Climate Cafe MK, an initiative originally launched in 2019 to create a forum for discussion on the climate crisis, was relaunched on Saturday 13th November at Great Linford Memorial Hall. Its main focus was a Green Fair, together with a “cafe” area for refreshments and networking.
It was a very successful event, with attendance of approximately 100 people. The Fair featured 10 stalls, including 3 directly promoting outreach on the climate crisis: Extinction Rebellion MK; MK Transition Towns and MK Green Party, together with others promoting green living, e.g. MKVegans, Still Green and MK Letnet.
Dr. Louis Keal from Birmingham was the keynote speaker on his work as a climate activist and how he came to write his book, The Gift of Conversation, which he was also selling and signing at the event. He replaced Hannah Minns (MK Council) and Portia Simond (Great Linford Co-Op) who had to drop out due to ill-health. Louis’ talk stimulated lively debate.
Marcus Armstrong ran a 10-minute workshop on forms of action/involvement which was much enjoyed by those who took part. Feedback indicated there is potential for an extended version of this at a future Cafe event. 3 more Cafe events are to be planned for next year; venues, dates and themes will be confirmed in January. The Cafe Core Planning Team would welcome more liaison with other green groups and would welcome any group taking the initiative on this.