 Welcome
to our January 2021 issue
Here we are again, locked down and advised to stay at home with no definite end in view. But despite everything, we wish our readers a happy new year and hope that 2021 turns out much better than 2020.
Winter weather and lockdown mean that this is a quiet spell for local green groups, with indoor activities on hold and outdoor activities very restricted (please check the current rules for Kingston), as well as being rather chilly and damp. Although many environmental activities have to be dormant for now, most of them are ready to spring into action as soon as they are allowed to, and we look forward to that day and hope it's not too far away. In the meantime there are still plenty of updates, campaigns, things to read or do, and on-line events - so please scroll down and we're sure you will find something interesting and worthwhile to occupy you in these dark days.
Most of the local environmental groups listed below have their own websites, Facebook pages and newsletters, so, if you are interested in their events and activities, we recommend that you visit their websites and sign up for regular news. And please check their websites before setting out for an activity, and stay safe and help others to stay safe too.
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Next issue
We look forward to hearing about more environmental activities, on-line or in the real world of Kingston, as and when possible - we try to give local news and campaigns top billing, so do please keep them coming in. In any case, please send us your environmental news and updates in good time to feature in the next newsletter which will go out on or just before February 1. According to Mailchimp, 58% of our 800+ readers frequently click the links in this newsletter and 23% do so sometimes, a good number of engaged readers worth reaching.
If you normally contribute items to this newsletter, or would like to, and haven’t heard from us recently, please subscribe to our contributors’ list via this sign-up form to get our requests and reminders - and make sure they are not disappearing into your spam folder! You can update your own contact details in this list or unsubscribe at any time.
If you have problems viewing this newsletter, please click the link at the very top of this page to see it in your browser. If you no longer want to receive this newsletter please unsubscribe by using the link at the end of the newsletter.
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Campaigning  together
"The future is written nowhere…you have to write it."
Amin Maalouf
Covid-19 needn't stop you campaigning - and there are always green issues to campaign on. At the 2019 Great Green New Year Gathering, hosted by TTK and Kingston Environment Centre, campaigning came top of the suggested joint activities, and so, until there is nothing left to campaign about (we wish!) this section will remain at the top of every issue of this newsletter.
Take your pick from the issues highlighted below, have a look at the Have Your Say items for more opportunities, and please take action. If not us, who?
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Some easy actions this month - just click and support...
Clean air for everyone
Over 100 campaign groups, NGOs and businesses, including some local groups, have written to the government calling on them to set legally binding targets for air pollution in line with the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines. The alliance, which was co-ordinated by clean air campaign group Mums for Lungs has written a letter to the Secretary of State for the Environment, George Eustice. Read about it on KEF website and find out more about Mums for Lungs and support their campaigns. And please respond to the consultation on Kingston’s Air Quality Action Plan featured in Have your Say below.
Help FoE to stop the climate-wrecking expansion of Heathrow 
Friends of the Earth ask us to sign their petition demanding that Prime Minister Boris Johnson scraps his government’s plans for a third runway at Heathrow. FoE believe there’s a strong chance that these plans wouldn’t be compatible with climate policy if made today – the government must reconsider Heathrow expansion in this light. See also the final (bad news) story in Climate crisis updates below.
Vote for the UK polluters awards 2020-21
Biofuelwatch has joined forces with other groups working to kick big polluters out of COP26. You can vote for 4 different awards to find the UK’s biggest polluters, ranging from bogus ‘Net Zero’ pledges to the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award – acknowledging lifelong commitments to dastardly polluting ways. This year, Drax has been nominated for three out of the four awards for its climate-wrecking tree burning, its links to environmental injustice and its plans to build the UK’s largest ever fossil gas power station. Drax is nominated for the (Net) Zero Credibility Award, the Slimiest Greenwashing Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award and we need your help to get as many votes as possible for the UK’s biggest carbon emitter and the world’s biggest tree burner!
Follow Biofuelwatch on Facebook or Twitter and/or read or subscribe to newsletters.
Tell the Bank of England: Stop Funding the Climate Crisis!
The Bank of England could cut off the flows of UK money to polluting industries and fund the future we need. 350.org is calling on the Bank of England Governor, Andrew Bailey to stop funding the climate crisis and regulate the banks that do. View and sign the petition.
