Our groups

The Bedford & Luton group, which was formed in 2011, works across the "three counties" region of Herts, Beds and Bucks with various organisations and authorities via lectures, radio and meetings. The group has been involved with groups objecting to building expansion plans and currently works with both faith and non-faith groups because it feels that getting the population message out to all communities is vital. The group has support from the Bedfordshire Climate Change Forum.

The Cambridge City Council allows campaigning groups to display and distribute their literature from 'Saturday Stalls' outside the Guildhall in the Market Square. The Cambridge group first ran a stall in October 2011 and this is now a monthly event. A wide variety of views on the politically controversial and religiously charged topic we are concerned with are received. The group also holds meetings and distributes materials to libraries and schools in the area.

The group held its first meeting in November 2012. Activities include talks, stalls, door to door campaigning, talking to councillors and political parties and raising population issues relevant in Fareham and Gosport such as new housing developments, loss of agricultural land and stabilising population.

The Guildford group aims to spread the word about population issues by making the best use of our contacts in voluntary organisations such as Rotary and Zonta, schools & colleges, business organisations and NGOs such as the Green Party, CPRE and Transition Network. The group has a track record of providing speakers for meetings with an audience size ranging from a handful of people to a hall full of A-level students. Group members also speak at fairs and other public events at which they try to focus on local issues to make their presentations relevant to local people.

The Guildford group welcomes PM members from across the GU postcode area, which covers Bracknell, Berks right down to Petersfield, and Surrey. We currently meet in Farnham (GU9), usually on Sunday afternoons. Our discussions are lively and sometimes downright noisy but we try to ensure that everyone gets a chance to speak and be heard.

The High Wycombe group started in November 2011 and meets every two months, mainly in members' houses. The group also meets and has film showings at the newly reopened Environment Centre in High Wycombe. The group welcomes new members, new ideas and new input into its campaigns. Its main campaigns and projects are promoting family planning, cooperating with other local environmental groups in the area (Transition Town, Friends of the Earth, etc.) and, last but not least, forging better links with the Wycombe District Council. Membership is fairly strong at the moment and the skills in the group are quite diverse — everyone seems to find his/her role. Currently, the group is concentrating on staging film showings (and having fun with it).

The Oxford group, which was founded in April 2010, meets every 10 weeks. Several of the members do work particularly relevant to population-related matters, including Population Matters patron John Guillebaud.

The West London group has been going since early 2011. Its members have a variety of skills and contribute in different ways. In its first year, group members spoke to groups including Friends of the Earth, Agenda 21, U3A and the general public. The group has run stalls at local festivals, recruited the local MP as a member of Population Matters and received some interesting answers to members' letters on both local and national issues.

The group holds meetings every two months and as well as planning activities, members pick a population-related issue to discuss and occasionally have a quiz. New members and guests are always welcome.

The Winchester group, which had its first meeting in October 2011, meets every three months. The group has approximately 30 members, several of whom were recently involved in distributing more than 1,000 leaflets around the county. The group had a stand at the Winchester Hat Fair in July 2012 to coincide with World Population Day, and one in Winchester Town Centre in October 2011 for 7 Billion Day. The group has some very active letter writers — local papers seem receptive to comments on features linked to population. The group offers speaker training and holds occasional public meetings.

The Worcester group started in January 2011 with the ambition of attracting members from the rather scattered Midlands area. In June 2011, the group staged a successful public meeting, addressed by Jonathon Porritt, at the Town Hall in Cheltenham. The group has a dedicated and lively core membership, and its current project is to target audiences in schools and colleges, though it is interested in staging any event which would draw attention to Population Matters.

Group meetings take place at about bimonthly intervals, and so far these have been at the Horizon Community Centre on Midland Road, Worcester, which is close to Shrub Hill Railway Station and easily accessible from the M5. Members are aware that some people find the distances involved in travelling to Worcester a problem, so are quite prepared to discuss other arrangements for meeting and communicating.