meeting reports

A collection of 34 posts

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

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

meeting reports

Public Meeting 18 September 2025

This meeting was intended to provide an opportunity for an open discussion of CA-WN’s purpose and future focus. With a number of apologies and relatively low attendance, it didn’t quite go to plan! However we did enjoy a wide-ranging and informative conversation. Our next meeting on Thursday 16

meeting reports

Report of public meeting 17 July 2025

July's guest speaker was Ruth Rolls, WNC Nature Recovery Strategy Officer. Ruth gave us an excellent overview of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy for West Northamptonshire. The meeting was recorded and is available to watch on YouTube1, and Ruth's slides are available to download2. On Saturday

meeting reports

Report of public meeting 19 June

Our guest speaker this month was Bruce Durham, founder of Harborough Woodland (HW)1. This community group have made a tremendous impact since their beginnings 5 years ago – you can read more about their story here2. They are also running a free training event on Saturday 28 June – details on

meeting reports

Report of public meeting 15 May 2025

May’s speaker was Natasha Ginks. Natasha is a qualified Retrofit Co-ordinator with considerable practical experience as well as qualifications in the field of home retrofit. Natasha’s presentation was titled "Where to start with retrofit" - the slides are available to download1 and a recording of the

meeting reports

17 April Public Meeting report

This month’s meeting was slightly different to the usual format featuring an external guest speaker. Instead CA-WN’s Chair led an open discussion about climate adaptation risk – what are the risks to the residents and environment of our area from climate change and what should we be doing to

meeting reports

20 March Public Meeting report

We were lucky enough to have two speakers this month. Alan Ryan and Sarah Parr from the RAIN Northants project, part of WNC’s Flood and Water Management team, spoke to us about the work the project is doing to make our area more resilient to flooding, and about what

meeting reports

Report of public meeting 20 February 2025

Our guest speaker for February was Niall Toru, senior lawyer at Friends of the Earth, who spoke to us about ‘Climate in the Courts’. Niall’s slides are available to download1. Apologies but due to a technical problem there is no recording of this month’s meeting. This also means

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

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

meeting reports

Report of 17 October CA-WN AGM and Monthly Meeting

October’s meeting started with the CA-WN Annual General Meeting, including election of officers. This was followed by a presentation from Marga Witteman, one of the co-founders of the More Trees Now movement in the Netherlands. Working with a range of organisations, individuals and community groups, this initiative has enabled

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

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

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

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

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

meeting reports

CA-WN 18 April Meeting Report

This month we welcomed as our guest speaker WNC Councillor Jonathan Harris. Jonathan is a member of the council’s Sustainability Group and has represented the council at UK100 training workshops. He talked to us about the proposed Climate Strategy for West Northamptonshire Council, why it is necessary and how

meeting reports

CA-WN 21 March Meeting Report

The subject of this month’s meeting was "Climate psychology". Climate psychology can help us understand the roots of the climate and ecological crisis, the psychological impacts and defences, and ways in which we can help ourselves and others to cope and take action. Our guest speaker was

meeting reports

CA-WN 15 February meeting report

We were delighted to welcome as our guest this month Alison Holland, founder and director of Brightwayz, a social enterprise dedicated to active travel1. Brightwayz is based in the other half of Northamptonshire, where the team runs lots of practical projects to promote and support active travel; they also provide

meeting reports

CA-WN goes to the Museum

A big thank you to everyone at the CA-WN social event at Northampton Museum on Saturday 20 January. There were around 25 people there, ranging in age from 11 to 80+. Thanks also to the really helpful members of staff on the Museum front desk and in the café. Some

meeting reports

General Meeting notes January 2024

This month we welcomed two guest speakers - Ellen Worrell and Hannah Bedard from Green Welford1. This group has been working very hard to make Welford more environmentally friendly including putting on Kidsfest events in 2022 and 2023 – family-friendly events designed to introduce children and their families to a greener

meeting reports

CA-WN Meeting notes Nov 2023

We were very lucky to have as our guest speaker this month Jen Gale, author and podcaster. We have recommended both her books and podcast on CA-WN Exchange in the past. Jen’s podcast and website go under the name Sustainable-ish1 and the title of her talk was “How individuals

meeting reports

CA-WN AGM and Monthly Meeting notes - October 2023

Our October meeting started with the AGM including Election of Officers, followed by a presentation from Natasha Caton of Sol Haven on Sustainable Food, and finally a short update on CA-WN activities and events.  The meeting was recorded with the consent of those present. Separate recordings of the AGM and

meeting reports

CA-WN Monthly Meeting Notes 21 September 2023

Our guest speaker this month was Simon Derrick, Global Head of Sustainability for Blue Skies and founder of the Sustainable Business Alliance. Simon gave a presentation on the subject of 'Trade, development and climate justice: the case of Blue Skies in Africa'.  Present: Dave Anderson, Ella Sage, Eugenia