Author Archives: Cranleigh Climate Action

Cranleigh Climate Action PRESENTATION and AGM – Monday 6th July 7.30pm

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There are 3 great reasons to attend Cranleigh Climate Action AGM this year:

  1. A wonderful venue as we shall be holding our meeting in the beautifully restored 17th Century Great Green Barn, Upper House Lane (Run Common Road end), Shamley Green, GU5 0SX, with refreshments available. 
    https://www.greatgreenbarn.com/
  2. An informative and stimulating talk by Professor Steven Baker of UCL’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory entitled “Measuring and Monitoring Climate from Space”, covering: What we can measure from space, what this tells us about climate; what we can say for sure and where uncertainty remains; and predictions for the future.
  3. A chance to hear all about the success of our Library of Things and other developments in Cranleigh Climate Action.

    Do come along, ask questions, make suggestions, and give us your support.

    As it’s the AGM you will also have the chance to get more involved if you wish, as the present officers and committee will stand down at the meeting.
    Members  and supporters are all encouraged to put themselves forward for officer roles, chair, secretary and treasurer or for the general management committee.

    If you would like more information on roles and activities, do contact us by email, or phone.

    Gardening in a Changing Climate

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    Last Saturday, in our regular pop-up outside Cranleigh Co-op, we talked about ideas for coping with the new unpredictable climate, droughts and inundations. We also had lots of tips for attracting wildlife to the garden, which can help make the garden more resilient and provides safe spaces for other creatures.

    The fun part was helping children to make little newspaper pots, fill with compost and then sow a seed (or two!) of their choice: sunflower, nasturtium, runner or French beans.

    Our Future Surrey

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    Cranleigh Climate Action is backing the Our Future Surrey Pledge for the May 2026 elections! 🌳

    With new Unitary Authorities being formed, we have a once-in-a-generation chance to shape priorities from day one. The pledge asks all candidates to commit to what Surrey residents have told us matters most.

    ✅ Cut energy bills & create green jobs

    ✅ Make transport affordable, accessible & healthy

    ✅ Protect & enhance nature for everyone

    ✅ Build healthy, sustainable communities

    ✅ Empower communities

    These aren’t abstract goals but solutions to real problems like congestion, high bills, and feeling unheard. For more detail about the pledges please see Our Future Surrey Pledge and for more information about the campaign go to https://ourfuturesurrey.org.

    We asked Cranleigh residents at one of our regular pop-up events what they thought of the pledges and got a very positive response, with many writing postcards which we forwarded to the candidates.

    You can still ask your local candidates to sign! You can see who’s already committed at ourfuturesurrey.org

    #OurFutureSurrey #SurreyElections2026 #OurFutureSurreyPledge

    Cranleigh Library of Things is officially launched!

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    The launch of Cranleigh Library of Things on Saturday 7 March was a great reminder of why community projects matter so much. A brilliant idea, brought to life by people who care about their community and the planet. The ribbon cutting is only the beginning.

    Liz Townsend enjoying a joke

    At the grand opening celebrations we were pleased to welcome honoured guests including Tim Hall, Chairman of Surrey County Council, David Munro, Deputy Mayor of Waverley Borough Council, and County Councillor Liz Townsend, as well as other local supporters.

    The idea is beautifully simple. Instead of buying tools or equipment which might only be used once or twice a year, you borrow them. Items like carpet cleaners, pressure washers or electric screw drivers in the Library of Things inventory, are stored and loaned out when needed. 

    New items will be added to the catalogue regularly, as funds are raised. The aims are practical: to cut down on waste, to reduce cost and clutter and save CO2 emissions into the bargain. 

    The Library of Things is a happy collaboration between Cranleigh Climate Action and Cranleigh book Library (Surrey County Council). Borrowers collect the items from Cranleigh library and return them to there; the library staff act as front of house; another collaborator, Elmbridge Retirement Villages, provides the storage. Volunteers run the online system and make sure items are available to be collected from the library.

    Members of the Library of Things team are at Cranleigh Library most Friday afternoons to explain how the system works and hear people’s ideas on what might be useful additional items.   Please pop along and have a chat.To find out more go to the library-of-things tab on this website: 

    Photos credit: Martin Bamford Photography.

    Seven simple sustainable steps for 2026

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    Thank you to Miki Marks for these suggestions for helping us make some really useful New Year’s Resolutions for 2026!

