Fit For The Planet Part 2 - Lichfield 10K

Having ran 5K at Chasewater earlier this year, I'd set my sights on levelling up to 10K. So last Sunday I ran the Lichfield 10K with a couple of friends.

I completed the course in 1 hour and 27 seconds. This was by default a new personal best, in as much as I'd never ran 10K before, but was also more or less what I was aiming for. 

This is me sprinting to the line, discovering I did have something left in the tank after all.

As with the 5K, I used it as a opportunity to raise a little pin money for a charity close to my heart - Friend of the Earth - and was gratified to get donations in the order of £145 + Gift Aid from friends, family and work colleagues.

That means so far this year, together we've raised upwards of £400 for environmental campaigning. Not bad for a side-project!

Once again, a big thank you to everyone who supported me. I really appreciated the back-up and it did make me feel that I had to do it. Once I get running, I enjoy it - it's getting me to do it in the first place that needs a little incentivisation. :)

Thanks also to running buddies Ben and Nick, all the marshalls and race organisers, as well as all the Lichfield people who stood outside their houses to clap and cheer everyone on.

And extra-special thanks to my wife who sold me on the idea of running in the first place and took home a happy but exhausted Tim at the end of the race.

If you'd like to make a post-run donation, you can do so here.

Fit For The Planet Part 1 - 5K Run At Chasewater Completed

This year, I set myself a little goal of making exercise my friend and raising money for Friends of the Earth at the same time.

Phase One of (ahem) Fit For The Planet swung into operation this Easter Sunday morning with a five-kilometre run around Chasewater reservoir - the Easter Egg 5K. It wasn't a long run, but given my long-standing aversion to exercise I had to start somewhere. :)

Here I am before the start representing that little known but important charity Friends Of The Ear...

And crossing the line around 34 minutes later...

And afterwards with my medal (complimentary creme egg not shown).

I'd set the modest target of raising £100, and was very pleasantly surprised to have raised £135 plus Gift Aid.

A big thanks to all family, friends and fellow-activists who supported my run today by making a donation (listed here). Knowing you had backed me really helped me keep going - I surprised myself with how quickly I got round the course. And I didn't stop to walk at all. Well - almost not at all - there were hills. :)

If you'd like to make a post-run donation, you can do so here. 

Why am I fundraising for Friends of the Earth?

As anyone who knows me will be unsurprised to hear, I'm passionate about the environment. I've stood on the English moors, by the Mediterranean coast and in the Yosemite Valley in California and experienced their wonder and uniqueness. We can't take it for granted. 

Since I finished working for Friends Of The Earth last summer, I've been looking for a way to continue contributing to the environmental movement that feels right for me. Fundraising feels like it's part of the solution.

And I know that the more money we can find for organisations like Friends of the Earth, the faster we can keep moving into a modern, green and above all hopeful future. Those politicians won't take the right decisions all by themselves, you know.

Ultimately, it'd be marvellous to have a small group of fundraisers in Lichfield to do fun things together, but one step at a time. 

And if anyone's wondering when I'll do a run for the Motor Neurone Disease Association - it's in the pipeline. I'm just looking for the right opportunity. :)

From the archives - I, cowmuter

I found this badge as part of sorting out my files. 

Cows on trams demand rainforest-free food. 

Check out this quick video clip below and you'll get an idea of the stunt, which replicated a larger affair in London. All volunteer led with a little staff support. :)

A thirty-seat strategy for environmentalists

This post starts with a disclaimer: I don't do political strategy for Friends of the Earth. But, I do get to think about grassroots organising a lot, and the two areas inevitably interconnect. This blog is also my personal space for thinking out loud, and what I write here is no way an official view from me or my employer. Capiche?

Bearing that in mind, here's a quick suggestion of one way environmentalists might begin to get the issues onto the political agenda over the next five years.

The problem

Whether you're a glass half-full or half-empty person, it's safe to say that the General Election confirmed the view that the environment needs to be higher on the political agenda than it is. Now, this isn't a party political point - in fact it's hard to imagine an election result earlier this month where this didn't hold true. 

