No matter your approach to the environmental and social issues of our time, there was something for everyone. The day was a great success, sights to be seen including: folks swarming round the freeshop (a monthly fixture in Bath the second Saturday of every month) picking up bargains, staring thoughtfully at the wonderful vibrant display of Climate Camp pictures from last year, chatting to people behind the stalls and to each other and learning how to make purses out of recycled tetra paks.

Members of the public gave glowing reports on the day, welcoming the wide range of information on offer. For some, the issues opened up for discussion may have posed something of a challenge, but if anything, the differences of the groups present, proved that the day of the stereotyped green lifestyler are well and truly over. You can change your life as little or as much as you like. Plunge in the deep end with ten days of communal living and non violent direct action at Climate Camp, or paddle in the shallow, but no less important end, by making smaller tweaks to your everyday life, embracing ideas, perhaps, such as shopping at a food co op or trying a vegetarian or vegan diet. Or, as local man Matthew pointed out when I spoke to him and his family of five, if you’re not ready for vegetarianism, try having just a couple of meat-free days a week.

The answer to the problem of climate crisis is gradual steps to a more sustainable life that is both kinder to the environment and to each other. Just as the steps towards the possible breakdown of life as we know it are small and may seem like nothing to panic about, as Transition Town Bath’s Afrel points out – if we prepare well now, making some adjustments, our lives will be enriched, not diminished. If we keep our heads in the sand, we may well be heading for the medieval existence some of us may fear reverting to, one of the main concerns at the heart of a reluctance to get on board with green living. Transition Town hope to get enough people to register interest in the scheme on their website, so that a lively loud voice emerges, holding real sway with council decisions on everyday issues that affect us all.

Even if you’re not sure about the more radical aspects of Climate Camp, don’t let that put you off coming, maybe just for the day to see what all the fuss is about. Such primitive seeming things as compost toilets, and even dietary choices such as veganism have been greatly improved by the years of work put in by dedicated, ambitious and creative people. And not to be missed is the wellbeing tent where you can get a massage or just chill out if it all gets a bit much!

Embrace change – let it be fun, not a chore. And with it all on your terms, you’ve got nothing to lose.

 http://www.transitionbath.org.uk/
 http://www.envolve.co.uk/projects/food_coop.html
 http://www.climatecamp.org.uk/
 http://www.myspace.com/bathactivistnetwork
 http://www.viva.org.uk/