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A personal reflection on 2025 – can we still keep 1.5 alive?

Two things stand out for me from this past year. One was a nostalgic road trip with my family along US Route 66. The other was the Battle of Barnet. Ironically, both these events forced me face-to-face with our collective future. More about this unsettling fore glimpse in a moment.

Keep 1.5 and our grandkids aliveMy grandchild, Damon

I think I was born a naturalist. Perhaps we all are, but some of us never lose that sense of being part of nature and an awareness of the interconnectedness of everything. Though initially moved by wonderment, I was soon driven by increasing concern for our shared planet home and have been an environmental activist for the whole of my adult life. That adds up to a little over 65 years of conserving and campaigning. During this time, our native wildlife has been in severe decline. These Isles are now one of the most nature-depleted counties on Earth. Add to this rapidly increasing climate change, and there is good reason to be alarmed for the welfare of our grandchildren's generation.

Continue reading “A personal reflection on 2025 – can we still keep 1.5 alive?”
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Blog

Future of the BCAG web site

I still get emails addressed to “webmaster” at this domain from various places. I got one this morning from the manager of the London Resilient Communities initiative. The domain will expire on January 15th 2027, and I am inclined not to renew it. It will be polite to unsubscribe from the various newsletters before it expires.

It looks like there is not much interest any more in a climate action group in Barnet, presumably because the climate problem has now been solved. If anyone is interested in reviving it, please contact me via the address at the bottom of the page.

Charles

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Blog

Is Barnet’s Biological Bridge Falling Down?

By Dennis Ayling, August 2025

Ideally, the London Borough of Barnet should function as a beautiful biological bridge between the green belt Hertfordshire countryside and the Inner London boroughs. Is it falling down? No, not quite, but it is becoming increasingly shaky. Although it is a multi-lane bridge, the various lanes are gradually getting disrupted, potentially rendering them ineffectual. If just one span of a bridge lane is undermined, somewhere along its length, then the whole structure is compromised. Take, for example, the Edgware branch of the Northern line, long-recognised as a fortuitous north-south green lane for flora and fauna. Its open, rural-style station platforms, like the one at Burnt Oak, are of little hindrance to the passage of wildlife.

Continue reading “Is Barnet’s Biological Bridge Falling Down?”
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Blog

Totteridge to the Thames via Camden’s Dormant Country Corridor

Dennis Ayling explains his proposal for a tree corridor between Hampstead Heath and Primrose Hill.

For another article by Dennis Ayling, see A New Retail and Nature Partnership to Beat Climate Change.

The greenwalk from Totteridge to Hampstead Heath is well established. It follows the Dollis Brook and then the Mutton Brook to Hampstead Garden Suburb. It continues through the Garden Suburb via Little Wood and Big Wood to Hampstead Heath Extension. Once across the Spaniards Road, it's possible to follow the two spring-fed headwaters of the River Fleet. Both of these streams have been dammed to form a series of ponds. The Highgate Ponds to the east can be followed to Gospel Oak. The Hampstead Ponds to the west lead to South End Green. From Hampstead Heath, the River Fleet flows south underground to feed the River Thames. Therefore, it would appear our greenwalk terminates at the charming southern fringes of Hampstead Heath.

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Community Food Growing in Barnet

A really good summary of all the opportunities for Community Food Growing in Barnet from Your Health Barnet at https://yourhealthbarnet.org/food-growing-opportunities.

Not directly connected with climate change, but it’s good to spread the word.

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Event Notice

Zero Waste Community Leadership Training

Zero Waste Community Leadership Training

Update 14 December 2024: The Zero Waste Community Leadership Training is running again on Friday, 17th January 2025 at 11:30-2pm in Finchley. See https://ecoshowandtell.org/news/.

A shout out for Eco Show and Tell who are running a waste-reduction course for community-minded people in Barnet which is also open to residents of other boroughs in North London.

The course runs in October and November 2024. Apply before October 1st 2024. [Update 21 October: places are still available; the deadline has been extended to 10th November 2024]

More details at: https://ecoshowandtell.org/news/.

Eco Show and Tell say:

With the support of North London Waste Authority, we are delighted to offer courses designed to empower aspiring community leaders with the skills and knowledge needed to galvanise their communities to reduce waste. Climate and environmental leadership is needed more than ever, so we are looking for individuals passionate about helping their communities discover innovative ways to reduce waste and by doing so save money, conserve electricity, water and other precious resources. By teaching community-minded and motivated residents, we hope to increase the impact of the course in helping communities to reduce their waste.

The training is FREE to Barnet residents. A £15/session fee is charged to residents of other North London boroughs including Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest.

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Blog

A New Retail and Nature Partnership to Beat Climate Change

By Dennis Ayling, June 2024

In presenting this proposal I am inevitably going to dish up some doom and gloom, but fear not. Ultimately, I am an optimist about the future of our planet. I am going to detail an unpleasant blot on our landscape and then suggest how it might be unbelievably transformed. It will achieve much more than the greening of a dreary place. It will serve to protect our physical and mental health along with the well-being of Nature, on whom we utterly depend for our basic needs. In fact, it will go even further. It is no exaggeration to say this unusual alliance of Retail and Nature will contribute to ensuring our survival in the face of frequent extreme weather events.