And we can all discuss the undeniable merits of ignoring Parliament - at least some of the time - and getting on with making change happen on the ground, man. But I still believe we need, at the very least, the enabling consent of Westminster, its willingness to let a transformation towards a sustainable future happen.

And let's not forget that legislation (and campaigns for legislation) - like The Big Ask and the Climate Change Act - can be game-changing.

Map by Italay90, coloured by Cryptographic.2014, available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

A solution

One solution - I freely concede, a very partial one - would be for environmentalists to concentrate some of our grassroots organizing efforts in the areas where MP's (and later, prospective MP's) really need to listen to their public - the most marginal Conservative seats in the country.

Let's say - the top 30 most vulnerable seats, numerically speaking. as a starting point.

That would mean beginning a dialogue with those representatives going forward. Building a body of evidence that their constituents support the environment. Asking them to support local environmental projects and - ultimately - national campaigns.

It implies engaging local political parties, and yes, the local authority too. It would certainly benefit from finding and working with allies so that we can have this conversation with the best, most representative and loudest collective voice we can muster.

The local awareness raising on climate over the next 6 months leading up to the UN climate talks in Paris - that so many organisations support or are involved in - could provide an excellent framework for this. The great thing about this campaign is that it's as strident or as gentle as you want it to be (or your MP can cope with).

And from a grassroots organising perspective, it would of course also means building our strength in those areas. From now.

The seats

A big thanks to super volunteer Mandy Staunton, who pointed me towards this list of marginals here (all the way down to Enfield North - that's your top 30)

There's a good even spread across England and Wales - around half of them in areas where Friends of the Earth - never mind any other group -  already has a known presence. In some, a very strong active presence. In others, people who we can support and nurture. In still others, an opportunity to organise and find new allies.

Doubtless, some of the constituencies might prove unworkable, for political or practical reasons, or perhaps just ill luck. But if we can begin that dialogue, start to shift the political debate in even 20 of those constituencies in the next year, we would have made an investment which we can build on for the rest of the current Government.

As I said at the start - this is just a thought-piece. But it's certainly one on which I'd welcome your thoughts.

What we don't talk about when we don't talk about The Big Ask

It's been ten years, more or less, since Friends of the Earth's climate change campaign The Big Ask was launched in May 2005. The campaign that ultimately gave the UK the world's first Climate Change Act three years later.

Yet here we are in 2015, and I'm still in awe not just of its success but of its afterlife in other European countries. 

Did you know that in the intervening decade, our sister groups elsewhere in Europe have been (often successfully) pressing for legally binding climate emissions targets using the British model as a starting point?

This is - in short - one heckuva campaign.

So how come we the movement so rarely talk about it? More to the point, what are we missing out on, through this curious act of omission?

My experience of The Big Ask was at the grassroots - until the very final phase of the campaign I was active in my local group in London. And for me, it got so many things right at the micro level:

• Simplicity - you could explain the proposition in any notional elevator you might find yourself in.
• Broad-based appeal - as the marketing made clear, you didn't need to be a hardcore environmentalist to support it. It didn't assume we were fated to remain a clique. Or if we were, at least we were the kind of clique Thom Yorke wanted to get involved in.

• Recruitment - it followed that it was the best national campaign for finding new volunteers we ever had in our group.
• Actions were straightforward and social - quizzes, parties, public meetings, film screenings and more. Stalls were properly fun if you had the right crew and a polar bear costume.
• It had national and local milestones - you could see how far you could take your MP in support of The Big Ask - and each success built momentum. This was gamification avant la lettre.
• It brought groups together - teams of volunteers going into strange and unknown parts of London to campaign was tremendous for bonding and morale.

And did I mention that we won? :)

All of this - and more besides - combined to make The Big Ask a compelling, easy-to-replicate model for grassroots climate organising. Or - if you prefer the language of marketing - an extraordinarily potent meme. It was one of two times for me  (the other being The Bee Cause) that what we've been doing as Friends of the Earth has really felt viral.

A few qualifications

Having spoken to many more staff and local group members since those marvellous days, I appreciate that it didn't feel like that for everyone. For some of you, the campaign lacked depth. For others, a concentration on climate meant less time for other issues. 

