Taking place on the 6th November 2021, the Global Day of Action will see millions coming together from all over the world to demand change from leaders at COP26. We need urgent solutions to combat the nature and climate emergency that affects us, the wildlife and the surrounding landscapes that we all love.
The purpose of the Global Day of Action is to unite all climate activists and groups 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. This will be a historic moment in history as we give nature a voice. The walk coincides with the World Climate March (a virtual 1.5km or 2000 step) walk for climate justice, representing the 1.5C or close to global temperature rise limit for global warming as established by the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015. Our leaders must be reminded of their commitment to this legally binding international treaty.
As world leaders gather for the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, Moorlands Climate Action will be staging a walking demonstration around Leek as part of the Global Day of Action. Join residents of the Staffordshire Moorlands on a walking parade in Leek as part of the Global Day of Action on Saturday, November 6th 2021 meeting from 10:30am to design banners (between the Foxlowe Arts Centre and Leek Town Council offices on Stockwell Street) followed by the walk beginning at 11:30am.
Read more: Totally Globally - Global Day of Action - 6th November 2021
“I am on a journey through this world; I see the world as a sacred place and I pass through it with reverence and gratitude, without any desire to possess the world and exploit it for any short-term gain”. Satish Kumar (1)
On Sunday 26th September, we welcomed the wonderful ‘Camino to COP’ walkers into Leek – at the halfway point on their 500-mile journey from London to Glasgow. The Camino Walkers, from XR Faith Bridge, set out on their journey to urge governments to act on the climate emergency and to spread the word along the way about the urgent need to address our climate and ecological emergency.
The effects of climate change are already evident. Natural disasters are more frequent and devastating. These negative impacts are – unjustly – more severely felt by poor people and by poor countries. The Camino Walkers were travelling on foot to Glasgow and to COP 26 asking for Climate Justice and to save the Earth.
COP 26 (or the 26th Conference of the Parties) is the most important global climate change event to take place each year. Leaders from 196 countries meet in Glasgow in November for this major climate conference. This year is crucial because world leaders had agreed to come to Glasgow with definitive plans to keep emissions at a level that would keep global warming to ‘well below 2% and as near to 1.5% as possible’. These are the so-called Paris Targets. Scientists say that cutting emissions drastically this decade is our last chance to come up with plans that can hit those targets and bring climate change under control.
Read more: CAMINO to COP – A 500 Mile Walk for Climate Justice
Individual sign up: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/moorlands-global-day-of-action-registration-193379171307
Group sign up: https://forms.gle/ivkfs39T2cp8r7ib9
Route: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1huIFckbgFziGU4NcQRXZ9oznDBnIX4U_&usp=sharing
Taking place on the 6th November 2021, the Global Day of Action will see millions coming together from all over the world to demand change from leaders at COP26. We need urgent solutions to combat the nature and climate emergency that affects us, the wildlife and the surrounding landscapes that we all love.
The purpose of the Global Day of Action is to unite all climate activists and groups 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. This will be a historic moment in history as we give nature a voice. The walk coincides with the World Climate March (a virtual 1.5km or 2000 step) walk for climate justice, representing the 1.5C or close to global temperature rise limit for global warming as established by the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015. Our leaders must be reminded of their commitment to this legally binding international treaty.
As world leaders gather for the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, Moorlands Climate Action will be staging a walking demonstration around Leek as part of the Global Day of Action. Join residents of the Staffordshire Moorlands on a walking parade in Leek as part of the Global Day of Action on Saturday, November 6th 2021 meeting from 10:30am to design banners (between the Foxlowe Arts Centre and Leek Town Council) followed by the walk beginning at 11:30am.
The days are getting shorter and so is the time left until the COP26 summit in Glasgow. That summit is widely regarded as being make-or-break for international efforts to keep the rise in global temperatures below 1.5%. At MCA there is only a limited amount we can do to influence world leaders but we do have targets a little closer to home.
SMDC now has less than two months to deliver a ‘fully costed, measurable and achievable’ plan to get the district to Net Zero. That promise was made over two years ago and previous deadlines have come and gone in a puff of excuses, evasion and doubled-down claims of ‘leadership’. This deadline is so public that this time, surely this time, there can be no more evasion.
