Sustainable September
By Elaine Michel, Battersea Society trustee and Open Spaces committee member
Climate change, environment, sustainability ... these are emotive words and phrases, and for some, a complete turnoff. Knowing where to start when it comes to educating oneself about the issues can feel overwhelming. ‘Local’ felt like a good place to start.
This is a local issue….
St Mary’s Church, Battersea. All illustrations in this article © the author.
An active member of my local Women's Institute in Battersea, I recently signed up to the WI’s Climate Ambassador Scheme. The WI has a long history of campaigning, celebrating its 110th birthday on 16th September. It recently launched the Fair Green Future campaign with the Climate Coalition (of which the WI is a founding member), raising awareness of how climate change affects us, in particular women and people on a low income living in poverty. These issues affect us all, even on a local level. Recently I’ve heard many comments about how the seasons seem to be shifting forward, people harvesting fruits and veg early on allotments, blackberry picking mid-August—traditionally an autumnal activity. The four heatwaves we’ve had in London this year have led to the Council asking people to register ‘cool spaces’ where residents can get away from the intense heat of the day, in addition to the ‘warm spaces’ needed for those who struggle to stay warm during the winter months owing to escalating fuel bills. On 9th July I attended the mass lobby in central London and learned some very interesting facts about Battersea: that 22,482 (40%) homes are poorly insulated, 57 neighbourhoods have unhealthy air and 647 hours of sewage spills went into the Thames in 2024. The link to the full briefing document can be found on the Society website’s ‘useful links’ page.
We value the environment
A Battersea sunset.
Each of the Battersea Society's non-Officer Trustees sits on at least one of its special interest committees. I chose Open Spaces and Heritage as they both reflect particular areas of interest to me. I wanted to find out more about what the Battersea Society is doing in relation to climate change and raising awareness in Battersea, so I started off by looking at our Constitution. Section 2b states we will “encourage and promote… environmental management including the planting and care of trees and reductions in air pollution; conservation and proper maintenance of Battersea’s … open spaces, public realm and other features of historic or public interest; and effective provision and management of travel and transport.” 2c goes on to say we will be “engaging in, and promoting awareness of, issues of concern to the community” and 2d “making representations to the proper authorities on these subjects.” This felt like an excellent start, so I read the Terms of Reference for each Committee and found these values reflected and built upon in the Terms of Reference within our individual Committee groups: the Open Spaces Committee promises in section 4 to promote and protect open spaces and to monitor provision, ensuring “climate change mitigation and Net Zero objectives” are met as well as advocating for further provision of green and blue space (Battersea currently has around 13% tree cover. The recommended minimum is 20%.) Likewise Planning— “The Committee always look at the environmental impact of new proposals including the transport and traffic implications … Planning development impacts on a number of the Society’s other specific interests including open spaces and air quality.” Our Events Committee’s ‘events kit’ is re-usable and recycled—reusable glasses, dishes, jugs, cloths etc—often taken to events on a bicycle! All rubbish is recycled and they buy locally when possible. So we might not be trumpeting our green credentials in scrolling banners across our social media (maybe we should?), but it’s there in the very core of what we do and it’s great to be part of that.
What can members do?
View from Albert Bridge.
Plenty. The Battersea Society is hosting HACAN on 18th September for a discussion on the Pros and Cons of the Third Runway at Heathrow. Perfect timing for Sustainable September. It should be a very interesting debate. There are numerous events and activities you can sign up for during Sustainable September, as well as Battersea Beach Clean, and making full use of your local Library of Things. Recycling via the WRWA facility, taking preloved items to your local charity shop, avoiding taking your car when you can … all small acts of kindness for our local area as well as our planet.