A place to work together - Stratford’s new Climate Hub opens to public

THE message is that we are all in it together – and together we can make a difference.

Stratford became one of the first towns in Warwickshire to open a Climate Hub last week, with 30 Meer Street officially welcoming its first visitors.

Set up by the town’s environmental groups under the joint banner of Net Zero Stratford, the hub will offer people a place to go to find out information, get advice, meet like-minded people and get involved in workshops and events with climate, sustainability and biodiversity at their heart.

Stephen Norrie, chair of Net Zero Stratford, told the Herald: “I think it’s really important that people meet in person and talk about these things.

“There is so much stuff on the internet and so many things competing in the media that we don’t really come together as a community to talk about things, so we hope this is a place where we can make the climate crisis a part of our community and work through it together.”

He added: “So much in climate action only makes sense if you know other people are doing it. We do need to show that there are people locally who care. The majority of people do care, but don’t really know what do, how much they can do or have the wrong ideas about what is important or what is effective, and hopefully we can provide little bit of community leadership in that respect.

“We can also show people how they can get involved – there are so many ways people can get involved that I think they will be surprised.”

The hub will initially be open three days a week – Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday – but the aim is to have a five-day-a-week operation.

It is being run by 12 volunteers who will have varying levels of knowledge, but will be able to signpost people to where they can get help or find someone with the expertise.

There are opportunities for new volunteers to get involved – you don’t need to be a climate change scientist to help out, just have a willingness to help and learn.

The hub, which has two floors, offers space to sit and read, as well as display boards, leaflets and a meeting room.

It will be in Stratford for at least 10 months and during that time there will be various workshops, including a look at climate anxiety, and the chance for schools to get involved.

“We want to show the Climate Hub can really add something to the town centre and become a permanent fixture,” Stephen added.