Bex Stamper and Helen Attewell lead sustainability initiatives in West Cumbria through Futureproof Cumbria and the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership (sCCP). Helen coordinates the Cumbria Sustainability Network, supporting community groups via grants, events, skills development, and advocacy, with a focus on disadvantaged communities through the Westogether programme. She brings 40 years of voluntary sector experience, a background in environmental sciences, teaching, and active community engagement.
Bex manages the development and delivery of Emission Reduction Action Plans (ERAPs) across four priority sectors in Cumbria, facilitating sector groups, producing briefing papers on scaling decarbonisation, and supporting practical implementation. She combines nearly two decades of local government experience with entrepreneurship in a low-waste retail business. Together, Helen and Bex coordinate initiatives that link grassroots engagement with strategic carbon reduction planning, aiming for a net zero carbon county by 2037 with a thriving, sustainable, and low-carbon economy.
Their work is grounded in collaboration, social justice, and inclusivity, promoting community participation in climate action, and bridging local knowledge with policy and scientific evidence. Key achievements include supporting 33 community-led events during The Big Lunch and Great Big Green Week, demonstrating low-waste, low-carbon living while strengthening community bonds and supporting local charities.
Challenges include limited resources, volunteer burnout, local authority restructuring, political scepticism, and balancing climate priorities with social issues like poverty and the cost of living crisis.
Through the Practice-Builders’ Network, Helen and Bex aim to share learning from nearly five years of Cumbria-wide collaboration, provide insights on community engagement, sector coordination, and ERAP delivery, and exchange ideas with peers undertaking similar sustainability initiatives across northern England. Their work exemplifies community-driven, equitable, and evidence-based approaches to systemic climate action.