That's fine - I'm not writing this to change your mind. This was my truth as a local activist and I don't expect it to be everybody else's. Nor am I implying The Big Ask is above criticism.

But I will anticipate one possible argument by being clear that none of what I've written should be interpreted as flying the flag for parliamentary petitions. This is about impact, not specific tactics. And I could have written a similar post using Transition Towns or The Bee Cause as a case study and presented you with almost the same conclusions as I do below.

What we don't talk about when we don't talk about The Big Ask

When we leave out The Big Ask from our conversation as a movement, we don't just leave out an occasion for nostalgia, we omit an opportunity to remind ourselves what it is to be successful.

When our national campaigns and grassroots activities have the kind of characteristics I've been talking about - the straightforwardness, the sociability, the score-keeping, the forward drive and all of that - then we have the kind of political and cultural reach that environmentalism needs. It's a prerequisite of making big changes to the world and then making them stick.

That's why The Big Ask matters to me, and why, all self-celebration aside, I think it's so useful that we look back before going forward.

Working out what 'the next Big Asks' will be will be a collective endeavour. It will almost certainly be different to what has gone before, and no one person, activist or staff member - will have the whole answer. The process we're going through to achieve an organisational goal will doubtless help at a strategic level. But that's different from a campaign or a grassroots mobilisation.

Perhaps in the meantime a thousand ideas can bloom around the country and we can see which ones stick, which ones have heft.

Talking about The Big Ask - for me - means all of these ideas stay in play. 

So, let's talk.

Digital First Day write-up

Here's a quick Twitter write-up of yesterday's Digital First Day at Friends of the Earth.

A couple of questions for Friends of the Earth-affiliated readers to ponder:

• What's the top priority thing we could do digitally to help local campaigning?
• Have an idea for a digital pilot project? If so tell me! We can help with funding and promotion. 

What can Friends of the Earth offer its allies?

At the moment, I'm being asked to do a bit of outreach to people outside the Friends of the Earth grassroots. Different networks with which we might collaborate, or which we might support.

So what is it that we have to offer to allies, then?

It’s an interesting question, and one which has provided an opportunity to clarify my own thinking on this point. And I think this works whether you're thinking about us at a national or a local level.

It all starts with listening of course - establishing a rapport and common interests, understanding your potential ally and how you can help them. But for me that help then falls into three broad categories - advice, opportunities and connections.

Advice and information (reactive) which could include:

• Providing resources.
• Providing expertise directly – information on campaigns, planning, organising and the law.
• Signposting people on to other providers of information and support.

Opportunities to learn/act/reflect (proactive) which could include:

• Offering participation opportunities – whether that's practical planting projects or being part of climate mobilisation events in the run in to the UN climate talks in Paris this year.
• Training – e.g. introduction to environmental action sessions.
• Coaching or mentoring.

Connections – recognising the importance of the medium as well as the message, e.g.

• Introducing an ally to our local group or activists – if initial connection staff driven (or vice versa if not).
• Regular communication updates .
• Invite to local and national events.
• Amplifying their voice through our networks.

Meet-up press release for local groups

Here's a bit of open source activism for you on a Sunday morning. 

I found this press release template in our files the other day to send to someone launching a new local Friends of the Earth group. What I like about it firstly is that it works as well for an existing network as well as someone trying to bring people together in an area for the first time.

What I also appreciate about the wording - and props to whoever among my illustrious predecessors wrote it - is that it doesn't scare the horses. It's not asking people to do too much too soon, it just offers people the chance to get together with like minds and explore the issues. 

The release also holds out the (eminently reassuring) possibility of linking up with people who've already been campaigning and are in a position to mentor new arrivals.

So feel free to use and remix as you see fit.

Press Release - Friends of the Earth

Embargo: For immediate release, day, date, month, year (delete as appropriate)

Contact: [YOUR NAME], Friends of the Earth [location or group] – [phone number]

EARTH SEEKS FRIENDS!

Environmental group WLTM enthusiastic [location] residents for a fun, active relationship. You will be either M or F, aged between 16-99, with a GSOH and desire to save the planet. Must have positive outlook on life and enjoy action rather than words.

