Your Hertfordshire Rural Affairs and Community News Bulletin
Welcome to our March 2022 eBulletin
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Council leaders from across Hertfordshire and the Police and Crime Commissioner were united in expressing their solidarity with the Ukrainian people at Hertsmere Civic Offices on 3 March
The Leader of Hertsmere Borough Council, Cllr Morris Bright MBE, said: "As we continue to see the unfolding horrors across the news channels, our thoughts and sympathies are with everyone impacted by the deplorable events in Ukraine."
"The Ukrainian flag is currently flying outside our Civic Offices as a further show of support."
Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. A world that's diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge women's equality. Collectively we can all #BreakTheBias click on the pic.
CDA Herts Oil Buying Group
Energy prices are affecting everyone. If you use Heating Oil you could ££££££££s by joining our Oil Buying Group.
"Unlocking Rural Affordable Housing" How Affordable Rural Homes Change Lives And Communities - SAVE THE DATES!
CDA Herts, in conjunction with Dacorum Borough Council and Hastoe Housing Association is running a short webinar, "Unlocking Rural Affordable Housing" focusing on the villages in Dacorum on the 31st March at 7.30pm. The event is free and we would encourage anyone with an interest in supporting sustainable communities to join.
Social Prescribing Day is an annual celebration of social prescribing, recognising local community groups and projects which have kept us healthy throughout the pandemic and beyond.
Keep Britain Tidy are once again holding their annual Great British Spring Clean event, this year from 25th March to 10th April. Free litter picking equipment is available from most local councils on a first come, first served basis. Book yours now!
It's easy to get involved as an individual, group or school. Simply pledge to pick then share how many bags of litter you collected.
Do you have five minutes to spare? Living With Covid Survey
Excited, worried or just don’t know?
After two years of living with COVID-19 restrictions, everyone will be feeling different as we move into the next phase. If you’ve got five minutes and live in Hertfordshire, please tell us how you’re feeling about it all so we can make sure we’re giving you the information you want to help you live safely with COVID-19.
Wasted food feeds climate change. In fact, if global food waste were a country, it would be the third largest greenhouse gas emitter after China and the US.
The national Love Food Hate Waste campaign is aiming to change this, one plateful at a time. Search #FWAW in early March to find out more, and watch their video to see the staggering impact the campaign had last year.
Help plant an urban orchard
Residents in and around Watford are invited to help develop a network of Urban Orchards being established by Feeding Our Future, a partnership of Watford businesses and charities seeking to eliminate food waste.
Residents can choose from any of 10 sites across the district. Sign up to plant fruit trees on Thursday 3rd, Friday 4th or Saturday 6th March. Tools and trees provided.
Celebrate and protect Hertfordshire's wildlife
March 3rd was World Wildlife Day, a chance to recognise the important role that wildlife plays in our natural environment. This year's theme was focusing on recovering key species to help restore the planet's delicate ecosystems.
Last week we had our first wellbeing mornings in Letchworth with the Creative Chefs which was a roaring success! If you haven't had a chance to book onto one of our wellbeing mornings now is your opportunity. We have a full array of adult and family sessions in Letchworth, Hitchin and Royston. Ccontact the Healthy Hub to book.
Cllr Linda Haysey, Leader of East Herts Council, made a statement at the meeting of Full Council on 1 March pledging to support any government coordinated activity to assist refugees and encouraging residents to donate to the relief efforts of British Red Cross and Save The Children
The Windrush Day Grant Scheme is part of the Government’s work to create more resilient communities, where different religions, cultures and opinions are celebrated, underpinned by a shared set of values that champion tolerance, freedom, and equality of opportunity.
There is a total funding pot of £500,000 in two tiers - smaller projects between £5,000 and £25,000, larger projects between £25,000 and £50,000.
Voices from the Voluntary Sector Broxbourne Friday 11 March to Saturday 9 April,
All to are invited to come along and see the Heritage Broxbourne exhibition, also known as Voices from the Voluntary Sector - Snapshots from the Last 50 years. You can expect to see and hear:
Soundbites and Oral Histories
Visual records
Research findings
Mobile Exhibitions
The semi-permanent exhibition will be displayed at Lowewood Museum from March 11 and other venues in the District!
MEN IN RURAL COMMUNITIES LEAST LIKELY TO SEEK SUPPORT WHEN STRUGGLING TO COPE, SAMARITANS SURVEY REVEALS
A new Samaritans survey has discovered that men in rural areas (43%) are less likely than men in urban areas (51%) to reach out for support or talk to someone if they are struggling with their mental health. Women living in rural areas are much more likely than men to seek help with 60%, saying they would talk to someone if they were struggling.
The findings come as Samaritans launches a new phase of its Real People, Real Stories campaign, supported by the NFU Mutual Charitable Trust, which aims to reach men in rural communities who are struggling to cope to prevent them reaching crisis point. In the UK and Ireland, men are three to four times more likely to die by suicide than women.
Ashwell Food Pantry in North Herts is our featured Rural Support Network, still providing support to the elderly, isolated and vulnerable in rural Hertfordshire.
