Committing to environment ahead of Cop26

Residents came together last weektomakeacommitmentto protecttheenvironmentahead of COP26.

The event was hosted by Chichester Festival Theatre and The Great Sussex Way at Oaklands Park last Tuesday.

Organisersinvitedpeopleto make their own commitments forhowtheyweregoingtowork towards a more sustainable future. These commitments were written on leaves cut out of recycled posters and will be displayed in the theatre foyer until November 12 while the COP26 summit takes place in Glasgow.

Residents also gathered to form the word ‘commit’ (see left). Explaining the idea, Georgina Rae, head of planning and projects at Chichester Festival Theatre, said: “We really wanted to do something that would help Chichester make a nod to COP26 and show our support for the goals of COP26. We wanted something that wasn’t just a photograph but it actually supports action and supports us making a commitment, hence the word ‘commit’.

“I have committed to using less plastic, making more visits to the refill shop and swapping my milk bottles to glass milk bottleswhichI’vebeenmeaning todoforalongtime,soI’mgoing to make this event the reason that I do that.”

Danielle Dunfield, chief executive of The Great Sussex Way, made a commitment to ‘take the train for all trips up to Guildford rather than drive, andIthinkditchingthecarisan immediatereductionincarbon footprint’.

Ella, 18, and Spencer, 15, are currentlystarringinPinocchio at Chichester Youth Theatre and are passionate about helping the environment.

Her commitment to help the environment is ‘to shop, fashion-wise,moresustainably and not buy directly from big brands’. Spencer added: “I buy a lot of food, so I want to be careful not to be buying single use plastic foods, by making my own lunches or by using sustainable things.”