People who want to tackle environmental issues are being invited to an open meeting on [time] at [location], where you can:

• Find out more about Friends of the Earth local groups and campaigning
• Have your say about local environmental issues which need addressing
• Find out more about the solutions to climate change
• Meet like-minded people your age

[this next paragraph to be tweaked depending on local situation]

A number of local Friends of the Earth supporters are looking forward to meeting potential volunteers and would like as many people as possible to be involved. The group has a strong background of campaigning on local issues around [location] and further afield as well as national and global issues such as climate change.

If you cannot make it to the meeting, but would still like to be involved, we would still love to hear from you on [number] or[e-mail]..

Grow the movement: what do you think of these e-mails?

I've been sending out a couple of test messages this week to a relatively small number of people on our database. Under the tagline Grow the movement, I'm seeing if we can not only connect them with Friends of the Earth local groups (or start new ones), but make it feel inspiring, simple and just plain right to get involved.

Sending messages like this isn't a new thing - we've been doing it for the past couple of years to invite people to public meetings and film screenings in local areas. But I'm seeing if we get more proactive and systematic about it, bringing people together to be the next wave of environmental activists, one town at a time.

I'll be tracking the response and read rates, but I'd also really welcome any reflections on the language used here - are their refinements we can make? And if you'd like to be in on the next round of testing, contact 'work me' and we'll sort something out. 

And thanks to Carol, Helen and our Supporter Information Team (Martin, Steve and Stuart) for their contributions to the text that follows - it was a joint effort.

Message the first (web version here)

Dear XXX

Have you heard the noise? From fighting fracking to growing community energy – 2015 is the year the climate movement gets epic. 

[or

Have you heard the news? From fighting fracking to growing community energy – 2015 is the year the climate movement takes centre stage.] 

This is the year we can all come together to build a bigger and better movement than ever before.

Here in Exeter Friends of the Earth we are looking to meet new volunteer activists. People who can help - in their spare time - to grow our campaign for action on climate change.

People who'd like to:

• Come along to friendly meetings to discuss and decide local action 
• Encourage other people to get involved 
• Participate in fun events 
• Contribute their ideas and skills 

With your help, we can make Exeter a centre for climate action.

Upcoming dates 

• Our next meeting - Monday 16 February, 7:30pm, St Sidwell's Centre, Sidwell Street 
• Time To Act climate march in London, Saturday 7 March - contact us to arrange to travel down together 
• Our March meeting -  Monday 16 March, 7:30pm - get in touch or check our website for venue confirmation. 

Could this be you?

To find out more, email us with your name and contact details and we'll be in touch.

And if you use social media, please do join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter so we can link up there too.

Best wishes

Helen, Exeter Friends of the Earth

Message the second (web version here)

Dear XXX

Thanks to The Bee Cause campaign - and the support of thousands of people like you - a better future is in sight for our bees.

Together, you convinced the Government to to draw up a Bee Action Plan. Now we want to help make each town and city greener and more bee-friendly.

So, here in Newcastle Gateshead Friends of the Earth we are looking for new volunteers to help to grow The Bee Cause on Tyneside. 

People who in their spare time would like to:

• Come along to friendly meetings to discuss and decide action together 
• Encourage local people to have more bee-friendly gardens 
• Be involved in fun events like a Tyneside Bee Summit 
• Contribute their ideas and skills 

Could this be you?

To find out more, email us with your name and contact details and we'll be in touch.

You're also invited to our next meeting on Monday February 23, 7pm at The Star & Shadow Community Cinema, Stepney Bank, Newcastle NE1 2NP.

And if you use social media, please do join us on Facebook so we can link up there too.

Best wishes

Carol, Newcastle Gateshead Friends of the Earth

10 years since The Big Ask started - call out for guest posts

@wwwfoecouk especially as I drafted a blog post about it this weekend WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING ABOUT THE 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

— Tim Atkinson (@Magpiemoth) February 1, 2015

Yes - it's been ten years, more or less, since Friends of the Earth's climate change campaign The Big Ask was launched in May 2005. The campaign that ultimately gave us the world's first Climate Change Act three years later.

