There are many ways to be part of the Another Way community. You can become a member, volunteer, donate or simply spread the message about sustainable living.
Another Way is a not-for-profit charity. If you would like to donate to help us cover the costs of our outreach and events, please donate here.
See below for our current projects, ranging from educational talks to tree planting. Click on each to expand and if you want to get involved or feel you could help in some way, do get in touch and let us know.
Another Way is providing tree-planting and volunteer help to support this project. Farming in an environmental way is fundamental to re-establishing habitat and bio-diversity as well as shielding us from flooding and drought and increasing carbon storage.
Matterdale is an old-fashioned valley in the Lake District UNESCO World Heritage Site. Traditional farming has shaped the valley, and lots of the land is still farmed in ways that benefit nature. There are wilder areas like Great Mell Fell, amazing species, rich wildflower meadows, lots of boggy places great for wading birds, and lots of species-rich grazed grassland. There are also a wide range of species that thrive here but are struggling elsewhere, like red squirrels, curlews and cuckoos.
However we could improve many areas of the valley: we can plant more trees, create more woodland pasture, maintain or improve the traditional nature-rich farmland habitats and micro-habitats like hedges and hay meadows, make the soil healthier with more organisms and more water and carbon storage, and naturalise our rivers and streams and wetlands.
A partnership of farmers has established a Community Interest Company to develop plans and think about ways to work at a landscape-scale, beyond individual farms.
The aim is to make progress on four key themes:
Two zero-waste shops – one in Penrith and one in Kendal, Cumbria. We opened the shops to help the communities change purchasing habits, reducing food waste and packaging waste. Our customers buy any quantity of food or sanitary products they require, using their own re-usable containers.
By having a physical base for the charity alongside shops representing part of our vision, we can more easily disseminate information about living in an environmentally sustainable way. By making it easier for people to shop sustainably for certain products, we are opening up the opportunity for other businesses to do likewise, encouraged by behavioural change in the community. In this way we are helping create a thriving town, fully embracing sustainably-aware consumers, and delivering quality produce at affordable prices. This gives local businesses the credibility and empowerment to work with suppliers to improve the way in which products are distributed and packaged. We believe that if we change the community’s purchasing behaviour, retailers, distributors and producers will follow. This is happening and is a key sign of our success.
All profits from our zero-waste shops are being used to fund Another Way and its various projects. This is therefore an entirely charitable venture commensurate with the principles and values of Another Way.
Reducing waste is just a start, but achieving it within a single community is proving it can be done from ground roots up. We are now looking to migrate the message and mechanisms to other communities and to expand our message; for instance to encourage greater re-use in general and reducing our throw away culture. Charities and businesses are starting to recognise the potential in this, and places are opening where people can take broken or damaged goods for repair or recycling. This is further evidence that the commercial world will evolve with changes in consumer behaviour, and means that fewer new goods will be manufactured and sold.
The concept is simple, the results measurable and the method repeatable. People are spreading the message to their friends, and thereby building a self-sustaining mechanism for change.
Another Waynwright Day, on 31st August 2019, was the official launch of Another Way. It introduced the charity, and brought individuals and organisations together under a common purpose. It showcased fun and inspiring activities supporting sustainable living.
It involved Ambassadors ‘owning’ a fell for the day and staging various activities. Despite the extreme weather conditions, spread across 121 fells, 600+ people showed their commitment to living more sustainable lives sharing and swapping ideas. Just some of the over 70 activities held on the fells included talks on animal conservation on Maiden Moor, eco-bricks on Cat Bells, conservation grazing on Gowbarrow. Wee saw card games on Causey Pike, pilates on High Pike, drawing and painting on Nab Scar, a choir on Haystacks, a brass band on Latrigg and 70 parents and children from Windermere School on Orrest Head. Activities were also held at ground level for those unable to join the fell-top events, including a pop-up café at Watermillock Village Hall and a Duddon Valley Secret Garden with home-made food and drink and sustainability discussions.
In addition to the activities on the fells, Ambassadors gathered signed pledges from participants. These were written on bandanas made from old sheets, hand-printed with the Another Way logo. These bandanas have been turned into a creative display for future exhibitions and campaigning.
At an evening gathering after the event, musicians from Blue Jam samba band and a folk group played throughout the evening. Amy gave a thank you talk to all participants.
Organisations and individuals from the following organisations who supported Another Waynwright Day included:
Absolute Physiotherapy; Alpacaly Ever After; Wainwrights on the Air; Ambleside Action for a Future; Andy Beck Images; Bea Ray Gardens; BlueJam Arts; BMC; Brathay Trust; Bumblebee Conservation Trust; Caldew School; CDEC; Cumbria Action for Sustainability; Cumbria Tourism; Cumbria Wildlife Trust; Dalefoot Composts; Eden Tourism; Eden Youth Dance Company; Feather and Wild; Field Studies Council; Friends of the Lake District; Freedom Wizard; Green Ulverston; Icicle Climb; John Muir Trust; Keswick Tourism; Lake District Estates; Lake District National Park Authority; LIH Trust; Lowther Castle; Mountain Pilgrims; Mouthful way; PACT; Patterdale Mountain Rescue; Penrith Pilates; Rotary; RSPB Haweswater; Scouts; South Lakes Action for Climate Change; Somewhere Nowhere; Sustainable Brampton; Sustainable Carlisle; Suzanna Swims; The Outdoor Guide; The Tree Council; The Quiet Site; UKSCN Cumbria; Ullswater Way; Wainwright Society; Wild Wool Workshop
Windermere School; Wonderful Wild Women.
In support of the event Amy, secured a Tree Futures Grant from The Tree Council which enabled her to plant 1,700 trees in Matterdale as part of The Tree Council’s National Tree Week.
We have collected thousands of pledges of behavioural change from all sorts of people. It is a simple way to show you care, both to yourself and to others. Small change replicated by large numbers of people has significant impact, leading to change in businesses and government. We are already seeing significant shifts in consumer behaviour due to individual and collective change.
Challenge yourself to keep taking those small steps and to keep sharing them with others! This will increase our confidence and belief that change is not only worthwhile, but fun and rewarding too.
At our educational talks and in our Another Weigh shops, we ask people to sign heart-shaped pledges, which we then display.
On social media we have a Planet Pledge campaign for individuals to name three things they would personally do and to challenge three other people to do the same. You can contribute to this campaign here. All your pledges are important. They are also personal but in sharing them you invite others to join in and to show that we are deep down a social and caring race and that we all share in common the desire to create a sustainable world.
Make a personal pledge to demonstrate your own commitment and to show others they are not alone. Find out more about our pledges opposite.
On social media we have started a Planet Pledge campaign for individuals to name three things they would personally do and to challenge three other people to do the same. Click Pledge to contribute to this campaign.
Leela and Abi delivered a 2 hour workshop last week to second year biosciences at Exeter University’s Penryn Campus. They started by asking the students about their experiences with eco-anxiety, and then delved into the reasons that we may feel ‘eco anxious’ or worried about… Read more »
“We can fundamentally change our story at a much faster pace than climate change”- Solitaire Townsend “All the people building a better world are already here.”- Mark Haver Over the last week, Another Way team members Amy and Olivia made the difficult decision to fly… Read more »
Another Way, c/o Another Weigh, 3 Brewery Lane, New Squares, Penrith, Cumbria, CA11 7BU
Registered Charity Number 1181438
