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 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 four parts:
Part 1 – for organisations, explains how Canopy got where it is today, and how others might be able to find the support, money, and other resources to establish their own project
Part 2 – for site workers, 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 3 – for volunteers, 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 4 – 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 expect to have an online version available here over the Summer, when we will be running a series of workshops for people and organisations interested in learning about our model.