Community Toolkit

Disclaimer:

This document was prepared by Jack Cooper in his own personal capacity. The opinions expressed in this document are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the view of UNA Climate & Oceans or any other referenced organisation. The information contained in this document is provided on an “as is” basis with no guarantees of completeness, accuracy, usefulness or timeliness. Jack Cooper is not responsible for links to third parties and the content they produce. Testimonials in the document are individual experiences, reflecting real life experiences of those who have encountered Postcode Revolution in some way or another. Please bear in mind they are individual results and results may vary.

The document is a work in progress, hence the comments enabled in the sharing permissions and should not be treated as a finished document; it is highly likely there are errors and parts that will be changed. This document should not be mistaken for professional advice: the information comes primarily from the author’s own experience. Individuals who make decisions and take action on the basis of this document and the information herein do so at their own risk and responsibility.

Constructive feedback is welcomed.

revolution

1. a circular movement^[1]

2. a fundamental change in the way of thinking about or visualising something^[2]   

‘The climate crisis is here. The ecological emergency is here. It is not something remote that will affect us in 2100, or 2050, or even 2025. It is here, now.’

(Read, 2022, p.25)

‘The group process strategies employed by mutual aid groups, which revolved around promoting a shared identity, effective communication between groups members, a culture of care and support within the group, group meetings and events, and an informal but organised leadership structure, helped to sustain involvement within the group. The experiences resulting from participation in the group led to positive emotions, such as joy, and efficacy. Participation in COVID-19 mutual aid was also related to an increasing sense of local community belonging and cohesion.’

(Fernandes-Jesus et al., 2021)

Contents:

Explainer - 5

Introduction - 6

Think about why - 7

5 Actions - 9

Q&A with Jack - 12

Testimonials - 14

What Others Are Doing - 15

References - 16

Explainer

Postcode Revolution is a proposed movement of people communicating with their neighbours to form resilient, low energy communities. Postcode Revolution aims to go beyond polarisation, respecting differences and focuses on building relationships based on common goals and pragmatic energy action in our neighbourhoods.

Introduction

Katy Parsonage had a strong desire to march in London in climate protests with a group of other Mums, even to the point of arrest if needed, to urge the government and the public to take the necessary action to prevent climate breakdown. Intimidating new protest laws^[3] prevented her from marching, so she looked into other actions to safeguard our collective futures. A friend of hers enthused about a talk they’d heard in Brighton from a young man called Jack Cooper who used to be a radical climate activist. He spoke about his journey to a different theory of change - less publicly disruptive - and aimed at going beyond polarisation to try and form resilient, low energy communities in neighbourhoods: acting where we are.^[4] 

He decided to form a community with the 26 other houses in the postcode he’d grown up in all his life. Living on a long and busy road, sharing a postcode provided a source of identity and an impersonal boundary for a community to form around. In other places, the community identity/boundary could be clearer - a close, a street, a local landmark - but for Jack, his postcode felt just right.

Over the course of the summer of 2023, he knocked on his neighbours doors - almost all of whom were previously strangers - and set up a postcode WhatsApp chat (and Facebook group). He and his family held a community connection event in their garden and 10 houses came. Jack organised a postcode energy group, his Dad founded a postcode book group, which continues to this day. Through having this shared virtual and in-person connection, there was sharing of tools, food, services and not to mention zero car journeys in the post-code only events. Jack believes this can lead to greater safety whether that’s building resilience for climate breakdown, another pandemic, organising on energy or just everyday worries, like one of the residents who told him:

“I have a community of friends and family and clients that contact me but I’ve always been sad that I only had minimal connections in my immediate geographic environment. I’m prone to anxiety about IT issues and when I needed a new router, anxiety around setting that up kicked in, then I realised that if I couldn’t set it up, I could just put a message on WhatsApp and somebody could come and help … the anxiety immediately went.”

Jack calls this Postcode Revolution.

Katy Parsonage, along with two others in different postcodes, has been inspired to try this out and form a postcode community where she lives. This Postcode Toolkit has been created to help people form local communities where they live and has been envisioned as an ever-evolving collective wisdom document, to bring people and ideas together.

