Credit: Celie Nigoumi
After several years of dedicated work to make Frome a greener, healthier and more connected community, Green and Healthy Frome marks the close of its funded programme – while celebrating the emergence of greener pastures.
Green and Healthy Frome was born from a simple but powerful belief: that the wellbeing of people and the planet are inseparable. Over the past several years, that belief shaped hundreds of conversations, projects and partnerships across this remarkable town. Today, as our funded programme draws to a close at the end of March 2026, we pause to look back with immense gratitude – and forward with genuine hope.
Growing Together: Food, Community and Connection
From connecting with nature to support wellbeing to food-sharing initiatives, Green & Healthy Frome helped nurture a culture of ‘everyone is invited’. Residents of all ages – who had never grown a vegetable in their lives before – grew potatoes for a pay-what-you-can community meal with the Frome Food Network’s ‘Canteen’. This project cultivated more than just hte hubble potato; it became about belonging, learning, sharing, and being part of something bigger. The connections forged over soil and seedlings will long outlast any funding cycle.
Moving differently
Frome’s streets became a little kinder and a little greener thanks to the active travel work championed through the Cycle Together programme. Bike maintenance sessions, cycling confidence workshops and group bike rides helped more people feel safe and empowered to leave the car behind. Every journey taken on foot or by bike is not just a healthier choice for the individual and lowers carbon emissions – it is also a gift of a cleaner, quieter air to the whole community.
A Healthier Town, Inside and Out
Green and Healthy Frome understood from the outset that human health is not just physical. Our work wove together mental wellbeing, social connection and time spent in nature. Whether through green social prescribing, River Vision Festivals, nature walks or simply creating welcoming spaces where people could be themselves and be part of a community for good. We saw firsthand how profoundly the environment around us shapes how we feel within ourselves.
For the Planet: Our Homes, Our Rivers
Green and Healthy Frome enabled thousands of small actions which made a huge collective difference. From encouraging the switch to plastic-free, reusable period productst or reusign adn repairing clothing, to changing habits at home to reduce river pollution, or making your home more energy-efficient. We helped Frome restore its relationship with the natural world – not just preserving what remains, but actively taking ownership of the changes that contribute to a thriving environment.
Frome’s 17% reduction in carbon emissions across housing, food, travel, waste, goods and services far exceeds the typical annual reduction of between 2.5 and 4% seen elsewhere in Somerset, demonstrating what is possible when a community decides to make room for both nature and health.
With Deep Gratitude.
Whilst many of the projects, activities and partnerships continue, we know that none of this would have been possible without the generous support of our funders – The National Lottery – Climate Action Fund, the tireless dedication of the partnership, and – above all – the hundreds of incredible Frome residents who gave their time, ideas, energy and enthusiasm to make this programme what it became. You are the real story of Green & Healthy Frome.
While the funding ends, the roots have gone deep. The projects, friendships, habits and ideas it has seeded will continue to grow – carried forward by the incredible community that has always been at its heart.
Frome is greener, healthier and more connected than it was. That is something to be deeply proud of. You can find out more about who we are, what we did, what we learned and what comes next here.
About Green and Healthy Frome GHF was a National Lottery-funded project focused on encouraging habits that improve both human and planetary health, active in Frome from 2021 to March 2026, delivered in partnership by Edventure Frome, Frome Medical Practice and Frome Town Council. Many elements of the project continue beyond the funded period.
