Climate Change in
Food Bank Neighbourhoods:
ArtHub Zion Chapel Bonymaen Swansea.
ABOUT THIS EVENT
As part of a national project to get public views on fair climate action, local people in Bonymaen talked about what climate change means for a community already struggling financially. The meeting took place at Mount Zion Baptist Chapel, where Eastside Food Bank operates. When poverty affects many lives deeply, why would climate change be a top concern? In places where people barely get by, as the chapel’s Baptist Minister said, how does a global threat to humanity feel relevant? The issue is that those with the least power and smallest carbon footprint stand to lose the most from climate change. Six speakers from different fields led the talk, recognizing the unfair and complex link between poverty and climate risk. Their brief talks on how these issues affect local people are available below.
Mary Duckett
Mary is coordinator for Bwyd Abertawe. Bwyd Abertawe came into existence through grassroots and cross-sector movement for sustainable food in Swansea, collectively forming and launching Swansea Food Charter in March 2023. Mary has a keen personal interest in the significance sustainable food has — for everyone’s wellbeing, environment and biocommunities, and sustainable-ethical economics. Mary’s education background includes Arts (BA Hons) and Economics for Transition Masters degrees. With career focussed on supporting individuals and groups within disadvantaged communities, including over 20 years experience in community development and project management.
http://www.bwydabertawe.org.uk
Chris Blake
Chris Blake has spent the last decade supporting community responses to climate change. As a founding Director of both award-winning social enterprises The Green Valleys and Community Energy Wales he has been at the forefront of the movement for community owned renewable generation. More recently he has been leading the Skyline programme delivering landscape-scale community stewardship of public land in the South Wales Valleys. Chris is a Trustee of the Black Mountains College and has served as a Board member of Natural Resources Wales. He lives in a smallholding in the Brecon Beacons and has a passionate belief in the power of community action to meet today’s challenges.
John Whitehead
John is a whole systems designer, architect, engineer and community activist. He is a director of a micro-hydro power company. His current focus as founder of the Bottega Project https://www.bottegaproject.co.uk/previous-projects is informed by a wide range of experience and skill sets gained over the past 4 decades — studied process oriented Psychology with Arnold Mindell alongside working as a blacksmith, fabricator and sculptor. Since 2004 John has lived in South Wales working on community projects. This included the Talgarth mill project, which won the Village SOS award BBC Big Lottery Award. The project’s central purpose is to look at how we facilitate and enable System-level transformation towards a viable future at city scale. We are particularly interested in the intersection of affordable housing, community-led health care, local economies and skills education through effective action.
Allan Herbert
Allan has been involved in community development for over 30 years, most intensely with diverse communities in some the most disadvantaged wards in Wales, primarily in inner city Cardiff, striving to increase the sense of agency and control for individuals, families and communities. He spent 11 years managing Communities First projects and has extensive third sector representative experience in a variety of settings. In partial retirement he is working on strategy and funding for Disability Can Do (a pan-disablement Charity working in Gwent) and he has formed with colleague Nick Lewis the River Music project under the umbrella of South Riverside Community Development Centre. River Music brings together and development of diverse music and the expansion of participation and understanding in the arts for children from diverse and disadvantaged communities. He is currently involved as an associate with the Medical Trials unit in Cardiff University (exploring the low uptake of certain cultural and other groups in trials)
Below: local community members Manic theatre Group (Eastside Radio) along with councillor Paul Lloyd are apart of the conversation in Arthub and on line.
Barbara Castle
Barbara has worked in the field of community regeneration for 50 years. Her work has crossed public, private and third sectors, and she has engaged in community development practice, research, writing, teaching, project management and policy development. She worked on the design and implementation of the Communities First programme in Wales, and latterly was Director for Community Engagement and Investment in Bron Afon, a community mutual housing body. In 2010 Barbara was awarded an OBE for her services to regeneration in Wales. Barbara believes in models of community asset development and in the furtherance of local community control.
Mary Sherwood
Mary has worked with a focus on socioeconomic inequality for over 25 years. Her work in the voluntary and public sectors includes one term in local government in Wales, 2017-22, with roles focusing on poverty, social justice and climate change. In 2021, Mary established Fairer Future, a company sharing knowledge to tackle poverty through training and consultancy services. Since 2017 Mary has also worked for Gower Power, as grants manager and now as a director, distributing funds arising from community-owned solar energy to grassroots projects addressing the social injustices arising from our prevailing economic model and from climate change
BACKGROUND
Climate Change in Food Bank Neighbourhoods was part of a series of Climate Conversations organised by the Welsh Government across Wales during Climate Week 2023. These discussions involved community groups and the public to connect climate action with the cost-of-living crisis. The aim was to inspire national, regional, and local debates on fair ways to combat climate change. The Bonymaen event centred on engaging ‘hard to reach’ communities, who often face daily needs and find it difficult to consider climate issues.
This event is part of the Natural Law Project, led by Artstation, a well-known art collective from Cardiff. The project is a collaborative effort centred on food, energy, and social justice, working with Mount Zion Baptist Chapel (Bonymaen), Swansea Law Clinic (Swansea University), and Tai Tarian Housing Association (Port Talbot). It is funded by the Arts Council of Wales through its Connect & Flourish programme (2022-2024).