North West England – Page 21

Camp for Climate Action: Great Rebel Raft Regatta update & newspaper launched

THE GREAT REBEL RAFT REGATTA UPDATE

Following a professional reconnaissance and Health and Safety test trip by boat last Wednesday, rebel rafters and experienced sailors gave the thumbs up for the water borne disobedience on the Mass Day of Action, August 9th. Launching with the tides and if the weather is not blowing a gale, the action was deemed totally do able and has the potential to be a spectacular success. The key will be in the number of rafts, the more rafts ( or anything that floats !) there are the more impossible it will be for the forces of darkness to stop the armada reaching it’s target. So start packing paddles, canoes,inflatables, rafts, dinghies, amphibious vehicles etc.. with your tent. Try to encourage any yacht or boat people, pirates or sailors you know to join in. All rebel rafters will be requited to attend a water safety workshop that will be run daily for the three
days leading up to the day of action, and will have to wear life jackets ( if you don’t have your own, these will be provided by the camp). A write up is available on the GRRR website.

Meanwhile many groups across the country are getting excited by the GRRR bug and planning to build rafts and get teams together. If your group has any news, pictures of rafts or ideas to share, then send it to the constantly updated news feed on www.thegrrr.net . For any further enquiries email: pirates@thegrrr.net

CLIMATE CAMP NEWSPAPER HITS THE STREETS AND FESTIVALS

Last week 30,000 newspapers, beautifully designed in black and bright cyan and not looking anything like a boring political paper, came off the printing press and began their journey around the country.

Published to inspire people to come to the camp it is filled with full pages images of last years events, portraits of hot climate campers, a stunning map of this years camp and texts that describe the politics of radical climate activism. If you would like copies to hand out in the street, festivals, drop off in cafe’s etc. contact distribution@climatecamp.org.uk with your address and how many you want, they will be sent out asap or ring Isa 07984158 108 to find out where you can pick some up. The pdf’s is now online here: http://www.climatecamp.org.uk/node/23

Climate Camp Bike Ride

People will be riding to the climate camp, starting from Glasgow, descending southerly picking up thousands en route.

The final leg, London to Kingsnorth is on sunday 3 August meeting under Waterloo bridge (southside) at 9am
For more info on the route and how to get involved e-mail climatecampbikeride@lists.riseup.net
Up the the velorution.

People will be riding to the climate camp, starting from Glasgow, descending southerly picking up thousands en route.

London, Brighton & Manchester Critical Masses commemorate dead cyclists

June’s Critical mass in London saw a slightly different route. As always we met at Southbank and managed to leave at 7.15pm.

Following the killing of Marie Vesco on the A23 her friends, rampART and Food Not Bombs asked people to ride to Brixton, where she served free food every Sunday afternoon with Brixton Food Not Bombs.

Approximately 600 cyclists left Waterloo going South via Lambeth North, then Elephant& Castle, going round a few times stopping the traffic. Via the Oval we went to Brixton, where we stopped at Windrush Square. By now there were maybe 300-400 cyclists left (there was a bit of North-London snobbery). Different people spoke about Marie and how they missed her. How she died and why she worked with Brixton FoodNotBombs and how giving out free food was so important to her. There was a minute’s silence for her.

Then we cycled North again, police stopped us halfway up towards Stockwell. They had tried to dictate the tempo previously, but rogue cyclists broke through, stopped the traffic ahead of the police line and in that way forced the police to let the Mass go (Health and Safety and all…).

They managed to block Stockwell Road and we didn’t quite get the momentum of breaking through. To the coppers’ surprise the tip of the Mass turned around, cycling back on themselves and turning off the main road further down (Sidney Road I think). We made our way to the Oval, cycling past the Cricket knobs, some of which were using bad language, when we came in sight. Others were supportive.

Vauxhall Bridge ended up being a bit of a splitter were we lost a few people. Going across the bridge, past Parliament we hit the square, encircling it a couple of times, until something happened with the sound system (as always) not quite sure what. music stopped. Raising bikes, blocking road, we then went to see the queen. The whole ride took about two hours and a bit. Nice atmosphere, good mix of people and bikes and so good to have some music on the way (three sound systems).

