I’m excited to announce a new thing that I’ve been developing for some time, and will be offering in-person meet-ups in Norwich as part of this…

Do you feel the need to connect with others on how we can help people learn, care and take action about the environmental and social problems we face? Would you like to try out some games, conversation cards, creative prompts, discuss book recommendations, or just share your challenges?

Earth Talk is a course, community and book that offers a rich set of tools to hold effective conversations and creative activities about the Earth Crisis.  

I have developed or adapted these activities mainly through Climate Museum UK, and in the past two years, through my local work under its umbrella that is Possitopia Norwich. I founded CMUK in 2019 to focus my practice on engaging people creatively with climate and nature, and to create opportunities for fellow practitioners to develop their public engagement skills.

My motivation to share all this is to rapidly spread the skills to activate the people we connect with in our work or daily lives, to help them understand the Earth Crisis, to tackle its causes, and to care for others as its impact worsens. 

Who is it for? You might just want to have more effective chats with your family, or develop creative ways for yourself to explore environmental issues. Or you might want to run workshops in your community, campaign group, workplace or school that help people understand, connect and take action. Maybe you already do this and want to share with others.

So, if you’re based in Norwich or nearby, what are your options? You can connect online or in person…

ONLINE: Join the Earth Talk community on Hylo to access the following benefits:

• A network of like-minded others to share your practice and challenges, and find collaborators

• A book in ten parts: see part one here which outlines all the contents

• Seven annual online workshops for training and discussion, and additional networking events

• At least 126 activities and delivery resources – including diagrams, posters, card sets and question sets, workshop plans, mini-essays and slide decks. 

So, you could join using this short form https://forms.gle/tzg9vb8Jaebo6A3W9 This involves a modest joining fee, explained in the form.

IN-PERSON: You can also join monthly in-person meet-ups

These will be starting in the Norwich Unity Hub in St Augustine’s Gate from Wednesday 25th September 2024, 5.00-7.00 pm. You can book here.

For the Norwich Earth Talk group, you don’t need to pay to join the online community but a small donation (e.g. £3 – £5) to cover the hire fee each time would be welcome. You don’t have to commit to attending several meet-ups, but it will be excellent to build up some bonds over time. I’ll facilitate the first few but we can share that role over time, so that we’re getting more diversity of perspective.

Please get in touch with me on bridget.mckenzie@flowassociates or via the contact form here to find out more.

If you’re interested in my work on the role of creativity and culture in engaging people with the Earth crisis, you might also like to read this thinkpiece.