Our March National Month of Action is well underway. It’s awesome to see parents, grandparents and families across the country stepping into climate action in a variety of ways through attending and hosting community events; engaging with MPs and candidates; starting local action groups; and distributing yard signs. Here is a small snapshot of what we have seen so far.

Community Events

Our Blue Mountains group kicked off our national month of action with another epic toys and clothes swap.

Busy crowd at the Blue Mountains Protect What You Love clothes and toy swap

The swap resulted in 245.4kg of clothing and 68.3kg of toys being successfully redistributed, keeping them out of landfill for longer while helping families save money and reduce consumption! The group was also able to support five families with free cloth nappies, demonstrations, and advice.

Blue Mountains Group volunteer team

Our Month of Action community events focus on:

Addressing cost of living pressures

Connecting the community

Introducing more families to climate action

This week alone we have 11 events rolling out (many part of the annual Sydney Climate Action Week). You can find out more about our events here

Engaging with MPs

Engaging with MPs and candidates is a powerful way to demonstrate community support for climate solutions. And not all MP meetings happen in an office!

Our Central Coast group recently met with their federal MP Dr Gordon Reid at an event to celebrate the rejection of PEP-11 (a licence to drill for oil and gas just off the coast from Manly to Newcastle in New South Wales). They got to discuss the Protect What You Love campaign and Dr Reid has agreed to attend to their next event Sand Castles for Climate Action.

Central Coast Mums Julia, Angela, Melanie and Ivona with Dr Gordon Reid MP.

Getting commitment for the Protect What You Love candidate pledge

Parents and grandparents in electorates across the country are asking their federal election candidates to show their commitment to climate solutions by signing the Protect What You Love pledge. Many are engaging with candidates and MPs for the first time. When seven parents from the Northern Sydney chapter went into a meeting with their MP Paul Fletcher and Liberal candidate Giselle Kapterian last Friday - it was the first time that four of them had ever met with an MP or candidate. They went in with the goal of having a constrictive conversation about climate solutions and getting the first pledge signed from a Liberal party member. They succeeded on both fronts and have paved the way for other Liberal candidates to also sign the pledge and an opportunity to keep engaging on this important issue. So far 65 candidates have signed the pledge - have your candidates signed? You can check out the pledge here and ask your candidates to show their commitment too.

Katherine, Rachel, Bob, Annette, Rob, Emilia and Katie ready to engage with candidate Giselle Kapterian.

Starting a Local Action Group

Living in a regional community it's not always easy to have conversations about climate action and find ways to take action with your kids. Bathurst Mums Amanda and Sophie know what this is like and have taken the plunge to start a new Parents for Climate local action group in their community. Since starting less than two weeks ago the Bathurst group has hosted their first family picnic and arranged a meeting with their MP! The group plans to host a weekly nature playgroup to connect kids with nature and reach new families in the community. 

Sophie and Amanda group coordinators of the new Bathurst Parents for Climate group.

Yard sign distribution
Have you seen our colourful yard signs popping up in your community? So far we have sent 2,500 signs into every state and territory. Displaying and distributing our yard signs is a great way to show candidates that the community they seek to represent cares about climate solutions that benefit our families now and into the future. We are so grateful to everyone who is ordering signs, displaying them at their homes and businesses and distributing signs to their family, friends and neighbours. We're aiming to reach our goal of 3,850 yard signs by the the time the election is called. Can you help out like Marg and Carol and get yard signs up in your community? You can order your yard signs here

Marg and Carol collecting yard signs to distribute to their friends in Hervey Bay, Queensland. 

It's not too late to join in on the National Month of Action - whether you've got 5 mins or 5 hours to spare we've got an action to suit you. Check out all the options here - Parents for Climate National Month of Action