The Diversity Environment Engagement Project (DEEP) aims to work with three black and minority ethnic (BAME) groups located in the most deprived neighbourhoods, to address local concerns of environmental and social exclusion issues.

Capacity Global will provide the community groups with support to develop and manage environmental initiatives to tackle the issues affecting their communities, and build collective action at local and national levels that can influence mainstream environmental equality campaigns and policies.

The DEEP project strives to build the capacity of the BAME community groups to improve their quality of life and develop community cohesion through activities on environmental equality. It also seeks to facilitate participation and engagement of BAME groups in environmental issues in local policy development and develop partnerships between mainstream environmental organisations, policy makers and the BAME organisations.

The three DEEP community groups are:

Sparkbrook Caribbean & African Women’s Development Initiative (SCAWDI) based in Birmingham. We are supporting SCAWDI’s work of environmental justice activists.

Wai Yin Chinese Women’s Society based in Manchester. We are working with Wai Yin in their project of Food justice which includes growing and access to cultural healthy food.

Mayville Community Centre is based in London. Mayville Centre aims to create adequate green space for residents and get residents actively involved in the project. A group of residents will be taken on visits to other wildlife projects to build their capacity and knowledge of the importance of green spaces on health and wellbeing.

As part of the DEEP Project Capacity will team up with the British Institute of Human Rights (BIHR) to participate in the 'Human Rights in the Community' programme run by the British Institute of Human Rights (BIHR). This training is ground-breaking and the first of its kind in putting human rights in the context of environmental issues. Click here to find out more...

We thank Network for Social Change for supporting this project and the Artist Project Earth (APE). If you would like to find out more about APE, please go to their website: www.apeuk.org/home

For more information on the DEEP project contact outreach@capacity.org.uk