What is The Great Big Green Week?
The Great Big Green Week is organised by The Climate Coalition and will be taking place from Saturday 18th – Sunday 26th September 2021. It will be the largest event for climate and nature ever seen in the UK as thousands of events will take place across the UK as communities gather together to tackle climate change, especially in the run up to the CO26 in Glasgow this October. Kirkby Lonsdale has been in contact with Tim Farron to raise our MP’s ambition and champion action on climate change.
Who are The Climate Coalition?
The Climate Coalition have organised The Great Big Green Week as the UK’s largest group dedicated to tackling climate change. Along with their sister organisations Stop Climate Chaos Cymru and Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, they work with over 140 organisations to influence goverment decisions regarding climate change and call for a healthy, green and fair recovery from Coronavirus. Make history with The Climate Coalition by signing up to lobby your MP and sign the declaration for #thetimeisnow
What is COP26?
COP26 is the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties where UN nations discuss climate change and work towards the Paris Agreement and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. This year, it is taking place in Glasgow on 31st October – 12th November and so The Great Big Green Week has even greater emphasis and calls to action as the country gets ready to host a major UN climate summit. What would your message to COP26 be? Get involved with the Kirkby Lonsdale COP26 competition.
How does Fair Trade fit into all off this?
The Fairtrade Foundation is a member of The Climate Coalition and Kirkby Lonsdale, as a Fair Trade Town, is certified by the Fairtrade Foundation and is allied with the Cumbria Fairtrade Network. Fair Trade champions communities who have contributed the least to climate change but suffer its consequences the worst. The UK and other wealthy countries benefit the most from an unfair world trade system which restricts many farmers and workers on the front line of the climate crisis from building sustainable lives and prospering. Fair Trade Towns across the UK like Kirkby Lonsdale promote and sell Fair Trade products to help alleviate this disparity.
How can you get involved in Kirkby Lonsdale?
The Information & Gift Shop will be selling Fairtrade products throughout The Great Big Green Week and beyond, including coffee, chocolate, toiletries and stationary. There will be a Fairtrade Stall on the market on Thursday 30th September and Thursday 7th October where you can browse our Fairtrade products, learn more about Fairtrade and climate change and write your own message to COP 26 as part of our Promise to My Plant Postcard Competition.
Make a Promise to My Planet Postcard Competition
Kirkby Lonsdale is launching a postcard competition called A Promise to My Planet – My Message to COP26. We are inviting everyone to send their message to politicians and MPs at COP26 in Glasgow and take the lead in making a promise to the planet to tackle climate change.
All you need to do is write a message to a politician of your choice on one of our postcards and hand it in at the Information & Gift Shop, the Fairtrade market stall or tag us on Facebook (@KirkbyLonsdalelTown) or Instagram (@kirkbylonsdale.info).
The more people who show their support for the planet, the bigger the international ambitions at COP 26 will be. This is your chance to make your voice heard and tackle climate change. The most powerful message will be decided by Kim Bradshaw from The Zero Pantry on Thursday 7th October.
A Pilgrimage for Nature
A Pilgrimage for Nature is coming to Kirkby Lonsdale on Friday 1st October and camping for two nights in Jubilee Field. This is your chance to share stories and ideas about climate change and make a contribution to the cause.
They will be organizing a Moot at 6pm on Saturday 2nd October – this will be an informal discussion about climate change and how it effects the land around us – and, at 7pm, a Scratch Performance – a practice performance for their final storytelling piece which will be performed at the COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow! Find out more on the Facebook event.
Listening to The Land is an independent civil society movement, co-produced by Kriya Arts and No-Planet B Initiative. They are walking a Pilgrimage for Nature from London to Glasgow, collecting stories and supporters on the way as they complete their 400 mile journey. They will perform at the COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow at the end of October, inspired by their journey and the communities they meet on the way. This is your chance to be heard at COP26.
