CA-WN Exchange

food & farming

Transforming Food, Transforming Lives: Join West Northamptonshire’s Sustainable Food Network

This introduction to the work of WNSFN comes from the network's Project Manager, Matt Passchier. Matt has a varied background including working in catering, and currently at the Hope Centre in Northampton. Addressing the climate impacts of our food systems is a key component of climate action -

council

WNC Climate Change Strategy Consultation

West Northamptonshire Council is currently consulting on its draft Climate Change Strategy - the consultation ends on 19 January 2025. CA-WN previously responded to an earlier consultation on the Strategy. Ours was one of just 101 responses, so every response really does make a difference! CA-WN was also invited to

opinion

Storm Bert

This article is by Sienna Mahoney, a Journalism student at the University of Northampton. Storm Bert recently covered most of the UK in rainfall, with places like Northampton being the most affected. The storm started at low pressure in the mid-Atlantic, making its way to the UK on November 25,

local matters

Buddies of Beckets Park

This article is by Sienna Mahoney, a Journalism student at the University of Northampton. Buddies of Beckets Park (BOB) was started in 2016, since when it’s organised Northampton’s first Mela (Indian festival), mindfulness events, and more. BOB was started by Nick Stephens and Joy Ormond, two people who

meeting reports

Report of 21 November CA-WN public meeting

This month we welcomed back Dr Emmie Williamson for the second in her series of three talks on Climate Psychology. Her previous talk1 was an overview of the topic; this time she gave us a deeper dive into the psychological roots of our response to the climate crisis. Emmie’s

nature

West Northants Council: Local Nature Recovery Strategy

Roy Hawkesford from Hackleton reports on a Webinar for parish councillors, organised by Ruth Rolls, WNC's Nature Recovery Strategy Officer (Environment, Countryside & Parks, Assets & Environment. The purpose of the meeting was to outline the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) which will go out for consultation soon1.

podcastshelf

Greta Thunberg speech to COP25

This recommendation (a video rather than a podcast) comes from Teresa Cox, which has recently joined CA-WN's steering group. Teresa says: I've recently been studying a short course, Climate Change: Transforming your organisation for Sustainability. As part of this there is a link to Greta'

meeting reports

Report of 12 September public meeting

Our guest speaker for September was Tim O’Callaghan. Tim is a consultant at Electric Places, a not-for-profit company set up in North Northamptonshire to help public and private sector organisations in the area transition to Net Zero. They have been involved with projects to build EV charging hubs and

council

Council Watch September 2024

Climate Change Strategy Consultation It won’t surprise anyone that CA-WN is pleased to see West Northamptonshire Council consulting on a Climate Change Strategy. Obviously we’d have liked to see it sooner but nevertheless it is very welcome. This consultation is intended to influence development of the strategy – there

council

My View - Andrew Stevens

I first started reading about climate change perhaps 25 years ago1. At the time I was interested in environmental issues in general as well as politics, specifically inequality and how I thought politicians don't take a lot of notice of evidence on what works to improve the health,

podcastshelf

The Countryside Kitchen meets...

One of the joys of podcasts is that they really are egalitarian – lots of podcasters are big names backed by well-established production companies, but just as many aren’t, and it is great to be able to recommend a podcast made locally. Milly Fyfe is a businesswoman and food blogger,

council

Think Global. Act Local.

by Danny Moody, Chief Executive of the Northamptonshire County Association of Local Councils (Northants CALC), a membership organisation representing all the parish and town councils and parish meetings in Northamptonshire. Climate change is a pressing global issue that requires action at all levels, from international agreements to local initiatives. One

council

Council Watch July 2024

Items on the agenda1 for West Northamptonshire Council's July meeting pack included WNC’s Annual Report on how they are performing against their own targets. The ‘Green and Clean’ banner, like all elements of the WNC Corporate Plan, has a set of performance measures. The target shown for

meeting reports

CA-WN 18 July Meeting Report

Our guest speaker for July was Dr Declan Ryan, Associate Professor in Physical Activity & Health at the University of Northampton, who gave a presentation about Northampton's Active Quarter. The meeting was recorded and is available on the CA-WN YouTube channel1 and Declan’s presentation slides are available

opinion

Meet the Steering Group - Orianne Neyroud

Orianne was one of the founder members of CA-WN in 2019, and has just finished her A Levels. What is your motivation for being involved with the environmental movement and with CA-WN in particular? I first got involved with CA-WN because I was fed up with not doing anything and

CA-WN Monthly Public Meeting 18 July

Thursday 18 July 7:45pm - 9:00pm (online) Meeting open to all - newcomers welcome. Our guest speaker this month is Dr Declan Ryan, Associate Professor in Physical Activity & Health at the University of Northampton, who will talk to us about active travel and especially about Northampton'

meeting reports

CA-WN 20 June 2024 meeting report

🗳️On Thursday evening at the Northampton Guildhall our friends at the Umbrella Fair 1000 Voices campaign have organised a hustings to allow local residents to question election candidates, which CA-WN is co-sponsoring. More information here https://www.umbrellafair.org/1000voices or on our What's On listing. This is

opinion

Meet the Steering Group - Ella Sage

Ella is the newest member of CA-WN's steering group and also our Outreach Officer. This is the first in a series of pieces from CA-WN's Steering Group members. What is your motivation for being involved with the environmental movement and with CA-WN in particular?  I became

meeting reports

CA-WN 30 May 2024 meeting report

The guest speaker for this meeting was Damon Fox from Northampton Town Football Club (NTFC). We heard from him about the many projects and initiatives undertaken by the club to improve sustainability and for their local community. The meeting was recorded and is available on the CA-WN YouTube channel1. Damon

local matters

Cobblers Tackle Food Waste

Damon Fox, Business Development Manager and sustainability lead at the Northampton Town Community Trust, shares the club's latest green initiative. He was also guest speaker at our May public meeting (https://exchange.ca-wn.org/ca-wn-30-may-2024-meeting-report). We are very excited to be launching the second instalment of our Sustainability

podcastshelf

Bees - culture and survival

This edition of the long-running radio 4 programme Start The Week was recommended by Peter Nalder of South Court Environmental. Here's what he had to say: 'What Bees Need' Listen to this on the radio if you can, online or on-repeat if available: It’s the

local matters

Maidwell-being

Fiona Howes, resident of Maidwell and member of Maidwell-being, tells us about the group and their activities. Maidwell-being is about finding ways to help each other within our community, share skills, improve our environment, save money and build friendships. Although started by a small group, we are hoping that as

meeting reports

At the Museum - launching our Lending Library

In April we held our second face-to-face gathering at Northampton Museum and Art Gallery. It was lovely to get the chance to catch up with familiar friends, and to connect with some new people. We also used this event to launch the new CA-WN Lending Library and were delighted that

water

The Big River Watch May 4-6

The Big River Watch is back for another exciting weekend of citizen science Our rivers are in trouble. They're struggling under the weight of plastics, sewage, chemicals, and much more, with no river stretches in England or Northern Ireland classified as being in good overall health. But you

council

WNC Local Plan Consultation

West Northamptonshire Council has prepared a draft Local Plan, out for consultation until 2 June. ‘Local Plan’ is a fairly bland term which perhaps doesn’t convey how very important this document is in determining the future shape of our area and communities – in the case of this Plan until