What happened with the sound system on the North side of Parliament Square was that the police stopped it playing and riders strongly objected to this ban which caused a long traffic holdup.

The cycle police keep on targeting Critical Mass sound systems in the SOCPA zone around Parliament while doing nothing to stop sound systems in cars, buses and lorries. Also the SOCPA legislation is currently under review and other police are tending not to enforce it.

video of ride.

Manchester & London Critical Masses this Friday + South London

OH MY!
It’s CRITICAL MASS this Friday….how ace is that?

Friday 27th June 6pm
Central Library Manchester

Afterwards we’ll have a BBQ and hang out a park, so bring BBQ’s, food, music, drinks etc. (vegan BBQs preferred as then it can be accessible to everyone!)

OH MY!
It’s CRITICAL MASS this Friday….how ace is that?

Friday 27th June 6pm
Central Library Manchester

Afterwards we’ll have a BBQ and hang out a park, so bring BBQ’s, food, music, drinks etc. (vegan BBQs preferred as then it can be accessible to everyone!)

A totally ace bike ride around our city to meet other cyclists and ride on our roads…For a few hours once a month we can show how beautiful our city can be when bicycles, instead of cars, dominate the roads.

it’s such a nice and sociable and fun way to spend a Friday evening on a bicycle..wow. so ace. and now we’re getting bigger and bigger..someone said they counted at least 150 people on the one last month, how ace is that?!!. come and be part of our lovely friendly cruise around..to collectively enjoy the beautiful experience that is riding a bike.

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People’s comments about Manchester Critical Mass

“…it’s brilliant. Usually I’m charging around on my bike, getting where i need to go as fast as i can. Critical mass is different. It’s about enjoying riding. It’s the most relaxed ride around the city I’ve ever had. Where all my worries and fears float away. And I’ve met some lovely people too”

“I was scared it would be some angry bike militants but everyone is so friendly and the ride is fun no aggro at all. See you next month!”

“it’s quite something to have that many peeps riding round at once.”

“Critical Mass sometimes has a reputation for being an angry rabble of cyclists that want to string up any car drivers they see. This is not true of Manchester Critical Mass, it is a fluffy mass of people that like to have fun on bikes, there are often have children with us and a bicycle sound system to add to the party fun atmosphere. As well as being fun and
a social event it is also to show how great a car free city will be. This is achieved every month by showing motorists an alternative, yet critical mass Manchester doesn’t aim to annoy drivers we want them to join us..”

“I spend all month, every month, riding around behind exhaust pipes and swerving out of the way from angry, disrespectful drivers, I live in a world that is dying from climate change..only the other day it was announced the white rhino is extinct, it tears me up inside. Riding a bike isn’t going to change all of that instantly but I believe that not only does it mean less cars on the roads but riding a bike also gives a feeling of connection with one’s surroundings and other people and through this we can start to act in other ways that can create social change”

“Critical Mass isn’t a place to vent the anger that comes from having to deal with cars (I don’t think), because it’s nice to, instead, spend that time enjoying riding my bike. Sometimes it can feel so alienating riding a bike surrounded by so many motorists. Critical Mass shows that we are not alone and that we are growing. It’s the most fantastic piece of direct action I’ve ever done- I want there to be less cars on the roads and by
being one less car there is!!!”

(taken from emails we’ve received)

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Critical Mass in London for Marie this Friday

Assemble under Waterloo Bridge 6pm on Friday

The Critical Mass in London will attempt to go all the way to Brixton to celebrate the life of Marie, who was killed by 2 cars on her way to the demonstration against the arms trade in Brighon, see:

https://indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/london/2008/06/400604.html

Assemble under Waterloo Bridge 6pm on Friday

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South London critical mass?!

The first ever south London Critical Mass is happening on Friday 4th of July, and every first Friday of the month there after.

It will take place @ 6.30, starting from Peckham library.

Help campaign for safer roads for cyclists. All other human powered transport welcome too!
Massive rolling sound system provided by rawkus rickshaws.

Reclaim Hulme Park – every Friday – Manchester

Local residents reclaimed Hulme Park in Manchester on Friday for an hour by closing down the road that runs through it.

