Meet Ardwick Climate Action: Manchester’s friendly neighbourhood climate activists

Ardwick Climate Action are a community group based one mile south-east of Manchester’s city centre in – you guessed it – Ardwick! 

With a mission to protect the local environment through grassroots advocacy that engages the local community, they first made a name for themselves in 2022 when they closed off a section of the A6 for a full day. Now, they’re working with the local community to make Ardwick a greener, healthier, and happier place to live after being awarded funding from the Greater Manchester Green Spaces Fund to expand their work.  

We caught up with Daniell, one of the key members of Ardwick Climate Action who told us about how the group got started, what they’re working on and their plans for the future.

Choel (left) & Daniell (right)

How did the Ardwick Climate Action Group begin and what were your original intentions?

Initially Ardwick Climate Action started with two members, Choel and Gordon. The two of them got together and discussed working on Kale Street (in Ardwick) as their original site, so they held a couple of smaller events there to begin with. And then they were sat in a meeting with the Council, and Choel – ever a maverick – piped up and went; “let's close the A6”. All the council members went “No, that's not going to work”. Gordon, who was listening in, thought - do you know what? That's a cool idea. So, a few meetings later they were given permission to close the A6 the following October. That’s when Choel asked me to get involved with the publicity and PR side of things.

Originally, the event started out quite small. The council assisted us in getting a few companies and organisations there on the day, but I saw an opportunity to make the reach and impact of the event larger than it was initially intended to be. We let more companies know about what we had planned and how to get involved. The BBC were interested in what was happening and agreed to have it televised. It really put Ardwick Climate Action on the map and highlighted the scale of what we could do in the area.

With the closure of the A6, was your intention to demonstrate what a group of this size could achieve?

Definitely, yeah. It was a show of force to say “look what we have managed to do” even as a relatively small local group. This is the power we can have if we put our minds to it. Choel’s always wanted to do something at that level, close the A6 or something big that causes a lot of talk in the city. In her mind, she knew something big would need to happen to draw focus onto the area, which is incredibly forgotten. And it's sad to see because even to this day we have a lot of problems engaging the community. And it's just simply down to the fact that after 20 years of promises that haven't been fulfilled, people have lost hope, and so she knew that something big would have to happen like that.

“Climate action means bettering a community, bettering the environment.

And in the process, you're bettering yourself because you're doing right by the world...”

What are some of the biggest things that you've learned since the group started?

One of the biggest ones is how, as a community group, it's often challenging when you approach people in the council, how to work with that organisation and how to get the results you’re looking for. The biggest thing that we've learned is how to sit in meetings and come away with what you want that’s mutually beneficial for both parties. The council have a massive agenda right now on climate and there are budgets and grants available from within the council. But, knowing what to say and how to get results is something we have learned. Climate initiatives are also great for the plan that Andy Burnham has laid out for the city, but it can be a real challenging minefield. And just knowing who to talk to is a massive thing.

We've learned that things can happen if there are driven people behind it who will voluntarily give their time to do these things and better their communities.

Looking ahead, what are your aims for the next few years?

We have a lot of vision. We've all agreed that this could be an amazing tour de force in Manchester to show what community groups can do. Our plan for the initial year is to complete the green spaces projects we've been awarded funding for through Andy Burnham's initiative. We’d really love to have something like a climate centre within Ardwick that serves the community but also educates around climate. Something like a community cafe for example, because there’s nowhere that people can really go like that in Ardwick.

Is there anything that you're most proud of so far in terms of the work that you’ve accomplished?

Yeah, I think how well we work together. A lot of community groups fail because I suppose personal agenda comes into play and when you look at very marginalised areas or social economically deprived areas, there's a common trend with a lot of populations where you know they may never have, for instance, been asked their opinion about their area. They may join a group and have some sort of say, and suddenly they're giving their opinion and it almost has a power effect to it, where it stops being about the group and becomes about the individual. That's sad to see because that fails a lot of communities and fails a lot of groups, but what we’ve found is that we're incredibly resilient and we all work together because it's not about an individual, it's about the group, and beyond the group, it's about the community.

Our work is ongoing and there's a lot that we need to do still. So, once we can sit back and have a few pints at the end of it in a pub, I think we'll be able to pat ourselves on the back then.

What advice would you give to residents living in Manchester who might be interested in climate action, or getting involved in a nature project, but don't really know where to start?

I'd say there are many groups in Manchester; if you don't feel like you want to set up a group yourself, scout your local area. Contact your local councillor because they're an asset when founding a group or would be aware of various groups that are going on. Because climate represents such a broad spectrum of issues, I’d ask what is it that you want to do? Is it the improvement of green spaces for example, or is it looking at how to improve infrastructure through greenery, or do you want to start lobbying or joining some sort of party or group that will campaign, if that's up your street.

And if you want to start a group, I would assess the area because I think locally this is the importance of community groups. It's understanding that no one person has the answers to everything within a crisis and that an individual can bring their skill sets into what they think is important. What skills do you have? What do you have to offer to it? And what do you bring to the table? I think by having that serious conversation with yourself and understanding that when other people bring unique skill sets, a group flourishes as a result.

What does climate action mean to you?  

It means lots of things, I suppose. This could sound like a bit of a cheese-fest, but to me it means doing right when you know wrongs are being done. Climate action means bettering a community, bettering the environment. And in the process, you're bettering yourself because you're doing right by the world.

Want to learn more about Ardwick Climate Action? Click here to check out their website, Instagram, or Twitter.

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If you’re thinking of starting a group of your own, or would like to chat to a local councillor about what support might be available for your project, head here.