Last Sunday at midday, a small cluster of druids met in the shadow of the North Downs, at the site of an ancient tomb built over 1,000 years before Stonehenge, to perform a sacred ritual.

At Coldrum Stones, near Trottiscliffe, the group of six, with members from across Kent, stood in a circle.

Each holding an acorn, they called upon the spirits of the elements and the ancestors of the land, proceeding to pray and bless the acorns.

Across the country, similar ceremonies were taking place.

The purpose of the ritual? To call for strong leadership ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP 26, in Glasgow, starting on October 31.

Druids from across the country have signed a letter to the world leaders attending COP 26, urging action on environmental and societal issues, and intend to hold their own ritual in Glasgow.

Their actions follow a long tradition of druids intervening in and caring for environmental issues, Jonathan Weekes, one of the figures leading the charge, told Kent Online.

Mr Weakes, 33, a druid and shaman drum maker from Canterbury, said: "A lot of people think druids are a load of men out in robes, barefoot in the hills, and people may well be, but it also includes people out in walking boots and water proof jackets, testing the health of the river as part of a conservation project."

The rituals ahead of COP 26 are being co-ordinated by druid group The Order of the Oak, of which Mr Weekes is a member, and Sacred Earth Activism, a coalition of different spiritual communities, and of which Mr Weekes is a co-founder.

According to CBS News, 10,000 people in Britain practice druidry.

So how would Mr Weekes describe druidry? Broadly, he says it's the recognition that it's not just humans who feel or have "spirits".

"There are the spirits of nature, the spirits of the land, we are all interconnected. So honouring that web of life, whether that's celebrating the changes of the season and honouring places of the land," he explained.

"We have inherited culturally that it's just humans who have feelings and spirits, everything else is just an object. When you realise we are all part of this interconnected thing, it isn't just that you don't want to pollute the river because that's our drinking water, it's also because the river has a right to live.

He added: "The animals, trees, rivers, all of these things have that spirit. You then think are you really treating this thing with any sort of respect and what are you doing to this world?"

There are about 400 people in Order of the Oak, with about 50 active members, Mr Weekes says, made of up members from different druid groups.

On Sunday, rituals like those performed at Trotiscliffe, happened across the UK and even in France and Germany.

The ceremony was centred on the acorns, which were then planted, to be turned into oaks.

The oak, which is a symbol of leadership, is at the heart of druidic practice, Mr Weekes said.

The Order of the Oak draw up the spirit of the oak for leadership, not only in themselves but for the leaders of the world too.

The letter to world leaders attending COP 26, signed by numerous druids and druid leaders, calls for a "workable but radical plan" that will make huge cuts in carbon and methane emission.

It also wants nations to agree to "make global happiness the number one aim and to end economic growth as a dogma," as well as, amongst other objectives, "ensure that ecocide joins the statute book of international crimes",

The rituals spurred on by COP 26 are not isolated events.

Druids have a history of tackling environment issues and caring for the natural world in their own back yard, such as organising litter picks, Mr Weekes said.

In September he was part of a clean up at the River Stour in Canterbury, after a ritual centred on the the river.

Explaining that ceremony, Mr Weekes said: "That was groups of people speaking to the river about what the river means to them. We sang songs and held a ceremony where water from the river was passed around in a cup, where everybody spoke prayers to the cup."

The water in the cup was then placed back in the river.

Mr Weekes says he has in the past supported "direction action" against climate change, such as Extinction Rebellion protests, with ceremonies and rituals at the protests.

Local druids have held ceremonies at Coldrum Stones before Sunday's ritual, Mr Weekes said.

The ancient site, also known as Coldrum Long Barrow, was built and used over 1,000 years before Stonehenge, as a communal tomb.

It’s one of the best surviving examples of the “Medway Megaliths” a group of Neolithic monuments found in the lower valley of the River Medway.

During the nineteenth and early twentieth century, bones from more than 22 men, women and children were found, including a new-born baby, according to the National Trust, which has looked after the site since 1926.

Studies by the Royal College of Surgeons show those buried were likely to be close family members.

According to the charity, the the bodies were laid to rest elsewhere, and the bones were placed at Coldrum Stones years later.

There were two phases of burial, the first phase was between 3985 - 3855 BC, with the second phase about 200 years later.

Starting in the early nineteenth century, discussions raged over the original formation of the stones.

In the Medieval period, some of the stones were removed and the ground was levelled, as, the National Trust says, places like Coldrum were considered "un-Christian".

The argument was put to rest in the mid-twentieth century, when it was finally decided that it had been a rectangular long barrow.

It is possible the name ‘Coldrum' may derive from the old Cornish word 'Galdrum' which means 'place of enchantments'.

Mr Weekes and his compatriots will continue to think of ways to make a difference to the planet in their own unique ways, but for now, it's all eyes on COP 26.

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