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All the latest community climate change news for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire
Community Climate Action Email January 2018

Happy New Year and welcome to the first Community Climate Action newsletter of 2018. As ever there is lots of activity across the two counties and we have news of many local events and activities to kick start your new year.
 
Making New Year's Resolutions? We've got lots of tips to help you take action in your own life to tackle climate change and reduce your energy bills on our website: http://bit.ly/2lGsFLq
 
Get news throughout the month:
 
www.everybodys-talking.org
Twitter: @CCANNetwork
 
Got Any News?
 
Most of the items in this newsletter are contributed by readers. If you have anything you’d like us to include in the January e-newsletter please send it to ccan@mea.org.uk by Tuesday 30th January.
 

The Wedding, a theatre production coming to Derby and Nottingham in February, will inspire you to make positive change in your community.

Local Events


Building and Construction Level 1
January 2018-July 2018,
Derbyshire Eco Centre, Middleton-by-Wirksworth
Cost: £585/£585/£322
 
An accredited mixed skills construction course that teaches the first steps towards working in the industry, but is also suitable for keen DIYers. Teaches heritage and sustainable skills. To book email ecocentre@derbyshire.gov.uk or telephone 01629 533038.
 
Frack Free Sherwood Forest and Edwinstone Meeting
Wednesday 3rd Jan at 7.00pm
Suite 2, Old Station, High Street, Edwinstowe. NG21 9HS. 

First meeting of 2018. The venue is at the end of the lane between the railway bridge and the Chinese Takeaway that is opposite the Dukeries Car Park.
 
The Bentley Effect Film Screening
Monday 8th January, 7pm-9pm
Friends Meeting House. 25 Clarendon Street, Nottingham
Free, donations appreciated
 
As fracking companies gear up to start the development of a fracking gas field in the area covered by this newsletter, find out how communities in Australia acted to resist and stop the industry. http://bit.ly/2CtQoJW  
 
Introduction to Beekeeping
Saturday 14th January, 10am-4pm
Derbyshire Eco Centre, Middleton-by-Wirksworth
£40
 
An introduction to the practice of bee keeping for beginners and would be bee keepers. To book email ecocentre@derbyshire.gov.uk or telephone 01629 533038.

The Wedding
1st Feb - 3rd Feb, Nottingham Playhouse
8th Feb - 10th Feb, Derby Theatre
Post show Panel Q&A: Fri 2nd Feb in Nottingham and Fri 9th Feb in Derby
Book tickets: http://bit.ly/2kqiISu

The Wedding, a new theatre production created by Amit Lahav and presented by Gecko, is coming to Derby Theatre and Nottingham Playhouse in February 2018.
 
We are all married, bound by a contract. But what are the terms of this relationship and can we talk about divorce? Gecko’s latest creation is inspired by the complexities of human nature; the struggle between love and anger, creation and destruction, community and isolation. In a blur of wedding dresses and contractual obligations, their extraordinary ensemble of international performers guides audiences through a dystopian world in which we are all brides, wedded to society.

Combining movement, imagery and provocative narratives in Gecko’s trademark style, The Wedding brings these contracts into question with an emotionally charged and spectacular performance. We want to believe in our journey but where are we heading? Is it too late to stop, to go back, to fall in love, to start again?
 
“Heart pounding drama… get ready to be blown away” - The Reviews Hub

There will be a post-show Panel Q&A in Nottingham on Fri 2nd Feb and in Derby on Fri 9th Feb for anyone who would like to explore the issues raised in more detail or who is interested in making positive change in their community.

Group Discounts are potentially available. If a number of members of a community group would like to attend, please contact Caroline Harmon for more details.