From The Climate Coalition (TCC)
TCC remind us that the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP 26) is coming our way next year, hosted by the UK in Glasgow on 1st to 12th November (more on COP 26 in the Climate Crisis updates  below). TCC is planning ahead, thinking how to explain the issues and engage the public in the build-up to this important conference. One idea is a Climate Festival of events around the country and a lobby of MPs next summer. TCC will be providing ideas for events big or small – watch this space and get ready to participate and organise in Kingston.
In the meantime, please add your name to the 1000s who've already signed TCC's Declaration.
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Contacting politicians when you need to
Find contact details for your councillors, MP, MEPs, and LA members at WriteToThem.com Rather than repeating our advice on writing every month, we have saved it here on the TTK website.
Please tell us about other local green campaigns we should highlight in this section; air pollution; trees and local biodiversity; getting shops to close their doors in winter; supporting active travel, making cycling (and cycles) safer; divesting pensions etc from fossil fuels; recycling bins in public spaces; reducing waste plastic, other...? Please tell us what you’d like us to take up, and help others to join in by providing useful evidence and web-links.
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News
KEC's successful Fair Fayre on Saturday 5th December
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Regular events at KEC and on-line
Socially distanced gardening on Saturdays
Usually from 1.00pm
Times can vary so check the Kingston Environment Centre Facebook page.
Stitch and Chat on Wednesday evenings
Returning to KEC but restricted to 6 people, with contact details taken in line with Covid-19 regulations. Email Pat if you would like to be included.
Listen or catch up with previous shows on Mixcloud..
See the KEC website calendar › for info and updates on events and activities at Kingston Environment Centre, 1 Kingston Road, New Malden, KT3 3PE.
Volunteers welcome
Social Media person - to put newsworthy items on Twitter, Facebook, etc, update content on our website (Wordpress) and contribute items to this newsletter. All can be done from home! About two hours per week.
Administration (Trainee) - to update records of members and volunteers, online calendar, prepare for meetings etc. All can be done online at the moment.
Gardeners - to look after plants, keeping the area around Kingston Environment Centre beautiful. Can be done with distancing. Training given.
Book-keeper - to keep up- to-date entries on our spreadsheet, File paperwork, Initially can be done from home, probably changing as the lockdown eases One or two hours a week, occasionally more.
If you are interested in any of these volunteer roles please let Jean or Pat know..
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News
TTK Bouncing Forward
TTK was one of 112 Transition projects across England awarded funds from the Lottery-funded Transition Network Bounce Forward seed- funding programme. Look out for more on the TTK visioning project that this award will enable.
Would you like a Library of Things in Kingston?
If you’d like to borrow useful, well maintained things or sponsor a LoT or suggest a suitable venue, please find out more and register your interest on the Library of Things website.
TTK Energy Group news
Members of TTK Energy group are participating in Kingston Council's Transition to a Green Economy working group.
Transition news and events
Catch up
- with 8 recent Transition webinars exploring What Is? What If? and the ongoing theme of social justice on the Transition Towns Youtube channel.
- and with Rob Hopkins’ podcast series.
What Next? Summit (Transition Bounce Forward)
3 - 20 March, on-line
Working with partners CTRLshift, the summit will build the power of community-led action in the UK by bringing together hundreds of community activists who are already making change happen, so together we can have a bigger impact. It will be a space to empower, to inspire, to make new connections and share knowledge in order to build a stronger movement that creates the change we want to see in our communities. The summit runs for three weeks to enable people to dip in and out as they wish and to allow space for learning, reflection, the building of relationships and concrete pathways of action. Find out more and see the outline time-table
Transition London & SE Hub Online Meet- Ups
Keep an eye on their Facebook page for further interesting and encouraging meet-ups in 2021.
Find out more about the wider Transition Network.
Find more Transition activities and events in London and the S E on Facebook
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Regular TTK events
 TTK management team meeting and Green Drinks
Last Tuesdays of the month, from 6.00pm, on-line
Management team meetings at 6.00pm, followed by virtual Green Drinks. Details will be posted on the TTK Facebook page.
We hope to see you at other TTK meet-ups or events as and when things return to normal - click an icon below to find updates on events and ongoing TTK projects, as well as new sources of funding, fascinating news snippets, encouraging ideas and discussions of Transition themes such as resilience, energy-efficiency, sustainable living… on our Facebook page. Do have a look and join in.
