The news is relentless: Raging forest fires. Rising seas. Ever more powerful storms. Our news feeds are stark reminders of the perils of a changing world. It’s hard to know what to do or how to act when threats from climate change are making the world an uncertain place.
If anxiety over climate change is keeping you up at night, taking action alongside your neighbors may be the answer.
The First Church in Belmont, Unitarian Universalist, is inviting the greater community to a Climate Café on Sunday, April 27, from noon to 1:30 p.m. Local organizations, including Black Earth Composting, Belmont High School Climate Action Club, Belmont Light, and Third Act Massachusetts, will be on hand to share information on reducing food waste, earth-friendly diets, renewable energy, planting native pollinator gardens, and how to advocate on the issue of climate change.
Frances Moore Lappe, author of “Diet for a Small Planet,” will be a featured guest, as will environmental educator Jean Devine.
According to spokesperson Priscilla Cobb, the church’s Unitarian principles emphasize environmental stewardship, making the Climate Café a timely response to a lack of climate action at government levels.
“The Seventh Principle of Unitarian Universalism is ‘Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part,’” Cobb said.
The role of FCB Green, the church’s environmental advocacy wing, is to educate, engage, and provide opportunities to adopt sustainable practices in homes and communities, as well as to advocate for environmental legislation and programs to reduce carbon emissions.
“The Climate Café is part of that effort,” she said. “We have always been looking for ways to provide our church community with opportunities for taking environmental actions to address the climate crisis. We decided that since we were gathering all these people and organizations, we should open it up to the whole community to educate and provide resources for people.”
The Global Climate Café Network began in Scotland in 2015 with community-led discussions on the climate, and has since inspired similar informal, community-based spaces for people to connect and learn how they can take action on climate initiatives. The network is founded on the idea that action will increase as people from a range of backgrounds, geographic locales, levels of political and environmental involvement, and walks of life discuss their concerns in safe, inclusive, community environments.
Belmont’s Climate Café follows Earth Day services at 9 and 11 a.m. Cobb welcomes the community to the services, which will feature the church’s children’s choir.
Cobb said if the community responds to the Climate Café, it may earn a regular spot on the church’s event calendar.
“Our hope is to attract a lot of families and for it to be an opportunity for households to be inspired together to find ways to reduce their environmental footprint, reduce emissions and address the climate crisis. They may decide to use less plastic, replace their lawn with native plants, walk more, drive less or think about getting an electric car. There are opportunities to educate and inspire people. That’s our goal.”
For more information about the Climate Café and The First Church in Belmont Unitarian Universalist, please visit uubelmont.org.
