Introduction
Canopy Housing has engaged hundreds of people in the practical side of retrofit. Our volunteers give their time freely, get down and dirty on construction sites, and make retrofit happen. It is practical climate action for all. The Canopy Guide to Retrofit, developed through funding from the Energy Redress Scheme, aims to help other community groups replicate our successful model.
We believe a just transition is only possible if everybody is involved – the general public, tradespeople, tenants, community organisations, funders, and government – local, regional, and national.
We believe communities have a key role to play in this transition – whether through long-established community anchors looking to diversify, or through informal groups of activists who want to take action in their local neighbourhood.
The Canopy Guide to Retrofit aims to help them do this. There are three parts
Part 1 – for site workers and volunteers, explains how we run our construction sites, keeping volunteers safe, and helping them learn new skills, whilst crossing identity lines that usually divide us.
Part 2 – a technical guide, explains why we retrofit sites the way we do (with bio-based materials), and explains the practical considerations that need to be taken into account when retrofitting Victorian terraces and back-to-backs with members of the local community.
Part 3 – for tenants, is a bespoke guide aimed at helping our tenants manage their new home.
The Canopy Guide to Retrofit launched at Locality’s Power of Community Event in Leeds on 13 May 2025.
We have run several workshops during 2025 introducing academia, community organisations and other interested parties to the guide. We are now seeking continuation funding to develop these workshops into more formal training.