Projects & Campaigns

The Green Footsteps Guide

The Green Footsteps Guide is a toolkit for the VCSE sector to digest and develop ways for their organisation to take first steps in becoming more sustainable and resilient to current and future impacts of climate change. This toolkit is designed to be used by anyone within your organisation, from volunteers to chief executives.

The Green Footsteps Guide was a project dreamed up by members of the Climate & Environment Alliance, facilitated by the Cornwall Voluntary Sector Forum

Creating the Green Footsteps Guide.

Outline of a person walking, with two footprints showing in black and white, on a transparent background.

Identifying need

Human activities are estimated to have caused approximately 1.0°C of global warming above pre-industrial levels. Global warming is likely to reach 1.5°C between 2030 and 2052 if it continues to increase at the current rate (IPCC, 2018). Rising temperatures alter the climate increasing the number of extreme weather events globally, this has a knock-on effect on our oceans, human health, food security and global biodiversity.

There is not a lack of information on the impacts of climate change and how to be more ‘eco-friendly’. So much so that trying to take your first steps on the path to becoming more sustainable can be extremely overwhelming. The Green Footsteps Guide is a collection of concise well-researched, evidence-based guidance to support you to take your first steps to becoming greener.

First Draft Design Concepts

Illustration of diverse people walking along a winding path in a hilly landscape with trees, birds flying in the sky, and flowers on the ground, promoting a guide for reducing the carbon footprint of organizations.

Cover page of a guide titled 'Green Footsteps Guide' with illustrations of landscapes, including a coastline, farm, hills, water, and forest, and people walking on a trail.

Illustration of two people walking on a path in a natural landscape at sunset, with trees, grass, and birds in the sky, positioned as the cover of a guide titled 'Green Footsteps Guide' for promoting a sustainable Cornwall, dated December 2024.

Cover page of a guide titled "Green Footsteps Guide" with an illustration of leafless trees and their roots reflected in water, a sunset or sunrise in the background, and flying birds.

Progressing the Project

I had overheard conversations surrounding a guide for charities to become greener. Enthused and new to the Communications Assistant role, I jumped at the chance to put my creative skills to the test. When I first received the guide, it wasn’t much more than a collection of bullet-pointed information. Once I had the overall structure pinned down (easier said than done), I enlisted the help of local illustrator Holly Astle, identifying some of her previous work that was adaptable to the guide. Creating a branding pack, accounting for “eco-friendly” fonts and Holly’s colour palettes. Her Coverrack piece was an original, commissioned for the creation of the guide.

The final product

Post-production

Flyer for 'Lunch & Learn Series' in April and May, featuring workshops on waste management, working from home, and energy reduction, with dates, online format, and 11am-12pm times.

An environmental-themed graphic for The Green Footsteps Guide Lunch & Learn Series in March, showing events scheduled on 10, 17, and 24 March, with online workshops on guidance, finance, and audits, including icons for online access, time, date, and calendar.

A series of online lunch & learns, facilitated by Kirstie Edwards, were created to increase guide engagement and help charities to implement their learnings into the runnings of their organisations. A set of social media posts were created to publicise the guide, and the guide itself can be accessed via the Cornwall Voluntary Sector Forum Website and on Cornwall Council’s Net Zero Hub.

Kirstie Edwards is continuing to facilitate the guides’ implementation across Cornwall.

Promotional graphic for Challenge Poverty Week England and Wales 2024, taking place from October 14 to 20, 2024, encouraging support in Cornwall. The design includes bright colors, a calendar icon, a megaphone, and logos for Challenge Poverty Week and Cornwall VSF.

Challenge Poverty Week 2024

Challenge Poverty Week is an annual event in October. Its purpose is to raise awareness of local issues connected with poverty in all forms – fuel poverty, food poverty, housing poverty, community poverty, financial poverty etc.

In 2024, I assisted in the campaign for Cornwall on behalf of Cornwall VSF’s Housing & Homelessness Alliance. This work was spearheaded by the Cornwall Independent Poverty Forum.