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Strengthening Local Voices for Nature Across the UK

Helping communities turn local action into political influence

Nature Neighbourhoods was a UK-wide programme led by the National Trust, RSPB and WWF, with funding and support from the National Lottery Community Fund and Co-op. This project supported communities to take action for nature and climate in their local areas.

The programme brought together 18 community organisations from across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, all working with their local communities to take action for people, nature and climate, and improve access to and engagement with nature and green spaces.

While these organisations were already delivering incredible work on the ground, many faced a common challenge: how to navigate local government, build productive relationships with decision-makers and ensure community priorities were reflected in local policies and plans.

That's where Hope for the Future came in.

Building political confidence at a national scale

Over a 15-month period, we designed and delivered a tailored political engagement programme for community organisations across the UK.

Together, we:

  • Supported organisations in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

  • Delivered 14 online and in-person workshops, training sessions and events

  • Engaged more than 330 participants

  • Held over 35 one-to-one support meetings with community organisations

  • Developed 14 bespoke political action plans

  • Produced research on more than 40 politicians, local authorities and decision-makers

  • Supported or directly facilitated engagement with 17 politicians and local authority representatives

Our support helped community groups better understand how local government works, identify key decision-makers, develop influencing strategies and build confidence engaging with elected representatives.

Tailored support for every community

No two communities faced the same challenges.

Working alongside organisations from Edinburgh to Plymouth, Belfast to Newport, and Manchester to London, we co-designed bespoke support packages based on each group's priorities and local political context.

This included:

  • Political strategy workshops

  • Research on councillors, MPs and local authority structures

  • Support developing clear and actionable policy asks

  • Training on relationship-based political engagement

  • Roundtables connecting community groups directly with decision-makers

  • Ongoing coaching and advice as opportunities and challenges emerged

By tailoring support to each organisation, we helped groups move from frustration with local systems to practical action and meaningful engagement.

Shifting power closer to communities

Beyond training and support, the programme delivered tangible political outcomes. Community groups built new relationships with councillors, MPs, MLAs and council officers, secured ongoing engagement with local authorities, developed long-term influencing strategies, and brought community-led priorities directly into conversations about local policy and decision-making. Across the programme, we helped create the conditions for stronger collaboration between communities and the institutions that shape their neighbourhoods. For example we enabled one group to schedule regular meetings with their councillor which significantly improved their relationship with the council and led to regular ongoing engagement. 

One of the highlights of the programme was a roundtable in Manchester, bringing together community organisations, councillors, council officers, parliamentary representatives and national partners.

The event created space for honest conversations about the barriers facing local groups, from funding and bureaucracy to access to council processes. More importantly, it helped identify practical solutions and commitments for future collaboration. As a direct result:

  • Council officers committed to exploring solutions around public liability insurance barriers.

  • Councillors committed to investigating routes for integrating Nature Neighbourhood Plans into council policy.

  • Manchester City Council officers agreed to explore lessons from other local authorities.

  • Nature Towns and Cities partners committed to using learning from the plans in future work.

Community groups, local authority representatives and programme partners all expressed a desire for this style of engagement to continue beyond the programme, recognising the value of building relationships based on trust, collaboration and shared goals.

Helping organisations become political actors

Beyond training, we aim to leave a lasting legacy with each of the organisations we work with, by embedding long-lasting skills for influence and change. Through this project, we supported:

  • Zebra Collective to develop a clearer political strategy around community asset transfer

  • Ligoniel Improvement Association, who began developing a structured political engagement approach across its work

Creating lasting change

The programme demonstrated something we see time and again: communities already have the ideas, passion and local knowledge needed to improve their neighbourhoods.

What is often missing is access to decision-makers, information and the confidence needed to navigate political systems.

By helping communities understand how power works and how to engage with it effectively, we supported organisations to strengthen existing relationships, build new ones and create more opportunities for local people to influence the decisions affecting their communities.

As one participant reflected after attending a Hope for the Future workshop:

"I left with greater confidence, stronger skills, and renewed motivation to support local climate and nature action."