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News
The Christmas Grotto went well, children loved it, and the event raised £200.00. Look out for the STWC Xmas 2020 T-shirt, available soon.
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(Not quite) Midnight Run
Volunteers load two vans full of supermarket leftover food to be distributed before midnight.
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A little bit extra to STWC -
AmazonSmile customers can now support Save The World Club. Simply turn on AmazonSmile whenever you shop with Amazon, select Save The World Club as your chosen charity, and a small percentage of each purchase is then donated automatically to STWC.
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What's on at The Circulatory
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Regular events
 If you’d like visit the Circulatory or borrow Stitch in Time sewing resources, please contact Des to make an appointment to ensure that physical spacing is maintained, and bring hand sanitiser to use before and after using any kit.
 TTK's Stitch in Time is still waiting for Covid-19 restrictions to be relaxed - could be a long wait...
The Circulatory, Unit 5, Chiltern Way, (at the bottom of Chiltern Drive), adjacent to Berrylands Railway Station
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A network of local environmental organisations covering a wide range of blue and green issues in Kingston
News
KEF and the RBK Communities Covid-19 Recovery Task Force
KEF is now attending meetings of the Kingston Council Communities Covid-19 Recovery Task Force and its subgroups on Volunteering and on Mental Health and Wellbeing. If any KEF member-groups would like to deputise or attend other subgroups as they form, thus reminding other Task Force members of the need for environmental sustainability and climate resilience, and Kingston’s Climate Emergency Declaration... please get in touch.
One useful outcome from the Volunteering working group may be better coordination/signposting/mapping of volunteer opportunities, formal and informal, something that local environmental groups may well want to participate in – updates will appear on the KEF Facebook page and website. Work on wellbeing in Kingston may well provide opportunities to promote more and better green spaces, and the sub-group on poverty could promote sharing and less waste generally....
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Local green organisations, please make sure you are still members of the KEF website and that someone interested will pick up our messages, so that you can contribute and be consulted as and when relevant. New organisations and/or new group representatives are welcome to join too, by clicking the Join Website button at the top of the KEF Home page. And have a look at the website and Facebook page occasionally - there may be a question or issue for you to take up.
Individuals, there is almost certain to be an organisation or person in the group who can answer your eco-questions or take up local environmental issues or send you in the right direction, so do use the Facebook page to share these. If KEF (or one of the organisations that feature in this newsletter, many of which are KEF members) can’t help, we almost certainly know someone who can. And you don't need to join KEF’s website to access its useful information and resources.
If you’d like to write something on a green theme that is too long for this newsletter or too broad for more specialist green groups, please send it to us for possible publication in KEF’s blog.
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Local sowing and growing
Kingston community garden news
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Hogsmill Community Garden
 See updates and guidelines on (re-)opening on our Facebook page.
On Swan Path, Vineyard Close
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Canbury Community Garden
Our chickens have now joined us in lock-down, as bird flu regulations imposed since mid-December m ean that they are confined to their run. Although they are quite comfortable and getting used to it, they and their Chicken Collective carers are not quite as happy as usual!
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Fewer hands, more crops? At the end of every year, Canbury Community Garden and the Chicken Collective total up volunteer hours worked and kilos of produce harvested. Our 2020 totals (all approximate) were: 40.9 kilos of produce and 1090 eggs, our reward for 540 hours of volunteering - so, though there were inevitably, fewer volunteer hours than last year, there were, surprisingly, more kilos of veg (the biggest crop being courgettes/marrows). Well done, community gardeners! No serious famer or market gardener would be impressed by our productivity - but growing edibles, even in small quantities, is very satisfying and delicious, and in better times it can be sociable and fun too.
Between Canbury Gardens, Kingston Riverside [tennis] Club and Kings’ Passage
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Kingston Permaculture Reserve/ Edible Forest Garden
Kingston Edible Forest meets most Sundays, and on a weekday evening when there's light, to cultivate a food forest planted for the long term with perennial edible flowers, veg and fruit, details on out website. Contact us to check when we are there and for us to plan numbers while Covid rules are in place.
