CA-WN Exchange

individual impact

My Three Things for Climate Change

by Paul Slater, Consultant Anaesthetist, Northampton General Hospital I have become increasingly conscious of the poor state of the environment over the last few years; as part of my contribution to the solution I have been gradually making more changes to my lifestyle.  Of course, individuals cannot tackle this crisis

individual impact

Three cheers for King Charles lll

The coronation of King Charles delivers a new age of environmental enlightenment. As our Head of State, the natural environment has never had such powerful representation. For over 50 years His Royal Highness Charles, Prince of Wales, had been an outspoken campaigner for the environment including this, his November 2015

Fiddling in Rome - do consultations deliver?

Peter Doveston shares his thoughts on proposed revisions to the school bus service, and the council's plans for air quality monitoring. Peter, from Northants Streets Campaign, also writes his own blog . More bad news I'm afraid. A consultation is currently underway that is considering West Northamptonshire&

water

Water

In the UK we are privileged to have fresh safe water  on tap, but a complex set of natural and man-made systems is needed to deliver this.  During the 2021 and 2022 Great Big Green Weeks, CA-WN was able to put on talks from speakers who gave us expert insights

individual impact Featured

The latest from CA-WN Exchange - April 2023

Reflecting April’s temperamental weather of sunshine and showers, the climate movement has a dichotomy of approaches that are being used to try to effect change. Although we are all aiming for the same goal, the differing approaches can sometimes rile the other ‘side’: the disruption caused by civil disobedience

nature

Watching Plants Creeping Northwards

Brian Laney, one of the Northamptonshire County Recorders of plants, talks of four species that are making their way north due to climate change. In recent years several wild plant species have appeared in the vice county of Northamptonshire which have never been seen in the county before ('vice

UoN – CA-WN collaboration

CA-WN had been invited by Zoe Taylor, Senior Lecturer in Illustration at the University of Northampton, to set a project for second year Illustration students. CA-WN outlined the practical problems of communicating the many facets of climate change and students each came up with three suggestions that were discussed before

transport

Time for a new Quarter

By Peter Doveston - Northants Streets Campaign.  Peter also writes his own blog . During the pandemic, two academics were chatting. They were mulling over the effects, both positive and negative, that the emergency was having on people's ability to exercise outdoors. Negatively, people were trapped in their homes,

council

Council Watch April 2023

CA-WN watching West Northants Council for us all The very first issue of CA-WN Exchange was published exactly one year ago, on 1 April 2022.  We chose to write the first ‘Council Watch’ feature as a report card on the first year of the unitary authority’s existence.  So how

individual impact

My Three Things for Climate Change

by Emmie Williamson, Clinical Psychologist; Green Party parliamentary candidate for South Northants; Co-Coordinator of West Northants Green Party; Coordinator of Flore Climate Group. I’ve really enjoyed reading the other contributions in this space, and how the actions range from large and broad to tiny and specific. So I thought

opinion

My View: Rosie Humphreys

CA-WN gives a Councillor the space to speak about climate action

individual impact Featured

The latest from CA-WN Exchange - March 2023

Do you sometimes wonder why you bother? When all around you, others seem to be merrily going about their business making high carbon choices without a care in the world? After all, it’s their planet too – their extreme weather, their rising sea levels and their food shortages. It’s

local matters

Tea and Cake in Towcester

Members and friends have been unable to meet face-to-face since Covid sent CA-WN meetings online - and we know just how much love some of us have for online meetings. So we were delighted to invite our friends and supporters to this first get together of the year on Saturday

council

Council Watch March 2023

CA-WN watching West Northants Council for us all So what has West Northamptonshire Council been up to so far in 2023? The full council met in February to agree WNC’s annual budget.  With inflation at around 10% these are not easy times in which to set a budget. Councils

opinion

My View: Callum Boddington

CA-WN gives a Councillor the space to speak about climate action

local matters

Northampton Town Council's Climate Change Forum

By Councillor Andrew Stevens and Clare Robertson-Marriott.   The Climate Change Forum was set up by Northampton Town Council in late 2021.  Its purpose is to develop projects and campaigns which will raise local awareness of the significant threat to all life on earth that climate change and the related biodiversity

transport

Don’t be so car-less

By Peter Doveston - Northants Streets Campaign CA-WN's Transport Correspondent provides an analysis of vehicle ownership and deprivation data to make the case that reducing car use isn't just about emissions and climate change Why should we bother doing anything? A question you may have encountered

air

No love for Northampton's air

In the week that gave us Valentine’s Day the Daily Mirror reported that Northampton is the worst town for its particulate matter (PM) air pollution. CA-WN decided to dig deeper. The Mirror story was picked up from indoor air quality experts at HouseFresh who used  PM2.5 data collected

individual impact

My Three Things for Climate Change

By Ella Mansfield, who has volunteered and worked in the charity sector for 10 years.  Ella is a new member to CA-WN but has been on a personal sustainability journey for 3 years. I started making sustainable changes about 3 years ago during the pandemic, like everyone else I all

council

**Updated** Promising meeting on local energy with Chris Heaton-Harris, MP

**Update February 24, 2023 You may be aware of a new Government-published report – the ‘Net Zero Review’, conducted by former energy minster Chris Skidmore. The review is strongly supportive of the Local Electricity Bill, including in its recommendations: ⏩Turbocharging community energy Government should commit to the Local Electricity Bill and

council

Spotlight On Other Local Authorities - Wirral Council

🍃Wirral Council's ambitious tree, hedgerow and woodland strategy - an example of strong communication, cross-party and partner collaboration and local community education and involvement. Wirral Council is a single tier authority covering a population of approximately 320,000, a mostly urban area of 157 km2 listed by the

individual impact

The latest from CA-WN Exchange - February 2023

Well done on making it through January - what feels like a 100-day month! For many of us February is a month of hope, with the first signs of Spring emerging as buds, green shoots and sunset creeping later into the evening. But for those of you who are tuned

bookshelf

Movement: how to take back our streets and transform our lives

by Thalia Verkade and Marco te Broemmelstroet. Translated from the Dutch by Fiona Graham Once upon a time our streets were sociable spaces where people met to chat, and children safely played. But not now. Drivers, not pedestrians, rule our roads. How did we let that happen and what can

council

Planning basics

Why is 'planning' important? The location, design and construction of new buildings has a huge influence on our greenhouse gas emissions as a nation – the sustainability of the materials used, how the buildings are powered, and whether the development is supported by public transport and active travel routes

individual impact

My Three Things for Climate Change

By Alice Whitehead, the founder and chair of Tree Charter community group Save Our Street Trees and communications officer for organic gardening charity Garden Organic I love the idea that three things can change the world. It's easy to feel climate change is too big to tackle as