Five easy ways to be a climate hero on World Glacier Day

The Climate Project from the BMC’s Access & Conservation Trust mitigates the effects of climate change by funding nature-based, carbon loss-avoidance and sequestering projects and providing advice on reducing carbon for individuals and businesses.

We have been working with Moors for the Future Partnership to plant carbon-sinking, water-absorbing sphagnum moss in the Peak District peat bogs, and Seagrass Ocean Rescue on carbon-capturing, water-purifying and habitat-enhancing seagrass in North Wales.

These projects not only lock in carbon, but also significantly improve habitats, ecosystems and biodiversity in key climbing, hill walking and mountaineering areas.

Help us slow glacier loss with 5 easy actions

1 Donate FREE using Easyfundraising

This first one is the easiest to do today, on the World Day for Glaciers - it lets you to donate to the BMC’s Access & Conservation Trust (ACT) without costing you a penny! Simply sign up with Easyfundraising and choose the Access & Conservation Trust as your charity. Registered online retailers donate a small percentage of the sale to us whenever you shop with them, entirely free to you - genius!

2 Make your own climate pledge

As a BMC member you are probably already doing a great deal individually, but if you have bandwidth for more, you could choose your easiest option from this list of high-impact climate pledges to help prevent glacier loss. Mountain Leader and climate educator Jennifer Stretton is co-founder of Mieux Donner, an organisation that promotes the most effective charities working on climate change. She says, “Some of the most effective lifestyle choices include switching to a plant-based diet, which can save 2.2 tons of carbon per year; going car-free, which can save 2.4 tons of carbon annually and avoiding flights - a single transatlantic flight emits 1.6 tons of carbon”. Read more about glacier loss from Jennifer here.

More ideas:

• Share lifts and use public transport

• Eat one less meal containing red meat per week

• Switch to a renewable energy supplier

• Switch your pension investments to an eco/ethical portfolio

• Buy outdoor gear second hand and repair what you already have

• Plant trees, shrubs and wildflowers in your garden

• Take 5 minute showers to reduce water use

• Attend protests, sign petitions and use your voice for collective action

• Take a look at the BMC's climate resources and climate checklists

3 Talk to family and friends

Next easiest on our list is to get chatting to friends and family about glacier decline due to climate change in order to engage more people and encourage more action. Start with an open mind and be prepared to listen. Ask them what they think is happening and why, listen and empathise with their concerns. Share your knowledge without judgement, and the action you have taken. If they are interested to learn more, encourage them, show them these BMC resources. If not, thank them for sharing their thoughts and, if you wish, let them know your door is always open to future conversation.

4 Volunteer for BMC Get Stuck In

Okay possibly not the easiest, but definitely the most rewarding way to halt glacier loss and give back to the mountains you love to walk and climb in is to sign up to a Get Stuck In volunteer conservation or footpath repair day. Your work here will help reduce carbon loss from soil erosion, peatland degradation and seagrass meadow destruction. In 2024 alone BMC staff and volunteers planted over 49,900 sphagnum plugs in the Peak District and repaired over 12,433m of fragile mountain path in the Lake District and Eryri (Snowdonia).

BMC Get Stuck In events will see you working alongside qualified rangers to fix footpaths, dig drainage ditches, create stepping stones, clear invasive species and plant carbon-sinking sphagnum moss and seagrass. There are 1-3 day events taking place most months of the year, with free gear hire and accommodation.

5 Donate to The Climate Project

Jennifer Stretton from Mieux Donner says, “We can go way beyond simply reducing our own carbon footprint by coupling lifestyle changes with systemic change. Strikingly, and much more neglected, one of the most effective actions we can take as individuals to drive systems change is donating to highly impactful climate charities. Donations are a way of empowering organisations that are in the best position to help us to preserve the glaciers.”

With this in mind, the easiest option for some members to support glacier preservation will be to donate to The Climate Project from the BMC's Access & Conservation Trust (ACT). So far this campaign involves two projects that will help protect glaciers by reducing carbon loss and sequestering it, plus myriad other conservation benefits.

Planting sphagnum moss in the Peak District with Moors for the Future Partnership helps:

• Avoid carbon loss

• Increase water quality

• Reduce wildfire risk

• Reduce flooding risk

• Protect endangered wildlife

• Increase biodiversity

Your donation will go far:

• £25 funds a square metre of sphagnum moss

• £200 builds a 2m stone dam across an eroded gully to stop peat washing away

• £2,500 plants 100m2 of sphagnum moss and native plants in degraded upland moor to heal the bare peat and return it to active, carbon-locking, blanket bog habitat

Researching, planting and harvesting seagrass in North Wales with Seagrass Ocean Rescue helps:

• Capture carbon at a greater rate than tropical rainforest

• Purify seawater from pollutants

• Provide vital habitats for marine life

• Preserve endangered species

• Increase biodiversity

Your donation will go far:

• £25 buys a seagrass seeder tool

• £150 buys equipment to test water quality at site

• £250 buys a seed maturation cage to overwinter the seeds

• £1000 buys a drone survey to monitor growth