There are a few encouraging signs – a professional consultancy has finally been brought in, in the form of Anthesis, and political embarrassment at the lack of action in comparison to sister council High Peak has spurred a few minor potential advances in areas such as electric vehicle charging points.
A mid-ranking officer now explicitly has climate in his portfolio and a dedicated climate change officer is still promised. SMDC’s biodiversity partner, the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust, is deftly and admirably riding the political winds to win funding for local projects.
Staffordshire Climate Matters is holding a series of meetings around the county on specific sectors of the climate agenda, the findings of which will be presented to councillors, including those from SMDC, at a conference in October.
But these signs of hope are rarer than a public bus on a Moorlands road. Almost everywhere else, the few plans made public bear the scars of months and years of essential preparatory work undone, or started too late – of policy making as a permanent state of essay crisis.
A widely publicised ‘public consultation’ on SMDC’s plans has now been downgraded to a telephone survey of public attitudes to climate change. These are the sort of things that should be done – are done by other councils – at the start of a process, not weeks before the all-important plan is due to be delivered.
It is impossible to escape the conclusion that caught between the Scylla and Charybdis of two rudderless years and a new deadline as an act of political theatre, SMDC cut and ran on the public consultation. That does not bode well for any hope of a ‘fully costed, measurable and achievable’ plan by the end of October.
There is so much that needs to be done, and so little idea from within SMDC leadership about how to do it. Where are the plans for proper co-operation with the County, where so much of the heavy lifting will need to be done in coming years?
The portfolio holder will now sit on the Joint Waste Management Board, we are told. Great, but what about Energy? What are they going to do, retrofit houses with landfill?
The Centre for Alternative Technology is hosting a series of Innovation Labs for the county’s local authorities. That’s good – as far as it goes. And how far that goes is impossible to find out. There seem to be no citizens involved in the process and if SMDC has any clue what they expect at the end of it they are not letting on.
The Green Infrastructure Project Management Board is another template for future co-operation we are told. Well, MCA is all for those kinds of bodies – we’ve been pushing for similar for years. But where is the presence of anyone with climate in the job title?
Tourism, Farming, Wildlife Management: they are all there, and should be. But where does any action on climate get a look in? Yes, we hear you say, the portfolio holder has climate in his job description. But it’s common knowledge that the grittier, messier, harder bits that go with climate action don’t get much of a look-in these days. And those in-trays tend to be more ‘In’ than ‘Out’.
The last two years have been marked by a relentless focus on the softer, nicer more photogenic aspects of the portfolio – i.e. Nature. At MCA we all love a tree, and we’re quite fond of bees too. But even their most urgent advocates wouldn’t claim that Nature-based solutions can make more than a bit of a difference. The relentless focus on Biodiversity at the expense of Climate has left the plan dangerously unbalanced and threadbare. If God gave humans two legs to walk and they make a choice to use only one, they will end up going round in circles, arriving back almost where they started.
Whatever emerges in a matter of weeks, SMDC won’t be quite back where they started. It will not be that bad. But it looks set to be far, far short of where, with leadership, they could have and should have been.
Sunday 5th September 2021 - ALL MEMBERS GATHERING!
We’ve been in our homes for too long so now it’s time to rise and shine and meet with the Moorlands Climate Action coordinators and members face-to-face!
We want to hear your ideas for projects and we can share with you how to get involved in the pre-existing projects too such as the Peat-Free, Refill, Plastic Free communities, 20 is Plenty, and much more!
Join us between 4-6pm at the Foxlowe Arts Centre! Bring some nibbles and meet other like minded environmentalists wanting the best for the area!
Let us know you are coming; https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/all-mca-members-gathering-tickets-168929254949
Sunday 19th September 2021 - Eco House Visit
Breech House is an example of transforming a semi-derelict, exposed, stone built traditional house into a sustainable family home. You can see a ground source heat pump, pictures of the ground collectors and underfloor heating, specialist radiators that work at low temperatures and examples of effective insulation. We can also show you our small wind turbine and offer background information on our project as well as being able to answer some of your questions.
Spaces limited so book as soon as possible to avoid disappointment!
