The Rainbow Warriors from the Women's Institute

First it was nude calendars, then it was a sex guide for elderly members which contained titbits such as what intimate position to take up after your husband has had a heart attack. Now, in its latest attempt to appeal to a wider and more modern audience, the Women's Institute is turning to eco-activism.

Today, members of the 93-year-old organisation will embark on one of the environmental movements most iconic vehicles to deliver, by speedboat, a message to the front door of the controversial Kingsnorth power station in Kent calling on the Government to do more to provide Britain with clean, renewable energy. The WI's presence on Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior II, the three-masted, globe-trotting flagship of the veteran environmental group, may appear to be an unusual addition to a ship with renowned eco-warrior credentials, but those who will be on board say environmentalism is all the rage at the WI.

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The Institute was a founding members of the Stop Climate Chaos group, an umbrella collective representing 70 organisations and four million members committed to forcing the government to reduce carbon emissions. But today's voyage is the first time the WI have shared such a public stage with Greenpeace over issues such as the expansion of coal-fired power stations.

Ruth Bond, one of the WI's trustee members who will be aboard, said: "Our members decide on our campaigns, and their passion for the environment in recent years brought the WI into Stop Climate Chaos as founding members. We represent ordinary women who, across the world are often hardest-hit by climate change and play a key role in helping our families and communities act to tackle climate change. WI members are 'do-ers' and have shown how small changes in everyone's life can make a huge difference in the battle against climate change." Joss Garman, a Greenpeace spokes-man on the Warrior, said: "It will be great to have the Women's Institute on aboard. It's about showing that groups not specifically set up to tackle climate change are determined to protect the environment. There's a huge coalition building against coal plants. Faith groups, development groups, politicians of all shades, scientists and thousands of ordinary people are standing up and saying no to new coal." This year, the WI launched "green guides"' detailing how members could cut waste, insulate the home, reduce carbon emissions on the school-run and even set up a wormery.

The Rainbow Warrior sailed from Greece last week to aid protests against coal-burning reactors at Kingsnorth. The ship is to leave Chatham at 9.30am, carrying MPs, activists, Oxfam and the WI. The group will deliver a statement by speedboat to the jetty at Kingsnorth where much of the Russian coal for the plant would arrive.

The WI: Jam, Jerusalem and ...

*Founded in 1915, with the aim of encouraging women to become more involved in food production during the First World War, it is now the largest voluntary women's organisation in the UK.

*Membership is falling by between 1 and 2 per cent per year. There are 205,000 members, down from 215,000 in 2005, in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

*In 1999, WI members from North Yorkshire, aged between 45 and 60, posed for a nude calendar to raise money for charity. Their exploits were dramatised in the film Calendar Girls.