Residents invited to discuss impact of climate change at 'wild weather' café

The second in a series of discussion events hosted by Enfield Climate Action Forum takes place at Chickenshed later this month, reports Anna-Louise Adepegba

Participants at the previous World Weather World Café in Edmonton

A local environmental campaign group will be holding its latest “extreme weather” discussion event this month.

Enfield Climate Action Forum (EnCaf) is hosting its second ‘Wild Weather World Café’ on Tuesday, 26th May at Chickenshed Theatre.

The event is in collaboration with the University of Birmingham and is supported by LocalMotion Enfield. Aimed at local residents, it aims to discuss people’s experiences of extreme weather, their concerns, and ideas on how to protect the community during future extreme weather events.

The project was developed after researchers from the university contacted EnCaf to help with research into how local communities are affected by these events.

Francis Sealey, chair of EnCaf, believes the findings will help communities prepare for and prevent the consequences of the risk – which he says is very important, and yet not prioritised.

He told the Dispatch: “Mitigation is something the council does not focus on enough. They consider what to do in the moment of crisis – the response factor, rather than preparedness and mitigation.

“It’s unlikely the research will affect the borough’s plans – but we hope to work with structural authority to put together ideas and infrastructure that will help the most likely affected areas to build community resilience against the possible events. For example, water shortages, food scarcity and extreme heat.”

The University of Birmingham creates vulnerability indexes for the chosen areas, a composite, quantitative metric measuring a population’s susceptibility to hazards, working out who has the weakest resilience and why.

The first Wild Weather World Cafe took place in Upper Edmonton on last month, at Angel Community Centre. The group expects much different conversations and findings from its next event, which is seeking involvement from people living in Cockfosters.

Francis said: “The university came to us, hoping we can aid their research. We’ve chosen two very different wards for our two events – Upper Edmonton and Cockfosters, one in the east, one in the west – which differ in wealth and social class.

“We had a full house in Upper Edmonton, which likely reflects the community’s awareness about their vulnerability. I’m interested in what our Cockfosters event will be like – whether the social circumstances mean they are more or less aware of climate risks. Our question is; how do we get more people aware in the more prosperous area?

“We hope to hold four or five of these [events], it will help if we get some funding for the council [if] that’ll be possible. It may be that the two we hold are enough to produce ideas and a borough plan to execute in other areas across the borough.”

EnCaf are looking for 20 local residents to attend the workshop on Tuesday 26th. Doors open at 9:30am, with lunch and refreshments provided throughout the day. The workshop will include discussions, interactive activities and an exhibition, with local independent researchers also attending.

The event will include discussions, an exhibition, fun quiz and mapping activity. Plus, lunch and refreshments will be provided, with £75 vouchers given to those who join.

The forum has done its part to raise awareness and improve the boroughs climate initiatives, working with schools, churches and charities to raise awareness and build infrastructure, including four water coolers , and two refill stations to reduce plastic pollution – located in Enfield Town and Edmonton Green.

Francis said: “In July, we will do a presentation with LocalMotion to showcase our findings. We hope to make a difference.”

For more information about the Wild Weather World Cafe:
Visit eventbrite.co.uk/e/wild-weather-world-
cafe-for-cockfosters-in-enfield-residents-tickets-1985349183853

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