A landmark five-year project connecting health, climate and community in Frome has reached its conclusion – and is giving everything away.
Green and Healthy Frome, the National Lottery-funded partnership between Edventure Frome, Frome Medical Practice and Frome Town Council based on the premise that a healthy planet and healthy people are one and the same thing, has published its complete collection of Learning Insights, Evaluation Report and a range of practical resources at www.greenhealthyfrome.org/our-learnings. Everything is free, open-source and made to be used.
Five years of community-led action produced something worth sharing. Not just the numbers – though those tell a real story – but the honest, hard-won knowledge of what it actually takes to connect human health with planetary health, in a real place, with real people.
This wealth of community-produced materials provides something useful for all, from complex partnerships right down to community members and grassroots organisations. The project’s invitation is simple: take this learning, build on it, and pass it on.
The impact
The numbers tell a real story. The expert evaluators at the Conscious Project independently evaluated that Green and Healthy Frome saved at least 770.8 tonnes of CO2e across its five years – and generated over £1.1 million in financial savings for residents, the NHS and local systems, more than double the original target. Both figures are likely to be significant underestimates, as many savings couldn’t be calculated.
The reach was equally striking. The project recorded 27,058 direct individual engagements – equivalent to 82% of Frome’s population – against a target of 21,252.
Some of the most tangible impacts came from the Choosing Wisely project based at Frome Medical Practice, where changes to prescribing practice saved 277 tonnes of CO2e and £423,872 within the project lifetime alone – with the evaluators noting these savings will continue year on year. Meanwhile, Healthy Homes and Retrofit support delivered £417,972 in documented financial savings and 60 tonnes of CO2e, with residents continuing to benefit long after the funding ended.
These outcomes didn’t come from top-down instruction. They came from neighbours, clinicians, cyclists, seed-savers and menders – people in Frome who decided that a healthier planet and a healthier community were the same thing, and got on with it.
To meet some of those people and see the project’s journey for yourself, watch the round-up film at greenhealthyfrome.org.
Learning Insights
Rather than filing five years of hard-won knowledge in a drawer, Green and Healthy Frome has distilled its experience into eight standalone Learning Insights – one for each project strand, covering culture change in primary care, community storytelling, power in partnership, healthy homes, active travel, sustainable period products and future shed residencies. Aimed at organisations and funders in the climate/health space, these honest and practical insights cover what worked, what was harder than expected, and what the team would do differently.
Each Learning Insight is free to download, and we encourage you to take what you need and share at www.greenhealthyfrome.org/our-learnings.
Evaluation Resources and More
Alongside the Learning Insights, the Our Learnings page brings together a full evaluation report and shortened summary, alongside the Frome Green Directory, textile reuse toolkits, waterway health tip posters, seed saving guides and more. All free, all open-source, all made to be shared.
For those working in rural communities, a companion resource – Resources for Rural Changemakers – is available at edventurefrome.org/rural-changemakers, including a podcast series, transcripts and practical directories developed from five years of rural engagement in Somerset, by the people making that change on the ground.
Our Ethos
Everything on the GreenHealthyFrome.org/Our-Learnings page is free to download and made to be useful. With the exception of the podcasts (which can be listened to at: https://edventurefrome.org/rural-changemakers/), all resources are open-source – meaning they can be downloaded, linked to, and redistributed freely. The project asks only that the learning travels as far and as wide as possible.
“We don’t want this to be the end of a project. We want it to be the beginning of a movement.” Green and Healthy Frome.