Our group meets on the first Monday of the month. Quite often, meetings are at the Red Lion in the centre of town, where some of us meet for lunch at 1pm before a topic discussion at 2pm. Early in the year, we met there to discuss the most impactful and important changes we can implement to make our own lives more sustainable.

We also go out on local visits. This year we went to Hillsborough Park walled garden and Parkwood Springs Forest Garden to look at their biodiversity. Robert led a topic on architecture, with a focus on viewing houses with external insulation and solar panels.

At our November meeting, we considered ‘Degrowth’ (we agreed that we need less stuff!), focussing on the book, ‘Less is More’ by Jason Hickel.

John Baxter is the National U3a Subject Advisor on Climate Change and Environment. His emails provide plenty of ideas for future topics. We noted suggestions such as: green crimes and becoming an environmental criminal; the truth about plug-in hybrid electric vehicles; food and climate change. (A search for ‘Second Nature John Baxter’ leads you to the link for John’s excellent emails.

There’s plenty to talk about, and 2026 should develop into a fascinating programme.

We welcome anyone who would like to come along!