Raising awareness of the dual Climate and Ecological Emergency is key to helping residents understand the action we are taking as a Council, and also the decisions and actions they can take to address them.
Communicating the Emergencies is a key focus of our Communications Manager; high-quality information is key to engagement and credibility, and particularly important when the subject is so important. Town Councillors and Officers also liaise extensively with external groups, locally and nationally – their advice and support is critical in helping us to meet the challenge.
Online
We have a dedicated area of this website which provides detailed information, advice and links outlining the emergency, what we’re doing and how individuals can get involved. It also contains links to external information, and climate and ecology events hosted by local groups.
We use our strong social media followings, creating interesting content and tagging in keywords to make sure that messages reach the right audiences. This includes high-quality imagery, and linking to relevant external sources, so that content is attractive, accurate and timely.
Logos
We commissioned specific logos on the Climate and Ecological Emergencies, which are carried on all communications relating to them – this helps the public identify the issues, and highlights the importance of it to other external stakeholders too. The logos are differently themed, but each relates to the other and the main Town Council brand. You can read more about the Climate Emergency logo below.
Newsletter
Our quarterly newsletter is delivered across the BA15 1 and 2 postcode areas, and regularly carries stories on the Climate and Ecological emergencies. It’s a critical method of communications, as it reaches all households within the town and nearby villages – a proportion of which will not be on social media, and may not check our website. To view our past newsletters visit the page linked below.
Events
We have hosted public events such as Climate Emergency Steering Group meetings, a Green Homes evening, and a Bat Chat, encouraging the public to learn and engage with the issue. We also highlighted the Climate Emergency in our South West In Bloom entry in 2019, by initiating a themed bunting being made by residents and local community groups.
Climate and Ecological themed events are actively promoted via both our Town Council and Explore Bradford on Avon websites and social media feeds, accompanied with relevant hashtags.
Relationships
Lines of communication are always open with local groups, and our Communications Manager attends, and assists with graphics and advertising for many Climate and Eco events, and attendance at webinars on this topic form a key part of ensuring that messaging and information stays current.
Maintaining good relationships with these groups, and national organisations working on these issues is also critical to understanding and getting messages across effectively.