24/07/2026
Many of you who follow my work know that I live and breathe the permaculture principles of "Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share."
I watched the National Emergency Briefing at St Agnes last night. It kept me awake. So I've written to Perran Moon for Camborne, Redruth and Hayle outlining my concerns and calling for action. Feel free to do the same because it's an emergency and there's plenty we can do if we are supported and work together:
Dear Perran,
Last night I watched the National Emergency Briefing screening in St Agnes.
First let’s go back to the 90s, when life seemed more fun as a young adult, but between the woohoos of Song 2 I began to pay attention the whispers about our impact on the environment. Even then, I tried to live responsibly — cycling to our town’s recycling point, carrier bags of bottles and tins flanking my handlebars, and pickaxing a tiny slab of concrete into a wildlife rich cottage garden. That early experience taught me how quickly nature responds when we give it space.
Over the years I made choices to live more ethically: leaving a lucrative but misaligned career, working with children in care, and eventually moving to Cornwall to live closer to my values. I built a health practice from scratch, became an educator, and with my partner adopted our daughter — partly because those early whispers about environmental harm had become rumbles, and I didn’t want to bring another child into an increasingly uncertain future.
Healthy, ethical choices have rarely been rewarded financially. We sold our home to clear debt and bought a small piece of land, determined to create a permaculture food forest that could nourish our family and inspire our community. Nine years later, our two acres have transformed from sterile ground into a thriving haven of biodiversity — achieved almost entirely on a shoestring, through plant swaps, gifts, sacrifices and sheer determination.
But the rumble has become a storm, and another storm and another then a heatwave and another and another! And no matter how hard individuals work, we cannot outpace systemic failure. People like me are doing everything we can, but we are running out of time. We need leadership that matches the scale of the crisis.
I hope my story shows what ordinary citizens are willing to do — and how urgently we need government to act with the same courage and conviction.
Below are key issues and solutions I ask you to address with urgency.
Key Issues & Solutions
• 1 in 4 UK properties will face flooding risk by 2050. Stop destroying wild habitat and then building on natural flood absorbing land. Prioritise climate resilient eco friendly design and landscape restoration.
• Britain is in the bottom 10% of biodiverse countries worldwide. Subsidise biodiverse and edible planting across schools, the NHS, and public spaces. Fund these projects well at emergency speed.
• Food security is already under strain. Make nature based growing and food education mandatory in schools. Support local seed banks, community hubs and seed/plant swapping networks.
• True UK emissions have only fallen ~1% per year. Roll out clean energy solutions rapidly, starting with the poorest households. Streamline access to grants. Support community energy schemes. Avoid false “clean” solutions like nuclear.
• Resilient communities need investment. Fund poorer areas, local infrastructure, health, and accessible education that empowers creativity and community led resilience.
• Televise the NEB nationally repeatedly, weekly and make the forthcoming resources for youngsters available in all schools and community hubs.
At this stage, the greatest barriers to meaningful climate and nature action are not technological — they are political. Corruption, undue influence and the power of polluting industries slow progress at the very moment we need courage the most. We simply do not have time for corruption or for cowardice. We need leaders who act with integrity, who resist pressure from powerful lobbies, and who put the wellbeing of people, nature and future generations first. I hope you will be one of those leaders.
Thank you, warm regards,
Nicolle