Think about Why

First, consider your own safety^[a] and priorities. There is a risk to engaging with your neighbours and forming a community.^[5] If you are not committed, thoughtful and willing to take responsibility, your actions could cause more harm than good, to yourself and to others. Think about how much time you have to give to this, the many things you can do and your own wellbeing.

1. Communication

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bjpsych-open/article/effects-of-neighbourhood-social-cohesion-on-preventing-depression-and-anxiety-among-adolescents-and-young-adults-rapid-review/595C1BCE1B3046166F152FAF8B413CC5

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0031322X.2016.1161957

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/14649350050135176?needAccess=true

Through talking to his neighbours Jack and his family found people who’d lived so close by for years with similar interests, forming an energy group to organise Energy Performance Certificates for 5 houses; a postcode book club formed that meets to this day. Jack found work in his postcode - gardening and energy insulation.

Communication in the newly created WhatsApp group ranged from borrowing a wallpaper stripper, recommending cleaning services, sharing garden produce, green bin space, sharing books and connecting/advertising local (and postcode) events.

Age UK estimates that 1.4 million people are “often lonely”, with the figure estimated to rise to around 2 million people by 2026.^[6] This is evident anecdotally in Jack’s postcode community and could likely be a feature of your local community too.

2. Safety

Danger can come in many forms.could be human-inflicted violence in the form of assault, injury; it could be a bodily malfunction - a heart attack, stroke, or an accidental injury. It could be a pandemic, and many local mutual aid groups formed at this time to help more vulnerable neighbours^[7]

It could be (and increasingly likely) climate related, in the form of flooding, heatwaves, storms. Check out this BBC tool - Click here - to find out what climate change will look like in your postcode.

Everyday safety can come in the form of residents acting as a postcode neighbourhood watch^[8], which benefited/featured in our postcode groupchat. This could be for dangerous individuals outside the community, but also inside.^[9]

Having a constant virtual (and hopefully non-virtual) space for postcode communication could mean residents can ask for help more easily and provide an opportunity to make your neighbourhood more resilient to climate threats.

3. Energy

According to recent reports, a total of 34% of UK households or 9.6m are living in cold, poorly insulated homes^[10] while also having an income making it unlikely they’d be able to afford the costs of adding insulation to their homes. Not only is this costing the inhabitants of these homes, the added emissions are also costing those most vulnerable to climate breakdown around the globe.^[11]

An estimated^[12] 40% of houses still don’t have Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) which are a basic document required for accessing Government energy upgrade schemes. In his postcode, Jack organised collective bargaining for five houses to obtain EPCs for £40 compared to £55-£70 individually. Through a basis of community, organising on energy can benefit all residents, and help to further depolarise the climate conversation.

Sharing food, tools, books, and unwanted items could mean less unnecessary consumption and car journeys. As a result of COVID lockdowns in 2020, there was a decrease of 9% in UK greenhouse gas emissions compared to 2019. The reduction in transport was a major factor in this, down 19% on the previous year, the largest fall in transport emissions on record.^[13] Knowing your neighbours could even enable a car club, sharing food, sharing deliveries … there are many ways in which connecting with those around you could lead to lower emissions.^[b] 

5 Actions

1. Fact-finding

This is an essential first step as a local community may already exist where you live, unbeknown to you. It is common knowledge that many neighbourhoods formed WhatsApp group chats as a response to COVID19^[14] and many likely remain in place. Talking to your neighbours is a straightforward way to find out. Also, you could look at the virtual community hub NextDoor to see if there is already activity in your neighbourhood. If a local virtual/non-virtual community already exists in your neighbourhood, it makes sense to join the existing community rather than build an alternative structure.^[15] 

Consider the area you live in and what would make a good community boundary/source of local identity. It could be a street, a close, a local landmark, or your postcode.

Jack lived on a busy road and his postcode of 27 houses (est. 50 people^[16]) felt like a good size to form a community - the average size of a postcode is about 15 houses^[17]. If you would like to use your postcode as your community identity, go to https://www.royalmail.com/find-a-postcode and type in your postcode. You should find all the addresses that share your postcode. Note them down if you’d like, and you now have a boundary for a local community. Or perhaps you are using something else, whatever feels appropriate and manageable for you.

