The trees under threat are 120 years old and a spectacular addition to the amenity of the Gardens, enjoyed by generations of residents and visitors. The Gardens have a recently renovated playground which attracts families from across the city. The proposed pollarding seriously disfigures the trees in perpetuity, making them unattractive and unnatural in appearance. At a time of environmental emergency, the city council should find more creative solutions to the problem of building subsidence than simply chopping back trees that have graced the neighbourhood for more than a century.

A barren battery cage ban was introduced in through the EU to protect the welfare of laying hens but it wasn't extended to include the beautiful egg laying quail. The vast majority of Quail are farmed intensively in barren battery cages or overcrowded barns. The EU produces over 100 million Quail but the industry is unregulated and there are no official published stastics on this. It blows our mind that there is still an unregulated industry. Quail is positioned and marketed as a "luxury" high end product that is a delicacy. Yet Quail are farmed intensively in battery cages and overcrowded barns. Many have as little space as a beer mat. The Quail industry creates suffering on an enormous scale when there is a better way. You can be the change by signing and sharing this petition to regulate the Quail industry. We believe we really all can be the change when we work together. Barren Battery Quail industries don't exist for hens due to regulations and they don't need to exist for Quails. Be the change and sign today.

Research shows that herbicide use has multiple harmful effects on human and animal health, and causes environmental pollution and degradation. Glyphosate has, according to recent studies, been linked to the death of bees. It weakens their gut bacteria making them more susceptible to disease leading to a higher bee mortality rate. Bees play an essential role in our ecosystem because of their primary mission, which is pollination. This action allows plants to reproduce. Bees are among the most effective pollinating insects alongside wasps and butterflies. Globally, there are more honey bees than any other pollinating insects. They are vital to pollinate the plants that produce the food that we eat to survive. Pollination is vital to the health of the global food system. And a single bee colony can pollinate 300 million flowers in one day. If the bees go extinct, a ripple effect will be felt through the ecosystems, such as a plant die-off that will impact the entire food chain. "The absence of bees and other pollinators would wipe out coffee, apples, almonds, tomatoes, and cocoa, to name just a few of the crops that rely on pollination," Graziano da Silva, scholar and director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization from 2012 to 2019. There have been 3 successful lawsuits against Monsanto (now owned by Bayer), which brought glyphosate-based herbicides to the market in the 1970s, and there are many more cases going to trial. Nineteen countries have already either banned or restricted the use of glyphosate, and 5 more have plans to do so imminently. Many towns and cities across the world have made the decision to go pesticide-free, using methods such as hot-foam, flame weeding, scraping, acetic acid solution and accepting a certain level of ‘weediness’.

Stop transferring a waste problem to other countries. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57139474

The triangles are tiny. They should be huge . They should be so big that when I choose an item I can actually choose it based on which has a recycling option that I can recycle in my area .

The Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act (2006) requires all public authorities to have regard for conserving biodiversity in the exercise of their functions. Planning policies and decisions should minimise impacts on and provide net gains for biodiversity. Artificial grass holds no biodiversity net gains. Burrowing insects, such as solitary bees can’t get past the membrane, and worms beneath the soil are compromised and unreachable by consumers within each habitat community. This is likely to have a negative impact on local bird populations and other consumers, as the food source within the food chain is being reduced and/or removed. Britain’s bees are in trouble with 35 UK bee species under threat of extinction. The implications of this on human food sources, are colossal. We need to be enhancing bee’s habitats and feeding ground, not destroying it. The health of each planter ecosystem is threatened, as a plastic environment is not life sustaining. Though seemingly small, this could have far reaching, negative impact. Harrogate Borough Council’s Carbon Reduction Strategy highlights the damaging effects of climate change and refers to the UK Climate Change Act 2008, which sets the legally binding UK-wide carbon budget. The removal of living flora has removed carbon sequestration and biodiversity. The use of artificial grass provides no biodiversity benefits, furthermore its production and degradation add to carbon emissions. Though this artificial grass may be possible to recycle, the financial and environmental costs of this have not been considered. Though it may be long-lasting, the threat to human health via micro plastics washing into local drainage systems; carcinogenic substances present, and possible burn hazards in hotter temperatures, has not been considered. Key points within the HBC Carbon Reduction strategy include: ‘The council has a corporate responsibility both as a large employer and a community leader to take action to reduce emissions.’ The removal of flora, use of plastic and lack of community consultation and engagement has directly contradicted this point. Priority 4 states to ‘eliminate all single-use plastic from their premises where possible.’ The use of this plastic grass was completely avoidable. Had the council consulted with the public, many alternative options could have been explored, supporting community involvement and well-being. With much research on nature supporting emotional well-being, and considering the current lockdown and rise in mental health concerns, engaging community with outdoor, nature-based activities should be a priority for our council. We believe in community and unity. Together, we are capable of truly wonderful things. We need a council that works with the community and supports community engagement. Considering the legally binding aspects mentioned above; biodiversity net gain and carbon reduction should be a priority for our council. The natural world provides us with water to drink, air to breathe, and food to eat. Everything is linked and everything we do matters. We must protect the environment for moral and economic reasons. We need more habitats, not more plastic.

