Footsteps

The Shared Stewardship Collective is a youth-led (18–35 y.o.) initiative bringing together young people from diverse faith backgrounds who are already leading environmental or climate action projects. It creates a space for skill-sharing and collaboration as they develop an online resource hub to support others.

This hub will share practical tools, knowledge and lived experiences, particularly for young people of faith seeking to take action in their communities. Accessible and grounded in real-world examples, it aims to turn potential leaders into active changemakers while sustaining momentum through shared learning. Faith is central, recognised as a source of motivation, strength and representation for those often underrepresented.

Who we are 

Footsteps – Faiths for a Low Carbon Future is an interfaith climate action project rooted in practical, community-led change. We believe that action across faiths is a powerful force for addressing the climate crisis, and we bring people together to work towards shared environmental goals across Birmingham.

Through our work, supporting faith communities to lead their own environmental initiatives, we have seen that the most effective and sustainable projects are those driven by communities themselves - those who understand their local context and are invested in long-term impact.

Young people are central to this vision. They have a direct stake in the future and bring strong motivation and passion for climate action. However, many lack clear pathways to get involved or the support needed to turn ideas into action. Those who do take initiative often find themselves working in isolation, navigating complex funding processes, overly theoretical resources, or simply struggling to find the right guidance and connections.

While other climate networks exist, our approach is distinct. Alongside our parent charity, Birmingham Council of Faiths, we centre faith as a source of strength, amplify diverse voices, and ground our work in lived experience, ensuring that climate action is both inclusive and deeply rooted in the communities it serves.

Footsteps is well placed to address this gap. We support young adults to turn faith and values into practical climate action. With over a decade of interfaith experience working across Birmingham, we bring a strong track record of delivering diverse projects and building trusted relationships with faith communities, partner organisations, and influential local leaders. This enables us to connect emerging needs with the right people and opportunities, while also working sensitively and effectively across different faith contexts.

At the heart of this work is a collective of young leaders, each bringing their own projects, experiences, and perspectives. We begin by supporting a small, diverse group to build strong relationships, enabling peer learning and skill-sharing across faiths and communities. This in itself is powerful as participants not only broaden their networks, but also gain insight from approaches beyond their own context.

As the collective develops, participants identify shared gaps in knowledge or skills. Footsteps then facilitates targeted support , whether through workshops, mentoring, or connections to relevant expertise, to address these needs in a practical and accessible way. Then drawing on their projects, insights, and strengths, they produce a rich, case study-led resource that others can learn from. Any additional training, workshops, or support provided through Footsteps is also captured and shared, ensuring the learning extends beyond the immediate group.

The project will bring together a network of young, faith-based environmental leaders, creating a space for peer learning and skill-sharing. This will strengthen their projects and improve their chances of long-term success.
A key output is a co-created online resource hub, featuring practical tools, clear guidance, and real-world case studies grounded in lived experience.

The project will model strong interfaith collaboration among young people, offering inspiration for others. It will reduce isolation by connecting individuals across communities and amplify faith-based voices in environmental work.

In the long term, the resource hub will remain a useful, accessible tool, while an ongoing network of alumni will continue to take action in their own communities, extending the project’s impact nationally.