Local residents reclaimed Hulme Park in Manchester on Friday for an hour by closing down the road that runs through it. Leaflets had been distributed and posters stuck around inviting people to reclaim the park – “one love, one park!!” People played games, ate and drank, and generally sat around in the street chatting to old friends and new. The police turned up in fair numbers on time, but sensibly – shock horror – just left enough of them and PCSOs to help direct traffic away, and left us to it.

When the Crescents got knocked down in the 90s, to sanitise the community action and creativity that was rife throughout Hulme, these high-density crescents of flats were replaced with a new park, and the land around sold to developers for swanky houses and flats on new exclusive streets with (s)wanky names like The Sanctuary.

The problem with old Hulme, as described by the council regeneration stooges, was that people and cars didn’t have to mix and were largely kept separate. New Hulme – a mix of old council housing (just sold off), housing association, a big housing co-op, private rented & private sold – would be safe for the city centre to expand into the space left as communities were broken up and shipped out to overspill estates around Manchester.

So what this park needed, right, was a road right through the middle of it (as well as on all sides), to keep the children safe because “the headlights of cars would act as cat’s eyes and prevent danger”.

Well, we’ve had enough.

Every Friday, 5-6pm, until we…Reclaim Hulme Park!

and

Close down the part of Royce Road that separates the two halves of Hulme Park.

Bring frisbees, balls, bikes.

World Naked Bike Ride UK

A peaceful, imaginative and fun protest against oil dependency and car culture. A celebration of the bicycle and also a celebration of the power and individuality of the human body. A symbol of the vulnerability of the cyclist in traffic. The world’s biggest naked protest: 50+ cities and thousands of riders participate worldwide, including more than 1500 in the UK in 2007.

http://worldnakedbikeride.org/uk/

To check any details of rides below, see http://nakedwiki.org/wiki/UK

# Southampton: Fri 6 June, 6pm
# Brighton & Hove: Sat 7 June, 11am
# York: Sat 7 June, 4pm
# Sheffield: Sun 8 June, 2pm
# Manchester: Fri 13 June, 6pm
# Cardiff: Sat 14 June, (time is still being finalised)
# London: Sat 14 June, 3pm
# Edinburgh: 28 or 29 June – TBC

# There is discussion about possible rides in Cambridge, Belfast, Glasgow, Oxford, or even a Bristol to Bath ride.

3rd June Food & Climate Change Day of Action – more actions, in Nottingham, London x3, Bristol, Glasgow, Liverpool & Amsterdam

Actions co-inciding with the UN Conference on World Food Security and Climate Change got off to an early start, with Sunday seeing the first of an outbreak of vegan food give-aways, in Manchester, with a spot of guerrilla gardening; the rash spread on Monday with GM labs occupied. The Ready Steady Skip website tried to soothe, but on the day, the action contagion spread…

Passer-bys were enticed to our stall by the offers of free chips, vegan pasties and tomato plants. We handed out leaflets about climate change & food and had lots of chats with people about the world food crisis & our solutions of eating a local, organic & vegan diet. An amazing number of people already grew there own food & lots more were encouraged to give it a go. We had a really positive response from the public and people seemed genuinely interested in the information leaflets we handed out.

More photos.

The next free vegan food giveaway in Nottingham is going to be on the 4th July.

A handful of us then visited Fresh & Ecoworks community garden based at St Ann’s allotments. We had a tour of the amazing gardens & saw a brilliant example of local, organic food being produced in the city. See
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/nottinghamshire/2006/08/348168.html
and
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/nottinghamshire/2007/10/382929.html

We toddled off home in the rain, chilli plants in hand, inspired to grow our own.

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Food & Climate Change Action – London

For the Food & Climate Change day of action, Whitechapel Food Not Bombs and Brixton Reclaim Your Food teamed up to serve free vegan food in front of a Mac Donald’s in Camberwell.

The groups had a stall right in front of a Mac Donald in Camberwell for two hours, serving out freshly skipped, lovingly cooked free vegan food to passers by, and engaging people in conversation about the link between the food they eat and climate change. For good measure, the group was accompanied by a bicycle sound system, to liven up the atmosphere.

All in all, over a hundred servings were given out, countless more people saw the stall and were given leaflets highlighting some of the links between food and climate change on the following topics : waste ; veganism ; organic food ; locally produced food.

