Brentwood Climate Action

Month: November 2021

  • Council’s Ottilie West presents to November meeting

    Council’s Ottilie West presents to November meeting

    The guest speaker at our November monthly members meeting was Ottilie West, the new Climate and Sustainability Officer at Brentwood Borough Council.

    Ottilie joined the hybrid meeting like others via Zoom, while there was also a packed meeting room for those attending the November 23 session in-person at Chicken and Frog bookshop in Brentwood.

    Ottilie’s presentation (which you can download below) covered her priorities in her role at the Council – the main one of which is “Creating a Strategy to reduce the carbon footprint and improve the overall sustainability of Brentwood Borough”.

    She outlined further detail on ‘The Sustainability Strategy’, which she explained is being created to “identify the actions required to meet the Council’s aim of becoming carbon neutral by 2040”.

    She also covered BEBA, the new Brentwood Environmental Business Alliance, and ways in which Brentwood Climate Action might be able to work with the Council moving forward.

    Download Ottilie’s presentation as either a PowerPoint or a PDF file below:

    The meeting – to which we also welcomed Council Leader, Cllr Chris Hossack, at the start via Zoom – also heard updates from all our seven Action groups. These included reports on the recent COP26 Global Day of Action activity in Brentwood and Ingatestone high streets which gathered hundreds of signatures for our petition, and the Schools Conference held at the Anglo European School.

    There will be no monthly meeting at the end of December as we take a break during the Christmas period. The aim is to return on a monthly basis back at Chicken & Frog Bookshop (and also still by Zoom) from the latter half of January. A poll for meeting dates and times will be distributed to the membership to help us finalise a first date.

  • Back to Chicken and Frog on Nov 23

    Back to Chicken and Frog on Nov 23

    The next Brentwood Climate Action members meeting will take place next Tuesday, November 23rd at 7.30pm – in-person at Chicken and Frog bookshop in Crown Street in Brentwood, and hybrid online via Zoom.

    Members will be sent the link to the Zoom in advance of the meeting via email.

    Chicken and Frog was the venue for our kickstart meeting back in August, and we’ve certainly come a long way since in a short space of time.

    Among many items on a full agenda we will be discussing reports from all our different action groups, with time for questions on future direction and priorities.

    And we hope to have a presentation from Ottilie West, Brentwood Borough Council’s new Climate and Sustainability Officer, on her role with the Council.

    There will also be time for feedback on the recent COP26 Global Day of Action activity on Brentwood and Ingatestone High Streets, as well as the Schools Conference held successfully at Anglo European School during the climate summit in Glasgow.

  • Schools Conference a great success

    Schools Conference a great success

    More than 50 sixth formers from four schools across the Borough attended Brentwood Climate Action’s first Schools Conference, held at Anglo European School in Ingatestone last week.

    In addition to pupils from the host venue, students and their supervising staff came from Brentwood County High School, St Martin’s School, and Brentwood Ursuline Convent High School. The November 11 event saw them all taking part in educational activities related to the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, and the Climate Emergency generally.

    Everyone was in agreement that the afternoon was a huge success, with the Conference a great opportunity for students to discuss the growing need to combat climate change, and its various effects on societal well-being.

    “There was a lot of energy in the room, a lot of dialogue with the speakers, and great enthusiasm to do it again in summer 2022 – with St Martin’s School volunteering to host,” said Brentwood Climate Action’s Richard Millwood.

    The main focus of the event was three presentations by key-note speakers via Zoom – Matt Webster, Head of Environment and Sustainability for British Land; Patrick McDowell, fashion designer; and Andrea Zara, DJ at KISS FM – plus Councillor Gareth Barrett of Brentwood Borough Council in person. These were interspersed with round-table discussions among the students, brainstorms and workshops.

    Matt Webster kicked off with a talk on ‘Buildings’ effect on climate’; followed by Patrick speaking on ‘Climate conscious fashion’. The third presentation from Andrea was on ‘Reducing individual impact on the climate’; and then Cllr Barrett talked to the room about ‘Recycling in the UK: challenges and opportunities for food and drink.’

    The event was coordinated in association with Ingatestone & Fryerning Parish Council, with Parish Cllr Marilyn Marston saying: “The enthusiasm and interaction within the hall seemed to stimulate great ideas for future projects.”

    Textile students from Anglo European that also attended are going to work with Cllr Marston, collecting scraps of material and wool from people’s homes to turn into fashion items.

    Students were invited to brainstorm project ideas for future climate action and get together in action groups to discuss in more detail. As the Conference drew to a close, each action group was invited to explain what they are committed to achieve and then report back on at the follow-up Conference in the summer of 2022.

    In this way Brentwood Climate Action is looking to get students to commit to inter-school collaborative action over the coming months, and take back what they have learned to their schools, fellow pupils and their community.

