Local Action Groups List

Established in 1998, Blackshaw Environmental Action Team (BEAT) is a community organisation whose activities centre around environmental improvement and sustainability. A significant development was the setting up of a community wind turbine, generating power and an income for the local community. They have also set up a community orchard and allotments, and delivered group activities such as litter picks and wildlife surveys.

Well-maintained paths are crucial not only for encouraging people to walk more, but also to ensure the conservation of the local natural environment. The volunteers at CROWS work on public footpaths and bridleways – usually referred to as Rights of Way, repairing the routes or in some cases improving them to widen access. The Group works all over the Western end of Calderdale– Todmorden (including Cornholme and Walsden), Blackshaw, Heptonstall, Erringden, Hebden Royd (including Mytholmroyd and Cragg Vale), Luddenden and Ripponden.

The volunteers who form the Friends of Centre Vale Park group work hard to protect, improve, promote and enhance Todmorden’s beautiful Centre Vale Park. Their activities include woodland management, planting initiatives and path improvements as well as project managing improvements to the park’s facilities, fundraising and public awareness raising. They help ensure the park is well maintained, and raise and monitor any issues that arise with the staff of Calderdale Council who oversee the park.

Calderdale Friends of the Earth is a group committed to tackling the effects of climate change through efforts to improve and protect our local environment.

Environmental factors can have a powerful impact upon people’s mental and physical health. Moreover, with the rise of ‘climate anxiety’ as a widely recognised condition, the sense of fear and helplessness arising from this has inevitably impacted upon people’s mental health. That is why we have included here Healthy Minds Todmorden, a charity organisation and working name of Calderdale Wellbeing. They provide services and support for people who consider themselves as having mental health needs. Within their scope of services, Healthy Minds runs an allotment group and ‘Walks for Wellbeing,’ both of which serve as environmentally-friendly activities that are good for the mind and body. It also connects people and further strengthens our community kindness.

Hour Car is a thriving Car Share Scheme, which has been operating in the upper Calder Valley for more than 14 years.  They now have 5 vehicles and over 60 members and since 2010 there has been an Hour Car station in Todmorden.

The volunteers behind Incredible Edible Todmorden (IET) grow fruit, herbs and vegetables around Todmorden that are for everyone to share. They also run a wide range of events that help strengthen the local community.  IET was born in 2008 and since that date it has inspired action around the UK and the world.

Incredible Farm is a not-for-profit company, originally a project of Incredible Edible. The company aim is to model the idea of food-growing as a basis for local businesses, through methods of permaculture. This method of farming ensures a sustainable approach to food production that has least possible impact upon the environment.

From 2019, Keep Tod Tidy has been a successful local initiative to ensure Todmorden is as litter-free as possible, through the collective effort of volunteers. Litter pollution is a huge environmental concern with far-reaching consequences. Through a focused effort on what can be done on a small scale, action groups such as this one have helped mobilise communities to take environmental matters into their own hands.

Slow The Flow is a charity working to advance the education of the public in Natural Flood Management, Sustainable Drainage Systems and other renewable methods of managing the environment.   Run entirely by volunteers, Slow the Flow works to provide practical solutions to reduce flood risk in the Calder Valley.

Todmorden in Bloom is a voluntary group dedicated to creating a big, bright, beautiful blooming community in the heart of the Pennines.  The volunteers look after 25 pocket gardens, 130 hanging baskets, 45 barrier baskets and Todmorden and Walsden Railway Stations.

The Tod Food Drop In is an independent food bank, not linked to any official agencies.  The group provide food for people who cannot afford to buy it- whatever the reason. Local businesses have supported this group, which not only combats food poverty, but also helps reduce food waste, which in turn reduces carbon emissions.

Formed after the June 2012 flood, the Todmorden Flood Group brings aid to the people of Todmorden  who have been or are likely to be victims of flood, by raising awareness of the flood risks, flood prevention methods and resilience measures; by providing advice, support and relevant materials in times of flood.  Made up  entirely by volunteers, the group campaigns and collaborates with  other relevant organisations, including the Environment Agency and Calderdale Council,  to promote a better understanding of the needs of the Todmorden area.  

Todmorden Makery is an exciting new asset to the town, providing initiatives for reducing landfill waste, promoting and practising recycling and bringing the community together. It is a community workshop that offers a space for people to engage in repairing, arts and crafts making, and idea-sharing.

Todmorden Riverside Improvement Group (TRIG) are a small group of volunteers who look after the stretch of the river bank alongside the Calder known locally as Tipside.  TRIG was established in 1998 to try and prevent Tipside from becoming a car park and have since worked hard to retain it as green space and resource for the people and wildlife in Todmorden.

Treesponsibility is a not-for-profit community group based in the Upper Calder Valley, dedicated to tackling climate change by providing people with the opportunity to make the simple yet powerful act of planting a tree. The emphasis on climate action lies at the heart of Treesponsibility’s ethos, with campaigning and educating people on the importance of such action. Since the floods of Boxing Day 2015, Treesponsibility volunteers have helped to plant over 50,000 trees. This not only provides our local environment with more trees for improving air quality, but also provides support for flood mitigation and increasing local biodiversity.