Local solutions to a global problem

The Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR) has distributed more than $685,000 in grants for 27 initiatives under its Community Led Climate Solutions (CLCS) program.

FRRR said each of the projects is designed to enable positive and sustainable environmental, social and economic outcomes.

The program allows not-for-profit organisations (NFPs) to prioritise local needs and address factors affecting their community’s ability to adopt new ideas, adapt to a changing climate and take actions to mitigate the risks of climate change.

The grants have been split into two streams:

• More than $417,000 has been allocated to 23 initiatives in the engage and deliver stream, designed to promote or facilitate practices and solutions that can reduce emissions and benefit communities' ability to adapt to changes.

• In the scaling stream, larger grants of up to $75,000 (out of a total $267,500) have been awarded to four community groups to help broaden the reach of existing locally led initiatives that alleviate socio-economic challenges and enable communities to thrive.

Sarah Matthee, climate solutions portfolio lead at FRRR, said NFPs in remote, rural and regional Australia can find it difficult to get funding for local initiatives that tackle climate change.

“The four projects funded via the scaling stream advance an existing locally led project to a more mature state, enhancing the capacity of the local community to take an active role in the mitigation or adaptation of climate change.”

They include expansion of a pilot program in the Northern Territory community of Tennant Creek designed to harness traditional ecological knowledge, cultural practices and climate resilience insights from First Nations communities to create sustainable and culturally appropriate housing solutions.

At the other end of the nation, in the Victorian town of Yackandandah, $57,500 has been allocated to expand a project aimed at equipping local aged care facilities with solar and battery power.

“We look forward to seeing the positive impact these initiatives have within their communities as they progress,” Matthee said.

She said the CLCS program reflected the importance of empowering local people to lead local climate solutions.

“Local NFPs and community organisations want to play a bigger role in creating sustainable and enduring climate solutions for their communities,” she said.

“This program responds to that need, which is why it continues to attract more and more applications.”

Matthee said the 27 projects funded highlighted a diverse range of future-focused, community-led climate solutions, addressing energy supply, reuse and recycling, distributing knowledge, climate risk adaptation and more.

“This diversity reinforces the fact that each community’s experience of the social, economic and environmental impacts of a changing climate is unique.

“So too are the ways that communities want to respond to those circumstances.”

Matthee said more than half the projects funded were designed to develop awareness, knowledge and skills, a reflection that community groups were at different points in their journey in pushing back against the effects of climate change.

“Ultimately, we hope that the rural communities and organisations that are stepping up to roll out these initiatives will inspire and encourage other communities to take relevant action, engaging both business and philanthropy in local responses."

FRRR said the grants had been made possible by donations from organisations including Boundless Earth, Hand Heart Pocket and the Paul Ramsay Foundation.