Knollmead Allotments, Tolworth KT5 9QP
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Regular community gardening sessions
Contact gardens via their Facebook pages for times or to make an appointment.to help. It can be difficult to keep regular sessions going with Covid rules changing so frequently and organisers taking holiday breaks, so do check websites before turning up. |
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More garden news
Covid-19: What does it mean for growers?
Community gardeners wondering what the current restrictions are and what they entail will find info on Sustain’s Covid-19 webpage to help them keep gardens open safely and confidently.
The Parks Community website (“helping Friends Groups thrive”) includes: a 'Better Friends' checker tool; Management Plans - how are they useful?; How to campaign to save a site under threat; and a Healthy Parks Audit for local authorities and community groups. Find out more, join the network and subscribe to the newsletter.
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Useful resources for gardeners
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KBN exists to highlight and promote local conservation work in Kingston.
Coming up
2021 KBN meeting dates include 20th January on Butterflies, and 14th April on Urban Rewilding.
News
Sign up to KBN newsletter or click on an icon below for news of more conservation activities around Kingston - get involved or set up a project of your own.
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Regular events
Every Wednesday is Wildlife Wednesday on the RBK social media feeds, with a small factoid about local wildlife recently on those winter visitors, redwings.
Every Monday there’s a Reading Nature session with the Library Service on their social media - a short video encouraging people to go outside and explore green spaces to find wildlife
See the website or Facebook page for other KBN activities
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News
Habitats & Heritage acts for the natural and historic environment in south and west London. In a time where the health of our environment and each other has never been more important, and never more interlinked, we invite readers to support our work by signing up to join the new Habitats & Heritage Supporter Scheme today for just £10 a year.
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Click on the icons below for news and information from Habitats & Heritage, and sign up for our newsletter to hear about all the news, opportunities and events from the Habitats & Heritage community. If you were signed up for SWLEN's newsletter, your subscription will be transferred.
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 Berrylands Nature Reserve
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News
Read our blog: after every event or when there is some exciting news about our nature reserve or local green space, we try to write a quick blog post to let everyone know. We love feedback and ideas so please do keep in contact by emailing us or via social media.
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Regular events
See website and Facebook page.
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XR Kingston 
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Events
For XR Kingston meetings, actions, film shows coming up check Events on the Facebook page.
News from the XR network
News from global Extinction Rebellion here. Read the latest London XR news and sign up for the e-newsletter here.
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See the Council's recently redesigned website for the latest news.
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Money, money, money...
Kingston £ update
You can now spend Kingston Pounds at more and more traders, chains and a wide variety of places, including electronically via the Kingston Pound App (see your App Store). With your help, K£ can get bigger, which simply means converting and spending more.  Our great local independent businesses have had a really tough time but we can help by spending more with them. If you load up your K£ account or set up a small standing order you will be set to help in 2021. Kingston Pound banks with www.boomcu.com.
Make your pension matter
There’s about £3 trillion invested in UK pensions, and much of it funds harmful industries like fossil fuels, tobacco, and arms. Make My Money Matter exists to demand it does better, through investments that do good not harm, and by using our pension power to ensure the companies we invest in do the same.
And enjoy MMMM’s short satirical film on pensions.
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Nature notes
Friends of Ham Lands “seek to preserve and enhance the natural habitats of Ham Lands and to provide information about the area so that more people can understand and appreciate this Local Nature Reserve." To learn more about conservation work in neighbouring Ham click here or sign up for their newsletter, which celebrates the biodiversity of Ham Lands all year round.
 Birds make us happier
A new study reveals that greater bird biodiversity brings greater joy to people, Scientists concluded (as many of us knew already) that conservation is just as important for human well-being as financial security. Rea d more.
2021 Big Garden Bird Watch, 29 - 31 January
In a park or garden near you
Registration is now open for the world's largest wildlife survey - .sign up on the RSPB website.
How to make a wildflower seedball and help pollinators - a guide from Backyard Nature.
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Useful apps for nature-lovers
The Seek app uses your smart phone to identify the plants and animals all around us, and can make the daily walk much more interesting.
BirdNET can identify 984 of the most common bird species of North America and Europe. from song recorded on your phone.
UK Bird Sounds
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Have your say - 
On Kingston’s Air Quality Action Plan
Kingston’s Air Quality Action Plan, shaped by Kingston residents following Kingston’s Citizens’ Assembly on Air Quality last year, commits the Council to improving air quality across the borough via removing pollutants from school boundaries, planning and enforcement, greener transport and infrastructure, and awareness-raising. You can read it and give your feedback at kingstonletstalk.co.uk/aqap until 17 January.
