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:

People's Emergency Briefing

Community film screening and discussion The People’s Emergency Briefing film features footage from last November’s National Emergency Briefing which brought together leading UK experts in climate science, food security, health, economics, national security and nature. The film presents a clear, measured overview of how the climate and nature

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,

CA-WN Public Meeting 19 February 2026

‘Northampton in 100 Years’ by Mike Longman, Vice Chair of Northamptonshire Natural History Society Present: Allan Bell, Caroline Gooch, Clare Slater, David Garlick, Emily Evans, Faye Spencer, Harry Mellor, Jane Wood, Jean Troy, Leonie Beale, Martin Coombes, Peter Nalder, Rupert Knowles, Sandra Lee Apologies: Clare Robertson-Marriott, Helen Dyson, Sue

housing

Report: Braunston Retrofit

At an 21 March event organised by Braunston Climate Action Network, talks were given by householders who have made, or are making, the move to lower carbon homes. The highly informative presentations covered heat pumps, planning, funding, the Passivhaus Standard and EnerPHit, the Passivhaus refurbishment standard (for details see the

local matters

Green Spaces Semilong

By Sienna Mahoney, Journalism student, University of Northampton. “It’s worth it in the end because it makes people happy,” said Lou Troy. Lou, one of the volunteers at Green Spaces Semilong, helped to rebuild the children’s park and some of the patches around Semilong. One place in particular

nature

Valentine's Day Give & Get event

NEED A TREE? HAVE UNWANTED SAPLINGS IN YOUR GARDEN? In answer to those questions over 60 saplings were donated for our inaugural Valentine’s Day 'Give and Get' tree event - with many finding new homes across West Northamptonshire. DONATIONS WELCOME - VALENTINE’S DAY 2027 Take good care of