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Forest

Be Active

Ways you can Be Active

There are so many ways to Be Active about climate change. So it should be relatively easy to find a way for you to get involved that fits in with your life, budget, time, values and energy.
Here are a few suggestions you could follow up to find out more about how you can get involved. We have provided links to websites and relevant articles that will hopefully make your search easier.
Some of the organisations mentioned feature across several sections, and the majority have a social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.

BE GENEROUS

If you don't have a lot of time but want to help, one of the easiest ways is to donate to an organisation that aligns with your climate/biodiversity values and aims. There are a lot of large organisations with a ready-made infrastructure, policy and mission statement. So you can pick the ones that match your particular interests or campaign style.  

Stacks of Coins

You donate, and the organisation does the rest. Some may have membership fees, and often they will have particular campaigns where they only ask for one-off donations. Others run regular petitions. 

Don't forget to keep an eye open for smaller organisations. They will also be extremely grateful for your support.

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People collecting litter and discarded plastic bottles

BE INVOLVED

If you have some spare time, by getting involved with your community - whether it's a local project, your workplace or your child's school - you can make a difference in a very practical way.

Being active with schools

There are a number of schemes to help schools get involved with planting trees and creating more bio-diverse spaces. This might be a good option to pursue if you are a teacher or a parent of school-age children.

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  • Earth Restoration Service is a charity that works with sponsors to help schools and landowners plant trees and plants that support biodiversity  - https://www.earthrestorationservice.org/

  • Orchards for Schools provide grants to UK schools and community groups every year to plant thousands of trees, hedges and orchards. - http://www.treecouncil.org.uk

  • Trees for Cities is a UK charity working at a national and international level to improve lives by planting trees in cities. - https://www.treesforcities.org/

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Being active in your locality

1. Join a local group

Friends of the Earth have a network of local action groups in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. These are made up of people in communities who are passionate about tackling the climate and ecological crises and fighting for a fairer, greener world for everyone. - https://friendsoftheearth.uk/take-action/join-group-near-you

For another good example, have a look at the Facebook page for the Climate Action Group in Bury and the website https://www.buryclimatehub.org/

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2. Join a beach clean

 

3. Join a Litter Pick

Litter can be contaminated, so CleanUpUK have put together some information to help you handle it safely. Please ​click on this link​ to read through the Health and Safety Guidance before you go out litter-picking.

Keep Britain Tidy also has a beginner's guide to litter picking, including organising events, how to dispose of litter and how to contribute to the national overview which influences policy. - https://www.keepbritaintidy.org

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In France, talk to your local Maire. They will know if anything is planned locally. Or if you are willing to organise a litter pick, they will know where they might be most usefully targeted. They will also be able to put you in touch with others involved locally.

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4. Plant trees

 

5. Conservation volunteering

 

6. Cleaning up ponds and rivers​

The Rivers Trust - https://theriverstrust.org/take-action​

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7. Campaigning on local threats to your environment – woodlands , trees, marshlands.

There are way too many to list but it's worth following local media, Facebook and environmental interest pages . It doesn’t even matter if you are not local. Negative impact on the environment and biodiversity affects us all.

Given that local anger has achieved success in many instances, this has reinforced our belief that speaking up is so important. Otherwise those making the decisions will think we agree with them.

 

Plan to divert a 300 year old footpath through a hotel lobby overturned!

 

8. Being Involved at Work

Some organisations have sustainability leads or 'champions' to consider how work practices can reduce their impact on the planet. This can include issues at a team level or company–wide. For instance, recycling in the office, cutting down on single use plastics, energy consumption, reducing the number of emails.

If you don’t have a sustainability lead it’s a great time to ask, or even volunteer to be a champion in your office.

 

Looking for a new and challenging role?

Whilst compiling this list I came across lots of jobs in 'sustainability'. Definitely worth keeping your eyes open.

BE VOCAL

Political Activism.

This isn't as demanding as it sounds and can involve anything from signing petitions to attending demonstrations.

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Here are a few ideas.

Pile of postcards with all different images on them

​1. Support a campaign

Most large national and international organisations have regular campaigns and petitions asking for support. Signing petitions, open letters and sharing with your family and friends is a quick and easy way to register your concern. This is where social media can really help to raise the profile of a campaign or petition. You can even set up your own petition and here's how to do that in the UK - https://www.gov.uk/petition-government

 

Petitions intended for parliament have a threshold of 10,000 after which a response is required from the government. After 100,000 signatures the issue can be considered for debate in Parliament.

 

2. Write to your MP

You can usually only contact or email your own MP as few MPs will give an issue any attention if it's raised by someone who is not one of their own constituents. It's important to state your concern politely. MPs can be contacted at their constituency office or at Parliament and can be contacted even when Parliament is in recess.

MPs also hold surgeries for constituents. So this is another mechanism to have your voice heard - just ask for an appointment.

You can write to the PM or a particular minister relevant to the issue you are concerned about.

Despite much cynicism about modern politics our elected representatives are there to do just that. It's essential that they know what we think.

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3. Write to the House of Lords 

You can email any member of the House of Lords. This can be useful if a bill relevant to your concerns is being heard in the Lords. Try to identify Lords who are sympathetic to your cause, but don't be afraid to write to those opposing it too. So they understand that there is opposition. If you intend to write to a number of Lords do not copy and paste the same content. Email screening systems will assume these are spam emails and reject them.

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4. Write to your Council

You can write to your own local councillor or attend an advice surgery. Also, you can write to your elected mayor if you have one.

In general, council meetings are open, because, as a political entity councils are accountable to the public and their voters. It's therefore possible for members of the public to attend. Every council must publish details of when key decisions will be taken, papers of meetings (at least 5 working days beforehand) and minutes of meetings – showing the decisions that were made.

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5. Freedom of Information (FOI) requests

Don’t forget you have the right to make a FOI request for recorded information held by public sector organisations.  

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6. Petitioning the EU

Any individual or organisation based in the EU can submit a petition to the EU on an issue related to EU policy or law. Find out how to create and submit one. https://commission.europa.eu/about-european-commission/get-involved/petition-eu_en

 

7. Start your own campaign​

This is what I did! I really wanted to do something and, feeling the need to have a voice, I decided to use inspiration from a friend`s campaign on another issue (with her kind permission). She was advised by politicians that such correspondence did get noticed and that she should keep going.​ And this is it... 

 

Postcards for the Planet.

Why postcards?

The idea is that a simple message on a postcard is more visible than an email - especially if sent in numbers and in a co- ordinated way. We do all the work for you – all you have to do is buy a pack of plain postcards (I got mine from the local post office) or you can use a plain white envelope. Complete as per directions and send off at the recommended time.

 

8. Demonstrating

​Occasionally it seems like getting out on the street is the best and most vocal way to raise the profile of a particular issue. For example, Chris Packham has been arranging walks for wildlife since 2018. The latest one unfortunately had to be cancelled. So we're waiting for a new date to be announced. - https://www.peopleswalkforwildlife.org/​

 

As a veteran of many marches, on various issues, I personally have found them to be fun, therapeutic and the sense of shared purpose and solidarity can be a real boost to morale. There are a number of organisations outside the mainstream that have been using civil resistance and non violent direct action approaches. The most well known being:​

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