Ahead of April’s Planet Shaftesbury meeting, members look to a countrywide plan for local inspiration
by Rachel Bodle of the Planet Shaftesbury network

Planet Shaftesbury’s April 22 meeting will discuss how we make a difference through local activities linked to climate and nature. The meeting could make plans for Great Big Green Week (June 10-18) and beyond.

The People’s Plan for Nature, launched in March by the National Trust, RSPB and WWF, is our inspiration.

The Plan came out of a collaboration with a cross-section of the UK public, and calls for immediate action to protect and restore nature in the UK.

A People’s Assembly for Nature took place over four weekends. Expert advice was available to participants as they considered the extent of the UK’s habitats and species and how we use land, fresh water and the sea to meet people’s needs. Together they created the plan’s calls to action and vision for the future of nature.

Perhaps Planet Shaftesbury could host not only a presentation about the People’s Plan for Nature, but also a talk or panel discussion of its implications for local farming, food production and our diets? Please get in touch via www.planetshaftesbury.org if you’d like to help.

It’s not just the content of the plan, but also the democratic process used, that could inspire us locally. Many volunteers came forward and those selected for the People’s Assembly for Nature were representative of the wider population. What they produced gives an indication of what the rest of us might also think. Yet the process was quick and free of vested interests. Perhaps a similar process could be valuable in shaping a resilient future for the Shaftesbury area?

Of course, we also need decisive action nationally. A People’s Assembly provides a democratic way forward where politicians concerned about being re-elected can’t. Planet Shaftesbury, along with Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, EarthDay.org, and more than 70 other organisations, is supporting The Big One (April 21-24), a major action coordinated by Extinction Rebellion (who have changed their tactics). The aim is to attract 100,000 people to Westminster to demonstrate support for a citizen-led democracy to end the fossil fuel era and a fair society that includes reparation.

The next Planet Shaftesbury meeting is at 7.30pm on Thursday, April 20, at Shaftesbury Town Hall. More details of the People’s Plan for Nature, of how to join The Big One, including Earth Day on April 22, and of Great Big Green Week can be found at www.planetshaftesbury.org and events are on the Planet Shaftesbury noticeboard in Swan’s Yard.

Graham Roumiou’s drawings used here are taken from the vision set out in the People’s Plan for Nature.