We may have missed getting this post published on the 50th Earth Day (it was on Wednesday 22nd), but it's a great time for researching ideas and contacting people about keeping the climate change movement going.
Linking in with our theme of overheating, climate change is likely to result in much more extreme weather- including lots of heatwaves. So some of the most important things you can do to stop your home getting too hot (or cold) in the future include contacting national and local government to get action to reduce climate change and to future-proof our cities against the effects of climate change that are now unavoidable.
Write to your MP- you could write about housing standards, reducing the urban heat island, improving tree cover in cities, creating urban meadows, green roofs, fitting insulation or whatever else has caught your attention.
For contacting MPs, TheyWorkForYou is a really helpful website
Write to your local council: Any of the ideas for writing to your MP are also good ideas for writing to your local council- or you could write about more local issues. How about discussing tree planting in your local area, or the specific housing where you live. Is there something about your home or neighbourhood which you think the council could address to reduce overheating? Could your local green space do with some improved planting- or reduced mowing- to make it better for local residents and wildlife?
More practically, we find it really helps us to feel positive about the environment when we take action ourselves- even if it just takes 5 seconds picking up litter on our daily walk, which we know reduces the chances of a hedgehog or bird getting hurt. Look for local places where you could improve the environment, including litter picking (wear gloves and take care- don't pick up needles) on daily exercise, planting seeds and other plants in appropriate places, or whatever you can think of.
We've reached the end of our series now, and hope you've enjoyed our whistlestop tour of overheating and how to reduce it. We'll be back next week with more Activity of the Day posts.
Best wishes from
The Crow Wood CIC team!