.
- It is community led and empowering – supporting the needs and aspirations of communities to make lasting change through their own efforts.
- The programme is inherently cost-effective and supportive of the third sector because peer mentors’ and coordinators’ organisations are paid for the work they do.