This Saturday, 25 September sees the national launch of Take the Jump, an initiative that asks people to make one or more of six shifts in their behaviour, to help protect the planet.
Waverley Borough Council has been rolling out awareness raising to its staff and councillors and also supporting local events such as the Godalming Green Gala arranged by Godalming Town Council that took place earlier in the summer.
The launch of Take the Jump, organised by Zero Carbon Guildford, The Jump, CUSP (Centre for Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity), and University of Surrey will take place at Guildford Cathedral on the 25 September from 11am to 5pm.
The event, which is free of charge, will focus on the changes the whole community can make to tackle the escalating climate crisis. There will be a wide range of workshops as well as taster sessions of wellbeing practices such as mindfulness, forest bathing, and eco psychology, as well as activities from The Diocese Of Guildford with activities for kids, including crafting and mask making. For full information you can visit Guildford Takes the Jump.
Councillor Steve Williams, Waverley Borough Council Portfolio Holder for Environment and Sustainability, said:
“As a council, we are committed to reducing emissions in the borough and achieving our aim of carbon-neutrality by 2030. Whilst we are getting our own house in order, we are also encouraging our residents to do what they can to help us achieve this for our community.
“Take the Jump is a natural fit for us; all it asks of us is to simply look at how we do everyday things like travel, shop, eat, holiday and see if we can make a small ‘shift’ here and there; if enough of us make a small change, this can have a big impact on our environment, not just for us but for future generations.
“I do hope lots of residents will go along and enjoy what looks to be a very interesting and fun family day out.”
The council is also supporting “What Next?”, a group whose goal is to support local communities across Waverley in preparing and adapting to the impact of climate change. All their programmes, workshops and events are free to residents. For more information visit the What Next website.
For those who are interested in getting involved with Take the Jump, they are also running an eight-week programme of interactive sessions in Godalming from 29 September to 24 November. These will explore what actions you can take to reduce your own environmental impact. Further details can be found at the What Next Take the Jump programme website. The first session will take place on Wednesday 29 September, 7pm-9pm.
You can find out more on the Take the Jump website.