From Acorns to Oaks: A call for environmental leadership at COP26

Sacred Earth Activism is joining forces with a respected Druid organisation to call for effective leadership at all levels of society during the forthcoming climate talks in November in order to guard against any worsening of the current climate and ecological crises.

The Order of the Oak believes it is vital that leaders at the United Nations’ COP26 conference, which is due to be held in Glasgow from Sunday 31 October to Friday 12 November, come up with a workable but radical plan to tackle the global climate emergency.  

To support this call for strong environmental leadership, the Order is coordinating ritual action entitled ‘Acorns to Oaks’ among international Druid groups on Sunday 17 October. The aim is to see numerous acorns planted ceremonially in places where they can thrive and grow.

Acorns represent a seed prayer and intention that, once planted, will grow into something large, beautiful and strong. The oak, which is a symbol of leadership, is at the heart of druidic practice, while trees in a more general sense have an important role to play in combatting climate change.

The Order of the Oak’s Stuart Jeffery says: “We draw up the spirit of the oak for leadership, leadership that grows from tiny acorns to magnificent oaks: leadership of ourselves to be in right relationship with all that’s around us, to act in a responsible way, to learn and to teach; leadership of our communities, to foster cooperation and interdependence; and leadership of our world, to speak out against injustice and ecocide, to speak for those who have no voice.”

Calling for change to global climate strategy

On the day following the Acorn to Oaks sacred action (Monday 18 October), members of Sacred Earth Activism and The Order of the Oak will gather together to hold a ritual in central London, before delivering a letter to the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson at No 10 Downing Street. 

The letter, which has been signed by both leaders and members of druid orders around the world, will ask him and other world leaders to agree to eight important changes to global strategy. These include developing a radical plan to deal with climate change, making ecocide an international crime, and providing stronger protection for the legal rights of indigenous communities and environmental guardians.

Members of The Order of the Oak, including Sacred Earth Activism co-founder Jonathan Weekes, will deliver the same letter to world leaders during the conference in Glasgow too.

These sacred actions are also being replicated by multi-faith groups around the globe, who as part of ‘Green Faith’ day, are uniting in ritual, prayer and ceremony ahead of November’s pivotal climate talks. Therefore, Sacred Earth Activism and The Order of the Oak are calling on individuals and groups from all Earth-centred spiritual paths to add their signature to the letter, and hold coordinated rituals on 17 October too in order to amplify these prayers and intentions.

For further information, go to Sacred Earth Activism’s Sacred Actions page, and to register your interest/participation, follow the Facebook event page for this action.