In early March, as part of a group of 30 Young Greens from across the country, I headed to Birmingham, to take part in a weekend of training workshops, in an attempt to learn more about, and become engaged with, Green politics. For me, and many others selected for this year’s Young Greens 30 Under 30 programme, this represented my first true exposure to both the Young Greens, and the Green Party in general: whilst I have been a member for around a year now, taking the first steps took some time. It’s safe to say that, spending three days following a full-to-bursting schedule of talks, workshops and Q&A sessions with a group of bright, passionate, and inspirational young activists left me coming away feeling energised and determined to continue my participation with the Green Party.
The weekend kicked off with a session of icebreakers — something which, it seems, the Young Greens EC is renowned for —, before throwing us in at the deep-end, with an afternoon of talks about Green politics, its roots, key events and figures, and its reality today. Having the opportunity to then participate in Q&A sessions with a whole host of key names in the Green Party, on topics covering a range of policy areas, was an incredible way to begin exploring our interests. On reflection, conducting some of these over video conference now seems to have been something of a practice run for our current situation!
The Green Party, and Green politics more generally, was born from social movements and campaigns, in the UK, Europe, and beyond: the day workshop — a crash course in campaigning — allowed us to explore how we could have an influence on a local level, between election cycles, to create, empower, and ensure a successful social campaign. This all culminated in a final day, during which Natalie Bennett, recently appointed to the House of Lords and ex-leader of the Green Party, came to speak to us about her experiences, campaigning, and elections. This fed into our final day, focussing on local elections, and the Target to Win strategy, in preparation for what were the upcoming local elections in May 2020 — although all relevant information for next spring, with the benefit of additional time to prepare!
Of course, it wasn’t all work — the evenings were a brilliant opportunity to socialise, get to know each other, and reflect on what we had done that day and how we could take it back home with us. Simply being surrounded by such incredible people was an opportunity in itself and not one I took for granted. The programme was planned to continue with five more training days in the weeks and months to come. Due to Covid-19, these have been moved online and opened up for all Young Greens. Additionally, there are a whole host of political education talks in the pipeline, open to all Green Party members and allies/friends. It’s wonderful to see that, whilst our initial plans may have been disrupted due to current circumstances, there are always learning opportunities to be found, and the Young Greens, for their part, are seizing them with enthusiasm.
I’m excited to be a part of this movement, to bring what I’ve learnt home and to see how we can make Three Rivers a Greener place to live.
Kelsey Trevett
Sycamore Road appeal dismissed!
Great news! The Sycamore Road development appeal has been dismissed. I congratulate all the residents for putting in so many objections. The Chair of the Management Association for the flats worked really hard as we did on the Parish Council. Overall this made the TRDC planning committee take notice. The Neighbourhood Plan was very important […]
New trees planted with better design, thanks to Green Party
Back in 2019 members of the Green Party met with a highways officer to draw attention to the neglect of newly planted trees. Tree ties, which are used to secure young trees to their support stakes, have not been removed and are constricting tree trunks. This can sometimes result in tree death. Following pressure from […]
Woodland saved for Croxley Green!
Chris Mitchell persuaded the Parish Council to buy the woodland for resident’s use Local residents approached councillors about the future of five acres of Long Valley Wood adjoining Woodland Chase estate, south of Harvey Road. The land had been sold by developers to a demolition and waste clearance company that later went into liquidation. Residents […]
Killingdown Farm planning appeal upheld
The Killingdown Farm planning application for 160 dwellings adjacent to The Green Conservation Area has been upheld at appeal and therefore the development will go ahead. This is a disappointing decision and we commend residents for their hard work in opposing the plan from the start. Let’s be clear – the Lib Dem run Council […]
Are you eligible for the Green Homes Grant?
The Green Homes Grant is a fund of more than £1million available to Three Rivers residents until March 2022. The scheme is administered by Three Rivers District Council. Find out more It is targeting households who would like a warmer home but cannot afford to make energy-saving home improvements, with fully funded measures worth up […]
Our response to the Local Plan consultation
Three Rivers District Council (TRDC) is consulting on a new Local Plan which will deliver 8,973 new homes. 80% are allocated to sites in the Green Belt. Please see our full response to Part 1: Preferred Policy Options here and to Part 2: Sites for Potential Allocation here. These are a collection of comments made […]
Which sites have been put forward for development near you?
Three Rivers District Council (TRDC) is consulting on a new Local Plan. You can view the consultation here. Part 2: Sites for Potential Allocation 80% of the additional dwellings set out in the potential sites allocation document are allocated to sites previously in the Green Belt. There are many sites of serious concern including: CFS10 […]
Support Croxley Green Parish Council to stop the development of the Red Cross Centre
Three Rivers District Council has designated the Red Cross Centre as a site for future development with 6 dwellings to be built on the land. This decision will remove a vital, well-used community space, which was built using funds raised directly from Croxley Green residents. Three Rivers District Council own the land where the Centre […]
Chris celebrates a strong election result in Dickinsons Ward
In the Three Rivers District Council elections in 2021 Chris Mitchell increased the vote for the Green Party in Dickinsons Ward, Croxley Green, eightfold from 119 to 961, and the vote share sixfold from 6% to over 38%. He was narrowly beaten by the Liberal Democrats whose vote share fell by a third from 66% […]
Greens fight for better housing at Killingdown Farm
Chris Mitchell, Green Party candidate for Dickinsons Ward, has succeeded in persuading the developers of Killingdown Farm in Croxley Green to improve energy saving in 160 proposed new homes. Installing heat pumps instead of mains gas connection will result in an energy saving of 43%, a vast improvement on current minimum building standards. Chris has […]