Category: Community & action

How to take climate action – take part in a school strike

children, young people taking part in a climate protest

What are school strikes?

School strikes, inspired by the action taken by Greta Thunberg, are a direct challenge to leadership (teachers, governments and parents). Students are absent from school, usually without permission, and instead go to a public place with placards explaining that they are on strike, and why.

The objective is to make the news, in order to:

  • remind the more complacent members of our society that climate change is a problem
  • remind other campaigners that they’re not alone
  • and make it harder for your government to continue with climate-damaging policies

Not to be taken lightly, school strikes have been proven to be a valuable attention-raising tool in the fight against climate change.

Should I take part in a school strike?

Whether or not to participate in a school strike is not an easy decision to make. It’s a direct challenge to the way things have always been done; you must balance the risk of damaging your education and future work prospects against the risk that your future (as previous generations have known it) is at stake.

Is it worth it? Perhaps it depends on where you are in your school career. If you are approaching your exams, you might take a different view of the risks compared to if you are at a less critical stage in your school career. At all stages, speak to your parents and teachers to explain, and ask the teachers if they would be prepared to send you a copy of the lesson materials so you don’t miss out. Students with good behaviour records, who can explain their actions in a reasoned way and collaborate with teachers to limit the disruption to their education will probably suffer less negative consequences than others might; but ultimately the school will have behaviour standards to uphold and you may well face punishment of some kind.

Ultimately it is a personal decision.

How can I make my school strike effective?

Ideally, do it on the same day as an organised protest to maximise your impact.

Make sure you do your preparation. Make effective, eye-catching placards, prepare your statement so you know what your demands are, prepare a press release and tell your local media so they can arrange to cover the strike.

On the day, take photos to prove it happened, and make sure you take some in landscape (wide) format as this works best on media websites. Of course, take photos and video and share them on TikTok and Instagram too (but you didn’t need us to tell you to do that, right?) You might not be on Facebook, but the audience you need to convince is, so get someone to post your media to Facebook too, and send them to your local newspaper.

How can I support school strikes responsibly?

Supporting school strikes as a student leader

If you are a student leader (e.g. a class representative, head of house, or head girl/boy) take advantage of your role and speak to the school’s senior leadership team. A well-argued case could change the whole school’s policy. Maybe a compromise could be reached, e.g. a lunchtime protest. This could still make the news – local newspapers are desperate for stories – so you will have achieved your objective of bringing the climate crisis to people’s attention, while not losing any study time.

Supporting school strikes as a teacher, governor or member of the school leadership team

If you are a teacher, a governor or a member of the school’s leadership team, talk to each other about whether the school policy should be to support strikes, and how the effect on learning could be minimised, while maximising the effectiveness of the strike. Pro-active leadership, demonstrating that you care about both the climate and education could be more effective than attempting to manage rebellion (particularly as those rebelling may well be your most caring, thoughtful and high-achieving pupils).

If you teach art, tech or graphic design, help your students design and create posters and placards.

If you teach English, media studies, or business studies, help your students prepare a press release and rehearse press interviews.

If you teach science, make sure your students understand the environmental chemistry and biology that’s relevant to their protest so they are well informed.

If you teach maths, help your students with any statistics they are interpreting or quoting so they don’t accidentally make false claims.

If you teach history, geography or sociology, teach your students about the historic and current inequities that have contributed to the unfair burden of climate change experienced by the global South; and strategies that go towards making that right, like targeted assistance for developing countries, and respecting indigenous rights.

Supporting school strikes as a parent

As a parent, talk to your child about school strikes, and how they could participate safely and avoid damage to their education. Help them to make good choices regarding which strikes to support and when.

Image credit: photo by Callum Shaw on Unsplash

Categories: Community & action, High impact, Influence

How to take climate action – plant a lot of trees

rainforest trees in sunlight

Why should I plant trees?

Trees absorb and lock away carbon – on average about 22kg of CO2 per year[1] – so it’s horrifying that human activity has already cleared about half of the Earth’s tropical forests[2] and a further 7.3 million hectares are destroyed every year.[2] That’s the same as about 10.5 million football (soccer) pitches or 13.7 million NFL football fields.