Basket Making Workshop
Saturday 3rd-4th February, 10am-4pm each day
Derbyshire Eco Centre, Middleton-by-Wirksworth
£88
 
Use fresh cut willows and hedgerow stems to make spectacular and functional baskets for indoor and outdoor use. To book call 01629 533038 email ecocentre@derbyshire.gov.uk
 
Nottingham Repair Café
Saturday 3rd February, 2pm-5pm
Sherwood Methodist Church. Devon Drive, Nottingham
Free, donations welcome
 
Bring along your broken household items and a happy band of repair volunteers will help you to fix them. http://bit.ly/2A7lMIe

The Wedding Workshop
Saturday 3rd Feb, Nottingham 
Saturday 10th February, Derby
Both: 1pm-4pm
FREE

If you’ve been inspired by The Wedding (See above item) or would like to see change in your community, come along, meet new people and join Gecko in exploring your feelings and ideas.
 
  • How do we make change happen? 
  • How do we take part in the positive shaping of our local communities? 
  • What is our vision for the future and what legacy will we leave for the next generation?
 
This free workshop will discuss the show’s themes of integration, social cohesion and change, led by Gecko’s Artistic Director Amit Lahav. More information on how to book will be available soon. In the meantime there is more information on the production here: http://bit.ly/2kqiISu
 
Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop
10th February, 10am-2pm
Whistlewood Common
£35, including delicious home-cooked lunch and refreshments
(a limited number of concessionary places are available)
 
Sarah Spencer and Graham Truscott, both experienced Permaculture designers, will guide you through the practical aspects of fruit tree care and pruning. They will also look at how to grow fruit trees using permaculture principles, to create healthy, integrated systems. You will get hands-on (supervised) experience of pruning some of Whistlewood’s 150 young fruit trees. The morning session will take place at a local, more mature, orchard. You will experience formative, maintenance and renovation pruning. http://bit.ly/2qagUSV
 
Propagate, Prosper, Preserve - A series of Workshops
10th March, 10th June, 9th September, 11.00 am to 4 pm
Whistlewood Common with Ryan Sandford-Blackburn
Cost: £35 per workshop or £95 if all 3 are booked
Includes handouts, some plant takeaways, food and home-cooked lunch at all 3 workshops.
(a limited number of concessionary places are available)
 
  • Propagate - Sat, 10th March. The underlying theme of the first workshop will be proliferation. It will cover planning your growing space and plant propagation.
  • Prosper - Sunday, 10th June. Bring life to your soil to grow healthy food for you, your family and friends. This workshop will cover ‘no dig’ garden beds, composting and mulching and green manure.
  • Preserve - Sunday, 9th September. Plan what to do with your harvest. Learn about making preserves and juice, as well as drying fruit. We can also cover setting up social systems, like small community groups, to help preserve and share abundant harvests.
http://bit.ly/2CrZCqi
 
Timber Festival
6th-8th July 2018
Feanedock, nr Moria, Derbyshire
Organised by the National Forest Company and Wild Rumpus
£120 (£40 for children)
 
Timber is a new camping festival exploring the transformative impact of forests. Celebrating woodland culture in all its forms, with music, art, philosophy and sustainability. Held in the National Forest, the first forest to be created in England for over 1000 years and right on our doorstep! http://timberfestival.org.uk
 

Find your nearest electric vehicle charging point.

National and International News in Brief

  • Thinking about getting an electric vehicle? Find your nearest Electric Vehicle charging point: http://bit.ly/2CvQFeM
  • Contribute to the online exhibition of personal objects that evoke the unfolding of human-caused environmental and climate change: http://bit.ly/2A78Th9  
  • Heat Network customers pay less for their energy: http://bit.ly/2DSYbNH
  • Greggs Foundation Environmental Grants available: http://bit.ly/29Sn1SM
  • 100 cross-party MPs have pledged to divest the MP’s pension fund from fossil fuels. Has your MP signed? Find out: http://bit.ly/2Cc809a
  • A petition to make Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) illegal in the UK: http://bit.ly/2Av9Ost
And Finally… the UK's First Dog Poo-Powered Street Light!
 
This newsletter hasn’t had an ‘And Finally…’ slot for a number of years, but we couldn’t resist telling you about the UK's first dog poo-powered street light: http://bit.ly/2CFPjeT

Applications to take part in the Remarkable Recycling Gala are open until the end of January.