The menu included a spicy mash, a curry, a pumpkin soup, a salad, some guacamole, some stuffed aubergines, some veggies burgers, an apple cake, a fruit salad and more.

Unsurprisingly, the Mac Donald’s managers weren’t too happy about people giving out free food in front of their window shop – but the police seemed to decide otherwise. The groups were asked to remove a banner from the Mac Donald window shop, but were otherwise permitted to stay there as long as there wasn’t too much obstruction.

londonfnb@lists.riseup.net
http://www.londonfnb.org

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25 protesters organised by Biofuelwatch and Food Not Fuel, London came together for a protest outside Newham town hall in East Ham on Saturday to raise public awareness of the planning application for the UK’s first biofuel-fired power plant to be built, in Beckton. Banners and placards quoted many statistics such as the number of people going hungry because of agrofuels and the number of people who could be fed with one tank of biofuel. Over 500 signatures objecting to the plant were collected…it appears that Beckton, one of the most polluted London boroughs, is prepared to fight back.

—

In London, vegan campaigners we took to the streets of Chancery Lane to
treat the city workers to some vegan food samples. The response was good,
with a range of interested people coming to taste the food. We gave away
hundreds of recipe booklets, and leaflets for this year’s London Vegan
Festival.

—–

Bristol Protest Over Tesco’s Biofuels Claim

Biofuels far from the panacea to petrol prices and climate change, have added to the global food price hike by taking land previously occupied by food crops. A study by the University of Minnesota found that growing biofuel on converted rainforests, peat lands, savannas or grasslands created up to 420 times more carbon dioxide than it saved.

Wheat Prices have doubled in the UK over the past year, and consumers and retailers have so far managed to absorb this. But elsewhere in the world, people are going without wheat (and other staples) and bakers are going out of business.

To illustrate this issue, a dozens bakers (rather than a bakers dozen!) will be following up Bristol Rising Tides demo in April of this year to illustrate the true cost of Agro-fuels. They will be at Tesco, Eastville between 4.30pm and 7pm

Ms Bread of Bristol Rising Tide said:

“The question is do we want do feed our cars or feed ourselves?”

Tesco has made false claims about the source of the fuel sold at its service stations, according to an investigation that found that the chain sold the most environmentally damaging types of biodiesel -Palm Oil – whilst claiming that it ‘s biofuel was sourced from relatively sustainable UK-planted rape seed oil.[2]

Mr A.Baker of Bristol Rising Tide said:

“Its now clear that we leave big business to deal with climate change, this is the kind of thing that will happen – a bloody disaster”

At this years Climate Camp (3rd – 10th August) there will be a national day of action against Agrofuels.

[1] Bristol Rising Tide is part of the International Rising Tide for Climate Justice network
www.risingtide.org.uk
[2] The Times,April 14, 2008 “Tesco green fuel ‘adds to climate change”

Leaflet

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Waiting for (social) Change!

4/06/2008
Today in the Charing Cross area of Glasgow a group of waiters invited passers-by to ‘Taste the waste’ and sample their free food. The menu was made up entirely out of skipped goods from supermarket bins and included such delights as: homemade vegan frequent flyer banana cake, skipped chip, rescued roast veg. and binned beans. This was part of the call to action on Food and Climate Change by the Network for Climate Action (http://networkforclimateaction.org.uk).

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Liverpool hosted a free vegan food fair at its social centre ‘Next to
Nowhere’. Around 50 people attended and loads of food and information was given out. The event allowed for a lot of informal discussion, with a social area created for this purpose. People were delighted to hear that they can come back for vegan food every Saturday afternoon 1-5pm.

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Pigs say: If you care about climate change, eat less meat, milk and eggs

On Tuesday June 3rd, a group of pigs made a small action for a more vegan Amsterdam. They handed out vegan snacks to encourage people not to buy that ham for dinner. It may look like the pigs acted out of self-interest, but today their message was that meat production is a major cause of climate change. While the UN is conferring in Rome on World Food Security and Climate change, the pigs put a focus on that average Europeans have a diet of disaster. Raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined.

