Last year, a group of local residents got together and decided local people needed something to help them make the changes needed in their lifestyles to tackle climate change. Climate change was in the news everyday and we would meet people who wanted to do something but were unsure or confused about what they could do.

The Wimbledon Odeon agreed to let us show Al Gore's climate change documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, for the cost of hiring the film, so we put our hands in our pockets and invited everyone we could think of.

Introduced by Wimbledon's local MP, Stephen Hammond, 120 people attended (including councillors and council officers) and there was a buzz of excitement about this new initiative. Many people made a contribution to the cost, so much so that with the surplus we were able to invite Paul Mobbs, author of Energy Beyond Oil, to present at an event the following month called 'The Convenient Solution'. Paul illustrated the scale of our energy problems in the UK and that we need to reduce our dependency on energy dramatically if we are going to tackle climate change.

March also saw the introduction of a regular feature, Merton Green Drinks, which is a drop in social for anyone interested in environmental issues at the Sultan Pub in Norman Road, South Wimbledon on the second Wednesday of every month.

By April we were rapidly making friends across the borough including MVSC and the Wimbledon Guild who made it possible for us to show the documentary 'The Power of Community' which is an inspirational film showing how Cuba managed to survive with a fraction of it's energy use after the break up of the Soviet Union. Now Havanna, with a population of two million, produces half of its fresh vegetables in the urban environment.

Following the film we held a community visioning workshop in which participants brainstormed what they liked and didn't like about Merton and, looking into the future, what projects might be needed to bring about a sustainable future. Ideas which came out of the workshop included an ecology centre, cultivating small green spaces, alternative uses for supermarket car parks and information provision.

A small grant from MVSC meant that we could invite Paul Mobbs back to present 'Less is a Four Letter Word', looking in more detail at the kind of changes society needs to reduce it's dependence on fossil fuels.

We have now received a grant from the Community Champions fund which will enable us to run monthly events over the next six months, develop our web site (www.sustainablemerton.org.uk ) and visit residents associations, community, faith and womens' institute groups to run free climate change workshops.

Over the coming weeks we will be attending many local events and, with help from the council, we will be hosting a Marquee in the Wimbledon Piatza on June 9th filled with with lots of information, giveaways, competitions and prizes. So if you want to find out what you can do about climate change, I'll see you there.