XR Godalming Update 29th September
September 29, 2020
Dear Godalming Rebels,
Across various media outlets David Attenborough’s recent interview on BBC Breakfast has been much reported on. No one can deny his incredible commitment to the environment, to nature, and to the planet. However, his view on Extinction Rebellion perhaps misses the point. He cautions that ‘…we have to treat the people we share our community with, with respect, and disturbing their lives to such an extent that innocent people can’t get about their own business is a serious thing to do and could disenchant an awful lot of people from the action that we’re talking about.’ On the other hand, he says ‘yet suddenly, in the last five years maybe, it’s as though people have woken up, it’s young people… and not before time’. Has he considered that there might just be a connection between XR’s approach to highlighting the climate emergency, and people waking up. Just saying…
Still, always good to pause and reflect on our approach as we plan for autumn actions, as was the focus of last week’s meeting. The bike swarm on Saturday also generated debate about how best to be effective.
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Contents
- Meeting this week
- Last week’s meeting
- Bike swarm
- Upcoming actions and events
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Meeting this week
This week’s meeting is on Wednesday 30 September. The focus of the meeting will be a follow up on the ideas discussed last week (see below).
The meeting will start at 7.15pm for any new members, and 7.30pm for the main meeting on Zoom.
The check-in for the meeting will be an opportunity to talk about what you think our purpose is in the coming months.
We will have a discussion in groups about the working groups we have, and those we think we may need in order to be effective in achieving our purpose. In case you want to think about this ahead of the meeting, the current working groups are:
- Talks and events
- Wellbeing
- Media
- Fundraising
- Arts and crafts
- Newcomers
- Legal
- Schools and colleges
- Politics
- Actions
- Coordination
- Samba band
- Adaptation
Some of these may need a bit of explaining, and the difference between the working groups and action groups (not listed) will also be explained.
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Last week’s meeting
We had a good turnout of 20 Godalming rebels at last week’s meeting. We started the session with a discussion prompted by a review of XR’s principles and values. This was a useful reminder about how we go about what we do, and the spirit with which we do it. It resulted in a useful reflection on the structure of our group.
The main part of the meeting was about what we will do in the coming months. The energy and enthusiasm of the previous week continued into this meeting. With an abundance of ideas, we decided to set up a Local Action Planning Group to sift through the ideas and propose how we can implement them. The group should be ready to feedback next week.
In summary, the ideas included:
- Regular actions/presence in Godalming and other local high streets
- Regular bike swarms
- Continuing with local actions such as banner drops
- Focusing on local issues such as Dunsfold and doing further actions at Farnborough
- Having a focus on the Climate and Ecological Emergency (CEE) Bill
- Maintaining a talks programme, including on the CEE Bill, to raise awareness, recruit new members and coordinate with local XR and other groups
- Create online presentations
- Increase outreach activities and engagements with other pressure groups
- Identify further local ‘targets’ for actions
We agreed it was important to be relentless. Just because the London rebellion is over doesn’t mean the urgency for action is diminished.
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Bike swarm
We agreed some time ago that we would have bikes swarms/critical mass bike rides on the last Saturday of each month. To be honest, we didn’t advertise last Saturday’s in the newsletter or on the general group chat. That probably accounts for the swarm being a relatively small one, of 8 rebels. Nonetheless, as much as the group had a small presence in the town, it was also an opportunity to discuss the purpose of the event, and what future events should look like. This is a theme to pick up at our meeting on Wednesday this week.
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Upcoming actions and events
Heading for Extinction talk:
This will take place on Wednesday 14th October. Vantage Point is running an article about XR in Surrey and will provide links to our website and email address. Please pass on information to anyone you think might be interested. Heading for Extinction talks are a powerful way of persuading people about the urgency of the climate emergency, and of the need to take immediate action. You can read the three page article in Vantage Point here.
Waverley’s Climate Action Plan:
You have until Friday 16 October to contribute to Waverley’s Climate Action Plan. If you haven’t done so, please do. The more views expressed the better.
Surrey County Council:
Just a heads up that there is a small working group looking at ideas that can be presented to SCC to help them meet their climate change targets. More details to follow.
With hope and determination,
XR Godalming