Quite some people in front of the Albert Heijn on Jodenbreestraat were happy to taste the organic, vegan falafel and chocolate cake and many said they are vegetarians already. People were surprised to hear that producing one kilo of cheese cause as much greenhouse gas emissions as driving a car for 60 km. A Brazilian woman had witnessed the expanding soy fields used for feeding animal industry.

“Consumers can make a huge improvement by avoiding animal products and imports, and by supporting local, organic farmers instead. But humans need to organise themselves fast against the dominant culture if they want to save themselves from climate chaos” the piggies stated after all the food had been handed out.

Tonight, Wednesday June 4 from 19 there will be a film night in Plantage Doklaan 12, with organic vegan food and ideas on how to combat climate change. (See programme on the website)

Website: http://www.howtocookaplanet.net

Ready Steady Skip: Trailer and website launched!

Ready Steady Skip – the game show where needlessly wasted food is recovered from the bin and turned into delicious dishes before your very eyes!

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: http://www.readysteadyskip.org.uk/

Ready Steady Skip is a bit like “Scrapheap Challenge” meets “Ready Steady Cook” – skipping for food and whipping up some tasty dishes, with plenty of hilarity (and people diving into skips).

Every year over 17 million tons of food are put straight into landfill sites, yet over 4 million tons of this is perfectly edible and still well within it’s sell-by date. A whopping 5 million tons of food are wasted annually by consumers alone: that is, more than a quarter of all food we buy goes into the bin. It’s high time this insanity stopped!

Skipping (aka. “Freeganism” or “Dumpster Diving”) is all about reclaiming perfectly edible food “waste” from the jaws of an insane system founded on greed, and making good use of it.

We’ve launched the Ready Steady Skip trailer and website to coincide with the Days Of Climate Action food day (3rd June 2008), which is highlighting the fact that the food we eat contributes up to a third of the emissions that are poisoning the planet. When you consider the amount of food that is just thrown away, it brings home how needless this lunacy is. Nobody ever need go hungry – yet people still starve every day.

The programme was shot here in Nottingham at the beginning of March, and the full episode will be released online in July 2008. We’re also trying to organise a screening (and possibly even another contest) at the Climate Camp.

Keep an eye on our website for updates!

Previous Notts Indymedia piece: Ready, Steady, Skip!! – The Pictures 1

info@readysteadyskip.org.uk
http://www.readysteadyskip.org.uk/

Free Food Event and Guerrilla Gardening to herald Food & Climate Change day of action

FREE VEGAN FOOD EVENT!
On Sunday 1st Manchester Animal Protection and Manchester Climate Action held a free vegan picnic in Piccadilly gardens..

We gave away lots of delicious food, and seedlings, including aubergine plants and peppers! Much of the food was donated, some of it was skipped. We hung banners and had placards…

FREE VEGAN FOOD EVENT!
On Sunday 1st Manchester Animal Protection and Manchester Climate Action held a free vegan picnic in Piccadilly gardens..

We gave away lots of delicious food, and seedlings, including aubergine plants and peppers! Much of the food was donated, some of it was skipped. We hung banners and had placards…

The overall response was really positive, despite the rain! Lots of people came and talked to us for a long time, and the council even sampled some of our tasty snacks!

We did some guerrilla gardening in Piccadilly gardens, an area which is increasingly less like a gardens every; planting everything from courgettes to rosebushes!

We also took our snacks into Burger King, Starbucks and Cafe Nero, offering customers free cake (and propaganda!)..

Similar events happened across the north in cities like Liverpool and Sheffield.

This event was organised as part of the day of action on food and climate change, which is happening tomorrow (3rd June)…actions and events are happening over the next few days…more to follow soon!

To get involved in events like this in the future, email this address..

If you took photos, please also email them in!

Hopefully it will be the start of more combined events with MAP/MCA!

manchester@climatecamp.org.uk
http://www.daysofclimateaction.org.uk/food.html

03/06/08……TAKE ACTION ON FOOD AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Within the past year, global food prices have risen by 75%. Prices of wheat, soya, oilseeds, maize and rice are now at record levels. The World Bank has warned that 100 million more people are facing hunger and malnutrition because of rising food prices.

