Oxfordshire Climate Action Stories – Do you find yourself wondering what other people in your community are doing to tackle climate change or do you wish you could share what community-led projects you are a part of? Oxford Friends of the Earth are piloting a new initiative to engage people and groups across Oxfordshire to share their climate actions, as forum to learn, inspire and act on climate change.

Podcasts

Can Art Save Us? Podcast – This podcast series asks artists, musicians, filmmakers, actors, and other creatives: ‘can art save us?’. Paula Moore explores how curiosity and courage not only creates great art, and fuels the art, but cultivates a healthy mind too.

Costing the Earth – Have a listen to this podcast sharing fresh ideas from the sharpest minds working toward a cleaner, greener planet.

How to Save a Planet – What if there was a show about climate change that left you feeling… energized? One so filled with possibility that you actually wanted to listen?

The Big Green Money Show – Dragon’s Den’s Deborah Meaden talks to some of the world’s biggest business names about the biggest problem facing the planet: climate change.

The YIKES Podcast – Yikes is a podcast which leans into the Yikes of the world rather than letting it overwhelm us. We breakdown the issues in an accessible intersectional and nuanced way to guide us towards action together.

WHY?!? A Good Grief Network Podcast – A 10-Step Program helping individuals and communities build resilience by creating spaces where people can lean into their painful feelings about the state of the world and reorient their lives toward meaningful action.

Resources for Climate Justice

Climate Justice Talks – Climate justice means recognising that all of our struggles lead back to the same unjust system. The COP26 Coalition have held a series of gathering with leading voices and movements from across the world to discuss, learn and strategise for system change. Watch sessions bridging struggles together to answer key questions that we face in our fight for climate justice.

Climate Reparations – Let’s make polluters pay climate reparations to ensure that communities both at home and around the world can repair from the loss and damage caused by the climate crisis.

Creative Climate Justice Hub – A dynamic library of climate justice resources curated for the arts and culture community by Julie’s Bicycle.

Flickers of the Future – A movement which works with young creatives to help us imagine a more sustainable future.

InsightShare – Transformational projects with some of the world’s most marginalised communities.

Oxford Cultural Anti-Racism Alliance – The aim of the alliance is to get organisations in Oxford’s arts and cultural sector to individually and collectively commit to dismantling systemic racism within the sector and across wider society.

The Anti-Racism Toolkit – Unlock gives arts organisations practical steps to take anti-racist action. Unlock has in it over 100 actions that will help creative work places become more inclusive.

Tipping Point – A grassroots movement strong enough to tip the scales back towards climate justice in time.

Resources for Climate Anxiety

Climate Awakening – Join a Climate Emotions Conversation – a small group sharing & listening session about the climate emergency.

Climate Café – Local opportunities to meet with facilitators and talk about our responses to climate change in a space free of judgement and pressure.

Climate Hope – Climate Hope is a free e-book that tackles the complex emotional landscape associated with the climate crisis and offers practical strategies with hundreds of resources for educators to incorporate these topics into their curricula. It aims to foster a sense of empowerment and action among both educators and students.

Climate Psychology Alliance – A directory of climate-aware therapists.

How to deal with climate anxiety – Guidance and meditations for dealing with climate anxiety with Headspace.

Museum of Climate Hope – A unique museum trail and interactive experience across all six of Oxford University’s Gardens, Libraries and Museums (GLAM) that cultivates climate hope by reframing the stories of real artefacts around the themes of resilience, innovation and transformation.

The Free Mindfulness Project – Free online resources and practice sessions for mindfulness.

Books

• Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in without Going Crazy by Joanna Macy
• A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety: How to Keep Your Cool On a Warming Planet by Sarah Jaquette Ray
• All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine Wilkinson
• Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
• Generation Dread by Britt Wray
• Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig
• The Future We Choose by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac​

Other UK networks bringing artists & cultural organisations together to tackle the climate emergency

ALBERT – The home of environmental sustainability for film + TV. 

