Big Green Week: Climate action is coming to Dorset
South Dorset residents are being asked to take part in a week long climate change event as part of a nationwide campaign
Climate action is coming to South Dorset as part of a nationwide campaign.
Residents in Dorchester, Weymouth and Portland are taking part in Great Big Green Week this September to highlight the need for urgent action on climate and nature ahead of COP26, the United Nations Climate talks, later this year in Glasgow.
Taking place between the 18th and 26th of September, the climate action campaign known as the Great Big Green Week will see thousands of people across the UK organising local festivals and events.
The campaign aims to draw attention to climate change and the destruction of the natural world, while also making a connection with these issues in communities like Dorchester, Weymouth and Portland.
We're all invited to take part, including schools, churches, councils, clubs, workplaces and community groups. This could involve organising a party, walk, concert, community stall, climate café or anything else people can think of. Or the event could be something that a group does normally.
Once the time and place of an event is known organisers should email dwpgreenweek@gmail.com so it can be added to the list of events for the local area.
What's on
The week kicks off with a joint public meeting of Transition Towns and Weymouth Together, where they will discuss issues surrounding growing plants for food and food network security and resilience. This will take place at the Palm House Café, Weymouth, on Saturday 18th September.
On Friday 24th September the Art and Flowers festival begins at All Saints Church, the “Planted Symphony” – an interactive audio nature trail – begins at 12.30pm and the “Sense of Unity” walking event starts from the Swannery car park at 7.30pm.
Saturday 25th is the “Greener Homes” event, where local “eco” homes throw open their doors so people can see how homes can be made more environmentally friendly and ask the owners about the challenges and opportunities they have faced.
On Sunday 26th the Great Big Ride – a community bike ride event – starts at 11am at the Palm House, and the finale event also takes place there, with stalls, food and music.
How to find out more
More events are still being planned so people can search for the “Weymouth” event at www.greatbiggreenweek.com to see how local and national events are shaping up, and to find out more about it.
The Great Big Green Week is being organised by The Climate Coalition, the UK’s largest group of people dedicated to action against climate change, whose members include the National Trust, WWF, Women's Institute, Oxfam, and RSPB. Other organisations supporting the campaign include BT, British Mountaineering Council, and the Manchester United Foundation.
Graham Lambert, chair of the Climate and Ecological Emergency Committee at Weymouth Town Council (formerly the Green and Clean Committee), said, “This event will enable local people to celebrate all that is already being done to combat climate change in the area, and to find out more about the sorts of things local groups are doing. Hopefully, as a result, more people will be inspired to join them.”
Clive Tuck, project manager at Tumbledown Farm, said, “This is a great opportunity for the local community to come together to show our politicians how concerned we are about climate change – the effects of which are already being seen in this country.”
Penny Quilter of Weymouth Together said, “Time is running out to deal with the problem of the warming climate. Great Big Green Week is a chance to encourage the world’s leaders to act decisively ahead of the COP summit.”