Research shows that planting billions of trees is the simplest and cheapest way to help tackle the climate crisis[3]. The study’s authors calculated that it should be possible to increase tree cover by 25%. When mature, the extra forested areas would be capable of locking away 200 gigatonnes of carbon (25% of current atmospheric carbon)[3].

While we absolutely must reduce emissions as well, planting trees is a quick, easy win, because it doesn’t require political will or rely on technology that hasn’t been invented yet. It’s a low-tech, cheap solution that can be started right now by anyone, anywhere.

In addition to capturing carbon, responsible reforestation also:

  • prevents soil erosion
  • improves soil health
  • prevents flooding by improving groundwater recharge (the process by which water returns to the water table)
  • supports native plants and animals
  • regulates local temperatures (e.g. cooling cities naturally)
  • and provides work for local communities

Where does tree planting have the most effect?

Trees planted in tropical areas were long believed to have the most impact[4]. So, on a global scale, it’s good to support a scheme that aims to plant millions of trees in equatorial areas, like Earth Day’s Canopy Project. Alongside many other campaigns, they plant trees in areas most at risk from climate change and after environmental disasters.

However, more recent evidence indicates that the UK’s older trees lock away twice as much carbon as previously thought – so really there’s no bad place to plant a tree, so long as it’s a native tree, and not in a monoculture (i.e. not a huge area all planted with the same type of tree).

Here are some great examples of international tree planting.

How can I plant more trees in my area?

close up of two red and green eating apples on an apple tree. On the left, the blurred background gives the impression of more apple trees

If you’re in charge of a lot of land (e.g. managing an estate, a park, a school or looking after community-owned land), check out the Woodland Trust’s tree planting scheme. They can help with access to grants and funding schemes and suggest which trees you should plant. They can even supply free trees to schools and communities. Applications open in spring for autumn delivery, because it’s best to plant trees in late autumn/winter.

In your area, support schemes to plant native trees in public spaces, or plans to plant locally-appropriate woodland and forests, and support campaigns to replant forests that have been destroyed by farming and mining. Support these schemes even if they change your local landscape so it looks unfamiliar to you.

If you have room at home, plant a native and appropriately-sized tree. Research how big it will grow, or ask a tree specialist, so you don’t cut out all your light and damage your home’s foundations. If you plant a fruit tree, you can also have a free seasonal supply of apples, pears or other fruit.

If you have less space, planting any leafy plant will help. Consider planting fruit bushes, or something that flowers in the winter, like viburnum, to provide early or out-of-season food for beneficial insects like bees.

If you have no outdoor space at all, even indoor plants will help. They’ll remove CO2 from the air, and they’ll also help remove volatile organic compounds (given off by furnishings and paint) from your home. Good Housekeeping, quoting a study by NASA, recommends aloe vera, areca palm and snake plant, among others.

[1] Urbanforestrynetwork.org. (2019). Trees Improve Our Air Quality. [online] Available at: http://urbanforestrynetwork.org/benefits/air%20quality.htm [Accessed 27 Jul. 2019]

[2] Earth Day. n.d. The Canopy Project | Earth Day. [online] Available at: <https://www.earthday.org/campaign/the-canopy-project/> [Accessed 14 February 2021].

[3] “The restoration of forested land at a global scale could help capture atmospheric carbon and mitigate climate change.”) Bastin et al (2019). The global tree restoration potential. Science, [online] 365(6448), pp.76-79. Available at: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/365/6448/76.

[4] Carrington, D., 2019. Tree planting ‘has mind-blowing potential’ to tackle climate crisis. [online] the Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jul/04/planting-billions-trees-best-tackle-climate-crisis-scientists-canopy-emissions> [Accessed 14 February 2021].

[5] Gill, V. (2022) UK’s old trees critical to climate change fight, BBC News. BBC. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64028694 (Accessed: February 5, 2023).

Image credits:
Rainforest: photo by Alenka Skvarc on Unsplash
Apples on a tree: photo by Sokmean Nou on Unsplash

Categories: Carbon absorption, Community & action, Gardening, High impact, Uncategorized

Think “second-hand first” – how to save money with second-hand and reuse websites

screenshot of listings on second hand clothing website depop

Why use second-hand and reuse websites?

