Category: Brentwood

  • 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

  • Join us in Ingatestone or online

    Join us in Ingatestone or online

    A reminder that our monthly Members’ meeting for October takes place on Tuesday 19th – in-person in Ingatestone as well as hybrid via Zoom.

    The venue this month is the Seymour Pavilion at Seymour Field in Ingatestone, starting at 7.30pm – and will be a joint meeting with Ingatestone & Fryerning Parish Council Climate Emergency Working Group.

    Anyone who wants to attend online, and hasn’t already received the Zoom link (which was sent out to Members today) please email us at info@brentwoodclimateaction.org.uk

    The full address details for the venue are: Seymour Pavilion, New Road, Ingatestone CM4 0HH.

    In the meantime, you can have a look at our October newsletter that was sent out to Members this week, on our Resources page

  • October 19 meeting to focus on COP26 action

    October 19 meeting to focus on COP26 action

    We’re pleased to confirm that the next Members monthly meeting has been confirmed for Tuesday October 19 – and will take place at the Seymour Pavilion at Seymour Field in Ingatestone, starting at 7.30pm.

    Also hybrid online via Zoom for those unable to attend in person on the night, it will be a joint meeting with Ingatestone & Fryerning Parish Council Climate Emergency Working Group. Sign-up details will follow in due course.

    The major items on the agenda are likely to revolve around Brentwood Climate Action activity during COP26 – the United Nations climate conference, which is being hosted by the UK in Scotland from October 31 – November 12.

    COP stands for Conference of the Parties, and this 26th summit will be attended by the countries that signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change back in 1994.

    There’s a great opportunity for the climate movement to come together around COP26, demand justice for those most affected by the crisis and hold leaders at all levels to account – both on a global scale, but relating it to a local level here in the Brentwood area too.

    The key date potentially for us is Saturday November 6 on the middle weekend of the COP, where there is a designated Global Day of Action. And the latest Brentwood Climate Action steering group meeting on Wednesday October 6 discussed what we might do on that day to raise awareness of the issues involved, and of our group at the same time.

    The main aim of that Day of Action is to unite climate activists and groups around a common goal: demanding governments and corporations limit global temperatures to 1.5°C and deliver real and just solutions to the climate crisis – in line with the Paris Climate Agreement from 2015.

    So we are determined to have a presence on the day, allowing us to provide information to the public about COP26, the climate emergency, how it affects us locally, and raise awareness of what we are up to in Brentwood Climate Action.

    Also during the second week of COP26 we are proposing to run a Sixth Form Conference on Thursday November 11 at the Anglo European School in Ingatestone. Full details of this are still being discussed, but it will be open to sixth formers from all of the Borough’s secondary schools, feature several speakers, and a host activities for attending pupils to undertake – as a start of an ongoing commitment to cross-school collaboration and to climate action locally.

    Both this and the COP26 Global Day of Action presence will no doubt require a lot of input and effort from Brentwood Climate Action members to facilitate and run on the day, and so this will form the focus of our discussion at the October 19 meeting.

    We’ll provide further updates and calls for Member involvement as required during the coming weeks!

    As a date further ahead for your diary, the November meeting of Brentwood Climate Action members has been scheduled for Tuesday 23, also starting at 7.30pm. The venue will be confirmed in due course.

  • Action Group progress at September meeting

    Action Group progress at September meeting

    It was great to see so many Members in-person at Shenfield High School for our September 16 meeting  – with as many others joining in via Zoom as well.

    The technical challenges of running a hybrid meeting may have proved testing at times, but we persevered and covered lots of ground.

    That included looking ahead to potential activities on the Global Day of Action during COP26 in November, which is something we will return to, to formalise plans.

    And we also had some thought-provoking break-out sessions across the newly set up Action Groups to start those moving forward.

    For those that are unaware, we have to date set up seven of these, on the following Action areas:

    • Addressing wellbeing
    • Developing community energy and providing for electric vehicles
    • Engaging with public and partnering with business
    • Fundraising
    • Lobbying
    • Working with schools and monitoring climate change
    • Nature & environmental action and recycling

    There was lots of progress, in groups run in the room and mirrored via WhatsApp and Zoom. The groups will now continue to discuss potential Actions, and bring back their updates to the next Members meeting.

