Last month was the warmest June on record in England, with two heatwaves. The first heatwave of July has soon followed.

We are all experiencing the impact of climate change, the biggest threat that humanity faces. It is now certain that burning fossil fuels is the main cause of increasing global temperatures, which are driving nature’s decline around us.

A group of students from St John the Baptist School linked up with other people from Woking to raise our concerns with local MP Will Forster on Wednesday, 9 July in London.

“Act Now, Change Forever” was the strapline for this mass lobby organised by the Climate Coalition. More than 5,000 people from across the UK met with their MPs to call on them to take bold, practical action for climate and nature.

A top priority for the students was safer routes to cycle to school. They know how busy local roads get, particularly with so many parents driving to and from school, but they also know that cycling and walking are good for wellbeing and good for the planet.

It was clear from their questions how deeply concerned the students are about the climate and nature crisis.

Mr Forster listened carefully to all the questions. He explained that the Government pays attention to the top three issues of public concern. The top two are health and finance, while the third one varies.

We need to get the climate and nature crisis into the top three; as climate and nature deteriorate, this will affect both our health and our financial security.

Housing is the top issue in Will’s inbox. Over 2,500 homes are at risk of flooding from rivers, and more are vulnerable to flash flooding during intense rainfall.

About 50 per cent of homes in the borough are poorly insulated; upgrading insulation could save residents money as well as reduce carbon emissions. People need financial help to make their homes more resilient.

We do need more homes in Woking, but we need to find creative ways of delivering environmentally sustainable and affordable homes without destroying our precious green spaces.

The Government wants to simplify environmental regulations to speed up housing and infrastructure projects, but this could make it easier for developers to build on areas of countryside that have historically been protected by law.

Our MP encouraged those attending the lobby to keep writing to him about climate change and the environment, to ensure that these concerns move up the priority list and to provide evidence that Government action is justified.

He made a point of saying how glad he was to see such a large group of students taking part.

Will explained that lobbying your MP to voice your concerns is an important part of our Parliamentary democracy. MPs do listen to their constituents, they do read the emails that we send in, and voting in elections really does matter.

As a minority Lib Dem MP, Will described how he works across the political divide to hold the Government to account and to ask Ministers the difficult questions, which can come all the way from local residents and organisations.

Finally, Ellen Pirie presented Will with a hand-made fabric green heart on behalf of WEAct and thanked him for attending the lobby. Teresa Bacon passed on a list of some of the questions asked during the session.