Sustainable Communities Programme

In association with Bombardier Aerospace, ARENA Network ran the Sustainable Communities programme. This was a free programme offered to community groups in the greater Belfast area.

SCP Participants

The following community organisations participated in the Business in the Community Sustainable Communities Programme:

• An Droichead
• Ashton Centre
• Dunmurry Community Centre
• Falls Women’s Centre
• Footprint Women’s Centre
• Mount Vernon Community Centre
• Shankill Women’s Centre
• Short Strand Community Centre
• Suffolk Residents Association
• Upper Springfield Development Company Ltd
• Windsor Women’s Centre 

Environmental Review

Environmental audits were conducted on Community Group premises.  An Environmental Review is designed to give a realistic picture of the community group’s current environmental performance. It will tell the group what they are doing well and what they might need to work on. The areas of focus include:

• Energy use and management – lighting, heating etc
• Waste and recycling
• Water use
• Biodiversity

Sustainability Workshops

A series of workshops were organised on topics relevant to each community group for example sustainable food, waste or water.  These workshops were designed to help the community groups not only improve their environmental credentials but also help to save money within their Community Centre and at home.

Waste Workshop

The first in the series of workshops got underway in Blackstaff Way on Friday 16 October soon followed up by a further workshop in Ormeau Road Recycling Centre on Wednesday 21 October regarding waste. The workshop was attended by different members of the community group.  The workshop was delivered by the ARENA team and Belfast City Council’s Waste Education Officer Mary Mc Ginn and Lisburn City Council’s Lisa Finn.

The Council representatives provided advice for the delegates on ways to reduce, reuse and recycle their waste. They gave helpful advice on waste management and how this can relate to cost savings. Feedback from the workshops was very positive with participants finding the information outlined very informative and relevant.

Energy Workshop

The second in the series of workshops for the Sustainable Communities Programme took place on 16 December in W5. The workshop based on energy management in the Community Centre and at home.  Siobhan Purnell and Niamh Bradley from the Energy savings Trust and Barry Steele from the Northern Ireland Housing Executive were the guest speakers.

Communities Leaders were provided with information about energy consumption within their homes and community groups and the most cost effective methods for reducing their energy bills. Feedback from the workshop showed that those who attended found the information highly informative and very relevant to their community groups.

Food Workshop

Gentle Art of Gardening Communities back to Health took place on 2 March 2010 at 10:00 am - 2:30 pm at Business in the Community.

This was our third workshop in the Sustainable Communities Programme aimed to educate participants on how to grow their own food with the help of our expert speaker.

Community Action Days

Community Action Days involving Bombardier employees took place at the Ashton Centre and Suffolk Community Centre.

On Wednesday 2 June, ten Bombardier Apprentices volunteered to clear away unsightly bushes and weeds at the side of the car park at the Ashton Centre.  Volunteers also collected waste from the surrounding area and power hosed the yard.

For more information on the Sustainable Communities Programme please contact: Keelin Hamill, keelin.hamill@bitcni.org.uk (028) 9046 0606.

START Programme

Start is The Prince of Wales’s new initiative to help people across the UK lead more sustainable lives and to show what a more energy efficient, cleaner and healthier future could look like and how we can all make a start.

Find out more at http://www.startuk.org/

Green Communities

Green Communities is a programme ran in conjunction with the Energy Savings Trust that aims to promote the development of energy based projects within communities. It aims to support and help facilitate the different projects with free training, advice and expert consultancy. Find out more at www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/cafe.