The CA-WN Exchange

Seedy Saturday 2026

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,

50 Families project

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, as

CA-WN Public Meeting 19 February 2026

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 Carverhill,

Braunston Retrofit

Braunston Retrofit

In Braunston Village Hall at 10.00 am on Saturday 21st March, Braunston Climate Action Network is holding a free event centred around talks given by householders who have made, or are making, the move to lower carbon homes. Talks will cover heat pumps, planning, funding, the Passivhaus Standard and

Green Spaces Semilong

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

Local Nature Recovery Strategy Consultation now open

Local Nature Recovery Strategy Consultation now open

In July 2025 Ruth Rolls, WNC Nature Recovery Strategy Officer, gave us an overview of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy for West Northamptonshire. Clare Robertson-Marriott followed this up with an excellent explainer What is a Local Nature Recovery Strategy? As Ruth told us, the Council is taking the lead in

Valentine's Day Give & Get event

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

How a Plant-Based Diet can help the climate

How a Plant-Based Diet can help the climate

In the first of two articles Martin Coombs, a member of the CA-WN Steering Group sets out his case for following a plant-based diet. There are many reasons to adopt a plant-based diet (PBD): the avoidance of animal exploitation, a reduction in greenhouse gases (GHG), improvement in the environment and

Report of CA-WN Public Meeting 20 November

meeting reports

Report of CA-WN Public Meeting 20 November

November's guest speaker was Adrian Jarvis, Chair of Leicestershire CPRE (Council for the Protection of Rural England)1. Prior to semi-retirement, Adrian had a long career in the energy industry and his talk to us on energy and land use encompassed both his enjoyment of the countryside and

Growing CA-WN

It’s time to take practical climate action. A new year welcomes us to a world driven at the highest levels by greed and self-interest. As a matter of self-defence it’s time to act collectively in our own interests. The many groups across the county working on the preservation

You can watch the Briefings too

individual impact

You can watch the Briefings too

On 27 November 2025 hundreds of MPs, Peers, and leaders from business, faith, sport, and culture gathered in Westminster for a National Emergency Briefing - briefings that described the rapidly escalating climate and nature crises that are set to make the UK increasingly unrecognisable and dangerous, with extreme weather events,

Christmas Mincemeat

Christmas Mincemeat

Home-made mincemeat is, I think, much nicer than shop-bought. Even the “luxury" mincemeat found on the supermarket shelves is not as good as one you can produce with a bit of spare time (it really is relatively quick to make) and with good quality dried fruit. You can also

National Emergency Briefing letter

National Emergency Briefing letter

On 27 November 2025 hundreds of MPs, Peers, and leaders from business, faith, sport, and culture gathered in Westminster for a National Emergency Briefing. They were presented with the latest evidence showing that the United Kingdom must urgently prepare for a cascade of serious societal impacts. The rapidly escalating climate

It's Your Neighbourhood

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

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

The Long Long Grass of Home

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

Climate & Nature (CAN) Champions Launch Event

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

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 Watch October 2025 - how are the new brooms doing?

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

Student Voice on Climate & Politics

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

Indicators of Global Climate Change

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 -

National Emergency Briefing

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

Pumpkin and Ginger Soup

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

Report of AGM and Public Meeting 16 October 2025

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