This week we are shouting about a group which has been tackling climate change in our town for over a decade.

Swindon Climate Action Network is a independent group of people from across Swindon who are concerned about climate change and want to do something about it.

"We started because people began to realise there were problems with climate change and biodiversity loss, and people wanted to see how they could help stop this locally," said Julian Jones, one of the coordinators of the group.

"We do things like raising awareness of the issues, talking to politicians and also seeing where people could do things individually to make a difference," he added.

Set up in June 2005, the group now boasts several hundred members who regularly receive emails with information about the group's activities.

Julian added: "It is clear that both governments and global coronations are having a big impact in changing how they do things, and it can be quite difficult for individuals to have as much impact as they would like."

Alongside their monthly meetings to discuss future plans, the group are in involved in a range of events, campaigns and activities in the town, including Plastic Free Swindon, Refill Swindon and Ecobricks in Swindon.

They hold stalls at community events, show environmental films in community centres and host climate cafes where speakers come to talk on a topic.

SCAN was also instrumental in pushing for the council cross-party working group set up earlier this year, which looks at how the authority can cut emissions and combat climate change locally.

"It was not exclusively a SCAN success, but it was one the things we supported and helped make strong," said Julian.

One of the main issues for SCAN at the moment is Swindon’s Local Plan, the principal planning policy document for the Borough, which sets out the new building requirements for the town.

"We're trying to get sustainability and fitness for the future into any new development," said Julian.

"Often builders build as cheaply as possible without thinking about the overall lifetime costs.

"We're trying to insist that the council is building to the best modern standards," he added.

In particular SCAN is focusing on energy efficiency.

Julian said: "Lots of people don't realise but it is actually really easy to put a small heat exchanger into your shower, so that some of the heat from the water going down the plug hole gets recycled back into the new water coming into the shower.

"We trying to get little things like that off the ground, and helping people understand how they can make big energy savings."

The group is open to anyone in Swindon who shares a passion for improving the environment.