WaterCAN

The Waterside Climate Action Network (WaterCAN) is a recently formed community group aimed at bringing together local groups involved in projects aimed at environmental protection and enhancement, with the intention of sharing information and experiences in order to benefit the wider community and encourage further initiatives.

  The recent report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) sets out the current situation in stark terms: "There is a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all". The report was prepared by the world's foremost climate experts and approved by all the world's governments. 

Sometimes the floods and fires caused by climate change may seem distant, but to illustrate the risks at a local level one estate in Hythe is having its seawall repaired to counter, in its residents' association chairman's words, "climate change, rising sea levels and extreme weather conditions". 

The Network has a wide range of representation: cycling groups seeking to influence provision of local cycle routes; groups engaged in clothes swaps, local repair cafe and food wastage reduction and Hythe Menshed to name but a few. It aims to establish links within the Waterside and wider Forest area, and with the newly appointed New Forest Climate Emergency Officer (NFDC) Roxanne King.

New members and new ideas are always welcomed. Please contact us in the first instance via our Facebook page (Waterside Climate Action) or via email at philip.dowd1@gmail.com

by Mike Smith