Climate Ambassadors Mary Lindsey and Fiona Hughes, Ladock WI's speakers at their August Meeting8/17/2023 National has been a strong supporter of climate change initiatives for sometime. They have passed resolutions over the years covering such topics as End Plastic Soup, SOS for honey bees, Clean Rivers for People and Wildlife.
The W.I. works with a Climate Coalition which is a group of over 130 organisations including National Trust. Pippa Stillwell is a member of Cornwall W.I.’s Environment and Public Affairs Sub-Committee and writes a blog of the work being done in Cornwall. Ambassadors make local visits and write the Green Corner in County News. Any member can volunteer to become an Ambassador and currently there are 5 members who have taken on this role with a further 4 climate friends. They meet on Zoom each month and have organised events such as litter picking and the fast fashion coffee morning event in Truro Cathedral. They encourage members to make craft items such as shopping bags, the green hearts and an impressive banner which was on display at the meeting, which shows the increase in temperature over the last 100 years. There is currently several metres of bunting created by members some of which were very intricate. A sample of the banners was also brought to the meeting. They have lobbied MP’s and had discussions with Jayne Kirkham the prospective Labour candidate for Truro and Falmouth. They write articles for County News and Parish magazines and produced a Green Tips booklet which had been funded through a Lottery Grant. Copies were circulated at the meeting and copies left for members unable to attend. Their aim is to emphasise the positive tipping points rather than the negative to encourage more people to change their working practices. The more people on board green actions can become the norm in the way wearing of seat belts and smoking habits have changed over time. The more W.I. Members willing to take positive action the more significant the effect will be. They are encouraging a Committee member to be appointed to link with an Ambassador and report back to their Committee. They are encouraging the use of Vinted an app for selling clothes on line and discouraging the use of clothing that produces microplastics. There followed a question and answer session where members shared their carbon cutting experiences such as using sheet detergent, shampoo in a bar, refill stations, food delivery etc.
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