We all work fully remote at OnePlanet. Teams meetings galore set the pace of our days, and a home brewed tea is only a few steps away. This works really well for us; allowing flexibility and likely saving money by cooking at home instead of buying lunch out at an office! But despite the evident benefits, sometimes I crave a face-to-face interaction. No matter the fancy new features on video meetings that attempt to emulate the feeling of an in-person conversation.
Cue our friends at the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) and the Innovate UK Project we’re collaborating on. We’re working together to map all of the Local Authority Climate and Nature Strategies from across the park. From East Sussex to Hampshire, including West Sussex in between, we’ve been working with Local Authorities across these areas. We’re not just mapping their strategies but we’re also involving community groups and other stakeholders – those operating within the geographic remit of the project who do climate or nature work.
To do this effectively, we run training sessions and workshops for the local authorities we work with to get to grips with the project and the platform. Occasionally these sessions happen online, but recently we’ve had the privilege of attending sessions in person. Not only is this a great way to explore new places, also as someone based in London, a chance to breathe fresher air, but it has also fulfilled those face-to-face cravings.
And these recent sessions have been very positive. We’re a great team when working with Chris Fairbrother and Sara Osman at the SDNPA, receiving some glorious feedback as to how useful the sessions are, and how OnePlanet is well placed to support connected climate action work across local authorities and key stakeholders. These recent workshops, based in Horsham and Lewes, are not only a testament to the value of an in-person session every now and then, but also to the hard work happening on Teams meetings and email exchanges remotely.
We’re excited for more online and in-person sessions planned for the upcoming months. Check our events page to see what we’ve got coming up!
Graphic: Felix Christoforou