The climate emergency affects everyone: individuals, families, businesses, community and voluntary sectors and organisations across the Forest of Dean.
Our Climate Action and Nature Zone (CANZ) sub-group enables FEP Board and stakeholders to actively engage in:
- Raising awareness of current and proposed legislation
- Supporting consultation activities
- Developing and delivering countywide and local projects
- Sharing information on funding for decarbonisation, energy efficiency, waste reduction, climate adaptation, and biodiversity improvements
- Monitoring the sub-group budget
Members include representatives from Hartpury University & College, Forest of Dean District Council, Two Rivers Housing, and many local independent businesses all committed to creating a greener Forest of Dean.
Current projects overseen by CANZ include the Forest Business Climate Charter and ForestCollab (formerly the FACCT Tool), a FEP-led initiative promoting collaboration and reducing waste across the district.
The sub-group is chaired by David Trevelyan, founder of SustainYou consultancy and a leading local sustainability expert. David contributes to numerous projects across the district and county, including research with the Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) on rural electricity resilience. This work ensures communities like the Forest of Dean are not left behind in the transition to net zero, addressing challenges such as low population density and retrofitting older buildings.
Find out more about this project here or join the sub-group to stay informed.
Latest CANZ News
The sub-group have recently supported Forest of Dean Community Action Partnership (FODCAP) to develop an easy to use guide to installing solar panels. This has been created to specifically support small businesses, charities, community groups or similar to explore ways they can use greener energy sources. It is often these smaller organisations that struggle with accessing technology like solar panels, as they do not have support available to homeowners or the means to access expert advice as a larger business would. This guide is available for free and can be accessed here.
The sub-group have also worked with FODCAP on their Travel Guide, a fantastic tool designed to make sustainable travel around the district easier. This easy to use guide outlines all travel options available, so whether you want a bus timetable, need to book a taxi, or interested in trying out a new cycle route, this map is a great starting point. Its also ideal for local businesses or events organisers who may want to provide low carbon travel options for customers accessing their business.
In May 2025, a CANZ sub-group member and The Growth Hub sustainability expert Toby Waller attended a roundtable with Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Energy Security and Net Zero, Pippa Heylings. Experts were invited to the session to look at climate change action at a local level and more specifically, at how community energy can be scaled up. Take a look at the summary from the event here.
