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NEW projects - Library of Things and Community Fridge - coming soon!
We have been awarded a fantastic grant by the National Lottery Communities Fund to set up these two new projects.
The Community Fridge will collect food from local supermarkets that is surplus or past its 'best before' date (but still safe to eat). Anyone with surplus food is also welcome to bring it along to share. The food will then be available to anyone who wants it. If you're keen to get involved, or just want to find out more, come along to our Community Fridge meeting on Wed 23rd Oct at 7.30pm in The Mix.
More on the Library of Things once the fridge is up and running!
 Could you be our Apple Ambassador?
Sustainable Wantage have an apple press, electric crusher and pasteuriser available to hire (email Mim for details) and we are seeking an apple loving enthusiast to help us arrange hiring out the kit. If you'd like to join us on our apple pressing day on 26 October in The Mix and find out more email Jo here or contact Mim for a chat through what's involved.
 In The Mix in October:
Tues 1st - Monthly Craft Night ✂️ 7 - 9.30pm.
Wed 2nd - How to Henna workshop 🖐️ 7 - 9pm.
Sat 5th - Repair Cafe 🛠️ 10am - 1pm.
Sun 6th - Scoopzerowaste 🍜 Dried food pop-up shop. 10am - 2pm.
Mon 7th - (also 21st) Turning Point, ↪️ advice and support on addiction 10am - 1pm.
Sat 12th - Denim Day 👖 10am - 1pm and Crochet your own shopping bag 🛍️ 1.30 - 5.30pm.
Sun 13th - Mosaic workshop 🔲 10am - 5pm.
Wed 16th - French Conversation and Coffee  ☕ 9:20 - 11:30.
Sat 19th - Clothing surgery  and Teddy hospital 🐻 (10am - 1pm) and Take one shirt - upcycling workshop 👕 (2 - 5pm).
Sun 20th - Bike maintenance workshop 🚴 10am - 5pm.
Wed 23rd - Community Fridge meeting ❄️ - 7:30pm.
Sat 26th - Apple pressing 🍏 10am - 4pm.
Wed 30th - Green Drinks ☕ 7:30 - 9pm.
For more info or to book on any of the courses or workshops at The Mix, email Jo, call 07768 767787, or visit the Mix website.
We have A4 files, knitting needles and National Geographic magazines looking for new homes. We are collecting kitchen roll tubes and clipboards.
There will be herbs, veg and flower plants for sale, all grown by the gardeners. There will also be a cake sale, teas and coffees, garden trail and pebble hunt. Any queries email Olwen.
Introducing The Lowdown Section
While reports about the deteriorating environmental situation are important and can mobilise action, we recognise that these can be distressing and that it can be helpful to protect ourselves when that's the case. The most important thing is to take action, so this is our main focus - we don't want to overwhelm you.
For times that you would like to keep up-to-date with the science, you can read the information below the line at the bottom of the page. We'll use this format in future newsletters, so if you prefer to focus on positive actions and not read this section, stop at the line! We hope this is helpful for those who would like the choice at the time of reading.
Feedback on this balance would be welcome - email Zoe.
Personal Climate Action - What Can You Do?
Following Mike Landy's talk at last month's Green Drinks, he shares his top tips for reducing your own climate impact:
1) Eat less meat.
2) Minimise your transport emissions – especially flying.
3) Stop and think before you buy – do I really need it?
4) Don't waste – reduce, re-purpose, reuse and recycle.
5) Purchase green energy.
6) Improve your home – insulation, low-energy lighting and appliances, solar, etc.
7) Encourage your employer to do the same at work.
8) Assess your carbon footprint and offset your emissions. Here's an online carbon calculator.
9) Ensure your savings and pension are invested ethically.
10) Lobby your local and national representatives.
11) Use your vote.
12) Plant trees (and support organisations that do).
13) Support local and national organisations active on climate.
14) Consider a career change.
15) Educate yourself and spread the word.