2. Create an online community space and think about community rules^[c]

Jack created a postcode WhatsApp group and a postcode Facebook group (for those not comfortable with sharing numbers on WhatsApp). Here is a suggested list (based off of NextDoor Community Guidelines)^[18]

1. Be respectful
2. Don’t discriminate
3. Discuss important topics the right way
4. Move one-to-one conversations off-group

But this is up to you. As you are initiating this, you will most likely be the admin/leader, at least for the first stage. In the community connection event, you can gain collective consent/ideas for an organisational structure. In Jack’s experience, he and his parents were admins of the WhatsApp and Facebook groups and provided the leadership and energy to the newly formed Postcode Community. This was informal and not codified in any way.

3. Prepare a flyer

If you don’t have access to a printer, a scrap piece of paper is fine. Feel free to adapt the format given with ideas you have/want to implement in your postcode, but Jack would advise keeping to essential information only at this stage - Communication, Safety & Climate are key aspects of Postcode Revolution - but stresses the importance of personalising the message to your community and making it your own. Free to use template below:

[INSERT] - Community Group

Why join?

1. Communication
2. Safety
3. Energy

Hi, my name is [INSERT] and I live at [INSERT HOUSE NO.] and I want to be part of a resilient, low energy local community for greater communication and safety with the people living close to me. I have created a Facebook group called Residents of [INSERT] and have just been calling on residents to introduce myself and obtain their numbers to add to a [INSERT] WhatsApp Group Chat that I am setting up.

I am also hosting a community connection event: [INSERT DETAILS]

Unfortunately, you weren’t in when I called, so if you’d like to be added to the WhatsApp Group Chat, please fill in the slip below and return to [INSERT NAME] at [INSERT HOUSE NO.] If you would rather not join our WhatsApp Group Chat, please search us up on Facebook: “Residents of [INSERT]”. If neither of these options appeal to you right now/are not suitable, that’s completely fine. This is all voluntary. Just know I am here at [INSERT HOUSE NO.] and don’t be afraid to ask for help :)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

House number:   ___________

Name:  ____________________________________

Mobile number for use on [INSERT] WhatsApp Group ONLY:

Return to [INSERT NAME & HOUSE NO.]

FACEBOOK GROUP: Residents of [INSERT]

4. Knock on doors, sharing your flyer and intentions with your neighbours

Take the paper flyers with you, have your list of addresses ready. Don’t be put off by signs warning off cold callers, that is not what you are doing. Jack likes the phrase warm caller. Remind yourself that you live in this local community - you are a stakeholder - and have every right to seek greater communication, safety and low energy living in your neighbourhood.

If it makes you feel safer and more brave, go with someone. Prioritise your personal safety, first and foremost.

Weekends would be a good time to knock on neighbours’ doors as people are more likely not at work and you can go in the daytime. If they’re not in, you can leave the flyer.

5. Host a community connection event

If you have a suitable house or garden, this could be your venue. If there’s a local pub or community space nearby, that could be used. You could use a nearby park or landmark. If you’d rather keep this event online (for resource and safety concerns), you could use a video call.

Jack and his family hosted a Community Connection event in the garden, inviting postcode members to come and connect and bring some food/drink to share (home grown fruit and veg and home-made food encouraged). The emphasis was on localism, low cost and low energy - the idea being that the postcode would cater collectively. 10 houses in Jack’s postcode came and many people met for the first time and connected over common interests.

From this event, alongside putting faces to names, ideas can form for groups based on shared interests (like an energy group and postcode book club and Jack’s postcode community) along with shared visioning of how the community (online and offline) could function.

Q&A with Jack

What did you do after this?

Two groups emerged pretty organically from this initial Community Connection event: a postcode reading group (organised by my Dad) and a postcode energy group (organised by myself). The postcode reading group have been meeting on a Tues evening for an hour, bringing a short story along and reading it aloud to each other (a very low-energy form of entertainment); book sharing is also encouraged. As of 2nd January 2024, the Book Group is still going, meeting once every two weeks.