A little uncannily, I was writing a blog post about my grassroots experience of the campaign last weekend, with some reflections on its significance. It's still in draft form at the moment and not ready to add here until later in the month.

So, while I finish this post off, I'd like to open this topic out to some guest posts as well. Would anyone else like an informal space to write about what The Big Ask meant for them in their local area? Offer any thoughts on its lessons or legacy? 

I'd like us to stay positive with these posts too - one of the ironies of being part of such a forward-looking movement is that one thing this campaign hasn't been is over-celebrated.

The deadline is the last week of February, so do get in touch if a look back at your own activist history appeals.

NB - if it's not immediately apparent from the fact it's on my blog, this is a wholly informal and unofficial exercise. I'm sure my honoured employers will do something rather more official to mark either this anniversary or that of the campaign victory in 2008, but this isn't it.

What can you do with a replica Stonehenge?

As the venue for Basecamp now comes with a polystyrene replica Stonehenge in the grounds, what do you think we should do with it?

Thanks to being only one degree of separation away from LARPers I can think of any 
number of FOE-inappropriate ideas, mostly involving elves. 

But I'm sure you can do better than that.

A formula to work to in 2015?

I wrote this flip a few years back - 2011? - for the first low-key piloting of Gamechangers, which fed into what became Campaign Organisers.

It still feels like a good formula for supporting grassroots action to me (give or take the campaign expertise that comes from other teams). 

Perhaps this is our formula to work to in 2015?

Introduction to campaigning #2 - notes and links

On Sunday 16 November in Newcastle we ran hopefully the second of a number of 'Introduction to Campaigning with Friends of the Earth' half-day trial training sessions. Thanks to everyone who came along, to Carla for co-facilitating and to Campaign Organiser Carol for doing an excellent grounding meditation to break the ice and get us started.

Our aim was to support new and existing activists to explore campaigns and engage their community. Here's the resources we shared and used on the day. 

We also showed participants these rather spiffing videos from The Bee Cause and Schools Run On Sun campaigns.

We got four people including Carol – which is less than we had expected based on e-mail replies and Facebook. But  they were all interested in supporting a Friends of the Earth group in Newcastle, so it definitely felt like the beginning of the rebirth of the group. 

And one was the local Greenpeace rep, so there was some networking and alliance-building right there. The material fit snugly but well into the time we had, and participant feedback was very positive. 

So, we’re still looking for further opportunities to trial this session – so do get in touch if you’d like to either give it a go yourself or arrange a collaboration with me on it. 

I think one big learning point from me from Newcastle is the importance of having someone in-situ like Carol around whom others can coalesce for the future. For future trials, I’d also like to be able to guarantee 2 or 3 participants from a local area before we go ahead with additional promotion. 

We’ve been lucky in both test sessions so far in terms of just enough people coming in to make it work, but I don't want to push my luck too hard. :-)

Introduction to Climate Change Campaigning

Pssst? Wanna try a new training workshop? 

Here's one we made earlier.

The session plan and accompanying resources from our half-day introductory training in Coventry are now available on Campaign Hubs here or at the end of this article.

NB Campaign Hubs down due to The Great Website Ragnarok of October 2014. For now, see the links at the end of the article.

The session went well for a first attempt - we tried to fit a lot in and just about managed it. It had a really good 'feel' to it in the same way that the Campaign Organisers weekend did: open, non-didactic and fizzing with creativity.

We didn't prescribe courses of action, but people came away from it wanting to take action on Schools Run On Sun and apply renewed focus to campaigning against shale gas exploitation in Warwickshire. 

It's pretty exciting (in a geeky sort of way) thinking about the opportunity this gives us to provide further peer-to-peer and staff-led support.

Things we'd do differently next time? Have another look at the timings for the different parts, natch. And proactively approach more people to help with local promotion, sure. But nothing insurmountable.

Given that it's early days for this training, I'd be interested in hearing whether anyone else wanted to pick up and try out this session or a variant on it. All the material you need is behind the link or below. 

I'm very happy to advise and support any willing guinea pigs. :-)

Training Resources

Here's the event plan we used and some relevant resources we gave out to participants.

