The impacts of climate change in Oxfordshire are increasingly apparent – from 2025’s driest start since 1776 to 2026’s exceptionally wet start . We need to adapt to this changing climate and build resilience to these more extreme weather patterns. Community groups themselves are often best placed to identify the actions needed to do this, and so giving them the means to implement these actions is crucial.

The Community Resilience Grant scheme, launched by Oxfordshire County Council in 2025, provides grants of up to £1000 to enable community groups to implement measures to build resilience against heatwaves, water scarcity, flooding and storms. The scheme has received a range of high-quality applications, and we asked three of Oxfordshire’s community groups to write a bit about what they’ll be doing with their grants…

Stonehill Community Garden

Stonehill Garden, registered as a charity in 2018 and sitting two miles southwest of the Abingdon market square aims to bring people of all backgrounds closer to nature and to share the joys of being outside and gardening together. We host special events such as our Harvest Supper to enhance the accessibility and biodiversity of the garden, and distribute excess produce to members of the community that are in need and to outside St Etholwold's for people to take and make donations.

The garden is likely to experience more extreme heat, periods of drought, and extreme rainfall. Harvesting rainwater during wet periods to use in times of drought and extreme heat is a sensible measure we can take to secure our resilience and ensure we can continue to...

• grow and harvest crops,
• water young trees and hedging plants,
• replenish the garden’s ponds,
• provide fresh fruit and vegetables to the community.

In spring and summer of 2025, we had to ration our water supply which meant newly planted hedges and young forest garden trees suffered and sadly a few died. 

In 2024, International Tree Foundation conducted a biodiversity survey in our forest garden. They compared it with the field next door and found that we had a 104% uptick in invertebrate biodiversity. This will have been helped, for example, by the hedge pollinators in the garden that provide food and shelter for birds and other small mammals. It is important that we can maintain and improve on this, meaning it is vital that we have enough rainwater harvested to be able to maintain the garden in times of drought and near drought.

Transition Lighthouse

Nicole Jameelah Shodunke set up Transition Lighthouse Empowerment Space in 2017 to offer a space for migrant women who have survived FGM, domestic violence, and other trauma the opportunity to build friendships and foster their wellbeing at the Blackbird Leys Community Centre. Since then, she has expanded Transition Lighthouse’s work, bringing women into nature spaces.

As a member of the Caribbean diaspora community living in Oxfordshire, she wanted to share her reflections on the Wellbeing Community Garden project at the Bowls Club on Sandy Lane, which they began working at in the last year:

For many of us, especially those connected to the Windrush generation and our families, spaces like this are deeply meaningful. The project offers more than gardening or outdoor activities; it creates a sense of ownership, belonging and social inclusion that is often missing for migrant and diaspora communities. Having a consistent, welcoming space where our cultures, histories and lived experiences are respected makes a significant difference to our wellbeing. Sharing food, stories, movement, and time in nature between generations strengthens community bonds and helps reduce isolation.

Our community is increasingly affected by extreme weather, especially hotter summers and colder winters. During the summer months, high temperatures make it difficult for people to take part in outdoor activities for long periods of time. This particularly affects older people, young children, people with health conditions, and vulnerable groups such as refugees, asylum seekers, and people with learning disabilities. The Wellbeing Community Garden serves communities living in an area with limited access to safe, comfortable green spaces. Without shade or shelter, gardening and wellbeing activities often have to be cancelled or shortened. This reduces access to nature, social connection, and wellbeing support for people who need it most.

Witney Town Council

Witney is set to get its first living green‑roof bus shelter - a small but powerful piece of climate resilience. By replacing a standard metal roof with a planted one, the shelter will stay cooler in heatwaves, soak up rain during heavy downpours, and create a tiny but important habitat for pollinators.

Located on Oxford Hill, Witney (B4022), the shelter serves a wide catchment - from Madley Park and Cogges to hospital staff and patients using the H2 service, and students, families and professionals travelling on the S1 and S2 routes. By making bus travel more appealing, the project supports a shift toward cleaner, healthier, lower‑carbon transport for all.

Witney Town Council will use the shelter to spark community engagement, including signage and QR codes explaining how the “bee bus stop” cools the town, reduces flood risk, filters air pollution and supports local wildlife. They say that “The Climate Resilience Grant from Oxfordshire County Council represents a critical opportunity for Witney Town Council to accelerate delivery of its Climate Action Plan and unlock high impact projects. With this support, Witney Town Council will be able to implement a targeted intervention that delivers demonstrable carbon reduction, enhance biodiversity, and increase the community’s capacity to withstand and adapt to climate impacts. This investment will enable us to achieve meaningful, measurable outcomes at a scale and pace that would not otherwise be possible, ensuring long‑term environmental benefits and tangible value for Witney residents.”