Continue reading “A New Retail and Nature Partnership to Beat Climate Change”
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Bring it, Barnet!

We encourage you to bring your reusables!

17 February 2024. The North London Waste Authority have launched a Bring it, Barnet! campaign to encourage people to use their own water bottles, bags, food containers and cups to be refilled in shops, cafés etc in order to reduce the use of single-use plastic. More details at https://www.nlwa.gov.uk/campaigns-and-projects/bring-it-barnet-0 — please spread the word.

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Notice

Royal College of Art student collaboration

12 January 2024. Some students at the Royal College of Art would like our help with a project. Please contact the webmaster (address at the bottom of the page) if you would like to help.

The project brief that Aadhyaa mentions is here: Royal-College-of-Art-Grand-Challenge-2023-24-Student-Brief.pdf (PDF, 3 pages, 250kB)

Good morning

I hope this mail finds you well. We are a group of design students from the Royal College of Art, London, and are reaching out to express our interest in connecting with Barnet Climate Action Group for our RCA Grand Challenge 2023/24: Ocean & Cities project.  

The RCA Grand Challenge 2023/24: Ocean & Cities (GC), brings London closer to the ocean, exploring a wide range of design challenges at the interface of land and sea. The goal is to support behaviour change among citizens and organisations through the use of *ocean science, co-design and place-based approaches to:

1. Address the impacts of cities on the ocean.

2. Increase city resilience to ocean-related impacts of climate change.

As required for the project, we have been allotted The London borough of Barnet, as our area of interest. We were fortunate to even connect with the borough representative, Mr Ammar Naqvi, and his team, last year.

We are particularly interested in being a part of a discussion with some members of your organisation around the theme. Our goal is to explore the evolving relationship between the local residents of Barnet and the water bodies in the vicinity.

The proposed discussion could touch upon various aspects, including the historical significance of our local water bodies, our relationship with it while growing up, past/early memories around it, environmental changes affecting them, and the role they play in our daily lives now. Additionally, we can delve into potential community initiatives to preserve and enhance the quality of our water sources.

I am writing to inquire about the possibility of collaborating with your group , hopefully sometime next week. Your group's expertise and community outreach efforts make you an ideal partner for such a discussion. We are open to any suggestions or guidelines you may have regarding the event logistics and format.

Please let us know if you are available to discuss this idea further. We are enthusiastic about the prospect of bringing our community together for an insightful conversation about our local water resources.

I am also attaching the project brief issued by the university for your further reference.

Thank you for considering our proposal, and we look forward to the opportunity for collaboration.

Best regards

Aadhyaa Bhatt
MA Textiles
(Group representative)


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Event Meeting Notice

Barnet’s Citizens’ Assembly Action Group Kickoff

Update 14 March 2024. The six Action Teams have now been set up. The name was changed from Action Group to Action Team. If you would be interested in joining one of the teams, please contact the webmaster, details at the foot of the page. The teams correspond to the five areas in the Citizens Assembly report, plus an inter-faith team. For details of the five areas, see the council’s response to the recommendations from the Citizens’ Assembly (PDF download from https://engage.barnet.gov.uk/response-to-recommendations-from-the-citizens-assembly).

Update 18 January 2024. After attending the Barnet’s Citizens’ Assembly Action Group Kickoff meeting last night (17 January 2024, details below), I (Charles) think that there are major problems with the way that the community action is being organised. We need to have a much clearer view of what the council is planning to do, with cost/benefit numbers attached, and plan together how it is going to be implemented. Please get in touch via the email address at the bottom of the page if you would like to help improve the process.

As a followup to the Barnet Citizens’ Assembly, Barnet council have organised Barnet’s Citizens’ Assembly Action Group Kickoff meeting on Wednesday, 17 January 2024 in the evening.

Flyer here: BarNET ZERO Digital Invitation.pdf (PDF, 1 page, 140kB)

Dave McCormick writes:

The next event on the road to working to address the climate and biodiversity challenges is Wednesday 17th Jan 6.30- 9pm at Middlesex University Hendon.

My understanding is that the session will have 3 main elements:

  1. Sharing information about community activities that are already happening
  2. How to make community activities more impactful – building networks and partnerships, working with the council etc
  3. Action planning for action groups on areas to focus on. Action groups will include residents and council representatives and will have the challenge of making tangible progress by this summer on the path to sustainable Barnet

Example areas that I think may feature are housing and buildings (renewable energy/retrofit), food, waste, air quality, active travel, healthy nature… – but it will be shaped by who is in the room.

If you have a passion for something, want to find out what is going on, see how you can help make a difference, say what the council could do to help please come along.

To register please go to https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/barnets-citizens-assembly-action-group-kickoff-tickets-779351099117

Please share this invite.