On Heathrow night flights
The government has just opened a new consultation about night flights from London airports. Even with the third runway shelved, aircraft noise remains a subject of huge importance in this area, especially in Richmond Park. You can find the consultation, which closes on March 3, here.
On Low Traffic Neighbourhoods
Together with other London boroughs, Kingston is trialling these low traffic street schemes which aim to improve air quality by providing infrastructure to support walking and cycling. Please take part in the ongoing consultation and tell the Council what you think about the Low Traffic Neighbourhood trials around the borough. For more info and to comment visit the Council website.
On Kingston Climate Emergency Youth Survey
This survey has been created by the Kingston and Richmond Youth Council (KRYC), in partnership with Achieving for Children and Kingston Council, to find out how important 11-19-year-olds think climate change is, the actions they are taking, and what else young people, their families, or their schools, could do to tackle it. Open until Friday 22nd January – complete the survey here.
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Waste matters
Kingston Litter Pickers' Group
This Facebook group is for everyone who ever picks up litter in Kingston - to share ideas, organise litter-picks, and have a bit of a moan.
Stories from Freeglers
It's amazing what you can give away or find at Freegle. Read encouraging stories from Freeglers here.
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Energy updates
Ovesco inspires
In 2007 Transition Town Lewes Energy Group met in a pub and formed a local energy enterprise Ovesco. They now have a 15-roof-top solar site, have built a 5MW solar farm, employ people, and have set up Community Energy South. They are about to embark on two new projects, and say they could not have imagined that all this was possible in 2007! So, although promising local attempts to set up energy companies - Ham and Teddington Hydro and Kingston Community Energy (you can read the sad KEC story here) - came to nothing for a variety of reasons, local energy companies can succeed, and maybe it's time for another go - see next item.
Berrylands Community Solar
Berrylands Community Solar say: "Berrylands has all it needs to generate the vast majority of its energy needs from the sun. We want to set up a community solar generation capability, so that everyone in Berrylands can benefit... By harnessing the roof space in Berrylands, we can generate electricity for the benefit of all. We need lots of different skills to come together to make this idea a reality - so please join in! " Find out more.
Windfarms in Great Britain break records 
Blustery winter weather in December helped Great Britain’s windfarms set a record for clean power generation, which made up more than 40% of its electricity on 18th. Read more.
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Climate crisis updates
The good news
Active travel grows
Changes to habits this year due to Covid-19 saw the proportion of journeys made by walking and cycling increase significantly: from 29% between January and March to 46% between April and June, with walking and cycling still well above previous years as restrictions eased, accounting for an estimated 37% of journeys between July and September. Read more on this from TfL.
“What if it’s a big hoax and we create a better world for nothing?”
The Committee on Climate Change has shown that decarbonising is not only affordable but highly desirable... Read more in The Guardian Business section
Climate change: Covid drives record emissions drop in 2020...
France and the UK saw the greatest falls, mainly due to severe shutdowns in response to a second wave of infections. China, by contrast, has seen such a large rebound from coronavirus that overall emissions may grow this year. To minimise the uptick in carbon, the scientists are urging a "green" rather than a "brown" response, meaning recovery funding should be spent on sustainable projects and not on fossil fuels. They argue that efforts should also be made to boost walking and cycling in cities and to rapidly deploy electric vehicles.
Read more, with link to the study
Global 'elite' must curb high-carbon living
Have countries kept their climate change promises?
“A different world is possible...”
But ‘This drop in emissions, as impressive as it is, will do nothing to slow climate change”. Read more in Metro, and a similar story in The Guardian: "Slowdown of human activity was too short to reverse years of destruction, but we saw a glimpse of a post-fossil fuel world... there is still a narrow window of opportunity for something good to come from something bad if governments use their economic stimulus packages to promote a green recovery."
