Martin Howlett speaks at a net zero farm walk in Stoke Climsland, Cornwall. Credit: Frankie Mills.
Our approach to storytelling
The Local Storytelling Exchange inspires action through positive stories of everyday solutions.
Our storytellers find untold stories of the transition and give them a home where they can connect with people’s different hopes and interests.
The stories are built around people constructively taking action. They tell of a former furniture-maker designing plywood electric bikes, a builder becoming a retrofit expert, and an oil driller pivoting to geothermal energy. These voices of the transition represent a wide range of ideas and voices to broaden our collective sense of belonging to a future that is greener and fairer.
These stories direct attention towards the benefits a fair transition can bring, whether that is lowering fuel bills thanks to community heat pump initiatives or building a legacy for the next generation by returning farmland to woodland.
Case study: The Cornish pensioner retrofitting her draughty coastal cottage
Rose Lewis, who used various Government grants to properly insulate her home. Credit: Alex Leat.
The most powerful stories come from within the community. We help people voice their own tales of climate action, which can have a ripple effect on neighbours, local politicians and policymakers. The Exchange worked with a pensioner from a Cornish village who carried out a full-scale retrofit of her draughty coastal cottage. Rose Lewis used government grants to insulate and install an air source heat pump in her home.
We produced a video of Rose’s retrofit journey, which was broadcast on Cornwall Live, ITV West Country and at a local energy event. A year later, Rose’s story was still bearing fruit. In summer 2023 her film was screened at an event for low-income homeowners, where she was also asked to be a keynote speaker.