The starting point is - as always - the free-to-download Local Groups Handbook, which is the Friends of the Earth equivalent of a Haynes Manual for organizing at the grassroots. It has individual sections on inspiring groups, teamwork, action (including campaign planning), profile-raising, finding and keeping people and fundraising.

A Personal Story of Climate Change - Self, Us, Now: see this handout about constructing an inspiring story of your commitment to action on climate change.

Handy ‘How To’ booklets

Engaging Different Audiences
Work with Community Groups
Making Campaign Events Work
A guide to planning campaigns with nifty campaign planning template.

Jannat Hossein (hi Jannat!) has also helpfully suggested the session should also reference our guide to local groups on embracing diversity, which will help us all think about how to be as inclusive as we can be when organising in our community.

Campaign Information

Climate Change gateway page (general information)
Schools Run On Sun campaign information and briefings
Fracking and shale gas campaign information and briefings
20 Things You Need To Know About Climate Change introductory booklet

Update-a-lude: ADC to CAC

I am no longer an Activism Development Coordinator.

I am a Community Activism Coordinator.

Otherwise, service continues as normal.

Regional Gatherings are go

We're about to set sail on another round of Regional Gatherings for Friends of the Earth local activists and other friends of Friends of the Earth - seven networking and training events between late 2014 and Spring 2015 covering every English region. 

And I'm doing some convening and coordinating work to kick this into gear, since my team is responsible for project managing each event.

Dates and locations are being pinned down ASAP, but in parallel with that we'd like to get thinking about what the Gatherings will cover. Just like our annual festival/conference Basecamp, we're keen to get as much input as possible from local activists and - well, anyone with an opinion - into the development of these events. 

Here is some of my informal thinking - fairly evolutionary rather than revolutionary, I think, but I'd really welcome a dialogue here with anyone who's interested. As well as the questions below, I'm particularly interested in your best experiences of Gatherings and other events, what we could replicate and where we could innovate.

Feel free to reply with any views here (although this is strictly an informal space - talk to me at work if you want to contact me officially). 

Obligatory caveat: these are my thoughts rather than any official statement, written in sand rather than on tablets of stone, et cetera, et cetera. You know the score. :-)

What are Gatherings for?

The core aims of Regional Gatherings in general are straightforward and uncontroversial – to put on an event where participants can:

• Network together
• Learn from each other as well as from staff 
• Get updates from Friends of the Earth and feed back in turn.
• Have a rich and rewarding experience. 

It's the question of content where things get interesting, and for me there's some key lessons from previous events we need to apply

A Gathering can't be all things to all people

One key lesson for me previous rounds of Regional Gatherings is that it’s hard – not to say counterproductive – to meet all needs with a single one-day event with two to three staff in attendance. It may well be better to plan separate events/teleconferences which give the issue the time it needs and ensure an engaged audience. 

It may also be more appropriate to do a dedicated event for a beginners (which curiously enough is what we're planning to do) rather than trying to stretch the audience too wide for one event. I occasionally describe environmental campaigning and Friends of the Earth in particular as like a long-running soap opera - so much has gone on before that getting people up to speed is a job in itself. 

So agenda-building is always a two-stage process:  while it's great to get lots of ideas from everyone, and there's a lot of campaigns, issues, policy areas and skills we could cover, the corollary of that is that at some point we have to arrive at a manageable agenda for a Gathering and a Plan B for anything we can't cover.

So, what do we prioritise? What are the issues we're going to unite and prepare for action around as a movement?

Let local groups be local groups 

Another vital principle, particularly in light of the success of our annual Basecamp festival, is to let local groups be local groups. That means not just getting their input into content development, but to supporting them to have networking spaces as well as to suggest and run their own sessions. 

In other words: If the relationship between Friends of the Earth and its local groups is as peer-to-peer as possible, let's create and run events based on that assumption. 

So, what format of networking works best? (remember, not everyone knows each other and the beauty of these events is that we can bring together unfamiliar as well as familiar configurations of people) How can we best create the conditions for dynamic peer-to-peer learning and support?

