Community Action Northumberland hosted the third Green Table Northumberland event in Berwick-upon-Tweed last week, bringing together organisations, community groups and sustainability advocates from across the county to share ideas, strengthen partnerships, explore potential funding opportunities and implement practical action on climate change and renewable energy.
The Green Table Northumberland is a growing network of roundtable events designed to connect organisations and community groups working to advance renewable technologies, carbon reduction measures and environmental action. It creates space for collaboration, knowledge-sharing and practical discussion around the challenges and opportunities facing rural communities as they work towards a lower-carbon future.
The Berwick event welcomed 22 attendees representing a wide range of organisations and projects. Opening the event, Andrew Beresford, Climate Action Officer from Community Action Northumberland, welcomed participants and reflected
“The Green Table is a platform for us to focus on the ‘Green Agenda’: it is not just about energy, it’s about sustainability, green spaces and creating stronger communities,” he explained. “This event is about networking, collaboration and practical action for greener communities. It is an opportunity to start conversations, share ideas and connect with new people. We want people to leave inspired.”
The group enjoyed presentations from Neil Harrison, Director of Reheat, an environmental specialist in renewable heat and decarbonisation projects and from Charles Foreman, Climate Action Project Manager at Community First Yorkshire, who shared insights from the Village Green project, a large-scale climate action partnership funded through the National Lottery and combined authority support.
Drawing on his experience delivering projects across the UK, Neil explored the challenges of decarbonising heat in rural communities and the barriers currently slowing progress. His presentation focused strongly on the importance of cooperation and community-led approaches; sharing examples of collective heat initiatives and community energy projects from across Scotland, including communal heat networks and collective purchasing models designed to reduce costs and improve resilience.
Charles, drew on his background in environmental partnership work, reflected on the importance of collaboration in delivering successful community climate initiatives. He shared examples from previous environmental projects where community groups brought local knowledge, passion and trusted relationships, while larger organisations could provide funding, technical expertise and influence.
Attendees also heard from Belinda Fairbairn from NICRE, who discussed the role of collaborative problem-solving through “Climathon” events that bring stakeholders together to develop practical climate solutions through shared discussion and innovation.
The presentations set the tone for collaborative discussions that followed and continued into lunch, giving participants the opportunity to exchange ideas, share experiences and explore opportunities for future partnerships.
Attendees were encouraged to continue building connections, sharing opportunities and working together between Green Table events to strengthen community-led approaches to sustainability, climate action and renewable energy.
Further Green Table Northumberland events will be announced soon. If your organisation or community group is interested in joining the discussion and becoming part of Northumberland’s growing network of groups working towards a greener future, please get in touch with the CAN Energy Team at energy@ca-north.org.uk
The Green Table Northumberland is facilitated by Climate Action in Rural North East (CAIRN). A partnership between Community Action Northumberland, Durham Community Action (DCA), the Rural Design Centre (RDC) and the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE), the project is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.