Here's a similar list from Radio 4's Woman's Hour.
 Millions Call for Climate Action
Around the world millions of people took part in the global climate strike organised by Youth Strike for Climate on 20th and 27th September. The photo on the right is from the climate strike in Sydney, Australia.
Oxford saw its largest ever environmental demonstration - including supporters from Wantage (left). In New Zealand around 3.5% of the population are thought to have taken part in the strike, while Montreal saw 315,000 people take to the streets.
Last week Scotland committed to a 75% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions over the next ten years (compared to 1990 levels), becoming net-zero in 25 years.
The National Farmers' Union have launched a plan detailing how UK agriculture could reach carbon neutrality by 2040. They propose increasing the number of trees and hedges, farming to increase the carbon content of the soil and growing more crops for energy, among other strategies.
This video explains how Copenhagen plans to become a carbon-neutral capital city in just five years.
 Reducing waste is a hot topic at Oxford's Citizens' Assembly on Climate Change
Henry Owen from the Community Action Groups network appeared on the panel for the citizens' assembly in Oxford at the weekend, talking about some of our favourite things - repair cafes, community fridges, libraries of things and packaging-free refills. Great to see this on the agenda.
Footage starts at 5 minutes in and Henry speaks at 20 mins - Oxford Citizens' Assembly on Climate Change Theme 1 Waste
More sessions here.
Other themes covered during the assembly are buildings, transport, renewable energy, biodiversity & offsetting. Read more about it here.
In Brief
The UK's roadsides are on the verge of becoming wildlife corridors, due to increasing interest in using them to grow native wildflowers. Plantlife have published the Good Verge Guide with guidelines for local authorities and community groups.
How to reduce microplastics:
1) Some teabags have been found to shed billions of tiny microplastic particles. To avoid this choose loose tea or plastic-free tea bags.
2) Avoid the 'delicate' washing machine setting. A recent study found that clothes surprisingly release more plastic microfibres on a delicate wash cycle. The  volume of water used per wash appears to be the most important factor in dislodging fibres.
Wantage Sainsbury's have now introduced reusable fruit and veg bags. Take your own bags or buy some at the shop (see photo). The supermarket claims this step will reduce its nationwide plastic output by 489 tonnes. Don't forget you can also take your own containers to most supermarkets' cheese, fish and meat counters, as well as to the Going Green shop and Wantage Family Butchers. Some of the market stalls and take aways may also be happy to reuse your containers (do email Zoe to let us know which).
70% of Britons want a ban on single-use plastics, believing that retailers should no longer stock items such as plastic water bottles because of their impact on the environment. The poll of 2000 people found that two thirds of 18-24 year olds were more concerned about sustainability issues compared to a year ago.
 Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council have announced proposals to reduce the amount of traffic and improve public transport in the city These include new high frequency fast bus routes connecting neighbouring towns to the Park and Rides, more bus gates, a charge for workplace parking in some areas and improved cycle routes. You can find full details here.
The UK will host next year's COP26 UN Climate Summit, which will take place in Glasgow. The conference has been described as the most important gathering on climate change since the Paris agreement was signed in 2015. Lasting for two weeks, it will be the largest summit the UK has ever hosted, with up to 200 world leaders expected to attend for the final weekend.
 The cost of UK offshore wind energy has continued to fall, with some wholesale auction contracts now as low as 4p per kWh. It has been the cheapest source of electricity in the UK for several years. The UK has installed the largest capacity of offshore windpower in the world, because it has one of the best wind resources.
Cambridge University has cut its food-related carbon emissions by a third since 2016. Its 14 outlets and 1,500 annual events achieved this by replacing beef and lamb with plant-based dishes.
Out and About in October
Tues 1st - Free Planning Workshop & Land Use Planning to Reduce CO2. (Oxford OX1).
Wed 2nd - Heading for Extinction and What To Do About It - Witney.
