The foods we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink and the climate that makes our planet habitable all come from nature.
Yet, these are exceptional times in which nature is sending us a message:
To care for ourselves we must care for nature.
It’s time to wake up. To take notice. To raise our voices.
It’s time to build back better for People and Planet.
This World Environment Day, it’s #TimeforNature.
#WorldEnvironmentDay is the most renowned day for environmental action since 1974. It offers a global platform for inspiring positive change. Global change requires a global community. As individuals we need to think about the way we consume; our businesses need to develop greener models; our farmers and manufacturers produce more sustainably; our government must to safeguard wild spaces; we need to live in harmony with the Earth; and help our young people become fierce gatekeepers of a green future. It requires all of us to ACT.
In 2020, the theme is biodiversity #ForNature – a concern that is both urgent and existential. Recent events, from bushfires in Brazil, the United States and Australia to locust infestations across East Africa–and now, a global disease pandemic–demonstrate the interdependence of humans and the webs of life in which we exist. Nature is sending us a message.
At SI Lichfield & District our Planet Sub Group is charged with leading the activity of our Club in helping our planet survive and thrive, all based on the actions of individual members.
We’re currently asking every member to assess their Personal Carbon Footprints using a respected calculator and we’ll shortly be devising an internal survey to gather examples of good practice – large or small – which we can share in Club to inspire each other.
Our current work includes:
- The care and development of green spaces in Lichfield for the benefit of all, including developing our plans to plant trees in our community to mark the SIGBI Centenary celebrations in 2021
- Working with our local domestic abuse refuge to offer “gardening” opportunities to support the physical and mental health and learning of service users
- Creating “homes for nature” and gardening more sustainably to help pollinators
- Repurposing, reusing and upcycling materials in a variety of projects from decorative items to uniform washing bags, scrubs and masks for Covid-19 key workers
- Collecting formal workwear for a charity which helps disadvantaged people access the workplace
- Reducing our use of plastics inspired by local Lichfield activists, Sisters Against Plastic
- Using technology to “get together” without travelling
- Educating ourselves:
- For example you might think the Covid-19 lockdown has improved air quality significantly…but has it? Find out here.
- Using free online training course and materials such as these
- By learning from local partners and experts such as WFEG and Transition Lichfield
- Learning more about Biodiversity – take the quiz here
And as time goes on we’ll add many more. This is a journey not a destination and we can’t hang around any longer.
Take a look at what we’re doing as a club to help our environment.