Why Building Local Communities is Important

Why building local communities is so important

Welcome to #TRVSTLOVES. We curate news, ideas, and inspiration from across the world that demonstrate how real action can accomplish a positive social impact. This edition looks at the importance of building local communities and what they can collectively achieve.

The Big Lunch 2019

Just this past weekend The Big Lunch events took place across the UK. This fantastic initiative from Eden Projects aims to bring people together to eat good food! Research from Eden shows that, as a society, we don't engage with our local neighbors as much as we used to. Many of us might not consider this engagement important, but this disconnect isn't good for our mental or physical health. With an estimated six million people signing up for these Big Lunch events, many people obviously have a desire to be part of a stronger and more interactive community.

The Campfire Convention building communities

Why building local communities is so important: campfire convention app

A new app that helps build real communities  - sounds a bit counterintuitive, doesn't it? Don't real communities need real interactions between people? But hear us out, the Campfire Convention is a new social network that aims to empower people on and offline to build up strong communities. The initiative wants to create a new and inclusive approach to social media, very different from what we already know. We particularly love the ethos of a "growing eco-consciousness" and the idea that social media can bring people together for social good - that's what we're all about here at TRVST!

Communities taking the lead on climate change

We just love what's going on in the Hepburn community in Australia: they've decided to take a strong stance on tackling climate change. Described as a "community of creative thinkers, farmers, and tree-changers," these residents are collectively making significant changes, including phasing out the use of natural gas and encouraging sustainable transport.  Solar is purchased in bulk to give everyone cheaper access too. What a great example of the power of the people; getting everyone on board to collectively achieve something is undeniably a way to make real change.

Lincoln man gives 700 hours to build a community pond

Lincoln man gives 700 hours to build community pond

Bringing together a community is a great achievement, but someone often has to get the ball rolling. Ian Callaghan, from Lincoln UK, did this by volunteering for 700 hours to restore a local community area and pond.  The space now includes benches and a platform over the water for people to congregate and spend time. As is often the case, no specific funding was available for this community project, so companies donated materials to assist. It's great reading stories like these; it's a reminder that we all have the opportunity to make a change. Perhaps take a look around the area you live in to see whether your actions, however big or small, might benefit your local community.

What we can learn from indigenous communities

Another example here of how we shouldn't underestimate the power of local communities. A UN-backed report has recently shown that indigenous peoples’ lands are not degrading as fast as other areas. So now it's time to see what we can learn from indigenous communities. Why is this the case? The report shows that indigenous people contribute much more to support biodiversity. Amongst many other things, indigenous people collectively carry out the ecological restoration of degraded lands and help restore diminishing plant species. It's the mindset here that many of us can learn from working together as a group to learn from one another to achieve a common goal.

Pin Me:
Pin Image Portrait Why building local communities is so important
Sign Up for Updates
SIGN UP
chevron-upchevron-down