Switch on or scroll through any news about the climate crisis, and it quickly becomes overwhelming. With a recent forecast showing that we’re failing to limit global heating to 1.5C, it begins to look like a near impossible task.
However, the global ecological precipice that we stand on has also galvanised the public’s awareness of the need to make changes. A poll in 2021 revealed that across 24 countries, 58% of people are more mindful of their impact on the environment. Furthermore, research by The Climate Coalition found that almost 30% of people would make changes in their daily habits to help address climate change if they saw the government do more.
It is this drive that will hopefully inspire many more people to take part in the Great Big Green Week, running 24 September to 2 October. For seven days, across the country, there will be gatherings, activities and meetings to get involved in. The Climate Coalition, which includes the National Trust, will also focus on an ongoing campaign called Letters to Tomorrow, in which the public are encouraged to write a letter to their future selves, explaining their hopes and fears for our planet’s future, to inspire more action to protect the environment. Some of these letters will be sent on to MPs to press the government to act in their name.
Here are 10 other hopeful projects and innovations that have developed in response to the climate crisis:
1 Plant a tree
The National Trust is serious about green spaces – and has been for more than 125 years – and with its Plant a Tree scheme, it hopes to nurture up to 20m trees by 2030. It’s an easy win, and you don’t even have to get your hands dirty: just make a donation (it costs £5 for one tree) and the sapling will be planted.
2 Seas the day
The planet’s biodiversity depends on the oceans and, alongside campaigns and schemes devoted to cleaning, there’s also a big focus on regeneration. Coral reefs are responsible for producing half the oxygen present in the Earth’s atmosphere, and there are many restoration projects, from the Reef Rescuers of Seychelles to the reef research lab in Plymouth, that are working to ensure these ecosystems continue to do their vital job.
3 Fume-less travel
Many people are working to consign petrol-based cars to history, as according to the Environmental Protection Agency, 95% of all carbon monoxide emissions in cities may come from vehicle exhaust pipes. Alternate ways to speed around are on-trend – such as e-bikes and e-scooters – and their use is rising. However, moving on renewable energy as a collective, like the Riding Sunbeams project, which powers railways with solar panels, is an even niftier and sustainable way to get from A to B.
4 Wheely rubbish
Mr Trash Wheel might sound like a wacky children’s book, but it’s actually a semi-autonomous rubbish collector in Baltimore, US, that sits on a river and is powered by solar energy and water current. To date it’s collected more than 1.5m plastic bottles, 12.6m cigarette butts and 832,000 plastic bags. The hope is to roll out (pun intended) more of these machines in water spots around the world, and in the meantime, Mr Trash Wheel has become something of a local celebrity: there’s even an annual Trash Wheel fan festival.
5 The bees knees
The art of rewilding gardens and other green spaces has had a great impact on biodiversity – and that means more bees to pollinate and cultivate plants and flowers. The Bee Lines project in the South Downs has proved that, if given support like building a wildflower ecosystem, the population of bees can flourish once again. Meanwhile, Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, has just announced a series of four nature trails, connecting green spaces around built-up areas in the capital city.
6 The Earth’s natural protectors
We have a lot to learn from local communities who have stewarded the land for generations. Their strong traditional connection to the land means they know and understand how to protect nature, and why it needs protecting. It also means they’re at the forefront of feeling the effects of climate breakdown. We need to trust and support them as they tackle the challenges it brings – and there are some incredible efforts being made. For instance, a United Nations report highlighted that in Bangladesh, villagers are creating floating vegetable gardens to protect their livelihoods from flooding, while in Vietnam, communities are helping to plant dense mangroves along the coast to counteract tropical-storm waves.
7 Second the best
Fast fashion is deeply uncool for the planet. But there’s a shift in the way we consume clothes, as evident in the amount of new apps designed to help reuse, repair, swap or shop secondhand to counteract fashion’s well-documented shortcomings. Even ITV’s popular dating show Love Island made a statement this year by ditching their usual fast fashion sponsor to partner with eBay, in a bid to promote preloved garments to its wide audience.
8 Next generation eco-inventions
Spearheaded by Greta Thunberg; Gen Z and an even younger crowd are becoming more eco-conscious and making it a non-negotiable way in which they live. They’re taking positive action too, heading up pioneering projects across the globe – from Ireland’s Fionn Ferreira, who invented a device that uses magnets to remove plastic particles from seawater, to Millennium Kids Inc’s Green Labs in Australia, which came up with the idea of outdoor classrooms that also double up as a space in which to monitor and protect vegetation.
9 Eco-homes and buildings
According to the International Energy Agency, buildings and construction work are responsible for about 40% of global carbon emissions. Working from foundations of better insulation, triple-glazing, and on-site renewables, some designers are coming up with both innovative and aesthetically pleasing results, such as the Powerhouse Kjørbo in Oslo, world’s first energy-positive refurbished building. Meanwhile, community power is at the forefront of constructions such as the Bunker Housing Coop in Brighton, one of a number of projects in which people have banded together to build affordable eco-homes for low-income people, that also are Grand Designs-worthy to boot.
10 Perfect packaging
There’s often more waste from the packaging than the product, which is where a company such as UK-based startup Notpla steps in. It has invented a plastic-like material from seaweed that disappears in weeks, naturally. From Ooho edible water pods to biodegradable ketchup pods that can be thrown into food waste recycling bins, it might just help revolutionise the food-packaging industry.
Write your own Letters to Tomorrow and join the movement for urgent action against climate change. Part of The Climate Coalition campaign, supported by the National Trust. For more details, visit letterstotomorrow.com
