Welcome to the CAN Champion Scheme Newsletter!

We’re excited to bring you another burst of climate and nature inspiration from across Northamptonshire. Each edition brings together useful updates, local stories, practical resources, and upcoming opportunities related to the Scheme.

May 2026 CAN Champion Focus Meeting - Highlights

Over 40 CAN Champions joined the May Focus Meeting, opened by Danny Moody (Chief Executive, Northants CALC), with an engaging and interactive session led by guest speaker Diana Sandon of Dialogue Matters.

The session focused on how we communicate climate and nature issues—and why traditional approaches centred on facts and “doom and gloom” messaging often fail to inspire action. Instead, Diana highlighted the importance of fostering a sense of agency, where people feel both capable of making a difference and clear about what meaningful action looks like. 

A key theme was the power of storytelling. Sharing relatable, local stories—particularly those featuring real people and community action—can be far more effective than statistics alone. When individuals see others taking action, it creates a sense of “if they can do it, so can I,” encouraging wider participation. 

The discussion also explored how communications can be reframed to focus on positive, future-focused narratives, rather than leading with problems. Starting conversations with questions such as “what are we doing well?” and “what could we build on?” can motivate communities more effectively than a problem-solution approach, which can sometimes lead to disengagement. 

During the Q&A, attendees shared practical examples from their own work, including community composting initiatives, seed-growing projects with schools, and hedgehog highway schemes. These examples reinforced the value of community-led storytelling, particularly when it captures real experiences, motivations, and outcomes. 

There was also discussion around the importance of tailoring communication to different audiences and combining visual, emotional, and human-centred elements to increase engagement. Participants recognised the ongoing challenge of encouraging more bottom-up, community-driven approaches, particularly when working alongside larger authorities. 

Danny Moody closed the session with thanks to all attendees and speakers for their energy, ideas and commitment. 

The report and slides from the meeting are available here:

www.northantscalc.gov.uk/can-champions

The next CAN Champions Focus Meeting will take place online on Thursday 20th August from 7–8pm! Stay tuned for more information.

Raising Local Resilience

As you may already know, the People’s Emergency Briefing film covering the economic and social impact of the Climate Crisis is now booked to show at over 500 venues around the country.  

The film is balanced between extracts from the in-person scientific briefing given to an invited audience in London in November last year, and responses from different people watching recordings of the November presentations.  

The main focus of the film’s producers is to put pressure on Government to televise the findings of the briefing, meanwhile the Great Collaboration have published some extra guidance on how to encourage more local action after the screening as well as a 10-minute film on next steps for town, parish and community councils working with their communities.  There is also an SLCC webinar on local response to the briefing on May 12th.

Our shared concern is to help raise local resilience around the country in response to the various crises that scientists are warning us about.  Local responses will of course vary according to the geography of each place, and depending on the involvement of the local community.

Please feel able to get in touch via hello@greatcollaboration.uk if you would like a further conversation about this, meanwhile you can contact the film's producers direct if you would like to host your own screening - Kind regards, Andrew

Andrew Maliphant 

Chair

Improving Biodiversity and Wildlife in Litchborough

We know biodiversity is in sharp decline with wildlife populations declining by 69% in the past 48 years and Hedgehogs now being on the 'red list' classed as vulnerable to extinction. I’ve been working with Deanshanger Hedgehog Rescue and successfully released a number of hedgehogs in the village last year. 

I was really pleased Litchborough was successful with securing a Biodiversity Grant through West Northamptonshire Council, this has allowed the village to buy several Bird boxes. The nesting boxes have been installed on the Community Allotment (we were excited to see a bird nesting in one of the boxes).

Bird Boxes being installed on the Community Allotment.

Tawny Owl box being installed by Chris Payne, an owl expert.

We have Tawny Owls in Litchborough and purchased a Tawny Owl box, however quickly realised the Community Allotment was unsuitable to install the box with being too close to a road. I made contact witch Chris Payne, Chair of Northants Ringing Group and an Owl expert. Chris was able to help install the box in a quieter, wooded area. Through working with Chris, we are looking to raise additional funds to extend the Owl boxes in the village and hope to install these with cameras

We have been promoting hedgehogs in the village for sometime and were really pleased that the grant enabled us to purchase Hedgehog Highway signs to create a Hedgehog Highway in the village.  This has proved really successful in bringing the community together. We have an active group of volunteers and the local children have been involved with creating the leaflets and being part of creating the highway.

Teresa Cox Climate and Nature Champion Litchborough Parish Council June 2026 (teresacoxuk@yahoo.com)

Unfortunitly the photos do not copy across - please visit the main web page for more information