Three ways to Show Your Stripes on 21 June
20 June 2023
Staff are invited to join together in holding a giant climate stripes banner as just one way they can get involved in a global movement that originated at the University of Reading.
Reading’s climate stripes visualisation will once again take centre stage on Wednesday 21 June, as people across the world unite in support of climate action.
The climate stripes were created by Professor Ed Hawkins, a climate scientist in the Department of Meteorology, in 2018. They represent average annual temperatures over nearly 200 years, using shades of blue and red to show how the world is getting hotter.
The stripes have been shared by millions of people and organisations in countless different ways in recent years to mark the summer solstice, with the day now known as Show Your Stripes Day.
Find out more about the climate stripes on our Partnering for the Planet website.
How to show your stripes in 2023
- Social media
The easiest and most popular way to join the Show Your Stripes Day movement is to download a climate stripes graphic for free from showyourstripes.info and share it on social media. You will find stripes for the globe, continents and almost every country, as well as for US states and oceans. This year, stripes for many major cities have also been added to the website for the first time. Don’t forget to include the hashtag #ShowYourStripes.
- Join staff celebration spectacle
At the Show Your Stripes Day staff event on 21 June, colleagues will be invited to help the University show its stripes by holding up a giant banner with the stripes for Berkshire at midday in the Palmer Quad. A drone will photograph the spectacle, with the photo shared on the main University social media channels. There are many other environmental sustainability-themed activities happening on the day too.
- Wear your badge
Many colleagues will still have their climate stripes badges from the 2022 staff celebration, and you are invited to wear them again for the event on 21 June as a collective show of support for climate science and sustainable action. For colleagues that don’t have a badge, a limited number will be available in 3sixty on the day.
Other University activities
The University is marking Show Your Stripes Day in a number of ways this year. These include:
Reading Climate Festival
The University has been co-delivering this year’s Reading climate Festival with local partners. This has included running a number of events and supporting the Gaia Earth artwork exhibition in Reading Town Hall. The Festival concludes on Show Your Stripes Day.
Landmark projections
To mark the addition of several cities being added to the Show Your Stripes website, prominent buildings and bridges in the US, Canada and UK are set to be illuminated in blue and red stripes on 21 June. The famous white cliffs of Dover will also be lit up with the UK climate stripes. Look out for photos!
Engagement with schools
A Youth Climate Summit is being held at Reading Football Club’s stadium on 21 June, where local schoolchildren will discuss and design ideas to take climate action in their schools. They will pose with the giant stripes banner before it is delivered back to campus for the staff celebration event.
The University has also teamed up with Let’s Go Zero for it’s National Schools Day of Action on the day. Schools will be provided with tools and activities to have meaningful conversations about biodiversity and climate change. This is part of our ongoing work with partners such as the UK government to drive positive changes in national climate education.