‘Power to the people; people got the power,’ the crowd sang around me, their chants echoing through the city streets. In May, following Extinction Rebellion (XR) protests, the UK government became the first in the world to formally recognise the climate emergency. At the time of writing, parliament had yet to take steps to reduce emissions and stop biodiversity loss quickly enough. If change isn’t coming from the top, then it’s you and me who can hold the powers to account and create awareness. I decided it was time to join the ‘autumn uprising’ in London and to lobby my local council about plans to build a car park on beautiful meadowland.
At the heart of change