Book here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/eco-house-visit-breech-house-tickets-168933240871
Saturday 25th September 2021 - Moorlands’ Great Big Green Weekend
10am-12pm - Featuring a Dr Bike workshop with Air Aware Staffordshire!
Air Aware Staffordshire will be attending the Foxlowe Arts Centre (rear car park) on Saturday 25th September.
They will be providing information and advice about Air Pollution in the Staffordshire Moorlands and will have an interactive game to take part in.
Also they will be providing a free Dr Bike session so you can bring along your bicycle to get it checked over.
They will be there between 10am and 12:30pm so drop by and see what we are doing to help improve the air quality in The Moorlands”.
10:30am - Tree & Wildflower Identification with the Dane Wolves at Brough Park
A 2 hour walk around Brough Park area and woodland. Come and learn how to identify some of our most common trees and plants.
No minimum age but under 16 must be accompanied by an adult relative. Sensible footwear and clothing suitable for weather. Any medical issues to be disclosed to the walk leaders prior to the commencement of the walk.
Sign up - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tree-wildflower-identification-walk-with-dane-wolves-tickets-168933626023
*Dane Wolves is a local group of people who do conservation work, outdoor skills and community support.
1:30pm onwards - Story Workshop, Stalls and Music!
The Centre of Alternative Technology (CAT) students will be leading a structured story- telling workshop from 1.30 - 3.30 in the main function room. Stories will be based on lived experience and some international stories may also be shared. Participants are invited to share their prepared stories on Sunday 26th from approx’ 5.30 on.
Moorlands Climate Action will have an information stall where you can find out about campaigns in the local area and how you can get involved. Visitors are invited to bring any clean pre-loved clothes and swap them for something different, and for advice on mending the garments!
Sunday 26th September 2021 - Walkers Welcome!
At around 5 to 5:30pm we will be welcoming the Camino to COP26 walkers featuring drummers, and an evening of climate-storytelling and poetry!
Poetry featuring the fantastic work of Mel Wardle Woodend (Staffordshire Poet Laureate), Ali Hill, Maggie Pollard, and Mark Johnson!
Local people are invited to attend the story-telling workshop on Saturday 25th September and then share their stories of lived experiences on Sunday 26th.
People gathered to support the Camino to COP26 walkers will be invited to light a candle as a sign of hope for the future and success in activating real change. Our gathering will be a sign of intent that our species can adapt our behaviour in order to protect our world for future generations.
Camino To COP is a multi-faith group walking from London to Glasgow to raise awareness of climate crisis. On 5 September 2021, 40 walkers will set off from London and from Bristol a few days later on a 500 mile journey to the United Nations Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP26) in Glasgow and will reach Leek on Sunday, 26th September. On that day there will be a celebration of drumming, story-telling and poetry to welcome them, as the culmination of the Moorlands Great Big Green Weekend.
The walk has been called “Camino To COP” in reference to pilgrimages made since medieval times. It is inspired by the faith tradition of pilgrimage and great justice marches of the past – such as the Jarrow March in the UK, the Salt March in India and the March on Washington in the US. The aim is to share personal, human stories and inspire others to add their voices to the growing global chorus demanding that governments treat the climate crisis as the emergency that it is. The pilgrimage is also fundraising to empower activist groups in areas most impacted by climate change to join the conversation themselves. People can donate at https://caminotocop.com/
“Here in the UK we are already seeing increased flooding and extreme weather, and in the Global South people are already suffering in much greater ways,” says Steph, from Birmingham, who is walking the entire Camino from London to Glasgow. “We need our government, as well as those of other powerful countries, to step up and make the changes needed to help us minimise the deadly effects of climate change and adapt to the challenges it brings".
“How wonderful and fitting that the walkers have chosen Leek as their halfway-stopping off point to Glasgow. We hope to learn from their experiences, share a few of ours and in the meantime offer them rest and hospitality on their journey. Fighting for change and for climate justice can be hard-going at times, and it is possible to become dispirited. But ultimately their message of hope is one we must all share; like them we believe that whatever obstacles we find put in our way can be overcome.” said Mark Johnson, one of the organisers of the Great Big Green Weekend. "Their arrival in town will be the ideal finale for our Green Week activities.”
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