Fashion waste is a huge problem, with waste occurring during manufacture, processing, transport, disposal of unsold stock and the quick discarding of fast fashion items.

According to Edge Fashion Intelligence, 94 million kg (208 million lb) of waste was generated from single-use outfits in 2019, and 64% of the 32 billion garments produced each year end up in landfill.

So whether you need something or don’t need something anymore, websites like eBay, Poshmark, Depop, Vinted, Freegle and Freecycle help keep stuff out of landfill and money in your pocket.

Facebook groups, Gumtree and Craigslist are also great ways to list or acquire things locally, with the benefit that you can easily collect them and don’t have to pay postage costs.

What are the best second-hand and reuse websites?

eBay

You’ve probably heard of eBay, the online auction and marketplace where you can buy or sell almost anything. It’s a great way to buy, or move on, second-hand clothes, household goods, and unwanted gifts.

It’s also a great way to find out what something’s worth. If you have some weird old collectables or vintage items, they might be worth a lot to someone else.

You need to create an account to buy or sell. Some items are offered as auctions, and others have a “buy it now” price. The price you offer to buy at is the price you pay, plus postage depending on your dispatch method.

As a private, low-volume seller, a basic listing is free – but eBay deducts a fee of 12.8% + 30p* before you get your money. However, there are lots of paid add-on services to help your item stand out, and a few weird quirks, for example, if you’re selling trainers.

Poshmark, Depop & Vinted

Poshmark, Depop and Vinted specialise in peer-to-peer sales of second-hand clothing, jewellery, shoes and homewares (i.e. people selling to other people). While some sellers take it very seriously, curating collections and wardrobes for their followers, the majority of sellers are just looking to make a little bit of money back when they clear out their wardrobes. It’s possible to pick up items from just a few pounds up to hundreds for second-hand designer items.

Vinted

You need to create an account to buy or sell on Vinted. Sellers can bundle items together and give buyers a discount for buying multiple items.
With Vinted, the price you see listed is what the seller gets. Vinted adds a fee of 70p + 5%*, and then you choose your postage method, which adds another couple of pounds. So while everything looks like a bargain, be prepared to pay a couple more pounds than the price you originally see.

Depop

You need to create an account to buy or sell on Depop.
As a buyer, you pay the price you see, plus postage depending on the method you choose.
Depop charges sellers 10% of the total sale price* (including 10% of the postage), then PayPal or Depop Payments charge around 3% + 30p* as well.

Poshmark

Poshmark is marketed as the site for higher-value items.
You need to create an account to buy or sell on Poshmark.
As a buyer, you pay the price you see, plus postage, which starts at $7.67 for items weighing 5 lb or less*.
Poshmark charges sellers $2.95 for items under $15*. For items costing $15 or more, it’s 20% of the total*.

Freegle and Freecycle

Try Freegle and Freecycle for stuff that’s too bulky to post, or too tatty to sell, but still has plenty of use left in it. Everything is free.

You can list things you just want taken off your hands, or pick up items for nothing, in your local area. It really is worth a try; I’ve given away stuff I thought no one would ever want, like a really ugly concrete bird bath that came with our house; the people who collected it thought it was great.

Freegle and Freecycle are great for larger items or things that charity shops don’t want, perhaps because they’re a bit tatty or broken.

So if you need, or want to get rid of, 3 yards of used chicken wire, a well-used sofa or an aloe vera plant… just post an advert, and someone may help you out.

Click here to find your nearest Freecycle group

Or here to find your nearest Freegle group.

Facebook, Gumtree and Craigslist

Like classified ads in local newspapers, you can also give away, sell or pick up items on local Facebook groups, Gumtree and Craigslist.

However you choose to do it, you’re keeping things out of landfill and helping to build a community of people who reject the throw-away culture.

*Fees quoted are correct as at March 2023.

Image credit:
Screenshot by the author

Categories: Community & action, Consumption, Free, Saves money, Waste