As we head into what we hope will be a landmark year for Climate Action in Brentwood, let’s take a minute to look back on the major achievements of Brentwood Climate Action since our group was formed in late summer of 2021.
In no particular order, here’s our Top Ten of Actions taken so far:
- We held our first Schools Conference at Anglo European School in Ingatestone in November, as part of our Action around the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow – with more than 50 sixth formers from four schools across the Borough attending and taking part in educational activities related to COP26 and the Climate Emergency generally.
- We had a successful presence on both Brentwood and Ingatestone high streets to mark the COP26 Global Day of Action. Brentwood Climate Action members spent the day talking to members of the public to raise awareness of COP26 and the Climate Emergency, and promote the ongoing work of our group and how it can make a difference locally.
- We’ve been making contact with Brentwood Borough Council officials and administration Councillors – who have indicated a willingness to engage with us around climate and environmental issues on an ongoing basis – and also asked questions at Brentwood Borough Council meetings; as part of our lobbying process moving forward in 2022.
- We held our kickstart meeting back in the summer, as more than 40 people took part in the first meeting held at Chicken and Frog bookshop in Crown Street, and online via Zoom, on Thursday August 12. The meeting elected a Steering Group, agreed a constitution, as well as a vision and aims for Brentwood Climate Action.
- The number of activists / members of Brentwood Climate Action has climbed well over 100 in just four months. You can sign up here.
- Despite the ongoing issues with the Covid pandemic, we’ve managed to hold four monthly members meetings, at a variety of venues across the Borough and hybrid online via Zoom. The guest speaker at our November meeting was Ottilie West, the new Climate and Sustainability Officer at Brentwood Borough Council.
- As part of the ongoing administration carried out by your volunteer Steering Group, we’ve set up a bank account and started to look at potential funding sources to enable us to operate effectively in 2022 and beyond.
- We set up this website and social media channels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram from scratch – which have seen us gather hundreds of followers in quick time. And we’ve also set up a Membership database and been sending out regular emailings to our signed up activists.
- We launched a Petition calling on Brentwood Council to declare a Climate Emergency, and publish an ambitious Climate Action Plan – which has had more than 100 signatures online, and more than double that offline at our COP26 Global Day of Action stalls.
- We conducted a members skills audit, which allowed us to set up seven diverse Action Groups – such as Lobbying, Environmental, Funding, Wellbeing, and Education – which we hope will provide the focus for a lot of what will do during this year.