Council starts week of Climate Action Now events

A week of Climate Action Now events encouraging collaboration across the borough as part of Stockport’s Green Print for the future will being this week.

Stockport Council’s Climate Action Now Week will begin on Monday and features the launch of this year’s Schools Climate Assembly, nature at libraries, climate change training for businesses and communities before ending with the CAN summit being held at Stockport Guild Hall on Friday.

On Monday morning, to launch this year’s Schools Climate Assembly, the council held an online Climate Action lesson that primary schools from across the borough will logged on to.

There is still time to get involved in this years’ Schools Climate Assembly so if any schools/parents/carers/governors are interested please contact [email protected]

Pupils learnt about where greenhouse gas emissions come from and came up with ideas for what they can do, what they’d like their schools to do and what they’d like Stockport Council to do to help tackle climate change. Their ideas will go on to be debated and they’ll vote for their favourite.

After the launch on Monday, the council will be running the lesson again for primary schools on November 8 and for colleges on November 17.

On Tuesday, Bredbury Library will host a Book Worms Community Garden session from 11am until 1pm. The ‘Book Worms’ gardening clubs are being set up in response to the youth vote in last year’s Schools Climate Assembly.

Young people proposed and voted that there should be more community food growing spaces and areas for nature. Each library in the borough is looking at how their outside space could be used for growing and increasing biodiversity.

Wednesday will see Stockport businesses having the opportunity to take part in climate change training at the new Merseyway Innovation Centre from 9.30am until 12.30pm.

The course is designed to be flexible so that SMEs can fit it around their business, be engaging and accessible for people who are new to climate action, and result in businesses leaving the course having written an actionable and practical sustainability plan for their business.

On the same day a Community Leaders Carbon Literacy Course will be held at Stockport Art Gallery from 9.30am until 4.30pm. As well as pledging actions they will take, through this course community leaders will get their official Carbon Literacy certification that enables them to move towards delivering the training for other people.

The week will be completed with the staging of the third CAN Summit being held at Stockport Guild Hall.

It will be an information-packed, interactive day to consider four key topics facing Stockport in our journey to tackle climate change: Council CAN, Energy and Buildings, Communities and Young People, and Nature and Biodiversity.
The CAN Summit is a day for all residents, young people, businesses and communities to come together to celebrate and grow climate action.

Cllr Mark Roberts, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment, said: “It is really important that we continue our work with residents, voluntary organisations and local businesses, showing that the council is undertaking a wide range of actions to tackle the challenges of climate change, but at the same time recognise there is so much more to do. By working together we can inspire and instigate change across the borough with opportunities for positive actions and collaboration.

“The activities being held this week, which will culminate in the CAN Summit being held on Friday, are a good demonstration of how the council is leading but most importantly enabling local people to take their own climate action to tackle this issue -as we all must do.

“The sessions with local businesses and community leaders will help them to understand how to reduce their climate impact and help to foster a thriving, resilient local economy and community.”

Tickets to the CAN Summit are free and are available to book here: CAN Summit Eventbrite.