The bad news
Supreme Court lifts ban on Heathrow third runway
The expansion scheme was previously blocked by the Court of Appeal, who said the government’s airports strategy didn’t meet up-to-date UK climate targets. But the Supreme Court has ruled the strategy was legitimately based on previous, less stringent, climate targets at the time it was agreed. The decision was labelled a step backwards by campaigners, and it would seem to set a precedent for all kinds of retrograde action. Climate targets, declarations, strategies, pledges, plans, promises... What is the point when decisions like this can be made (and the Green Alliance policy tracker mentioned below shows the yawning gap between policy and action)? Read all about it, and see Campaigns section above to sign FoE's petition on Heathrow expansion.
Green Alliance policy tracker highlights the gap between UK plans and action
“During 2020 there have been many signals of intention to act on climate and nature, with the government indicating it wants to put the country on course for rapid emissions reductions and redefine the way land is managed for nature, supported by some welcome new policy and spending commitments. But, despite these ambitions, policy and spending has so far fallen short of what is needed to achieve these aims..." Read the full report.
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Useful resources
Off-set your carbon footprint...
 It is estimated that an average UK household emits around four tonnes of CO₂ each year. Even if you’ve pared your carbon footprint down to the minimum, there will still be carbon dioxide emissions associated with your everyday life. The World Land Trust Carbon Balanced calculators enable you to calculate how much – and then offset it with a donation towards tree-planting and conservation projects around the world. If that’s not your thing, there are other ways to offset – tell us your favourites.
What is COP26, How does it work, Why is it important? A short explanatory video on YouTube
Climate Outreach’s How to have a climate change conversation – Talking climate.
Want to take action on climate change, but don’t know where to start? Possible has divided their campaigns across five key areas where we can all take action to tackle the climate crisis. Click the buttons on Possible’s website to find out what you can do right now to help.
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Food, glorious food...
The Good Food Co-op
A Kingston not-for-profit enterprise championing local, spray-free, ethically sourced, seasonal, healthy food for all. The profits from every full price veg or fruit box subsidise a box for someone local in need. Find out more and order a veg or fruit box.
Veganuary 2021
Why not give it try this year? Find out more about Veganuary, and see the joint letter from Jane Goodall, Ricky Gervais, Paul McCartney, Chrissie Hynde, Bryan Adams, John Bishop, Sara Pascoe & more, expressing their hope for a better future: “We can protect the planet and prevent future pandemics if we change our diets...” See also “Should we all be vegan?” the panel discussion brought together twice last year by TTK and recorded at Kingston Libraries Eco-Festival in August 2020 - you can watch it here; get some helpful plant-based meal recipes for Veganuary from Greenpeace staff and volunteers; and for a supportive local Facebook group join APRIKUT – Animal Product Reducers in Kingston upon Thames.
Groundswell is a forum for farmers and anyone interested in food production or the environment to learn about the theory and practical applications of Conservation Agriculture or regenerative systems, including no-till, cover crops and re-introducing livestock into the arable rotation, with a view to improving soil health. Find out more about their events.
Growing Through Climate Change
Seeding our Future have produced a report outlining which locally grown foods in the UK are most at risk in the future from climate change and the best adaptive practices for producers and consumers. Download a 4-page summary here. More info here.
Sustain’s Response, Resilience and Recovery: London’s Food Response to Covid-19 - read this and other London Food Link publications.
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Reviews
We read the reviews so you don’t have to... We haven’t read or watched everything in this section, but we think they all sound interesting. Please tell us about other books, films, programmes to include.
Read
Salmon - Kingston's magazine "for ethically-minded people who live, work and play in the Royal Borough of Kingston and the surrounding area. It encourages localism and sustainability and is endorsed by the Kingston Pound." The winter issue is out now, featuring some familiar faces, green groups and activities - read it here or via the Kingston £ website.
Can you help distribute Salmon? The closure of local leisure centres, pubs and restaurants has made it harder to distribute the print version of the magazine, so if any readers are able and willing to deliver them to friends and neighbours please contact Karen.
 Back to Nature: How to Love Life – and Save It by Chris Packham & Megan McCubbin
“An invitation to take action, showing how ordinary people can become activists” (The Observer)
“The main text is scattered with sparkling jewels of fascinating science on everything from how trees communicate to what birds dream of when they sleep. There are some truly inspiring tales... Rousing, polemical and heartfelt, Back to Nature is not afraid to challenge the status quo and it will fill you with a determination to take action.” (Gardens Illustrated)
Watch
Kiss the Ground
Science experts and celebrity activists unpack the ways in which the earth's soil may be the key to combating climate change and preserving the planet. Starring:Woody Harrelson. Watch the film on Netflix or watch a trailer. Find out more about the film/DVD.