The Ashwell Village Pantry is available every day in St Mary’s church and follows the concept of “put in if you can, take out if you can’t”.
Looked after by a group of volunteers, the pantry is stocked by donations from people in the village and is there to be used by anyone who finds themselves in need.
St Mary’s is pleased to be able to support people in the community in this very practical way.
RURAL HOMES FACING MONTHS WITHOUT HEATING DUE TO LPG SHORTAGE
The i newspaper reports that rural households facing months without heating due to major delays in liquid gas deliveries have pleaded with the government to help restore affordable supplies. Around four million households in the UK are off-grid, meaning they do not receive piped gas to their homes and must rely on deliveries of LPG gas. Of these, almost 200,000 properties – mostly in rural areas – are supplied via external gas tanks, with regular deliveries of LPG being made. However, across the country, off-grid rural households are having to wait months for heating fuel as the ongoing HGV driver shortage has left providers struggling to fulfil orders. When they do get their deliveries, they are seeing prices rise considerably, as LPG is not covered by the price cap and as a result has been exposed to the full force of skyrocketing global energy prices.
The BBC programme Countryfile have featured a story focusing on young people in rural areas and the impact of cuts to rural youth services. The feature posed the question as to whether rural young people are more at risk from criminal gangs with the reducing youth support services. Young people in the countryside face isolation, poor transport options and a lack of safe places to meet which can leave them vulnerable to being targeted by criminal gangs. Rural Youth workers and support is vital for these young people, ensuring that they have a safe place to go. However, years of funding cuts to youth services in rural areas are now having an impact, leaving our rural young people at more risk of harm.
KEY SERVICES WILL BE CUT TO PAY FOR UK STORM DAMAGE’
The Guardian reports that councils will have to cut key services to pay for the “soul-destroying” damage caused by three unprecedented storms across the UK, local leaders have said
Storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin brought hurricane-force winds and heavy rain to large parts of the UK in the past week, leaving more than 1m homes without power and hundreds under water.
Local authorities said they faced multimillion-pound bills to clean up and repair damage to roads, bridges and other infrastructure, at a time when many are making swingeing cuts to essential services due to a 37% drop in their government funding since 2010.
CDA Herts Supports our Refill Shops & Stores B.Green Store at Birch Green near Hertford, a Community Hub.
A warm and welcoming store in the centre of Birch Green village providing a community hub where our customers meet to shop essentials and enjoy each others company over a coffee or tea, a slice of delicious homemade cake. Our objective is to reduce rural/social isolation in the village and nearby areas by activating local spaces by running weekly activities which start and finish at B.Green and will include refreshments after the activity to strengthen social connections.
In our Zero waste area, you can purchase a selection of packaging free essentials; cereals, spices, nuts, pulses, dried fruits, gluten-free pasta and a selection of loose-leaf teas. Buy as little as you need. Just bring your own containers and we'll fill them from our gravity dispensers, scoop bins or jars. Forgotten your container? no problem! We also have brown paper and home compostable cello bags.
Having slept the winter away hidden amongst tree roots, under rocks, or in crevices, newts are starting to emerge. Early spring is a great time to spot newts, so here is our handy guide to the newts of Hertfordshire!
Newts are amphibians, breeding in ponds during the spring and spending most of the rest of the year feeding on invertebrates in woodland, hedgerows, marshes and tussocky grassland. They hibernate underground, among tree roots and in old walls.
Harry Bott's March Farming, Wildlife and Garden Reports
They have been busy planting 2000 Trees including Sweet Chestnuts in honour of the Queen's Platinum Jubillee. Harry educates us about FYM and bemoans the loss of his Greens to the Pigeons.
Read the full report from Harry by clicking below.
Endometriosis Awareness Month 2022 March 1 - March 30
Every March Endometriosis Month takes place across the world, with the aim of increasing awareness and highlighting the symptoms of this debilitating condition that affects an estimated 176 million women worldwide. Endometriosis can have a devastating effect on the quality of life of sufferers of this condition due to the painful symptoms that the disease carries and the fact that it is the biggest cause of infertility in women. Although this is a condition that affects 1 in 10 women, the average diagnosis can take up to 7 and a half years, and with this unacceptably long diagnosis time, the main focus of the event is to raise awareness of the symptoms of Endometriosis with the goal being more women receiving diagnosis and treatment earlier.
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numerous helpful services.
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CDA Herts Services available to communities in Hertfordshire
Community Garden St Albans - Plots available
Village Halls Advisory Service - part of the ACRE network
Rural Support Networks
Rural Issues Network
Rural Loneliness Forum
Digital Inclusion Project
Farmers' Cafes
Rural Affordable Housing Needs Assessments and Surveys
Village Connectors Project
HMP The Mount Play Area
Jobs Pathway
BAME Covid Recovery Project
Health Equalities Partnership Programme (HEPP)
Reconnecting Hertford
Community Energy Network
Management Health Checks
Health & Safety Training, Audit and Risk Assessment
Health & Wellbeing advocacy
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CDA Herts does not endorse nor recommend any services or products featured in the eBulletin and accepts no liability for any unforeseen circumstances arising.
