The Climate Coalition Great Big Green Week is 18 to 26 September 2021!
Do you want to make your voice heard loud and clear in the run-up to the crucial climate conference, COP 26, to be held in Glasgow in November? As WI members we can do that, and we can amplify our voices through the hugely influential Climate Coalition, whose members include organisations as diverse as the WI, the National Union of Students, Surfers against Sewage, Hope for the Future and many many more.
Last month we flagged up the Great Big Green Week, an initiative led by the Climate Coalition, asking us to mark the week (18 to 26 September) with a host of local events including craftivism and art installations, concerts, community stalls, climate cafes, litter picks, tree planting, and everything in between.
No one is better placed than local WIs to celebrate local activity, raise the profile of climate change and show why it is relevant to our communities and to local decision makers. National organisations, institutions, businesses and media outlets will join in, getting more people involved up and down the country, and putting pressure on the UK Government to up its game on climate change.
The Government’s own advisers, the Committee on Climate Change, have just published a worrying report showing the Government’s failure to take the necessary steps to protect our homes, our infrastructure and our communications systems, as well as the natural world which is our main ally in drawing down carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, in the face of inevitable changes to our environment. This is our opportunity to show them how much we care.
You can see where events are already happening, and add your own, on the interactive map. And do share your plans on the CFWI Facebook page.
CFWI Climate Ambassadors and members of the CFWI Environment and Public Affairs Sub-committee have been approaching local Climate Coalition partners to see if we can stage joint events, including with our local National Trust Properties. We also work closely with Hope for the Future (HFtF), the organisation which supports people who want to engage with their MP on climate issues. HFtF are keen to offer guidance and support to help us run our local events in September, should we wish it. They will help with initial ideas for our events, how to invite our MPs along, and tips on how best to engage our local community. We are invited to contact Emma Stevens at emma@hftf.org.uk.
Let’s make this crucial week the best it can be – and show what we as WI members can do to help. And you can keep us posted with your plans by sending them to cfwi.publications@gmail.com, to be included on our Facebook page.
– from the CFWI Environment and Public Affairs Sub-committee and our Climate Ambassadors