    Brentwood Schools Conference

  • All set for Schools Conference

    All set for Schools Conference

    Brentwood Climate Action’s first Schools Conference takes place this coming Thursday, November 11, at the Anglo European School in Ingatestone.

    The aim of the Conference (1-4.30pm) is to bring together sixth form students from across the Brentwood Borough to take part in educational activities related to the current COP26 climate summit being held in Glasgow.

    Brentwood Climate Action believe this Conference will be a great opportunity for students to discuss the growing concern about the need to combat climate change, and its various effects on societal well-being.

    It’s hoped the students will be able to take back what they have learned to their schools, along with ideas for tackling climate change and other environmental issues. We also hope the Conference will provide them with the necessary tools to empower their fellow students, and to share their knowledge with the wider community. 

    The outline Conference agenda aims to educate the attending sixth formers about the climate challenge we face in general, and in three specific areas:

    • Buildings’ effect on climate
    • Climate conscious fashion
    • Reducing individual impact on the climate

    Presentations by three key-note speakers – Matt Webster, Head of Environment and Sustainability for British Land; Patrick McDowell, fashion designer; Andrea Zara, DJ – will be interspersed with round-table discussions among the students, brainstorms and workshops.

    Students will be invited to identify climate actions they want to take, and get together in action groups – which would then report back at a planned follow-up Conference in the summer of 2022.

    In this way we are looking to get students to commit to inter-school collaborative action over the coming months.

    And we are aiming to provide more of these sessions in the future to allow the students of Brentwood to share their ideas, along with the successes of working with the school, the wider community and with each other.

    Paul Jeater, Chair of Ingatestone & Fryerning Parish Council and a member of Brentwood Climate Action, will introduce the Conference, outlining its aims, objectives and the agenda. 

  • Global Day of Action success

    Global Day of Action success

    Brentwood Climate Action members were out in force on Brentwood and Ingatestone high streets on Saturday – as part of the Global Day of Action.

    Brentwood Climate Action members spent the day talking to members of the public on Brentwood High Street and on Ingatestone High Street, to raise awareness of COP26 and the Climate Emergency, and promote the ongoing work of Brentwood Climate Action and how it can make a difference locally.

    If you missed the chance to join the dozens signing our petition in person at the weekend, then please do so online. We’re calling on Brentwood Borough Council to Declare a Climate Emergency and publish an ambitious Climate Action Plan as soon as possible.

    Taking place on the middle Saturday of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, the Global Day of Action featured a series of grassroots-organised events right across the country. The purpose of the Global Day of Action was to unite all climate activists and climate groups nationwide around a common goal: to demand governments and corporations limit global temperatures to 1.5°C and deliver real and just solutions to the climate crisis.

    If you signed our petition, joined up as a member or talked to us and would like to get more involved – then come along to our next full meeting of Brentwood Climate Action members on Tuesday November 23 (7.30pm)

    The venue will be confirmed soon – but it will also be hybrid online via Zoom for those unable to attend in person – and we’ll publish full details as soon as we have them.

  • Join us on Global Day of Action

    Join us on Global Day of Action

    Brentwood Climate Action will be out on the high streets in Brentwood and Ingatestone this coming Saturday, November 6, as part of the Global Day of Action.

    Taking place on the middle Saturday of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, the Global Day of Action features a series of grassroots-organised events right across the country. The purpose of the Global Day of Action is to unite all climate activists and climate groups nationwide around a common goal: to demand governments and corporations limit global temperatures to 1.5°C and deliver real and just solutions to the climate crisis.

    Brentwood Climate Action members will be out at sites on Brentwood High Street (10am-4pm) – by the Chapel Ruins outside The Baytree Centre – and on Ingatestone High Street (at the bus shelter in the Market Place, 10am-noon), to raise awareness of COP26 and the Climate Emergency, and promote the ongoing work of Brentwood Climate Action and how it can make a difference locally.

    Come along and see us and you’ll be able to sign our petition calling on Brentwood Borough Council to declare a climate emergency, talk to us about signing up as a member of Brentwood Climate Action – and understand more about us a group and why we formed earlier this year.

    We will also have informative leaflets to take away, and some fun materials for kids to take, supplied by Friends of the Earth.

    If any Brentwood Climate Action members can spare half an hour or more between 10am and 4pm to help out in Brentwood please contact us as soon as possible.

  • Check out our November newsletter

    Check out our November newsletter

    The Brentwood Climate Action newsletter for November is now available for you to download.

    It includes info on:

    • our next Members meeting on November 23
    • our COP26 Global Day of Action plans for Brentwood and Ingatestone high streets on November 6
    • and our Schools Conference on Climate Action at Anglo European School in Ingatestone on November 11

    Download the newsletter here