    New Year is traditionally a time to take stock.   Many people make resolutions to eat less, drink less and so on.  All fine on a personal level, of course, but how much better it would be to make resolutions which can benefit you and make a difference to the environment.   Here are some suggestions 

    1. Save energy: There are some simple ways to save energy around your home – for example switching off devices rather than leaving them on standby. It’s also really interesting and helpful to understand the footprint of your actions – Mike Berners Lee’s book “How bad are bananas” provides the carbon footprint of just about everything and is fascinating and useful.
    •  Learn more about Nature.   Get to know the area around you and be aware of the issues on a local level.  The loss of woodlands, development on flood plains and polluted waterways are local threats.  Join the Cranleigh Civic Society and be kept up to date with what is happening.  Consider planning a tree, they are essential to our health and wellbeing, and critical to decarbonising our climate.  If you haven’t the space, join the Surrey Wildlife Trust or The Woodland Trust and support their work that way.  There are also some wonderful nature books to inspire you; Simon Barnes’ book “Rewild Yourself”  is most informative.
    •  Sustainable Fashion.  This huge industry has a significant impact on the environment.  The footprint is not just about carbon emissions but implications for water usage, pollution and the human cost of poor working conditions.  We have some excellent charity shops in Cranleigh where good quality, hardly worn bargains can be had, and you are also helping a charity with each purchase. You can also get your existing clothing adapted or mended by our local seamstress or cobbler.
    • Reducing the use of chemicals.   How many containers full of chemicals to swab, soak, wipe and spray have you got in your house?  To say nothing of garden chemicals too.   Perhaps a rethink is necessary.  Vinegar is an environment friendly cleaning agent.  And do you really need your house to smell of synthetic perfumes? Homegrown lavender smells wonderful. 
    • Wildlife gardening: There are so many ways to encourage wildlife into your garden – don’t be too tidy! feed the birds, make your garden hedgehog friendly or dig a pond. You will encourage a thriving ecosystem to watch and enjoy.
    • Re-use, repair. A visit to the Cranleigh recycling centre is a sobering experience.  How much of what is chucked away could be reused or repaired?   Find out about the inspiring Cranleigh Repair Café – skilled local volunteers can help with all manner of repairs, from clocks to clothes.
    • Food waste is a big problem; in the UK, 18 million tonnes of CO2 are generated by the wasted consumable food and drink from UK households.  This is awful when you think how many people are having to use foodbanks.  Avoid buying too much, explore creative solutions for leftovers or freeze extra portions. For more ideas WRAPs ‘love food, hate waste’ campaign is great:   https://lovefoodhatewaste.com.

    Very best wishes for a happy and sustainable New Year.

    Co-op local community fund

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    (Please note the Local Community Fund raising has ended for this year. We will let you know the outcome soon)

    Cranleigh Climate Action has been selected as one of our local Co-op “good causes”. The amount we get will depend on how many Co-op members choose us.

    We are trying to raise money to start up a Library of things. So if you are a member of the Co-op, please choose us here!

    It doesn’t matter where you are in the country you can still choose us! And if you’re not yet a member, you can always join…!

    Cranleigh Climate Action Challenge

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    We created Cranleigh Climate Challenge Pledges because we believe we can’t leave it to others to respond to the climate emergency, and that we need to act.
    We’ve identified 6 areas where we can reduce our personal impact on the climate: transport, food, at home, stuff we buy and use, nature, and the influence we have on others.
    We’re personally pledging to act across those areas, and encouraging everyone in or around Cranleigh to join us.
    To explore ideas for your own changes, visit bit.ly/CranleighPledges.

    Pledge Here!

    Energy advice at the Climate Cafe In Cranleigh Library

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    Next Climate Cafés: (All Tuesdays) 18th February, 18th March and 15th April.

    We are normally in Cranleigh Library from 10.30am to 12.30pm on the third Tuesday of the month and will help you find some answers to your energy questions.

    Come along and make sure that your home is the most energy efficient it can be.

    The library is a Warm Welcome Venue, where you can drop in, warm up, grab yourself a drink and read a book, go online or chat to others there – and the brilliant Climate Action team are just waiting to say hello!

    Climate Pop-up launched!

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    On 26th October we launched our new monthly Climate Pop-up events on Cranleigh High Street, outside Boots.

    Our County Councillor, Liz Townsend who facilitated our present funding, was our guest of honour.

    Our guest member, Peter Jones, a local beekeeper was there as our star attraction this month with lots of ideas on how to optimise our gardens to help the pollinators we rely on to thrive.

    Visit to Elmbridge

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    Cranleigh Climate Action had a really interesting and positive visit to Elmbridge in August 2024. We met the lively and very active Sustainability Working Group and were extremely impressed by their achievements and plans. Their allotments and the work (and fun!) going on there is focussed on sustainability and supporting nature.

    In future we intend to plan some joint activities; we will get invitations to their meetings and the talks they put on and we are invited to hold pop-up events there.

    The Elmbridge group is affiliated to Cranleigh Climate Action and we are sure to have a fruitful time working together.