Creative Carbon Scotland – Formed in 2011, Creative Carbon Scotland believes in the essential role of the arts, screen, cultural and creative industries in contributing to the transformational change to a more environmentally sustainable Scotland.

Julie’s Bicycle – Formed in 2007, Julie’s Bicycle is a pioneering not-for-profit mobilising the arts and culture to take action on the climate and ecological crisis.

Manchester Arts Sustainability Team (MAST) – Formed in 2011, MAST brings together over 50 cultural organisations across Greater Manchester and meets regularly to share best practice and develop new ways to collaborate.

Sustainable Art in Leeds (SAIL) – Formed in 2018, SAIL is a not for profit Membership Network of organisations and individuals in the creative and cultural sector, who have come together to take action on the Climate Emergency.

Vision 2025 – Helping the outdoor events industry take action on climate. Includes a resource hub with case studies and a green supplier directory.

Cyc du Soleil – A mobile pedal-powered and solar-powered sound and light system which can be used to create a low carbon entertainment stage, and/or an exciting “kinetic” learning tool for workshops in schools, at festivals… or anywhere!

Creating Sustainable Exhibitions in Oxford – A Practical Guide – A short, practical guide to creating sustainable exhibitions and other artistic productions. It offers practical tips on minimising your production’s environmental impact, specifically rooted in the local context of the City of Oxford.

Environmental Impact Guide for Exhibitions – A free guide by the Design Museum which examines the opportunities for reducing impact across areas including shipping and transport, programming, design and construction, materials, communications and energy use. 

Gallery Climate Coalition – The goal of GCC is to facilitate the decarbonisation of the visual art sector and promote zero-waste practices. They have a great resource section, and a free, easy-to-use carbon calculator tool.

Ecoscenography – An online platform for theatre artists and designers who are interested in the emerging concept of ‘Ecoscenography’ (ecological design for performance).

EcoStage – A grassroots initiative founded by theatre designers that offers practical and creative ideas to green up practices in the performing arts sector and work together for change.

Oxford Sustainable Theatre Guide – A live document with links and resources for making theatre sustainably in Oxfordshire. It includes information about sourcing materials, disposing of sets and props after a show, and recommends where to buy local food or find refill centres if you’re living in digs or on tour.

SIPA (The Sustainability in Production Alliance) – A community of live production professionals who share the belief that our industry must embrace sustainability to ensure its future. Creating a framework for positive steps toward sustainability in the live production industry.

Staging Change – Staging Change is a grassroots artist-led organisation, which supports theatre makers responding to the climate crisis. A group of over 250 performers, makers and venues in the theatre and entertainment industry who believe the future of theatre is green. They keep the network updated on events, workshops and opportunities to perform in green showcases.

Theatre Green Book – Bringing together theatre-makers and sustainability experts to create a common standard for making theatre sustainably. The Theatre Green Book is a free resource for everyone in the UK theatre sector. In three volumes it sets standards for making productions sustainably, for making theatre buildings sustainable, and for improving operations like catering and front of house.

The Society of British Theatre Designers – The professional association for designers working in live performance across a variety of genres and scales both nationally and internationally. They have a n active Sustainable Design Working Group.

Audience Travel Infographic – Green Arts Charter Signatories are invited to add this infographic to their websites and bookings emails to make choosing lower carbon transport options easier and more attractive to visitors.

Pedal & Post – Oxford’s Eco delivery services. Their cargo bike fleet are fast, reliable, cost effective and deliver come rain or shine, with zero emissions.

routeRANK – A free tool to find the best, fastest, cheapest, greenest way to get to your destination.

ShareOurCars – the UK’s first neighbourhood closed loop trusted group for car sharing in East Oxford, partnering with Hiyacar (Airbnb for cars) who verify the drivers, provide the insurance, and manage the booking system.

Travel Tips for a Great Day Out in Oxford – Information that we hope will help you to reduce emissions and frustrations when visiting museums, theatres and arts venues in Oxford city centre, perhaps even make your journey part of the fun!