WE’RE getting back into the swing of the new school year and for some young people the issues of the day remain as important as ever - don’t forget to remind any 18 year olds to register to vote!

Some young people were out on Friday as part of the Global Climate Strike, and they are inspiring us adults and reminding us we must do more.

As the first council in Europe to become carbon neutral, we are aiming for the whole district to become carbon neutral by 2030, it’s a hard challenge - a marathon not a sprint.

As part of that commitment we have recently appointed a carbon neutral officer.

We might be the best council in England for throwing away the least to landfill, and our waste and recycling service is an award winner but we need to do more. Check out the back page of the SDC news for ideas.

And we took positive environmental action on Friday with a tree planting ceremony, ahead of a planned programme of woodland creation to capture carbon, increase biodiversity and mitigate flooding on suitable council-owned sites. We will be able to tell you more about this in the coming weeks and months.

While some businesses and organisations shut down on Friday, it was business-as-usual at the council, however staff will be encouraged to car share, may be offered the opportunity to work from home if appropriate and may take part in the strike itself in their own time.

Next week (September 23-28) is Active For Life Week and Empty Homes week.

We will be announcing a special event on October 2 where landlords can find out more about a scheme to support them in taking on tenants who may not have enough money for a deposit.

For Active For Life Week, we will be laying on taster sessions at Stratford Park Leisure Centre - see stroud.gov.uk/activeforlife