The energy group was set up for the primary purpose of organising Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs)^[19] for our households. This was my initial way in to this project, researching the number of valid EPCs in our postcode. I found 19 out of our 27 houses (including my own) didn’t have valid EPCs. You can look up your postcode performance here:

EPC Register

I created a Postcode Energy WhatsApp Group Chat and we organised an afternoon in which all households were present (in different slots) for assessment by a local EPC assessor. I found him on the Gov register; you can use this link: EPC Assessor. Because we organised as a group our Assessor quoted £40 per assessment (he usually quotes £55-£70) and their emissions and travel time were also reduced. 4 houses came together to have assessments, and one more a month or so after. As a result of this action, our postcode now has 14 out of 27 houses without valid EPCs. What was my house’s result? A D rating of course.

What were the major challenges?

I struggled with the question of safety and the question of inclusion/exclusion within the postcode community. Resolving conflict in a postcode community is still uncharted territory for me (although I am sure there are many examples/case studies that can be found) and I am still not clear on how to deal with someone you perceive as actively dangerous for the community. My feeling is that it is best to act as a collective and use safety in numbers in this case.

Another challenge has been staying positive with a low turnout/enthusiasm. Although we had an excellent turnout for the Community Connection event (10 houses or so represented), I have offered events/gatherings in which nobody came. An example is a proposed family trip to see the double bill of “Barbieheimer”. Thinking horizontally, I decided (with my family’s permission) to make it into a postcode trip (with fish and chips at the local chippie at the end) and so advertised it in the WhatsApp and Facebook groups. On the day, it was only my family who went, but the offer had been made. People will be resistant at first - due to anxiety or downright dislike - to socialising and/or coming together as a postcode community. Be prepared for a very low turnout at any in-person events you hold. Be prepared to have a WhatsApp/Facebook group with perhaps just you and one other - it could be just you! But, I believe, if you are persistent and are not disheartened and leave the door open, priorities will slowly shift and the community will grow.

Were there any further events?

We had a postcode music festival on September 2nd in our family garden to celebrate the work and community that has formed over this Summer. Postcode residents only from 3.30pm-5.45pm and then friends and family from outside invited from 5.45-8.30pm. We had a musical performance from two residents, instruments around for adults and kids alike to play and lots of great conversation and sharing of food and drink.

There was a postcode christmas party on the 16th December at one of our postcode residents’ houses (organised independently of me). They used a similar structure as for the postcode music festival. A number of residents came (including new ones) and we had a great time.

What about low energy technologies?

I set up a postcode library, gifting my books to the postcode (the idea being to have a digital record of books in the library, but the books themselves stored across different houses). A record is kept on a Google Sheets spreadsheet, the link to which is in the WhatsApp group chat.

I also set up a Community Larder - using a Google Sheets spreadsheet again - in which residents can add perishable and non-perishable items. In my current community, there is lots of sharing of items in this spirit. Both of these innovations are free and low energy and enable greater cooperation between residents.

How could this relate to the future of work?

What if young people like myself decided to ask for work in their local/postcode community? I have been employed for mindful gardening this summer and energy insulation work with two residents from my postcode. My commute was between 20 seconds and 2 minutes. It provides a source of income, connection and meaning - much better than previous jobs in warehouses and customer service. Furthermore, gardening has taught me more about nature and mindfulness. Young people also have skills in digital technology which could be offered to older residents (who can experience an abundance of resources but a lack of human connection). Older people also often have gardens in which they struggle to maintain (particularly if they are widowed.

What’s Next?

Our postcode book club continues meeting every two weeks … numbers growing. There are ideas for a postcode vinyl listening group and plans to have more socials in warmer months. I recently did a talk at CREW Worthing and Postcode Revolution continues to evolve.

Testimonials

In the Postcode

“The Postcode Revolution has been a fantastic experience. We had lived at our home for nearly 2 years and only knew our direct neighbours, we were beginning to feel a bit isolated. We now feel like part of the community and have enjoyed connecting with the lovely people around us.”

