Sustainable St Albans has been talking about environmental action in the local community since before COP21 in Paris, 2015.
We are proud of our history of social change in the District and we encourage you to talk to your friends, colleagues, family and neighbours about climate change and action too! Check out our resources for building strong climate communities in businesses and schools too.
Climate Conversations
Structured sessions with your friends and colleagues to help you get the conversation flowing.
Keeping politicians accountable
They work for you
Resources for Groups
Scouts, guides, youth groups and more
Why it’s important to talk about Climate Change: and how to do it
It’s been proven that talking about climate change to the people in your life helps to normalise action and connect over shared values.
It’s possible to weave sustainability into conversations help you explain to the people in your life why climate change matters to you. You could tell them about the second-hand bargain you picked up, or where you got your dishwasher repaired, describe the new cycle route you just discovered, or that great vegan meal you had. Make it normal to show we care about what is happening, and want to take action, because climate change and biodiversity loss is a problem for today, not tomorrow.
If you’re not sure where to start, you can ask a Climate Champion to come talk to your friends, your book group, your business or your drinking buddies.
Resources below will help you feel confident to feel more informed, get through those awkward first moments, and help your network recognise how much they care too.
WATCH: This inspiring 20 minute video from world-renowned climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe.
She explains why the most important thing you can do to fight climate change is to talk about it. This inspiring, pragmatic TED talk has been viewed nearly 4 million times, and with good reason. In it, Hayhoe shows how the key to having a real discussion is to connect over shared values like family, community and religion — and to prompt people to realize that they already care about a changing climate. “We can’t give in to despair,” she says. “We have to go out and look for the hope we need to inspire us to act — and that hope begins with a conversation, today.”
READ: Read our blog on “5 reasons not to talk about climate (and why you should anyway).
Then read the “Talking Climate Guide” from Climate Outreach. It outlines different strategies for talking about climate issues. Climate Outreach say, “Having conversations about climate change in our daily lives plays a huge role in creating social change. We take our cues about what’s important from what we hear our family, friends, colleagues and neighbours talking about. Politicians need strong social consent to implement successful climate policies. But talking about climate change, especially beyond the green bubble, is hard. That’s why we’ve produced an evidence-based, practical guide to help make those conversations easier and more meaningful – and to come out of them feeling inspired and connected.”
Need more tips? Read the Client Earth guide, “Speak up for the Earth, your guide to having climate change conversations“.
LISTEN: Hear Sustainable St Albans’s trustee being interviewed on Radio Verulam, about why it’s so important to talk about climate issues.
DO: Hold a Climate Conversation (designed by Sustainable St Albans, for local people to use.)
Want to talk with others about climate change, but you’re not quite sure how? We’ve got ready-made materials to help you. You gather a group of friends or colleagues, either on-line or in person. We provide all the materials you need to hold your own Climate Conversation. A Climate Conversation is a chance to take time to discuss the climate crisis, your thoughts for the future, and deciding what actions you could take. Whether it’s 2 hours over a drink with friends, or a couple of lunch-hours at work, why not start organising it today? All the materials you need to hold a ‘Climate Conversation’ with family or friends are easily available on our website, alongside FAQs.
DO: Invite a Climate Champ to your gathering: your club, book group, networking group or business lunch and learn. Our free-to-book volunteers are happy to support audiences to understand how they can take the action needed that works for them and their lives.