5 ways we can help our planet (and ourselves)
A short trailer for A Life on Our Planet featuring David Attenborough
2040
A documentary film exploring what the future could look like by the year 2040 if we simply embraced the solutions already available to improve our planet and shifted them rapidly into the mainstream.
Find out more about the film, including how to see it or host a screening.
Listen
BBC R4 Reith Lectures 2020: How We Get What We Value
Former Bank of England governor Mark Carney’s charts how we have come to esteem financial value over human value, how we have gone from market economies to market societies and the three crises - of credit, Covid and climate - and how we can turn this around. What is said will be less surprising to most of our readers than who is saying it. Listen here.
BBC podcast: The Climate Question
“Stories across the world on why we find it so hard to save our own planet, and how we might change that... This is sharp-edged, analytical inquiry. Hard scrutiny, touched with a sense of adventure and discovery, and where we can find it hope.” What is said will be less surprising to most of our readers than who is saying it. Listen here.
39 Ways to Save the Planet
BBC R4, in partnership with the Royal Geographical Society, presents 39 ideas to relieve the stress that climate change is exerting on the planet (and us). Starting on Monday 4th January – listen here.
Greta Thunberg meets Margaret Atwood... on Zoom
Listen to Greta Thunberg and veteran author and environmentalist Margaret Atwood chatting on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on December 29th.
Extinction Rebellion podcasts cover a wide variety of climate and ecological topics, featuring world-renowned scientists, authors, economists, and members of XR from across the world.
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Regular updates on all things environmental
Most of them will send environmental news direct to your inbox:
The Independent environment news
The Guardian environment news and The Guardian’s weekly Green Light email.
The BBC environment news
The Ecologist, currently celebrating its 50th year; its impressive archive includes the landmark A Blueprint for Survival (1972) outlining the need for a serious economic and environmental overhaul
Fix the Planet - New Scientist’s monthly dose of climate optimism
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More things we like this month 
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- Carbon Conversations “a unique psycho-social project that addresses the practicalities of carbon reduction while taking account of the complex emotions and social pressures that make this difficult.”
- Cooperation Town sharing food as a way of bringing diverse people together
- Doughnut Economics Action Lab Tools & Stories - how-to guides to use and adapt, and examples of Doughnut Economics in action (79 contributed so far)
- For love of the planet – a New Economics Foundation article on how the environmental emergency Is affecting our mental health – and what we can do about it.
- Future Thinkers – a podcast and interesting project, Smart Village/rural innovation lab for prototyping regenerative civilization design in BC, Canada
- Hubbub’s Greenprint, “a manifesto laying out practical and tested policy proposals to respond to the priorities of the British public, businesses and local authorities. .
- Milan’s bicycling bookseller pictured below
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- NEF’s Review of the Year – an overview of everything the New Economic Forum has been working on during this challenging year, and NEF's reading list of some of their most important and interesting work in 2020.
- Possible’s reasons to be cheerful this year – sign up for their newsletter
- “Parking Days” - paying for a parking bay for a day and using it for whatever else you like: a shop or stall, an exhibition space, a temporary garden... an idea from Europe, tried in Liverpool as sParkit
- Past issues of Kingston Environment News, in case you've missed other good things.
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What else is happening soon?
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Veganuary 2021
All January, at home (like almost everything else)
Why not give it try this year? Find out more and see Food, Glorious Food above
 Surviving the Future: Conversations for Our Time
4th Jan - 28 Feb 2021
Sterling College's interactive, communal online course, led by TTK co-founder Shaun Chamberlin, with guests last time including Rob Hopkins and Vandana Shiva. The first run had 250 participants - this will be limited to 100. Details here and Shaun's blog about the course here.
George Monbiot: Dying from Consumption
Wed 10 Feb,7.00 - 9.30 pm, Online, YouTube
Join George Monbiot on a live stream involving a talk and interactive Q and A + a talk from Mac Macartney, the founder of Embercombe, and music from Mobius Loop and Tallulah Rendall.
Find out more and get tickets.
Give Earth a Rest Day
Saturday 5 June 2021
A new anti-waste campaign has started in Kingston and could go global if everyone helped. Find out more here.
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