Basecamp and questions of style

Gatherings are popular with our experienced activists and I feel we have broadly an approach and a model which works. But it’s worth saying here and underlining several times that Basecamp has been a game-changer in terms of our approach to what's possible with activist events. A more relaxed approach, a wide variety of sessions, a focus on making the experience inspirational as well as educational - all of this has been a breath of fresh air for us,

And so while much of the carnivalesque Basecamp is too time intensive and expensive to replicate in full, for this coming round of Gatherings we are asking ourselves (and you) if there’s learning we can apply from it?

PS - we can has working group? 

Incidentally, what we're also looking for is a small working group of friendly local activists who can be a sounding board and an inspiration for the Gatherings. Expressions of interest from people outside Friends of the Earth are also welcome - I think at least one external perspective could well be very useful. Again, expressions of interest to my work alter ego at the usual e-mail address.

Campaign Organisers - recruitment time again

And here's my soon to be published article in Change Your World, Friends of the Earth's in-house magazine for local groups, celebrating our first round of  Campaign Organisers and putting out a call for more to join the party.

They came to Basecamp [our annual conference] from all across the country. And from fracking to bee-friendly flowerbeds, from running on sun to stalls and socials in their area, they had stories to tell, plans to share. And whether on the high street or on Facebook, they were involving local people in their campaigns.

Yes – the Campaign Organisers were in town!

Since our accredited training programme began around 9 months ago, we’ve supported a first wave of Organisers in local groups to start new community campaigns. Basecamp was a chance for them to meet one another again, as well as to learn, celebrate and make new connections with other activists.

As we now look for a new band of Organisers this summer, it’s a good point to reflect on our aims and intentions. And it all boils down to empowerment.

Over one to two years, we empower participants to run a great local campaign. But the training, coaching and skill-sharing is also intended to help them to empower others - creating not just one but many great environmental champions around the country.

And with Campaign Organisers we’re not just providing training and support, we’re building a community.

For more information about how to apply this summer and to download the Programme Guide, see www.foe.co.uk/campaignorganisers. If you have any questions, contact us on campaignorganisers@foe.co.uk or 020 7490 0210.

Time to join The Cake Squad for peer support?

We're trialing an private (you know it's there but only members can read it) Facebook group for peer support among Friends of the Earth local groups and other friendly volunteer groups, working together on growing numbers and involvement, and on ensuring groups are sustainable long-term

Here, you can share your ideas, progress and challenges, and help and encourage other people on the same journey as you.

An idea we're keen to explore in particular is that quality of experience really does matter for activists old and new, and that a focus on teamwork and individual needs can improve the quality of our campaigning as well as our numbers.

For now, we've given it the working title "Cake Squad"

Picture of Cake by Rama made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 France license.

Why? Well, it started with a twitter conversation about why providing cake at meetings matters. 

It then evolved into the idea of cake as a stand-in for whatever people want to get out of being involved in a campaign group. And making sure that - together - we can meet it.

So, if you think this is a conversation you'd like to be involved in, go join the group and let's get started!

6-year work anniversary yeah!

Six years ago this week I left the civil service and ran off to join those renegade masters at Friends of the Earth.

Folks, it's been life-changing, and I'm grateful and proud to be part of the good fight.

Top tweeters

Using a sophisticated kludged methodology, it's my pleasure to give you some top grassroots tweeters from Friends of the Earth.

[Kermit flail]

I've taken a look at all the Friends of the Earth group accounts I follow, as well as individual accounts by people involved in Friends of the Earth local groups (minus those who mainly tweet about non-environmental issues).

I then correlated the most frequent tweeters and the most followed to compile the list below.

This isn't any kind of official list - and of course many of the individual accounts tweet about other interests and affiliations.

But if you're looking to connect with the most active corner of the Friends of the Earth twittersphere then follow these people. :-)

Here we go - in no particular order

@ali_mfoe
@bham_foe
@camdenfoe
@colettehumphrey
@eastbournefoe
@ecoleeann
@filosofical_140
@leicfoe
@manxcat367
@mcrfoe
@moderngreenery
@mrpeteabel
@rugbyfoe
@sunstarr
@svensegal