In this webinar we talk to Dr Beryl De Souza about the different ways medics engage communities in a time of climate change. Beryl is a plastic surgeon but she is also a community activist. She works closely with the Enfield Racial Equality Council (EREC) and is a passionate supporter of the work they do in the diverse community of Enfield. In the webinar she talks about how medics can engage over the issues of public health and climate change and explains how climate change will and has already created a health crisis. Medics of all kinds are getting increasingly concerned at the impact that climate change is having on air pollution, heat exhaustion, on well being and mental health and on the possibility of disease spreading as well as future pandemics. She talks about the need for agencies to work together in collaborative networks and the importance of creating relationships with communities and individuals.

In this webinar we interview David McKelvey and Maggie Fay who are both medic - one a GP and another a nurse and they arrested for demonstrating outside of JP Morgan In all six healthcare professionals were arrested after cracking eight panes of glass at investment bank JP Morgan’s offices in Canary Wharf as part of a non-violent protest. JP Morgan is the world’s biggest funder of fossil fuels, having poured $384.2 billion into the sector since the Paris Climate Agreement in 2016. The financial services giant and investment bank funded the fossil fuel industry to the tune of $61.7 billion in 2021, the same year the International Energy Agency stated that new oil, gas or coal investment must end if the world is to reach net zero by 2050. Heatwaves are known to pose a variety of health risks, including an increased risk of stroke, and heart failure. [6] Periods of extreme heat have also been linked to negative impacts on mental health and increased suicide rates, according to a study published in Nature Climate Change looking at data from the U.S and Mexico. [7] Experts have warned that thousands of people in the UK could die as a result of the coming heatwave, with both the vulnerable as well as the fit and healthy at risk.  Here we talk about the climate crisis, the role of civil disobedience and the dysfunctional nature of our democracy that seems unable to face the health emergency that we face through climate change

Here we interview Katies Knight about her efforts and that of others to achieve a “green NHS” that has sustainability embedded in all it does. Katie is a Paediatric Emergency Medicine Consultant in the North Middlesex Hospital and has taken a lead in forming a Sustainability Group within her trust. Working together they try to collaborate with the Trust to ensure that the site of the Trust and its practices follow green principles in how the site is organised and in its procurement. Katie is passionate about climate change and tells us that many of the younger generation of doctors are increasingly feeling this way as they see the emergency of climate change threatening the health of the children they work with. We are pleased to do this interview with Katie and equally pleased that sh has also agreed to join our EnCaf Core Group.

In this interview we talk to Rebecca Nestor who is a member of the Climate psychology alliance and has become part of what is know as the Climate Cafe movement. Rebecca talks about the growing anxieties that people are feeling about climate change and the stress and guilt they sometimes have of feeling helpless and concerned they can do nothing about it. Climate Cafes were set up so that people could join with others to talk about their feelings and share their anxieties. They take different forms in the many locations where they are found and some develop into other forms as the cafe develops. One cafe for example turned into a book group. But having a place where people can talk openly and freely with others is important and climate cafes fulfil a need that is growing as the impact of climate change is every more visible.

Together with the Enfield Racial Equality Council (EREC) and the Enfield Voluntary Action as well as the local Health Authorities we are developing a project on climate change and public health. We know climate change will impact on some of the poorest communities in our Borough and they will be adversely affected by air pollution, the lack of green spaces, energy costs and living in older badly insulated homes and as temperatures rise will also suffer heat stress affecting especially those living alone and elderly. Here is a description of the project and an invitation to join us and help

In this webinar we talk to Sarah Eastwood who is the Emergency Planning Officer for the North Mid Hospital Trust. We explore what emergency planning is around a crisis incident. However we also discuss what emergency planning means when the crisis is long term such as climate change and whether that needs a new way or working and also of thinking. We look at how working together in bottom up collaborative networks is important and how over time these need to be improved.

In this short interview we talk to Luke Balnave about his enter[prising idea to develop a Family Bike Club and Library The Family Bike Club and Library is the brainchild of Enfield resident Luke Balnave. Luke is renting premises adjacent to Enfield Chase station which he plans to turn into a cooperatively managed Bike Hub and Library. With the help of the Aviva Community Fund he's crowdfunding the cost of sprucing up the vacant shop and stocking it with a range of bikes of all conceivable shapes and sizes. Long-tail family bikes, child trailers, front and back child seats, cargo-carrying trailers, trailers for dogs, cargo bikes, e-bikes, and just plain old-fashioned pushbikes will all be available to rent out. Luke's ambitious ideas also include organising group rides, running cycling lessons, providing expert advice on bike servicing and cycling routes, providing bike buddies to help people build up their confidence.

In this webinar we interview Richard Gourlay whois the Director of Strategic Development in the North Mid Hospital NHS Trust. Here he talks about the fact that the climate crisis is a health crisis and the impact this has on his own Trust in the way they plan for the future and develop their services. Not only do they try to make their own site more sustainable but they also work with other statutory authorities and communities to tackle the problems that climate change will make worse like air pollution, the lack of green spaces and heat stress. They know that it is the most vulnerable and marginalised communities that will suffer the most and work in partnership to reach out so that there is a greater equality of health provision. Richard took up his current role in May 2016, having joined the hospital in February 2011 as General Manager for clinical support services and specialist medicine. From 2012 he led the hospital’s operational reconfiguration for the Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Clinical Strategy. He has 20 years of acute hospital management experience, working predominantly across north London, managing medical and surgical specialties.

In this webinar interview Jenny Chapman talks about the work of her, her colleagues and students in the London Schools Eco Network (LSEN) which brings together educators and pupils to collaborate to address the climate crisis. The LSEN is part of the UK School Sustainability Network and is hosted by the charity Transform Our World. Jenny talks about the work she and others do around issues such as food, air pollution and much more. She tells us how important integrating climate in the whole school curriculum is and although that is beginning to happen, she says there is still a long way to go. Jenny recommends that we look at the following websites for more information London Schools Eco Network - https://www.transform-our-world.org/ukssn/london-schools-eco-network UK Schools Sustainability Network - https://www.transform-our-world.org/ukssn Let’s Go Zero - https://letsgozero.org/ Department for Education Sustainability and climate change strategy - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sustainability-and-climate-change-strategy/sustainability-and-climate-change-a-strategy-for-the-education-and-childrens-services-systems Address Pollution - https://addresspollution.org/ Clean Air Day - https://www.actionforcleanair.org.uk/campaigns/clean-air-day