From Green Roots to Green Shoots

How did Bristol’s sustainability movement develop?

Bristol’s Green Roots

• Bristol’s Green Roots was a heritage lottery funded project that aimed to document the city’s history of environmental action from 1970 – present day

• Run by The Schumacher Institute

• The project developed an archive, an exhibition and a 70,000 word publication

• Spoke to over 100 people across all sectors

Why?

• Document examples of environmental action & capture some of the human stories, photos, resources before they were lost

• Did NOT want to prove that Bristol is or was a ‘sustainable’ city. It is not!

• Share these stories and look for the successes, lessons & examples of change

“It is, I think, useful to look back, not in a self-congratulatory way, but to ensure the lessons learned and the expertise developed during that period is built on. Most of the organisations that led the environmental movement in the 1980s now operate at national level, with expertise and experiences that are relevant to the city today.”

Jane Stephenson, Chief Executive of Resource Futures

When did it all start?

• Post-war, Bristol was looking to rebuild

• Drive for modernisation

• Bristol Development Plan (1966) – Outer Circuit Rd

• People across the city came together to campaign against the road*

• Social and environmental concerns brought together – beginnings of sustainability

The Outer Circuit Road

“It was an urban motorway that was going to bridge over the area where the SS Great Britain is, then go over the city docks with this great urban motorway bridge, tear up the side of Brandon Hill, dive into the hillside and underneath Clifton, reappear behind the Victoria Rooms with a great spaghetti junction, go up Tyndall’s park, tearing through houses, dive down into Cotham into St Paul’s and join up with the M32 and then it was going to go beyond, right round to Totterdown.”

George Ferguson on the Outer Circuit Rd

1970s – “the Halycon days”

• Bristol Friends of the Earth founded in 1971

• First official office outside of London

• Local and national campaigns on resource use & recycling, mining, nuclear power and pollution

• Small-scale recycling project & used proceeds to insulate older peoples’ homes

• Later taken over by Avon FoE

Nuclear protest on Castle Park

Bristol FoE and UCAT come together to voice concerns about local nuclear energy.

The Recycling Consortium (now Resources Futures)

• Avon FoE kerbside scheme, Resourcesaver, grew throughout 80s.

• Commercial venture

• Early 90s - formed Bristol Recycling Consortium

• Identified community action as key to innovation

Avon FoE Horse and Cart Recycling (1983)

Local recycling is picked up by horse and cart, staffed by Youth Opportunities workers.

© Ray Smith

Cyclebag (now Sustrans)

• July 1977 – Bristol FoE rally on oil embargo

• John Grimshaw gave speech about importance of cycling capacity in Bristol

• Founded campaign & advocacy group

• Moved onto building cycle paths.

• First part of Bristol to Bath railway path finished in 1979. By 1984, it was completed*

Opening of section of Bristol to Bath Railway path at Easton (1984)

© Sustrans

Urban Centre for Appropriate Technology

(now Centre for Sustainable Energy)

• Late 70s, Hugh Barton visited CAT & realised need for urban version*

• Created a visitor centre from renovated old house

• Also draft-proofed & insulated houses and ran energy advice and training

• Fuel poverty and social justice concerns

Low Energy Demonstration House (1980s) The first low energy demonstration house in the UK. It was designed to show people the technology available and the benefits of energy efficiency.

© Centre for Sustainable Energy

Common routes

• These organisations are all rooted in community action and social enterprise

• Saw something that needed doing and did it

• Often worked in partnership with local businesses or council, who provided support or market for goods produced

• Struggled with finding funding, resources & office space. Sound familiar?!

Youth Opportunities Programme

• Underpinning all these activities was the Government’s Youth Opportunities Programme

• Young people, knows as YOPers, were paid minimum wage to work for community enterprises.

• Creating jobs, purpose and support for third sector.

Shared space

• In 1980s, Colston St became a hotspot for environmental and social initiatives*

• UCAT, Greenleaf Bookshop and the Soil Association

• The local postie called it ‘Save the World St”

• Development of Ethical Property Company*

• Created sustainability networks for support, advice and expertise

Soil Association on ‘Save the World St’ (1980s)

© Soil Association

Local council involvement

• Green Charter launched in early 90s – a blueprint for action

• Green Initiatives team

• Local Agenda 21 (1992)– set up working groups*

• Provided buildings e.g. Create Centre, UCAT Low Energy House

What happened next?

• 1980s & 90s –community-based land action around green space & biodiversity, the re-use of buildings, ongoing development of local environment groups & local government engagement

• 2000s – boom in creation of local groups, Bristol became UK’s first Transition City (2007)

• 2010s – Bristol is awarded European Green Capital 2015

Is Bristol special?

• Coincidence, critical mass, dedication and geography!

• Build it and they will come

• The Green Horizon

• A tale of ‘Two Cities’

Lessons

• Shared space can foster collaboration, support, advice and resources

• Collaboration over competition

• Support systems - Youth Opportunities Scheme, market creation, council involvement

• Cross-sectoral partnership; listening to diverse perspectives, sharing skills and expertise.

http://netimpactbristol.wordpress.com/ bristolpro@netimpact.org @netimpactbris Thank you from the Net Impact Bristol team! Jessica Ferrow, Nina Skubala, Sarah Hooper and Emmelie Brownlee