bookshelf

This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein

This book was recommended by Dan Shaw, who was guest speaker at our July 2026 meeting. This is what he said about it: This Changes Everything was very impactful on me. I really like Naomi Klein, and this book was just such a great summary of the problem of climate

meeting reports

Report of Public Meeting 16 July - Entering into civil resistance and the consequences of taking on the British state

Our guest speaker for July was Daniel Shaw, who was imprisoned for his part in a Zoom call organising a Just Stop Oil protest. This meeting was recorded and is on our YouTube channel, Dan's presentation is available here. He started his presentation by remembering the thousands of

individual impact

What CA-WN means to me

If you’re reading this, you’re visiting the CA-WN Exchange, and you too understand that climate change is real and affecting us now – just look out of the window at the third heatwave of the year (or don’t because it’s probably covered to stop the room

podcastshelf

Tipping Points

The slippery slope of the climate abyss - Justin Rowlatt discovers how global warming may trigger irreversible changes to our planet. In 2022 Radio 4 broadcast five 15 minute Tipping Points programmes. They give a very clear factual overview of how and why we are at tipping points: https://www.bbc.

meeting reports

A brief overview of climate dynamics (and how we try to predict changes)

A general transcript of the 16 April 2026 presentation to CA-WN by Dr Colleen Golja. _____________________ Preface by CA-WN Planet Earth sits in the infinity of space, powered by our sun, a nuclear reactor 150 million kilometres away. Since day one, roughly 4,600,000,000 years ago, geological

meeting reports

Report of Public Meeting 18 June

Our speaker this month was Dez Dell, who has many strings to his bow but spoke to us about active travel. Dez’s slides will be made available soon, in the meantime a recording of the meeting is on our YouTube channel.  Apologies: Clare Slater, David Garlick, David Reed Present:

individual impact

Parents For Future UK

Thank you to Rachel Tighe for this introduction to Parents For Future. Parents For Future UK (PFF) was formed in 2019 by a group of mums to help engage more adults to join the climate crisis.  Our vision is to achieve climate justice, creating a safer, fairer and liveable planet

podcastshelf

Podcastshelf - ‘Screw This… Let’s Try Something Else’

An arresting title for a podcast and it doesn’t disappoint. In this short podcast series the presenters visit places around the country where local people have literally taken matters into their own hands to change their communities for the better. One group raised funds to buy houses and refurbish

water

Wanted: volunteer Water Wardens

CA-WN needs to establish how many volunteers might be prepared to routinely check the quality of the local freshwater that flows into our rivers and canals. This map below illustrates in blue our main watercourses, but it doesn’t show the many smaller streams we might come across when

meeting reports

Notes from Public Meeting 21 May 2026

Please note one of our occasional socials is coming up at Northampton Museum on Saturday 13 June from 2pm to 4pm. We meet downstairs in the café, all welcome, it's very informal so feel free to drop in at any point. Delivering Change Locally Our speaker this month

A well-adapted UK

The Climate Change Committee’s latest Climate Risk Assessment1 acknowledges that since the Climate Change Act was passed nearly 20 years ago, the UK has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 42%. However, according to this latest assessment, little progress has been made on preparing ourselves for life in a

food & farming

CA-WN field trip to Courteenhall

CA-WN was lucky enough to be invited on a tour of Courteenhall farm, which sits between Roade and the southern border of Northampton. We are very grateful to Dr Johnny Wake and his colleague Jack for sharing their time and expertise. There was so much to see and learn

Sir John Major on Climate Change

In an interview with BBC Newsnight and BBC Radio 5 Live, Sir John Major, former Conservative Prime Minister, spoke about the growing challenges faced by governments today and why climate change must be treated as a long‑term priority1.  Why Governing Has Become Harder Sir John explained that being Prime

local matters

Hackleton WEB Group Prairie-style planting

We are grateful to Roy Hawkesford of Hackleton Wildlife, Environment & Biodiversity (WEB) for allowing us to reproduce this article, originally published in the parish magazine. This project is a great example of communities working together to improve their neighbourhood for both people and nature. Hackleton residents may have noticed

Notes from 16 April CA-WN Public Meeting and a 'field trip'.

Our April guest speaker was Dr Colleen Golja, Imperial College Research Fellow at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and Environment, Imperial College London. Dr Golja gave an overview of the climate as a dynamical system and how this impacts the UK under past and present climate change. You don&

opinion

Crisis, what crisis ... [2]

The annual report of the World Meteorological Organization gives details of these key climate indicators for 2025: Climate change. It’s real. It’s us. It’s bad. We're sure. And we can fix it. But we need to act now. Reference World Meteorological Organization: State of the

nature

Great UK WaterBlitz

Over a late April weekend citizen scientists around the country set about collecting freshwater samples from their local water courses. CA-WN took part to find out what was involved in contributing to FreshWater Watch’s Great UK WaterBlitz1. Twice a year WaterBlitz volunteers sign up to receive a water

individual impact

Green skills training programme

India Palmer at Warwick University is currently recruiting applicants for a green skills training programme, aimed at 18-30 year olds. The programme is designed for anyone passionate about climate action and wanting to build future-ready green skills while connecting with peers across the UK and India. Climate change

opinion

Crisis, what crisis ...

… the crisis that our politicians and the populist media prefers not to mention. CA-WN doesn’t do capital P Politics but it would be socially irresponsible if we didn’t couple the climate crisis to the elephant in the room. And call for action. First, the expert briefings on

meeting reports

Report of CA-WN Public Meeting 19 March 2026

Our March guest speaker was Caroline Kuzemko, Professor of Political Economy and Climate Change at Warwick University. Professor Kuzemko's areas of focus include the politics of climate policy, energy transition and the geopolitics of phasing out fossil fuels and bringing in clean energy. Her latest book is "

food & farming

Farming in crisis: Farming Policy 2026

2025 was a dismal year for many farmers: the summer drought reduced yields for cereals and many other crops, the government cut off the Sustainable Farming Initiative (SFI) without warning, and budget changes to Inheritance Tax threatened many farm businesses.  However the weather improved in the autumn.  Doing my rounds

housing

Student housing and climate responsibility in West Northamptonshire

Aashvi Shah - Undergraduate Stage S (Placement Year at WNC). Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology: University of Kent Students in West Northamptonshire, and across England, are living at the intersection of the cost-of-living crisis and the climate crisis. Cold bedrooms, rising rents and volatile energy costs are symptoms

nature

Local Nature Recovery Strategy

CA-WN submitted a response to the WNC consultation on the Local Nature Recovery Strategy that invited us to get involved, share our ideas, and be part of something amazing for our natural environment. We hope many other local individuals and groups did too. Now we await the outcome of

local matters

Seedy Saturday 2026

Sienna Mahoney, journalism student at the University of Northampton, attended the annual Seedy Saturday event and sent us this report. Seedy Saturday hosted their twelfth annual seed swap at the Doddridge Centre on 21st February 2026. The event aims to promote community between local gardeners based in Northamptonshire. Shena Cooper,

food & farming

50 Families project

CA-WN is proud to be a member of the West Northamptonshire Sustainable Food Network. We recently received this update from the Network about the 50 Families project, a great example of agencies working together. Building a sustainable future for our communities is about connecting and building better public health,