Local News

Can You Help Measure Pollution in Belper?
 
Transition Belper and the Belper Neighbourhood Plan team are conducting a pollution survey and need your help. They are looking for locations to place devices that will measure nitrogen dioxide levels; these need to be where people live and walk close to busy traffic. The survey follows the recent discovery of illegal levels of pollution in Wirksworth and Buxton and the aim is to understand the impact of proposed developments on pollution, congestion, noise and safety.
 
Anyone who can help should contact John Shoesmith: john.shoe22@gmailcom.
 
Help Whistlewood Common Collect 9000 Wine Bottles
 
Got leftover wine bottles from Christmas? Whistlewood Common, a community-owned woodland in South Derbyshire, is trying to collect 9000 empty wine bottles by the end of March to form part of the base of the lovely roundhouse that will be going up on their site this year.
 
The group are looking for standard 75 cl size bottles and will accept champagne and spirit bottles of this size too. Bottles can be dropped off during their normal fortnightly volunteering session which take place on the following dates between 1pm and 4pm: 6th and 20th January, 3rd and 17th February.
 
Please do not leave bottles at the entrance to the site at other times as this causes problems for the group. At the time of writing they had approximately 1000 bottles – help them get to 9000! More information on their new eco building can be found here: http://bit.ly/2lHBaWD

Applications Opens for the Remarkable Recycling Gala

Applications are now open for this year's The Remarkable Recycling Gala, a one day annual festival showcasing the use of recycling in art whilst highlighting important issues of waste and recycling. This will be the Gala's 5th year and will take place at the Middle Street Resource Centre in Beeston on Saturday 9th June 2018. Apply by 31st January for a craft stall or to be a workshop holder, display artist, or performer: http://bit.ly/2A6Fu6I

Win Cash for Old Electricals in Derbyshire

Are you a Derbyshire resident with old, broken or unwanted electricals? Dig them out and take them to one of your household waste recycling centres for your chance to win one of fifteen £100 cash prizes. From hair dryers to hedge-trimmers, fairy lights to fridges and toasters to TVs, there's a wide range of household appliances you can take to the recycling centres.
 
From 2nd January, you can exchange them for a golden ticket, which means you could be quids-in. Simply ask for your golden ticket from a member of staff at any of the nine recycling centres, use your unique ticket number to enter the competition and find out if you're an instant winner. The more items you recycle, the more tickets you'll get.
 
Councillor Simon Spencer, our cabinet member for highways, transport and infrastructure, said: 'if every Derbyshire household took just one electrical item to one of our recycling centres in January we could recycle an additional 333,000 appliances, saving not only tax-payers' cash but also the precious metals and other valuable materials they contain.'
 
The competition prizes are being funded by Advantage Waste Brokers who is the contractor that works on Derbyshire County Council's behalf to collect and recycle electrical items taken to its recycling centres.
 
Have Your Say on the Derbyshire Cycle Network
 
People with an interest in cycling can have their say about Derbyshire County Council’s plans for developing a key cycle network throughout the county. The council has drawn-up a map in consultation with cycling groups and the Sustrans charity to show the most important routes which need improving or building to make Derbyshire the most connected county for cycling in England.
 
Councillor Trevor Ainsworth, Cabinet Support Member for Highways, Transport and Infrastructure, said: ‘We're living through a golden age of cycling with more people choosing to get on their bike to travel to work or for leisure − which is great news. Now we want to know what people think of the proposed cycling network and tell us whether they would like routes adding, amending or removing altogether.’
 
Anyone can take a look at the proposed network and comment by 24th January: http://bit.ly/2lFMlj9

Local Eco Homes for Sale

There are currently a number of purpose built eco homes for sale in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire: New Support Available for East Midlands Community-Owned Renewable Projects

Marches Energy Agency (MEA) has secured funding to support communities seeking to set up community-owned renewable projects in the East Midlands. During spring 2018 we will be holding a one day event for community groups with a range of expert speakers. The emphasis will be on helping communities navigate and overcome barriers created by recent policy and funding changes. We will also be organising study tours to inspiring existing community-owned renewable projects and providing 121-tailored follow up support for a limited number of groups to help them get to the next stage in their project.

