Changing TimesAdegau Cyfnewid

Community, Ceredigion, Sustainability and WellbeingCymdeithas, Ceredigion, Cynaladwyedd, Lles

Rachel Lilley and Bob Jacques, Ymlaen Ceredigion

“The unhealthiness of our world today is in direct proportion to our inability to see it as a whole.”

Peter Senge

Rachel Lilley

• 20 years experience of third sector working, communications. lobbying campaigns, project management. Journalist, Shelter, VSO (Gambia), Waste Watch, London Lighthouse, Mediation Wales, Permaculture Association, Centre for Alternative Technology, Human Rights (Impetus Awards Wales)

• Lecturer (PGCE), trainer and advanced facilitator• Yoga teacher 13 yrs, specialising in teaching mindful

movement. Co-ordinator Community yoga project, Yoga I Bawb – ESF funded projects

• Mindfulness practitioner for16 years,

How do we measure success?

2. The right single measure of progress must be the one that is self-evidently good. The only such measure is the happiness of the population - and the equivalent absence of misery.

Richard Layard: "Why subjective well-being should be the measure of progress", given at the OECD World Forum on “Statistics, Knowledge and

Policy Charting Progress, Building Visions, Improving Life", Busan, Korea - 27-30 October 2009 chard Layard,

Environmental behaviour and well being

“ appeals to self enhancing, materialistic values may undermine the long term aims of the environmental movement…… research makes it clear that appeals to self transcendent, intrinsic values present a more effective means of motivating pro-environmental behaviour.” (Compton & Kasser, 2009)

Behaviour Change Theories

Economics Psychological Sociological

Turning off computers

Reducing paper use

Theory U, Presencing and Immunity to Change..........

Developing the inner technology

WWF Natural Change – Nurturing intrinsic values

“a new response to the growing evidence that current environmental campaigns are not resulting in the depth of behaviour change necessary. Using a pioneering values-based approach, the project incorporated ideas from eco psychology, personal development, outdoor experiences, mentoring and leadership skills. “

Dan Siegel – the mindful brain

•Climate change behaviour is embedded in relationships (values and identity?) “the brain is a relational process that regulates the flow of energy and information.”

•Mindfulness develops meta cognition and allows us to monitor and modify the flow of information and energy

•Mindfulness will help overcome the personal distress/fear and help build empathetic concern

“If you gamble in this way you have 40% chance of keeping your money”

or“ If you gamble in this way you have 60% chance

of losing your money.”

Research identified when subjects were faced with two different versions of a gambling problem, those that could “see through” the verbal biasing utilized their middle pre frontal areas during the task (Seymour and Dolan 2006)

• Initial research - developing mindful attention plays an important part in disengaging us from top down influences such as prior expectations and beliefs and our own emotional reaction.

• A group of people who had completed an 8 wk mindfulness course reported an enhanced sense of well being and an increased ability to resist impulses

• Recent research used mindfulness to address consumerism by offering the 8wk course to address over consumption.

Pre frontal cortex........ Empowering the individual to see through the games we play whilst making them feel better!

“The only problem with this vision is that going fast is exciting and slowing down is boring—unless you’re mindful about it. Mindfulness generates novelty to excite the dopamine neurons not by covering a lot of ground fast, but by delving deeper into familiar turf. Unless we can learn to be mindful, we’ll be at the mercy of advertisers who crank up the consumer treadmill to run faster and faster.”

Ymlaen Ceredigion

• Leading trainer in Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship – post 16

• 12 years experience in community development and engagement related to sustainability and health – families, individuals

• Well connected locally and nationally• Two years research into WAG behaviour change

initiative• Combined experience of over 60 years working

in sustainability sector.

Diolch!

Supporting Sustainable Living Stage 1project development proposal

October 2011 – March 2012

Ymlaen Ceredigion

Stage 1: Project Development Grants

explore areas of climate change to tackle through behaviour change project

identify methods, tools and budget needed to achieve the biggest impact

Stage 2: Implementation Grants – piloting/trialling

Stage 3: Replication Grants – roll out

Focusdomestic energy

efficiency Aberystwyth Renewal Area

comparison with results of Tregaron Renewal Area interventions

• basis of wider Ymlaen’s behaviour change work linked to headline goals (defra )

• linked to Mindfulness in Changing Times project

Partners• Ceredigion County

Council• Renewal Area

team in Aberystwyth and Tregaron area

• Communities First • Aberystwyth

University• Bangor University

Aberystwyth Centralworst ward in Wales

for housing conditions poor energy efficiency

and fuel poverty5.7% of Aberystwyth’s

houses are too cold under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System

Adding valueRenewal Area team Ymlaen

• Aberystwyth and Tregaron areas

• capital investment for improving energy efficiency of buildings

• finance through energy companies and public funding

Research potential for reducing emissions from homes through behaviour change

improve take up of finance schemes

address behaviours in the home to encourage adoption of energy efficient habits

Target Groups Research needs

HMO landlords and tenants

Other private landlords and tenants

Owner-occupiersSocial housing

tenantsLocal community

groupsLetting agencies,

relevant business organisations

Student groups

Base-line energy efficiency/ emissions - eg SAP ratings Carbon footprints (REAP

Petite)

Potential for improvement physical measures energy behaviour changes

Key issues and groupsBarriers to behaviour

changeRA improvement targets Potential enhancement

through Stage 2 project.Stage 2 methods/models