Come and join us for a Carbon Literacy training course specifically aimed at Parish Councils in Somerset.

This course is delivered by Rachel Coxcoon of ClimateGuide, a nationally-recognised expert in local government climate emergency support, and an elected councillor and Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Forward Planning at Cotswold District Council.

The course is fully accredited by the Carbon Literacy Programme, and runs from 10am until 5pm. To achieve certification as 'Carbon Literate' after the course, attendees must attend the full day, and will need to fill out a certification form showing that they have understood the principles of how the nation needs to transform to tackle the climate emergency, as well as committing to a pledge of action as both an individual, and working with others. This follow up work should take a further 2-4 hours.

(NOTE: There is no requirement for attendees to complete the certification to apply for accreditation after the course, but we highly recommend it as a way of showing your residents that your Parish Council is taking the Climate Emergency seriously. There is a £10 certification fee for delegates who wish to pursue the accreditation, payable at the time of submitting the certification forms).

The course will cover:

- An introduction to climate science, and the global and local impacts we will expect to face within the next few decades and beyond.

- The principles of climate change communications - how can you talk to your residents about this issue in a way that is relevant to their lives, and their world views? And how can you encourage them to take action?

- Action Planning principles for the climate emergency - what are the principles of action planning for such an all-encompassing problem? What are the changes we need to make, and what levers of influence do Parish Councils have?

- Carbon Footprinting for small communities - understand the difference between a territorial and a consumption based footprint, and understand how to use this information to guide your Parish Council's work on the climate emergency.

Places are limited - please liaise internally and nominate up to two representatives from your Parish Council to attend this course.

Further dates are also available. You may book on to any course, but we hope to group Town/City council representatives into a single course where possible so that they are able to discuss issues that are pertinent to similar-sized communities during breakout work, so please book the course type that is most suitable for your council if the dates work for you.

• Monday 17th Jan 2022 (Parish Councils)

• Tuesday 25th Jan 2022 (Parish Councils)• Thursday 3rd Feb 2022 (Town & City Councils)