MEA is keen to hear from groups who would like take part in the training and study tours and be considered for 121 follow up support. Contact Caroline Harmon: caroline.harmon@mea.org.uk / 07748 508704. More information: https://tinyurl.com/y822g5lh

Big Energy Saving Advice Available in Notts and Derbyshire This Winter

Marches Energy Agency is able to offer energy advice sessions to those who are struggling to keep their home warm and/or to pay their energy bills this winter. We can visit groups of people who would like advice, offer one-to-one advice at these session, and can also offer free training sessions for Frontline Workers who regularly come into contact with people who are struggling.

If you would like to know more or are interested in booking a session please contact Peter Burgess-Allen: peter@mea.org.uk
 

What would you do with local energy use data? Funding is available for novel ideas.

National News

 

Funding: How Would You Use Local Energy Use Data?

he Centre for Sustainable Energy is looking for smart communities to take part in unique open data trials. The OpenLV is making electricity data from the low voltage substation network ‘open access’ for the first time ever. This presents a great opportunity for smart thinking and innovation.
 
Are you interested in developing projects to benefit your community? CSE are inviting people based in WPD's network area (which includes most, but not all, of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire) to come up with novel ideas for using this substation data, either in the form of an app or in any other way. You might want to use the data for real-time feedback on community electricity consumption, planning electric vehicle charging times, carbon footprinting, and electricity demand alert systems. You might have your own ideas – now is the time to get them in!
 
Three or four groups will be selected to participate in the trials. Applications are being accepted until 22nd January 2018. More: http://bit.ly/2kPQyzC
 
FUNDING: Pre-Register for the M&S Energy Fund
 
Marks and Spencers Energy recently gave away £300,000 in funding to 25 communities across the UK for energy efficiency and renewables projects. Pre-register your interest for their 2018 scheme: http://bit.ly/2qiha2v
 
FUNDING: £2K Available from EON for Community Buildings and Education
 
Up to £2,000 is available to community centres, schools and charities through EON Energy’s Energising Communities Fund. Grants are available for community buildings that need to improve their energy efficiency and schools or charities looking to offer energy education. Find out more at www.bit.ly/2kswkfT
 
NEWS: Support Available for Sustainable Neighbourhood Planning
 
Neighbourhood plans are a great opportunity to tackle climate change and make neighbourhoods greener and more pleasant places to live. The Centre for Sustainable Energy has funding from Esmee Fairbairn to offer free hands-on support to neighbourhood planning groups on how to include sustainability and climate issues and solutions into their neighbourhood plans.
 
The project benefits from a chartered town planner and will also offer written resources including a new edition of our popular ‘Low Carbon Neighbourhood Planning’ guidebook available very soon in the new year. For more information on the project and how you can access support on creating a sustainable neighbourhood plan please contact dan.stone@cse.org.uk or call 0117 934 1400.
 
NEWS: Feed-in Tariff Scheduled For Closure in 2019
 
The UK’s feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme is scheduled to close in April 2019, nine years after the scheme to increase the take-up of renewable electricity generation was launched. The announcement follows the introduction by the government of a new levy framework to curb costs on bills and provide certainty to investors. www.bit.ly/2BjNrGX
 
EVENT: Permaculture Design Course
January 2018-October 2018, 12 days over 10 months
Graceworks, Leicester
Organised by Graceworks
Sliding scale of price for full 12 days: £470/ £350/ £210 payable by instalments
 
Change your life in harmony with nature! Come and join a friendly, welcoming and interactive exploration of how learning from the patterns and flows of natural systems can help us redesign our lives, become more sustainable and build a fairer world. https://tinyurl.com/ybbr5ocd
Copyright © 2018 Marches Energy Agency, All rights reserved.
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