- Ben

“I’ve discovered like-minded people who live nearby me, a lovely book group, an accompanist for when I’m playing the flute, only a few doors away, and I’ve really enjoyed getting to know everybody at our community gatherings. I’ve been so pleased to offer gardening work to Jack, a nearby young man who I didn’t know before this Summer, as this has helped me clear my overgrown garden which has given me a different vision for the feasibility of me staying in the property that I love. And it’s also great, when walking along the street, I now say hello to people.” - Nikki

"Living on a busy road like ours, it was a rarity that you would have a chance to meet up with or even chat with our neighbours.  The Postcode Community has given us new opportunities to meet up along the street whether to chat over a drink or discuss whether anyone can help with odd jobs.  The benefits of the PC are really starting to take shape and it has been brilliant to be part of.  Whether you are meeting for a book club or simply checking on neighbours it truly can be part of the community and long may it remain." - Simon

Outside

“I have researched which homes would be in our PR community! And forwarded your document to two homes just outside of it to see if they want to start one too.

I have a story, one I share very often, on this theme.I know everyone in my block, and most in the next door block. As a woman living on her own, I couldn’t live any other way. The thing that had biggest influence on my living this way was when my mum was dying of cancer and I was her carer. I remember sitting one night and feeling the most enormous sense of safety and relief knowing that I could knock on any door in a row of ten terraced houses and ask for help. My mum had been part of fostering communication, connection, care and safety in her postcode for the fifteen years that she had lived there. I have tried to do the same ever since (this was 20 plus years ago) and it’s been my saviour. I’m really looking forward to deepening the connections and communication and safety right here on my doorstep. As your brilliant document points out, Jack, it’s going to be increasingly essential in the times ahead.” - Jools

What others are doing:

Katy has sent out letters to her postcode and two other people in different postcodes are beginning to organise.

References

Department for Transport (2022) ‘Transport and environment statistics 2022’ Gov.uk. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/transport-and-environment-statistics-2022/transport-and-environment-statistics-2022 [Date Accessed: 02/02/2024]

Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, (2022) ‘Energy Performance of Building Certificates in England and Wales: July to September 2022’ Gov.uk. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/energy-performance-of-building-certificates-in-england-and-wales-july-to-september-2022/energy-performance-of-building-certificates-in-england-and-wales-july-to-september-2022 [Date Accessed: 29/02/2024]

Fernandes–Jesus, M. et al. (2021) ‘More than a Covid-19 response: Sustaining mutual aid groups during and beyond the pandemic’ SocArXIV. doi: https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/p5sfd 

Liberty (no date) How does the new policing act affect my protest rights? Available at:  https://www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/advice_information/pcsc-policing-act-protest-rights/ [Date Accessed: 01/03/2024]

Mao, G. et al. (2020) ‘Therapeutic Alliance: How participation in Covid 19 mutual aid groups affects subjective wellbeing and how political identity moderates these effects’ SocArXIV. doi: 10.31235/osf.io/x9csf  

NextDoor (no date) Community Guidelines. Available at: https://help.nextdoor.com/s/article/community-guidelines?language=en_GB [Date Accessed: 03/03/2024]

ONS (2023) Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview: November 2023. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/domesticabuseinenglandandwalesoverview/november2023 [Date Accessed: 03/03/2024]

ONS (2023) Postal Geographies. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/methodology/geography/ukgeographies/postalgeography [Date Accessed: 01/03/2024]

ONS (2021) Families and households in the UK: 2020. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/families/bulletins/familiesandhouseholds/2020 [Date Accessed: 01/03/2024]

Parsonage, K. (2024) ‘The Postcode Revolution: There is something you can do’, Inside Worthing, 41, (February), p.15. Available at: https://issuu.com/insidecommunity/docs/worthing_february_24 [Date Accessed: 01/03/2024]

Read, R. J. (2022) Why Climate Breakdown Matters. London: Bloomsbury Academic

Thomas, T. (2024) ‘Almost 10m UK households living in ‘cold, damp, poorly insulated homes’ The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/feb/22/almost-10m-uk-households-living-in-cold-damp-poorly-insulated-homes [Date Accessed: 29/02/2024]

Williams, Z. (2022) ‘It felt beautiful when neighbours came together on WhatsApp during covid. Then came the rows about teens’ The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/apr/19/if-felt-beautiful-when-neighbours-came-together-on-whatsapp-during-covid-then-came-the-rows-about-teens [Date Accessed: 01/03/2024]

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