Lindsey Newberry, a Community Lead for Plastic Free Bembridge shares this latest news. Ed
Bembridge Parish Council Environment Event was hailed as a great success by environmental groups and attendees. It was held at Bembridge Village Hall at the end of April.
The aim was to highlight the good work that local environmental groups are doing to make the Isle of Wight a better place for people, nature and climate. It built awareness of current actions and gave people the opportunity to ask questions, make suggestions and to be a part of this growing movement.
Practical advice for homes and gardens
There was advice on, for example, how to make your garden more friendly for hedgehogs, how to reduce your plastic waste, how to reduce your climate impact and how to reduce waste products from blocking our sewers and polluting the local environment.
Wide range of environmental groups represented
A wide variety of groups attended: The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust land and marine team, Greenpeace Isle of Wight, Bembridge Resilience Group, The Isle of Wight Tree Warden Scheme, Save Our Hedgehogs Isle of Wight, Nature Zones, The Worm Farm, Plastic Free Bembridge and Southern Water.
Alongside building awareness for local people, the groups involved said that it gave them the opportunity to network, build relationships and, subsequently, work more closely together for the benefit of our Island community.
People’s Emergency Briefing screened to packed audience
There was also a showing of the People’s Emergency Briefing which is a documentary following on from the National Emergency Briefing held at Westminster last November.
In this, ten of the UK’s leading experts on the climate and nature crisis gave their assessment of the situation and the impacts of the crisis on a variety of areas including food security, health, national security and the economy. It also highlights the changes that we need to make to prevent this and secure a positive future for our children and grandchildren.
Local MP writes to government after discussion
Following the showing in Bembridge, there was a discussion on people’s responses to this and what the next steps could be. The main demand from this film is that the UK government work with the media to screen a national emergency briefing on prime time television so that people are aware of the crisis we are facing and the steps needed to prevent a worst case scenario.
Our local Conservative MP, Joe Robertson, was there for the discussion. Subsequently, he has written to Government:
“encouraging them to consider broadcasting the film, or its own film with similar content, more widely.”
Community frustration at pace of national action
In the discussion, people talked about their frustrations regarding the climate and nature crisis with too little action being taken nationally although there has been awareness of the real and very serious problems for many years.
Many also wanted the Isle of Wight to take the lead in action for climate and nature and become a beacon of change that other communities could then follow. Issues such as sewage in our marine environment was also a real concern with a demand for much more concrete action.
Follow-up meeting and further screenings planned
The first screening was full so a second, impromptu, screening was then held. There will be a follow on action meeting for those living in Bembridge on 30th May to decide what practical steps we can take as a community to create a better future for people, nature and climate. Anyone interested in attending this should contact Bembridge Parish Council and will be most welcome.
Many thanks to Bembridge Parish Council and all those involved in making this such a positive day.
A variety of groups are working together to create more opportunities for people to see the People’s Emergency Briefing. Isle of Wight Biosphere, Together of Mission Zero and Greenpeace Isle of Wight are joining forces for the next screenings.
Subsequently, there will be three more opportunities to see the film happening as part of the Biosphere Festival, visit the website to find out more.
