nature

It's Your Neighbourhood

Although I'm writing in November, no one will have forgotten the colourful displays of summer flowers we all enjoy so much each year around Northampton town. The flowers are for Northampton Town Council’s entry to the annual, national Britain in Bloom competition, supported by the Royal Horticultural

individual impact

Preloved

Mick Lorkins asks "SO what is preloved and why should you consider buying preloved items?" If you have ever been to your waste recycling centre and looked at what people throw away you will see lots and lots of items that could have been donated to a charity

BIOSPHERE: a drama

Theatre Director Olivia Munk1 invited CA-WN to the Royal & Derngate Theatre for the 21 November 2025 première of Olivia Foan’s2 drama BIOSPHERE. Many of us accepted and these are my personal observations. The inspiration for the drama was a 1991 experiment in self-sufficient living called Biosphere 23. Playwright

transport

The Long Long Grass of Home

“Alas, this will kill that”  A melancholy phrase uttered by Claude Frollo in Victor Hugo’s Notre-Dame de Paris, referring to the fatal impact the printing press would have on gothic architecture. I sense we feel this pain today, inflicted through the consequences of fast-paced technological change, exemplified by the

local matters

Climate & Nature (CAN) Champions Launch Event

On the evening of 19 November 2025 I was lucky enough to attend a Zoom call along with over 70 other people from across Northamptonshire, all enthusiastic about working for the climate and nature in their local areas. These people are CAN Champions, part of a scheme created by NCALC

CA-WN has a new Chair

Jane Wood, CA-WN’s Chair for its founding four years, has handed the reins to Harry Mellor. For a local student’s project both were questioned about being CA-WN’s Chair. Here’s what they said. Q1 What made you want to join CA–WN? HARRY MELLOR "We didn’

council Featured

Council Watch October 2025 - how are the new brooms doing?

Nearly half a year ago a new administration took charge at West Northamptonshire Council. In the days after the May election many people voiced concerns about the new Reform leadership - no local manifesto, lack of experience of local government, potentially reluctant councillors who stood as ‘paper candidates’. A more

individual impact

Student Voice on Climate & Politics

Jason Sparkhall writes as a final year student at the University of Northampton studying BA Politics and International Relations. He has an interest in encouraging youth voices in social, climate, and environmental affairs and one day hopes to stand to become a Member of Parliament. West Northamptonshire Council received a

net zero

Indicators of Global Climate Change

The latest available data is presented in the following infographic that shows key indicators of the state of the climate system and human influence. The bad news is that every indicator is moving in the wrong direction. But scroll through the doom and gloom and read the good news -

individual impact

National Emergency Briefing

On Wednesday 27th November at 9am in Westminster Central Hall, the UK's first National Emergency Briefing by 9 of the UK's leading experts will share the latest evidence and cascading risks across all dimensions of the climate and nature crisis at a closed-door, invitation-only session. I

recipes

Pumpkin and Ginger Soup

At this time of year, if friends are dropping in for lunch it’s great to offer a bowl of warming soup with crusty bread.  Many of us have pantries groaning under the weight of garden produce, and with Halloween and Guy Fawkes night on the calendar, I opted to

meeting reports

Report of AGM and Public Meeting 16 October 2025

The notes below cover both the 2025 AGM and the October public meeting, which consisted of an open discussion about CA-WN’s current activities and future plans, with attendees invited to suggest new ideas. The meeting was recorded and is available to view on CA-WN’s YouTube channel. 💡Check out

nature

Climate Drama: 21 November

BIOSPHERE is a drama exploring the current storm of the climate crisis, capitalism, and technology. Inspired by the true story of experimental living trapped within an enclosed biome intended to provide the essentials for human life, this is a new play about our relationship to nature, technology and the planet

local matters

Happy Birthday CA-WN

As we celebrate CA-WN’s birthday these are highlights from our first four years. ROOTS: South Northamptonshire Action on Climate [SNAC] Before CA-WN there was SNAC, formed in 2019 when residents from across the area came together to talk about the climate emergency. Convinced of the urgency to do more

individual impact

Reducing the environmental impact of Children’s Parties

This article was written by Joely Martin, currently on Maternity Leave from West Northamptonshire Council where she works as a Sustainability Officer. As a parent, it’s an exciting new chapter when your child starts primary school. New skills, new friends and before long, parties almost every weekend. Now imagine

bookshelf

2071: The World We’ll Leave Our Grandchildren by Chris Rapley & Duncan Macmillan

This book (originally a play) is a remarkable achievement – it condenses the complex and difficult topic of climate change into 200 easy to follow pages, many of which contain only one paragraph. It was written just before the landmark 2015 COP in Paris but its content remains pertinent to today’

nature

What is a Local Nature Recovery Strategy?

Local nature recovery strategies are being developed in 48 regions across the UK in response to both the global 30% Nature recovery by 2030 targets as part of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework1 and the UK’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan2. Local Nature Recovery Strategies are based on

podcastshelf

Rethink: should we stop flying?; how can flying be less polluting?

Plans for a second runway at Gatwick airport have recently been given the green light. This follows approval of expansion plans for Luton airport, and positive signals from the government about the long-discussed third runway at Heathrow earlier this year. Gatwick expects annual flights to increase from 280,000 to

council

Youth speaking truth to power: Speech to WNC Scrutiny Committee, 19 August 2025

This speech was given to a 'Call-In Hearing' of the council's Place and Resources Overview and Scrutiny committee by Pippa Knowles, aged 17. The purpose of the meeting was to review a decision made by WNC's Cabinet to remove the council's Net

net zero

Net Zero Stocktake 2025

The Net Zero Stocktake 2025 assessed progress in setting and strengthening whole-economy net zero targets and evaluated more than 4,000 entities on whether current plans and strategies contain the key components for deep decarbonisation. The world must reach net zero carbon dioxide emissions in the early 2050s if it

meeting reports

Public Meeting 18 September 2025

This meeting was intended to provide an opportunity for an open discussion of CA-WN’s purpose and future focus. With a number of apologies and relatively low attendance, it didn’t quite go to plan! However we did enjoy a wide-ranging and informative conversation. Our next meeting on Thursday 16

opinion

My View - Who scrutinises the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero?

This article was written by Mike Reader, MP for Northampton South, who will also be the guest speaker at our September 2025 meeting Scrutinising the department for energy security and net zero Delivering the Clean Energy Mission and reaching net zero is critical for the UK. At the heart of

food & farming

Becoming a Vegan

Mick Lorkins, CA-WN Steering Group member and founder of Northamptonshire Woodland Community Volunteers, shares his account of going vegan.  I thought I would document my journey on becoming vegan as it is not quite like switching on and off a lightbulb, it is more of an exploration. The starting point

Bankers’ backlash

The backlash against climate action continues as UBS1 follows other banks in quitting the UN-sponsored Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA)2.  The NZBA recognises that banks can play a major role in enabling the transition to a net-zero emissions economy by providing financing solutions. The banks in the Alliance are following

opinion

The 89 Percent Project

According to recent science as many as 89% of the world’s people want governments to take stronger action on climate, a fact not reflected in the media, which might explain why the 89% don’t know that they are the global majority. The 89 Percent Project, launched in April