Change starts from the grassroots up, because if we wait around for top-down change, we will be waiting a long time. Just like trickle-down economics, starting change from the top never works. The real change comes at community level, when people get together and create change themselves. It was Margaret Mead that once wrote ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has’.
- How to Be An Activist is by experienced campaigner Vanessa Holburn, with a foreword by award-winning animal welfare campaigner Lorraine Platt. It covers all you need to know to start a successful local campaign, from identifying the issues to learning how to work effectively with media, and staying safe within the law.
- DIY City: The Collective Power of Small Actions is a book looking at how working on a small-scale, is often the best way to change a town. There are great examples of New Towns and Garden Cities worldwide, but these grand plans are usually the exception, rather than the rule. By urban planner Hank Dittmar, you may also like his other book of essays: My Kind of City.
- Taking on the Plastic Crisis is a ‘pocket change collective’ idea, a brief story from a young campaigner, on how to do it well. Hannah Testa shares with readers how she successfully passed legislation to limit single-use plastics, and influenced global business to adopt more sustainable practices.