Sat 5th - Let’s Talk about Climate – 6 workshops (ages 15 - 19). Oxford, OX1.
Mon 7th - Following Faringdon Town Council's declaration of a climate emergency last month, they are holding a public meeting to share ideas and best practice. 7pm in the Corn Exchange, Faringdon. If you have an idea you'd like to share before the meeting, please write to office@faringdontowncouncil.gov.uk.
 Tues 8th - 7:30 (doors 7pm). Cafe Scientifique - Fungi: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly The Beacon Café, Wantage, OX12 9BX.
Wed 9th (and weekly for 8 weeks) - Teach Green – Environmental Kids Club (ages 7 - 11). Oxford, OX2.
Fri 11th - 3:30-5pm - Pop-up Refills at Stanford in the Vale. BZB Eco store and Scoopzerowaste will both be at Stanford school hall.
Sat 12th - Otter Ecology and Surveying, RSPB Otmoor, Oxford, OX3.
Tues 15th - Implementing Liveability. Clyde Loakes at Oxford Town Hall by Oxfordshire Liveable Streets. Also on Facebook.
Sat 19th - Stanford Repair Cafe, 2-4pm at Stanford Coffee Shop. For more details email Derek or call him on 01367 710283.
Thurs 24th - Sonal Choudhary from the STFC Food Network talks to Harwell Green Club, in the Hamilton Room at the RAL Visitor Centre. Email John Vandore for details.
Nov 2nd - Snail Course – learn how to identify common snails, near Reading.
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The Lowdown
Some readers may find information in this section distressing.
A major new report by the World Meteorological Organisation found that climate change is hitting 'harder and sooner' than forecast. Sea-level rise, planetary warming, shrinking ice sheets and carbon pollution have all accelerated.
The IPCC have also released a new report, looking at the impact of climate change on the oceans and cryosphere (frozen parts of the planet). The oceans are getting warmer and more acidic, while thermal expansion and melting ice is causing sea level rise. Melting permafrost also threatens to release large amounts of CO2 and methane which is currently trapped - this would limit our ability to deal with climate change in the future. The report recommends deep, rapid cuts in carbon emissions. "If we reduce emissions sharply, consequences for people and their livelihoods will still be challenging, but potentially more manageable for those who are most vulnerable," said Hoesung Lee, chair of the IPCC.
Hurricane Dorian was the joint strongest Atlantic storm ever to hit land, with sustained winds of 185mph and gusts up to 220mph. Hurricanes are fuelled by warm surface waters.
15 young people have filed a legal complaint alleging that world leaders' inaction on the climate crisis has violated children's rights.
 More than half of native European trees could face extinction, according to a new study. The IUCN’s European red list of trees found 58% of these endemic trees are threatened and 15% (66 species) were classified as critically endangered. Ash, elm and rowan are among those in decline, while the horse chestnut (conker tree) is vulnerable due to the spread of a leaf-miner moth. It is important that any imported saplings are carefully screened for diseases and pests.
UN secretary general calls climate change an emergency. He says he's counting on public pressure to compel governments to take much stronger action: “what I want is to have the whole society putting pressure on governments to understand they need to run faster. Because we are losing the race. Governments always follow public opinion, everywhere in the world, sooner or later.”
California and other US states have been stripped of the right to set their own vehicle emission standards by President Trump.
Two major new studies concluded that bird populations are 'in crisis' in North America and Asia. The US and Canada have lost 3 billion birds compared to 1970, or 29% of the total population, across every type of habitat. This pattern is likely to be mirrored in other parts of the world. In Asia, the buying and selling of songbirds has pushed some species to the brink of extinction. Prof Stuart Marsden, from Manchester Metropolitan University pointed out that this is driven by a love of birds. "I think that passion can be channelled into conservation," he said.
Wed 30th Oct
7:30pm - 9pm in The Mix, Mill Street
Bring your own tipple. All welcome.
Sustainable Wantage
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