How we began

“Respect Mother Earth and her giving ways.
Or trade away our children’s days.”

Mother Earth by Neil Young

Thank you very much for visiting our website. My name is Lucy, and when we started our CAN I was, and as I write this still am, a Minchinhampton Parish councillor.

I’d never started a group like this, certainly never spoken in big public meetings or organised events, and I am a bag of nerves just to remember it, but I felt I had to do this, as when my children turn round and ask me what I did to help slow climate change, I want to be able to say I tried my best.

The one thing I am sure of is that the future is not fixed, the future can be changed by many people making small decisions and taking action. But it takes energy, passion and forethought. We must think about what type of legacy we want to leave this world. Climate change is upon us, and we may be limited in what we each can do, but that does not mean we should not try our best to make a difference.

I’m grateful to my fellow councillor Ashley Smith, who from the very start helped me set up and run our CAN. It was born out of our chats at parish meetings as to how we personally could do more.

I’m also grateful to Richard Erskine from Nailsworth CAN, Yvonne Rees from Chalford CAN, and Fred Barker from Transition Stroud, who guided us through the process of creating a CAN, and showed us what a CAN could achieve.

The point of our group is to bring together and share the good ideas of everyone in our communities as to how we here might help curb climate change, and to turn those ideas into things everyone can do or take part in. If you have thoughts about what you would like to see change in your community, please let us know right now!

The future’s waiting for us to make it.