What is Green Squirrel?
We inspire and support everyone to create a future they feel good about, for the people, places, and planet they love.
Our vision is a Wales of connected and caring communities, where every individual and organisation is empowered to be part of a greener, fairer future.
Green Squirrel was founded in 2012 and became a social enterprise in 2018.
From our beginnings as two friends teaching green skills in Cardiff’s coffee shops, we’ve established a thriving community resilience hub and become a leading voice in Cardiff and South Wales for the power of communities to take powerful and just action on the climate and nature crisis.
Our work is underpinned by three core values
courage
We believe in the power of courageous voices, determined individual and collective action to get us out of this mess.
connection
We know that sharing, collaborating, and learning from others makes our work more inclusive and impactful.
trust
We believe that trust and care are the foundations of strong, resilient communities and long-term positive change.
We're a tiny team with a big impact!
In 2023, we supported a total of 5,446 people in South Wales to take action for climate and nature.
72% of the people we've worked with tell us they feel more connected to their community as a result, and 96% say that Railway Gardens benefits our local community.
We fought to bring an abandoned patch of land in Splott, Cardiff back into community use; today it is a beautiful and thriving Community Resilience Hub, Railway Gardens.
95.5% of the people we work with feel that we're an environmentally sustainable organisation
100% of our volunteers say they would recommend volunteering with us to someone else!
One in three people we work with have made one or more changes in their life to take action on climate change.
We're a tiny team with a big impact!
Rebecca Clark
Becca is Green Squirrel’s founder. Passionate about environmental issues from an early age, Becca was frustrated by the barriers to living sustainably in her adopted city of Cardiff. She has channelled her experience in community engagement and event management to found and grow Green Squirrel and build a strong network of green experts and professionals, as well as a community of like minded individuals.
In her spare time Becca can be found in her garden growing way too many tomatoes.
Hannah Garcia
Hannah has a background in sustainability engagement and outdoor learning, and she’s interested in climate communication and active travel. Having worked in museums, nature reserves, and urban farms she ran her own food and farming education business before joining Green Squirrel after a chance meeting with Becca involving some cake.
Hannah spends her spare time messing around with chickens, swearing, and learning Welsh very, very slowly.
Julia Forrester
Julia is the Community Coordinator for the Railway Gardens project. Her working life started as a support worker for BAME women, but along the way she has held many roles in both the Private and Charity sectors, including Volunteer, Team Manager, Board Member, Volunteer Coordinator and most recently Retail and Fundraising Coordinator.
Julia has lived in Splott for almost twenty years and brings her warmth, enthusiasm, and valuable experience to her role supporting community members to take the lead on the Railway Gardens project.
Sheila Littleboy
Sheila is the Community Navigator at Railway Gardens. She’s had a very varied working life self employment, working in the charitable sector, working with volunteers and in mental health and wellbeing roles; But what all her jobs have had in common is an enjoyment of communicating and connecting with people.
How green are Green Squirrel?
We do what we do because it matters to us – and we work hard to make sure we run Green Squirrel as ethically and sustainably as we can. Here are some of the things we do to reduce the impact of our activities:
- We travel to meetings by public transport and bike wherever possible. When we do need to travel by car – for example when we’re transporting kit – we have an electric car (called Carwyn) that is charged 95% of the time using solar power.
- We choose refurbished and pre-loved electronic and office equipment, and pass on or recycle anything we don’t need any more. We’re big fans of Benthyg, the Library of Things, and try to stick to their motto: Borrow, Don’t Buy.
- Our home office is powered by solar, with any shortfall bought from a renewable energy supplier. Railway Gardens also uses a renewable supplier – and our website is wind powered too!
- We source all materials with care, choosing reclaimed, pre-loved, and sustainably sourced resources. We have significantly changed our craft activities over the years to reduce their impact.
- We choose ethical banking services and are with the most sustainable pension scheme available to us. Read more here about how our choice of bank and pension makes a difference.
- We prioritise working with local independent businesses and suppliers in Cardiff and south Wales. We do not buy from Amazon due to multiple issues with them, including their unchecked carbon footprint, human rights abuses, and tax avoidance. Read more here about the reasons to boycott Amazon.
- We support our team to choose low carbon travel choices for personal travel and are a member of the Climate Perks scheme, offering our employees extra time off for slow travel.
- We support our team’s right to take part in peaceful activism and non-violent direct action.