The greenhouse gas emissions caused by livestock and industrial fishing account for 18 per cent of global warming; more than the emissions from the world’s entire transport system, at 13.5 per cent. Techno fixes such as GM crops and Biofuels are not the answer to climate chaos, we need to change our patterns of consumption and switch to a low impact, cruelty free lifestyle!

With one week to go before the food and climate change day of action; get creative and get involved!

“Livestock’s contribution to environmental problems is on a massive scale. The impact is so significant that it needs to be addressed with urgency.”
– United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation 2006

“The grain required to fill a 25-gallon SUV gas tank with ethanol will feed one person for a year.” (Lester Brown, Director of the Earth Policy Institute).

The UN Conference on World Food Security and Climate Change runs from 3rd to 5th June 2008. The Network for Climate Action is inviting you to take action on and around the 3rd of June 2008. There’s stuff happening all over the country, and internationally, on the day itself, and before and after it.

Climate action starts on your dinner plate, at the supermarket, on your allotment and in your back yard, at the food processing and distribution centres, down on the farm, in your high street, at the airport and at the lorry park. Use this day as a way to highlight the complexity of food related issues, and also to promote specific campaigns..

It’s time to detox the planet and take action on food and climate change! Groups all over the country are planning actions, demonstrations, film nights, workshops and free food events. For more ideas, and resources, visit the website: http://daysofclimateaction.org.uk; and let us know if you need anything else, or if you have resources that could be shared!

Remember, the list below is only a list of public events, actions to follow when announced! If you want information about whats going on in your area, please get in touch!

MANCHESTER 01/06 Vegan picnic, demo and surprise activity!
Free vegan food
12-4, Piccadilly Gardens email: manchester@climatecamp.org.uk

BRISTOL 31/05-01/06 Bristol Vegan Fayre
http://www.bristolveganfayre.co.uk/

SHEFFIELD 31/05 Free vegan food stall
email:sheffieldanimalfriends@googlemail.com

LIVERPOOL 31/05 Free vegan food event 12-4 Next to Nowhere, (this event kick starts the vegan drop in which will happen 1-5 every Saturday, Next to Nowhere). http://www.liverpoolsocialcentre.org/

LONDON
31/05 Protest against the proposed Combined Cycle Biofuel Electricity Generation Plant. Stall on Myrtle Road, East Ham from 10:30 to 6:30.
Banner drop from 3:00 to 5:00pm outside Newham Town Hall, East Ham. 04/06
Protest outside the final consultation meeting at Newham Town Hall 6:30 to 7:10pm , Barking Road, East Ham.
http://www.biofuelwatch.org.uk/files/thames_gateway_biodiesel_project.pdf
As part of the national day of action on food and climate change called by the Network for Climate Action, Food Not Bombs and Reclaim Your Food will be serving *free vegan food* at a *secret location* in South London!
* All the food will be skipped, reclaimed from the waste of an affluent capitalist society.
* All the food will be vegan, minimizing the climate-impact of the food. Meet on Tuesday the 3rd of June at Camberwell Green (in the Green itself), 2PM sharp to move on to a *secret location*
Camberwell Green – http://tinyurl.com/5h25yq
London Food Not Bombs – http://www.londonfnb.org

NOTTINGHAM 24/05-15/06 ‘Greenweeks’: allotment open days, organic growing courses and more!
http://www.greenweeks.org/

AMSTERDAM: Veganism and Climate Change film night
http://www.aseed.net/

The food we eat contributes up to a third of the emissions that are poisoning the planet. It’s time for a detox … Changing our diet is one of the most effective steps we can take!

Whether you’re working on local organic food, growing your own, veganism, permaculture, food security, humanitarian issues, transport campaigning, agrofuels, anti – GM food … make the links on climate change … take action on the 3rd of June toward a low-carbon diet!

Whatever your tastes, there’s something for everyone on this action menu! There are many proposed solutions – we think it’s time to start the debate. Get creative and get involved!

Please let us know what you are planning (if its appropriate!) or if not, tell us as soon as you’ve done it! Don’t forget to send us your photos too!

The media phone no for the day will be 07961917535; or you can email food@daysofclimateaction.org.uk.

This Day of Action on Climate Change is called by the Network for Climate Action in co-operation with the Rising Tide Network and the Camp for Climate Action.