Creating Green Healthy ‘Movements’ is at the core of what Commonground is all about.
“How to Go about Creating Green Movements”
If you want to understand Commonground ReWilding this is probably the article for you. Everything that is proposed in this manifesto is a sort of side-ways thinking concept around how do we address the climate crisis and our bio-diversity issues. At our core we are a direct action concept but with a very big but, we are looking to get more and more people involved through meaningful action.
What do we actually mean when we say “Meaningful Action”
The more that we try to speak truth to power through protest, Direct Action or even just writing a letter is being diminished today by those in Power. For us at Commonground idea of Direct Action and Expressing the the Need for Change is more about inspiring others than it is about getting those in power to work for what we need, even though it’s the ultimate goal. The more people that are speaking together the more effective all of this will be.
Don’t get us wrong on this we do challenge power locally, just ask our founder, as he can be a a bit fiesty (mainly as a result of his Disabiilities and childhood abuse). We do challenge but in this context we understand that to challenge power we need to create a policy that inspires others to come together and take up the mantel or responsibility of demandin change not just in our local area but the whole world.
It’s all about “Repeat Encouragment”
We don’t learn by hearing something once, we learn by multiple engagements, this is especially true if backed up by reasoned facts. Reapeat Encourage is further enhanced is when you apply the reality to actual solutions that can be seen. If you also make it personal by making people feel they are able to make the change that is needed. This is happening more and more, it’s just that Commonground ReWilding wants to make it more visible.
All over the world people are more and more voicing the need for change. We see nearly every day protesters on our streets up and down the country crying our and expressing the need for change. Deep down nearly everybody sees the science and in the news where climate issues are causing problems. However nothing ever happens, we ever the change we demand. The issue we think is that the change that is need is not defined in ways where you get light bulb moments that say something like “Oh I never realised that” or “I wish I had that explained to me before”.
This may surprise you but the only solution to solving all our climate issues from overconsumption to Bio-Diversity decline and CO2 lies in peoples engagement and changing how we all live. We need to promote the why and how because they are linked to human action. From this will come the what. Currently the what is defines as reducing CO2 emissions. Its a very small part of the solution due to the fact as humans we still want to live our linear wastful overconsumptive lives.
Our Governments don’t want to hear from those that put them in power, where they are labour or Conservates. Protesting today has been criminilised more and more through and through. We are told to be quiet, find a dark whole and dont tell any one about your protest, sort of sums it up. This makes it more and more difficult to send any type of message. Yet there are ways that you can create a message without infringing our draconian protest laws. Commonground ReWilding is about investigating ways to do this. We have a number of ideas which we are looking at but for it to work we need to bring people together. Some of them are to change areas we suggest actually challenge instutions that have not been challenged for our knowledged before.
We also suffer from a woefully inadequate media that are mainly too right wing to even care, and mostly they don’t see the true issues and don’t as a result report what’s needed truthfuly (this is an essay in itself) Then there is the idea that Direct Action groups through the likes of Extinction Rebellion or Just Stop Oil etc will never get people to engage just by glueing your hands on to the tarmac. It really does not send a meaningful message that we need at this time. There is now a need to seriously look at and re-define the act of protest so that the message send has real meaning. It is about spreading the idea of learning what’s at stake and then develop sewrious ways around what needs to be done.
Our Worry at Commonground ReWilding is that…….
……..we don’t have enough time to get the message across but we can’t just stop because of it. We don’t have the reach, access to effective media but we could do if we can create a myriad of cohesive groups of people who work together to send the message thats very much need. If more and more people get active and motivate and engage with more and more like minded people all over the country we have a chance.
The speech is true because the responsibility for solving the issues does not lie with our so called lords and masters. They lie with us. If you think voting once every four years is enough you have serious problem to how to solve our problems. The solutions lies to what we do in between elections that will get things done.
“The responsibility of a country is not in the hands of a privileged few. We are strong, and we are free from tyranny as long as each one of us remembers his or her duty as a citizen. Whether it’s to report a pothole at the top of your street or lies that surround how to create a more green sustainable world, speak out! Ask those questions. Demand that truth. Democracy is not a free ride, man. We’re here to tell you. But, this is where we live. And if we do our job, this is where our children will live.”
Sean Penn – adapted from the film Fair game
If you believe what the quote is try to say then you are half way there. We need to get people and groups to come together to create movements around there local area that work with other groups in other areas to send a message that change is needed. Watch this Ted.Com talk on “How to Create a Movement”. It explains how one lone nut can start a movement of many. This is what we are trying to do. There are articles in this manifesto that show what we do. Fancy a chat over a cuppa a bit of cake and see how you can get involved
Join the movement! Reimagine communities, integrate nature, and build a sustainable future with us.
How does this apply to what we do
Commonground ReWilding Cafe is an example. Its about defining facts, illustrating the problems and creating a space to show what needs to be done. We work in an approachable and supportive way helping people gain knowledge, creating skills and basically getting involved in making small adjustments again and again to how they live.
We are not militant as such but we do feel strongly about what we do and aim to achieve. Our aim is to create spaces and skills that are all based around showing how a circular economy is a better way of living than our the linear throw away economy we have at the moment. We work in a benign way to create real examples that show what is possible in todays world and expand that towhat may be possible in the future. Both are worth working towards.
We hope you enjoy this website. May your god be with you.
