Who are your Somerset community champions?
Update October 2022: an individual winner and a group winner were announced at the Somerset Community Resilience Day on 13 October. They were Sarah Kanah-ah and Stoke St Gregory’s Heart of the Village project.
Read more: New Community Resilience Award honours Somerset volunteers
Original text from August 2022
A new award has been launched to honour people in Somerset who have made their communities more resilient.
If you live in Somerset, and you know of groups or individuals who have made a difference where you live, nominate them by 30 September.
Nominate somebody for the Somerset Community Resilience Champion award or for more information contact info@somersetprepared.org.uk.
Contenders could include:
- local flood group members
- someone who has helped to make sure that vulnerable people can get help in an emergency
- a parish or town councillor who has helped to prepare their neighbourhood for a crisis
The Somerset Community Resilience Champion award is being organised by the Somerset Prepared partnership, whose members include Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA). Somerset Prepared is jointly chaired by the SRA’s community engagement officer Emma Giffard and Tiffany Tapper from the Environment Agency.
The winner will be announced at the 2022 Somerset Community Resilience Day, which is being held on Thursday October 13 at West Monkton Village Hall not far from Taunton.
Cllr Federica Smith-Roberts, Somerset County Council’s Lead Member for Communities, said: “The last two years have shown us all how important our community emergency volunteers are. Quietly working away, these people are busy keeping our Somerset towns and villages safe, no matter what happens. As we face issues such as climate change, emergency preparedness is more important than ever.”
Cllr Smith-Roberts is on the award panel that will select the winner, with David Welch from Rotary International and Annie Maw, Lord-Lieutenant for Somerset.
The winner will receive a large hamper of Somerset produce worth more than £100.
The 2022 Somerset Community Resilience Day
The 2022 Somerset Community Resilience Day will feature presentations, workshops and some enjoyable interactive equipment demonstrations. Sessions will showcase established community groups as well as newer organisations such as the Somerset Water Action Network (SWAN). Subjects will include climate change adaptation, food resilience and the review of Somerset’s 20 Year Flood Action Plan that is being led by Somerset Rivers Authority.
The event is free to attend, and it includes a free buffet lunch.
David Welch from Somerset’s Rotary Club said: “The Resilience Day is a chance for communities to get together and share knowledge and experience, hear inspiring speakers, and participate in hands-on workshops. We can’t stop emergencies from happening, but we can do a lot to plan and prepare for when they occur.”
The event will run from 10am – 4pm, with presentations in the morning and workshops in the afternoon. Participants can come for the whole or part of the day, with registration on Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/somerset-prepared-community-resilience-day-tickets-365901058917