Environmental charity Sustainable St Albans has appointed a dedicated officer to help residents across the district reduce their carbon footprints.

Sarah Kersey has been appointed as community engagement officer on a one-year contract funded by grants from the district council and the People's Postcode Lottery.

She has a background in environmental action and is the director of social enterprise My Low Carbon Life, which is supporting people to transition to low carbon lifestyles.

Sarah said: “This new project is happening at exactly the right time. After the Glasgow climate conference there is increased awareness of climate change and the need to reduce our carbon footprints.

"People want to do positive things to help our planet but don’t always know how. I will work with individuals, local businesses and other groups, giving advice, support and encouragement to help get carbon emissions down.”

The work will encourage 1,000 residents to sign up to the St Albans Count Us In campaign, building a community of people taking 16 steps, identified as the most effective ways for individuals to reduce carbon emissions. Sarah will also recruit a team of volunteers to be Climate Champions, raising awareness of climate issues and actions that people can take.

Sustainable St Albans trustee, Helen Burridge said: “This new project is entirely focused on engaging communities on climate action, using our Count Us In campaign to showcase local people taking practical actions to make a difference on climate.”

The initiative also provides training for organisations helping them develop realistic action plans on reducing carbon footprints and will support activities and events on how to live more sustainably.

Sarah added: “The project works on targets set out in the St Albans district council’s Sustainability and Climate Crisis Strategy which show the community needs to reduce its CO2 emissions from energy and transport use by 47,000 tonnes per year to reach net zero emissions across the district by 2030.

"We have a real opportunity to address the climate crisis and this project helps everyone who lives and works in the district to collectively take small steps which will actually make a big difference.”