Guildford Takes The Jump

Guildford, 25 September 2021, 11am-5pm

As part of a nationwide celebration of action on climate change—The Great Big Green Week—CUSP is co-hosting an event with Zero Carbon Guildford and The Jump on 25 Sept 2021, focusing on the changes we can make as a community to tackle the escalating climate crisis.

With the climate crisis escalating, Guildford will be affected in a number of ways. Some of these are obvious, flooding and heat death to name two, but some of them are less obvious and could have a huge impact on how we live and work in the borough. These include threats to food security and an escalating mental health crisis. Similarly, the local train tracks aren’t built to withstand 60 degree track temperatures, which occurs when air temperatures approach 38 – 40 degrees, leaving Guildford an un-commutable commuter town.

But it’s not all doom and gloom! The Jump was created from research at C40, and shows that actually, when we work together as communities, our collaborative actions combined with concerted behavioural change can reduce the emissions in our borough by up to 40%.

So what can we do as #TeamGuildford to lead by example in tackling the Climate Crisis? That’s where The Jump lays out six research-based ‘shifts’ which we can all incorporate into our daily lives to make a real impact on climate mitigation—and none of them involve going back to medieval times or living in a cave.

What they do all involve is making smart, responsible choices, whilst addressing our relationship with consumerism, and designing new types of economies which put human and planetary wellbeing at their centre, building something that actually works for our communities, and not for the sole purpose of corporate profit.

On the 25th we’ll be exploring what these relationships and different types of economy look like. What is a care economy? Why is mental health support such a critical component of climate education? How do we get past the feeling of powerlessness and start taking ownership for our own futures? These are all discussions we need to have as a united community, working with a shared purpose of building a borough that can survive, and even thrive, on a changing planet.

Next to talks from CUSP researchers Ben Gallant and Christine Corlet Walker, and a presentation from the creator of The Jump, we’ll be joined by Guildford’s own Paul Kerensa, writer of Miranda and Not Going Out, for some stand up comedy. What’s that got to do with climate breakdown? Laughter is free. Comedy, care, creativity, and community, are critical components in creating alternative economies that can counter climate change.

So come and join the conversation on 25th September, which will also feature taster sessions of wellbeing practices such as mindfulness, forest bathing, and eco psychology, as well as activities from The Diocese Of Guildford with a kids tent, mask making, and a Noah’s ark parade! See you there neighbours.