Worried about the climate and ecological emergency? Not sure what you can do?
PLEASE NOTE — in-person meetings and gatherings for XR Norwich are on hold due to the government's Covid-19 recommendations. Some events will be cancelled, others will be held online — please check the events page to find out more information for specific events.

You could start by joining the WhatsApp group for your area — meet local people who are taking action and pushing for change.


If your postcode area isn't listed, feel free to join the one closest to you!


We've got lots of exciting events and actions coming up. A great start point are our introductory sessions — these are fornightly, on Thursdays at 7pm at the Heathfield Centre. Check the events page to find the next one.

You can also connect with the wider Norwich group online by joining our Facebook Group. If you prefer email, please fill in the 'Get Involved with XR Norwich' form at the bottom of the page to receive our email updates.

Scroll down for information on all the meetings, events and actions that you can get involved with.

Get involved with XR Norwich


Extinction Rebellion Norwich (aka XR Norwich) is a growing community of people who recognise that we're in a climate and ecological emergency and that we need to act urgently. We push for change on the local, national and global levels.

We're growing quickly and there are lots of XR Norwich events every week. Below is a quick overview of what we do and a guide to how you can get involved.

If you're keen to help out and have an idea of what you'd like to do, you can fill in the form at the bottom of this page to be contacted by phone or email. If you're not sure, read on a bit to find an event that sounds right for you.

If you have any questions that you'd like answered, please don't hesitate to message our Facebook page.


Heading for Extinction Talks

Heading for Extinction talks are an explanation of the science behind the climate and ecological emergency — what is happening, why it is happening and what might happen next — and an explanation of Extinction Rebellion's strategy for averting catastrophe. They're a great introduction for anyone who is new to Extinction Rebellion.

Any Heading for Extinction Talks that we organise will be listed on the events page.

Welcome to the Rebellion — Introductory session

Introductory sessions provide an in-depth introduction to Extinction Rebellion. They explain the principles and values that we act on, the fundamentals of non-violent direct action / civil disobedience and how XR Norwich is organised. It's an opportunity to sit and listen or to ask as many questions as you like — it's totally up to you. These sessions are a brilliant startpoint if you're looking to join the XR Norwich community, but you're also very welcome to attend other events without having attended an introductory session.

We run introductory sessions fornightly, on Thursday evenings at 7pm at the Heathfield Community Centre. To find the next introductory session, check the events page.

Area meetups

Our area meetups (AKA general meetings) are an opportunity to get together fortnightly and share information on what we have been doing and what we have planned. Each meetup is different to the last, but generally we devote a lot of the meeting to group discussion of thoughts and ideas — this is where the ideas for our future events often originate.

Meetups are a great place to meet other people who share your fears and worries and to see how we can find positive action as a community. New members are very welcome to join — you don't have to have done an introductory session. We ensure that all voices are heard but we're also very happy for newer members to sit and observe — no pressure.

Currently we have four meetups in Norwich. These happen fornightly (on the weeks where there is no introductory session) and are spread across the week and across the city. Everyone is welcome to attend whichever meetup is most convenient for them — you don't have to live within NR1 to attend the NR1 meetup (we just decided to split geographically when the group got too big to fit us all into one general meeting!). These are the four meetups:

  • NR1 — Tuesdays at 7pm
  • NR2 — Thursdays at 7pm
  • NR3 — Thursdays at 7pm
  • Daytime — Fridays at 10am

The timings and locations do occasionally change — to keep up-to-date, check the events page.

Socials

When our general meetings got too big and we decided that we had to split them into smaller groups, we also decided that it was important to get together as a big group at least once a month for a social. You can find out about upcoming socials on the events page.


Working group meetings

Our working group meetings are where ideas get turned into actions. If you're feeling a strong sense of urgency and a desire to act now, this is where you can apply your energies. We come together as a big group and then split into 'working groups' based on what we most enjoy, what we want to learn more about or what we feel able to help with. Options include (but aren't always limited to):

  • Helping the arts working group to create banners, placards, flags and other pieces of art to make our actions beautiful and to ensure that our message is clear
  • Discussing strategies for reaching more people, planning events and organising the distribution of flyers and posters with the outreach and training working group
  • Developing ideas for actions based around civil disobedience with the actions and logistics working group
  • Joining the regenerative culture working group to support the wider XR Norwich group in developing resilience and to encourage the development of a regenerative culture in every aspect of our lives
  • Linking up with the media and messaging working group to ensure that XR Norwich's messaging is clear and effective and that it reaches as many people as possible

We usually meet together in one space before breaking off into our smaller groups. Everyone is welcome and there's no pressure to immediately pick one area to focus on — you can try out different working groups to see what you enjoy the most. They're a brilliant way to really connect with our community and to feel like your actions are having an impact and helping our movement to grow.

We usually meet fortnightly on Thursdays — the same evening as the introductory sessions. Sometimes individual working groups will meet in different places — to keep up-to-date, check the events page.


Actions

'Actions' are protests, XR-style. In general, these involve many things that you might be familiar with from protests by other groups — carrying banners and placards, handing out flyers. But the twist with XR is that we'll often also engage in acts of civil disobedience — non-violent actions like parking a pink boat in the middle of a road or scaling a building.

Whilst civil disobedience is a core part of XR's strategy, it is not at all mandatory to get involved with it. Whilst the civil disobedience happens, there's always a huge need for people to be doing other stuff — handing out flyers, speaking to members of the public or simply just standing in solidarity with others. This means that we can invite everybody along to our actions and then those who are comfortable to engage in civil disobedience can do so and everyone else can chip in in various other ways.

The brilliant thing is that even if you don't engage in civil disobedience, you'll still experience the energy and sense of camaradarie that it brings. In fact, the support roles that exist alongside civil disobedience are often the most exciting part of the action!

You can view upcoming actions on the events page. If you're unsure about how you can get involved with a specific action, please don't hesitate to send a message to our Facebook page with any questions you have.


Trainings

In addition to our introductory sessions, we have various other kinds of trainings happening all the time. Some of these might be fairly specific to XR — for example NVDA (non-violent direct action) training, which teaches the key things you need to safely engage in civil disobedience. Others are more general, teaching skills that are useful both in the context of XR and for life in general. You can find out about upcoming trainings on the events page.