individual impact

Hope - popcawn February 2025

I’ve been mulling over ‘hope’ for a while now, spurred on by the seemingly endless supply of bad news for the climate over recent months. The results of the US election were a low point for me, with the prospect of the unravelling of global climate action. By Christmas

council

Council watch - is the council falling out of love with roads?

My attention was caught recently by an article in the Chronicle & Echo headlined “Several major traffic mitigation schemes in West Northamptonshire scrapped from local transport plan”1. This interested me because I think the council should be spending money on active travel schemes and public transport rather than new

Meet the Steering Group - Jane Wood

Jane is the Chair and Secretary of CA-WN, and joined the group soon after its inception in late 2019. This is the latest 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

nature

£110,000 grant unclaimed by West Northamptonshire schools

Eleven local schools have each been offered a £10,000 grant to improve biodiversity within their grounds. CA-WN has been asked to help the nominated schools make the most of this opportunity, which closes in March. The money is being offered as part of the National Education Nature Parks initiative,

bookshelf

On Freedom by Timothy Snyder

It is laziness on my part that draws me to write a book review for Professor Snyder’s latest book rather than do the necessary research to demonstrate how it relates to specific cases in Northamptonshire’s local politics; there are several themes drawn out within the book that could

podcastshelf

In Conservation

It feels good to recommend a podcast with a local focus. The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire (BCN) recently launched their own podcast and a very good one it is too, with high production quality and informative conversations with expert insiders about the state of nature in our

recipes

Baked Mushroom Pâté

This recipe is one I have “tweaked” over the years.  It started out, many years ago, as a list of ingredients I took from a packet of mushroom pâté bought in a well-known store; I treated the ingredients as though I was making a baked pâté de compagne. With the

individual impact Featured

Carbon Literacy training Spring 2025

Following the great success of our first Carbon Literacy training last autumn (with a 100% pass rate!), we're looking forward to offering the next 4-week course starting in late February. After completing the equivalent of one day's worth of training and committing to carbon-reducing actions, you

meeting reports

Report of 16 January 2025 Public Meeting

Our first guest speaker of 2025 is Milly Fyfe, a farmer, social entrepreneur and award-winning communicator based in Yelvertoft. Milly gave us a very insightful overview of food sustainability and security. Milly’s slides can be seen here1, and a recording of the meeting is on YouTube2. There are two

council Featured

Things Can Only Get Better

Wouldn’t it be great if things could only get better. But they won’t if we carry on with ‘Business as usual’. Our headline image is taken from a recent peer-reviewed publication relating air quality (AQ) to public health outcomes1. The left image represents 2019 estimates of PM2.5

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

recipes

Cait's Festive Christmas Pie

The time for Christmas menu choices is suddenly here and, digging around in my memory, I discovered this old family favourite.  A friend of mine recommended it when it was my turn to host family Christmas and I needed to feed several vegetarians, myself included. It sounds fiddly to make,

recipes

Patsy's Festive Tipple

Many of us like a warming draught of mulled wine during the Christmas festivities, and this year we have decided to ring the changes and try something slightly different. Rather than reaching for a couple of bottles of red plonk and a sachet of mulled wine spices, adding brown sugar

bookshelf

Climate Psychology book recommendations

During 2024 we have had two very illuminating talks on Climate Psychology from Dr Emmie Williamson, retired clinical psychologist. (Links to meeting notes and recordings below.) In her latest talk Emmie recommended some further reading on this important topic, which we were keen to add to our Bookshelf. Don'

podcastshelf

Generation One: The Climate Podcast

This podcast is hosted by leading climate experts from University College London and has covered a range of topics from electric batteries to trees and climate finance. It has an engaging mix of scientific expertise and enthusiasm. The two latest episodes cover biodiversity, with a report on the release of

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

business

Marlec Engineering – The Winds of Change

It all started in a field in Rutland. Back in the 1970s, a Rutland farmer was struggling to keep the batteries for his electric fences charged up, so he asked John Fawkes, a retired engineer, to come up with a solution. The Rutland Windcharger was born – a simple, reliable, quiet,

transport

Northampton's Market Square Revitalised

Good news, the Market Square has now officially reopened in Northampton town centre, and with it a chance to promote the potential of pedestrianised spaces. There has been criticism as to the progress of this regeneration project, particularly in respect of the temporary relocation of the market stall holders to

nature

Understanding the Biodiversity Crisis

It is increasingly recognised that biodiversity loss or the loss of Nature is as existential a threat as the climate crisis. The relationship between Climate and Nature and the importance of the global biosphere in mitigating climate change impacts was first acknowledged at the Conference of the Parties (COP) 26

food & farming

Plastic Packaging for Fruit and Vegetables

Recently the organisation WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Programme) has been calling for the removal of all plastic packaging from fresh fruit and vegetables1.  This is not as simple as they make it sound. A short article in the Fresh Produce Journal today (22nd October) by Jack Ward, director

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'