    If all of this sounds interesting to you, please do get in touch – and get involved!

    We’ll be holding our next full meeting of Brentwood Climate Action members on Tuesday October 19.

    That is set to take place at the Seymour Pavilion at Seymour Field in Ingatestone – also hybrid online via Zoom – and be a joint meeting with Ingatestone & Fryerning Parish Council Climate Emergency Working Group.

    Full details and sign-up information will be published soon.

  • September 16 meeting at Shenfield High School

    September 16 meeting at Shenfield High School

    Please join us tomorrow night for our Members launch meeting – in-person at Shenfield High School from 7pm, or online via Zoom if you prefer. If everyone could complete our attendance form to let us know how you wish to take part that will help us prepare, and will make sure you get the Zoom link emailed to you in advance of the start, if that’s your chosen method:  https://actionnetwork.org/events/brentwood-climate-action-launch We have a lot of Action ideas to discuss, and a lot to update you all on since our kickstart meeting last month. We will also discuss Great Big Green Week and COP26 as Action opportunities. Everyone is welcome! Please share the date/time/venue far and wide to those that you know will be interested. Shenfield High School is at: Alexander Lane, Shenfield, Brentwood CM15 8RY.

  • Tell us how you can help Brentwood Climate Action

    Tell us how you can help Brentwood Climate Action

    Everyone interested in helping and getting involved with Brentwood Climate Action – here’s your chance!

    Please complete the linked form ASAP, so that:

    • we can keep you informed via email
    • you can tell us what skills you have and how you can contribute to Brentwood Climate Action
    • you can express interest in a project area – and commit to taking action!
    • Please also Share this post on your social networks and via email to your friends and colleagues so that others interested can use this link to join us in Brentwood Climate Action too

    Go to https://actionnetwork.org/forms/tell-us-how-you-can-help-brentwood-climate-action

  • Save the date – September 16

    Save the date – September 16

    Save the date! Our next Brentwood Climate Action members meeting is set to take place on the evening of Thursday September 16. Full time and venue details to be confirmed as soon as possible.

    That was one of the many things discussed at the latest steering group meeting last night, as well as outline plans for future events this autumn.

    And a skills audit of all our members, coming your way very soon, so we can all work together to make rapid progress over the coming months on many fronts!

  • Brentwood Climate Action launches

    Brentwood Climate Action launches

    A new non-political campaign group promising community-wide action to tackle the climate emergency was launched last week, at a well-attended kickstart meeting of Brentwood Climate Action.

    More than 40 people took part in the first meeting held at Chicken and Frog bookshop in Crown Street, in-person and online via Zoom, on Thursday August 12.

    Susan Kortlandt, who was elected as Chair of Brentwood Climate Action, said:

    “We had presentations, discussions on future plans, adopted a constitution and elected some initial officers to manage the group moving forward. It was an amazing turnout for a first meeting.

    “The group will be a focus for climate action across the Borough of Brentwood, and will look to work with Brentwood Borough Council, Essex County Council, our local parish councils, and our Brentwood & Ongar MP, Alex Burghart on climate action plans – with a mission to achieve a carbon neutral, climate, nature and environmentally friendly Brentwood by 2030.”

    The aims of the group include:

    • Engaging with a wide range of people, especially young people, across all environmental, cultural, faith, community and political organisations wishing to take action to tackle the climate emergency
    • Informing local stakeholders, citizens and young people about the climate emergency and the potential for action
    • And challenging national and local government, business, civil society and other community groups and organisations on the actions they must take to deal with the climate emergency

    Other members of the steering group elected on the night were:

    Secretary – Jane Winter
    Membership Secretary – Richard Millwood
    Treasurer – Frances Howard, Katherine Anderson
    Events Co-ordinators – Annie Sid, Laura Carey
    Communications – Julian Goode
    Youth Coordinator – Roy Hendley