1. Home
  2. /
  3. Snapshots of Learning
  4. /
  5. Community
  6. /
  7. Grandparent Climate Action Durham

Snapshot of learning: Grandparent Climate Action Durham

Summary of the action taken

I have been concerned about Climate Change for a long time, and wondered how to talk about it to my grandchildren without worrying them. I decided that I wouldn’t talk to them until they asked me questions about it as I wanted them to enjoy life and appreciate the world while they were young. However, I also wanted to try and ‘do my bit’ to make our government and world leaders wake up and do something about a rapidly increasing crisis. I found other grandparents who felt the same, and, being aware of Greta Thunberg and the student protestors, we decided we had to do something too. It was our generation who had caused the problem, and the young people were having to deal with it.

Details of what happened

I painted a banner and we stood with it in Durham Market Place. We have continued that every Friday over the past 4 years, just for an hour, handing out our climate leaflet and gradually becoming more confident about talking to people. Not everyone in the group wants to engage with people but they are happy to stand by the banner, swelling our numbers. It can take a little bit of courage each week to be prepared to launch into a conversation about a difficult subject, especially when people have enough concerns about the cost of living. We have become a close group who enjoy meeting up, support each other, and make sure everyone is feeling ok before going home.
We call ourselves Grandparent Climate Action Durham. Not all the 70 members are grandparents, but they feel the title gives a sense of caring for future generations. Our slogan is GIVE CHILDREN A FUTURE. We have also stood outside Barclays Bank, with other banners, persuading people to move their money from Barclays as they are biggest investor in fossil fuel companies in the UK. We also have a weekly evening zoom meeting for planning and keeping up to date with climate news and each other.
We have also taken part in other non-violent actions to try and bring the issue to public attention. One of them was laying out 1,000 pairs of children’s shoes in Palace Green outside Durham Cathedral to represent the number of children who have already died because of climate change. Sadly that figure will have risen considerably since then. Another was on the beach with one member playing the part of King Cnut trying to stop sea level rising. We have supported and raised awareness of a group of original Australians who are losing their sacred land to the largest coalmine in the world; people in the Amazon rainforests; people displaced by oil pollution in the Niger delta; etc., by using banners, leaflets and petitions.

Outcome and thoughts about why things turned out the way they did

The small action in the Market Place has become a big commitment for a few of us. Over time we have learnt a lot about the science of climate change and the political and social implications, both here and abroad. We have learnt a little about how to talk to different people, and, importantly, learnt more by asking people how they feel and what they would like to see happen.
We have found we have different skills to bring to the actions:- banner making, writing leaflets and petitions, talking to politicians and Councillors, and coming up with ideas for actions.. People have differing commitments to the group, and it is still evolving.
We are now in the process of joining with another climate group to set up a Climate Hub in a café in Durham. We think that that too will hopefully evolve as we find out what works and what doesn’t. We can’t know until we try it.

Things you would do differently or do again in similar circumstances

The first few times we went to the Market Place on a Friday with our banner we had no idea that we would continue. Perhaps it would have felt too daunting had we known that we would be keeping on for years. The public are encouraging. Naturally not everyone wants to engage with us but many people take leaflets, stop and chat, or just say “Thank you” as they are passing. A few make negative comments, but they are few and far between.
A few of the core members had taken part in Extinction Rebellion workshops on Non-violent Direct Actions and De-escalation training. Those gave us confidence and we learnt how to be supportive as a group. I think we should introduce something like that to everyone who would like to take part in the Market Place actions. We could help to also share our experiences of talking to people.
We had a good relationship initially with the Police, informing them of what we were doing, and they have left us alone. I’m sure they watch us on CCTV!
No-one is in charge. This is a collaborative venture and we all learn from each other. We understand that there is no ‘right way’ of dealing with the climate emergency, and that everyone is at a different point in understanding the implications, and at different points emotionally, and with different commitments to work and families. No-one is expected to be available all the time.

Menu
Skip to content