As a community we need to be doing as much as possible to protect our environment. In re-introducing food waste collection and reducing the amount of food waste going to landfill this will help to reduce greenhouse gases being created and global warming. We are all individually responsible in looking after our planet that we inhabit.

Increasingly consumers want to be able to make informed choices about whether to avoid products which are packaged in plastic. That is easy enough to do in a store when shoppers can see the product, but more difficult when buying online with just an image to look at. Introducing information about product packaging, or even a kitemark for products which are entirely plastic-free, would help consumers make more environmentally-friendly choices, and incentivise suppliers to reduce the amount of plastic used in their packaging.

Combatting climate change is not just an issue for politicians and industry. It requires changes in behaviour by everybody in their everyday lives,. Although most people will have heard of climate change and enjoyed David Attenborough's documentaries, they need to be made aware of what they need to do to contribute. Why should they eat less meat, drive an electric vehicle, replace their gas-fired heating with a heat pump etc. The government's "Together for our planet" campaign is not reaching people. We need a TV and social media campaign as was done for Covid 19. Climate change is even more of a global crisis than Covid 19 and we have the means to mitigate its impact if governments, local authorities and the people all work together.

We understand that there have been past petitions to KCC that have been responded to. But if Kent County Council is serious about tackling the climate crisis it must end its investments in an industry that encourages climate change denial at every point. KCC has told us that the reasoning behind their continued investment in fossil fuels is due to the belief that their investments give them a say at the table in how these companies are run. However, without evidence that KCC has a positive impact on these companies and their policies, we must once again ask them to reconsider their investments in companies that are completely unsustainable. KCC is one of the highest local government investors in the industry. If Kent County Council is truly committed to both people and the planet, they will take our concerns on board and show their interests are in boosting the local economy and not that of the industry that involves the destruction of our planet.

The Labour Councillors in Southampton originally created this safe space for pedestrians. This is a vibrant area for entertainment and shopping. The opening up of the space for outdoor use for everyone has been hugely beneficial during the pandemic. The continued use will provide some health security for the new-normal and gives safe transit for cyclists and scooter users towards the City centre; and directly promotes a greener, cleaner and safer environment for all. Please don't let this be taken away.

No matter what we do as individuals to make changes in our own lives, this will not be enough without serious legislation change from parliament. It’s been 2 years since the UK declared a climate and environment emergency. The government says it is making progress towards reducing carbon emissions, but without more significant and sustained action from the richest countries, the world is set to exceed the Paris Agreement’s critical 1.5°C limit between 2030 and 2040. And the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in Europe. The costs of failing to address these crises will far outstrip the investments required to prevent it. Investing now will bring many benefits in the form of good jobs, breathable cities and thriving communities. Limiting heating to 1.5°C may still be possible with ambitious action from national and sub-national authorities, civil society, the private sector and local communities. Adur District Council has declared a Climate Emergency and it is playing an important role in the UK taking action to achieve net zero. We want it to support the CEE Bill because all their efforts will not be enough unless there is new ambitious and effective national legislation. The CEE Bill (published as the “Climate and Ecology Bill”) binds the Government to develop an emergency strategy that: 1. requires that the UK plays its fair and proper role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions consistent with limiting global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial temperatures; 2. ensures that all the UK’s consumption emissions are accounted for; 3. includes emissions from aviation and shipping; 4. protects and restores biodiverse habitats along overseas supply chains; 5. restores and regenerates the UK’s depleted soils, wildlife habitats and species populations to healthy and robust states, maximising their capacity to absorb CO2 and their resistance to climate heating; 6. sets up an independent Citizens’ Assembly, representative of the UK’s population, to engage with Parliament and Government and help develop the emergency strategy. We want the Council to resolve to: 1. Support the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill 2. Inform the local media of this decision; 3. Write to local MPs, asking them to support or thanking them for supporting the Bill; and 4. Write to the CEE Bill Alliance, the organisers of the campaign for the Bill, expressing its support ([email protected]). You can read more about the CEE Bill here: https://www.ceebill.uk