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Welcome to the February Newsletter!


Following the recent publication of the report Land use: Policies for a Net Zero UK, our next public meeting will hear Farming and Wildlife Advisor, Bel Whitwam talk about the contribution that agriculture and land use can make towards climate targets – join us on Thursday 27 February at 8 pm at the Chipping Hall, Wotton.  

Our volunteers are busy planning and organising future public meetings. If you’d like to join the Steering Group and help organise meetings, please get in touch. We meet every other month and your contribution would be very welcome!


Warm wishes,
Wotton Area CAN team
Project updates

Home energy efficiency meeting - POSTPONED
Our planned meeting to launch a Home Energy Efficiency project has been postponed and will no longer take place on Saturday 22nd February (10am-11.30am) at the Chipping Hall. Whilst planning this event, Alex - our Home Energy lead - uncovered some really interesting insights which are helping us redefine future plans. Further information will be shared soon.

Tree planting
Wotton Town Council held a public meeting on Monday 17th February to discuss (amongst other things) tree planting in the area. We're pleased to report that the council look set to support both the Knapp Lane and Holywell Leaze tree planting and a site planning meeting will be held in April/May.

The next tree planting volunteer opportunity will be at 10am, 15th March at the Wotton Community PARC. 

Land use
The next public meeting of the land use group will be held at Matara at 2pm on Saturday 28th March. This will be a chance for anyone who would like to get involved in caring for the trees we planted in November to do a bit of weeding etc around the site. This is also a social event for anyone interested in tree planting and carbon capture in the UK and abroad to learn more about different projects and chat over a cup of tea and cake.

For more information or to express an interest in either event, please contact Kath.

Single use plastic and resources
Our small but perfectly formed Plastics Project Group meet every second month. Recent projects include; collaboration with Chloe Turner (from Stroud District Action on Plastics) with local schools, the Brownies and Wotton Chamber of Trade to reduce the use of single use plastics locally; recruiting local businesses to be water 'Refill' stations and Surfers against Sewage Plastics Champions and the investigation and promotion of local ‘TerraCycle’ recycling options. To get involved in a local action on plastic or learn more about the group, contact Tina.

Local Transport Review - public consultation
The Gloucestershire Local Transport Plan Review is open for consultation until 26th March. If you’d like to have your say on the future of transport planning in the county, please do take the time to comment using the link on the County Council website. This review covers many policy areas and transport projects. We’re pleased to see that the Wotton, Charfield and Kingswood Greenway has now been included as a local ‘Active Travel’ project – and it would be good to see a commitment by the County Council to fund this and other active travel projects.

Transport preferences survey
The transport sub group have been pulling together a survey to look at residents' transport preferences for commuting and leisure trips which will be shared in the coming months, as well as looking at appetite for alternatives to personal car use such as car shares, bike/eBike and public transport.

Cycle to work scheme update
The cycle to work scheme is now no longer capped at £1000, meaning that it can be extended to eBikes (amongst others). Further information can be found at https://www.cyclescheme.co.uk/ 

If you'd like to get involved in the transport group please contact Sam and Dawn.

Networking with other groups - Stroud MapJam 
On 18th January, representatives from Wotton Area CAN met with other local Climate Action Networks to record initiatives that aim to reduce our carbon footprint across the Stroud District. The MapJam gathering collected initiatives on an interactive map (https://carbonneutralmap.org.uk/) which allows networks throughout the District to collaborate, share knowledge and resources. 
 
Solar Streets Initiative

Communities across the UK are looking to reduce their climate impact by generating their own renewable energy.  At our public meeting on 23rd January we heard from Michael Lamerton from IDDEA who has been working with different councils and climate action groups to provide low cost solar panels to households.

We’re really pleased that there has already been so much interest locally in a potential Solar Streets initiative in the area. We are liaising with the local councils to discuss the options and will report back soon.
 
Tree Planting Events
  • 15th March – 10am, Wotton Community Parc planting event (420 trees). Another 420 to be planted in November. 
  • 28th March – 2pm, Matara. An event to look after the trees that were planted with coffee and cakes and displays on land use.
There will be more opportunities for tree planting coming up at other sites in the local area; follow us on Facebook to be kept informed!
 

Wotton Green Drinks - the third Thursday of each month
Wotton Green Drinks is for anyone with an interest in local environmental and social issues.  It’s a chance to meet like-minded people, share ideas, find out what others are involved in and discuss topical issues. Green Drinks now meets on the third Thursday of the month.  Upcoming meetings include Bisley Community Composters (19th March). For more information contact wottongreendrinks@gmail.com

Public meeting: Farming & climate change - 9 million hectares of hope, Thursday 27th February
Where: Chipping Hall, Wotton from 8pm
Bel Whitwam, who works for the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group will be talking about the contribution that agriculture and land use can make towards climate targets – including the NFU’s plan for British farming to deliver net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. 
 

Fairtrade Fortnight - Wotton in the World, Saturday 29th February
Where: The Parish Hall, Wotton Baptist Church, 9.30am - 12.30am
Fairtrade Fortnight is focusing on women cocoa farmers in West Africa this year and there is a strong emphasis on protecting the rainforest and the environment. At this event there’ll be live music, stalls about local charities working in developing countries, storytelling and a Fairtrade chocolate cake bake off for adults and children – bring your bakes by 11am for judging at 11.30. 


Public meeting: Carbon neutral communities, Thursday 26th March
Where: Chipping Hall, Wotton from 8pm
The community of Ashton Hayes in Cheshire started their journey to become carbon neutral back in 2006. Dominic Driver will be sharing some insights from their journey so far, and we'll be discussing what we can learn, to help reduce our own local carbon impact here in Gloucestershire. http://www.goingcarbonneutral.co.uk/

Wotton Spring Pre-loved Clothes Swish, Thursday 2nd April, 7.30pm-9.30pm
Where: Chipping Hall, Wotton
We are in the mood for swishing! Building on the success of our first Clothes Swishing Party last autumn, we are inviting you to the Spring Swish - a great evening of meeting new people, having fun with your friends and swapping your unloved clothes & accessories to some fabulous new items. Tickets are £5/ticket that includes a glass of fizz. You can find more details on the UTEA website and you can buy your ticket online.

Community litter pick, Sunday 19th April
We'll be collaborating with Wotton Lions to promote a street-by-street community litter pick on Sunday 19th April. Further details will follow in our March newsletter.
 

Council action on climate change
 

District and County
A recent report to Stroud District Council provides an Update on Carbon Neutral 2030 work, and Gloucestershire County Council have adopted a new Climate Change Strategy. This strategy will involve the County Council switching to purchase all renewable electricity for its buildings, street lighting and council schools, making a commitment to plant a million trees by 2030 (working with partners across the county) and installing 200 new electric vehicle charging points by 2023. 

Parish projects
Wotton Town Council established a Climate Change Working Group last year, and has published a statement outlining achievements so far and future projects.
 


Latest updates from Transition Stroud
We’re part of the Stroud District Forum of Climate Action Networks – which is co-ordinated by Transition Stroud. For more information on district-wide climate action projects,  read the Transition Stroud February newsletter. 

 
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Wotton Area Climate Action Network · Chipping Hall · Wotton-Under-Edge, Gls GL12 7AF · United Kingdom

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