Season's Greetings!
Climate change is again in the news with the international Climate Ambition Summit (12 December), in preparation for the United Nations climate conference next year in Glasgow.
Here in the Wotton area we have been looking at climate action closer to home, and the consultation on Stroud District Council’s 2030 Strategy for Limiting, Adapting, Recovering and Responding in a Changing Climate. This new strategy sets out targets for seven themes: Energy, Built Environment, Natural Environment, Mobility, Economy, Waste & Resources, Community. It proposes a vision, and phased projects for each theme over the next ten years.
Most greenhouse gas emissions within the district are not within direct control of the Council, so partnership working with business, local communities and groups such as our Climate Action Network will be crucial to reach the 2030 carbon neutral target. The consultation on this draft strategy is open until 16 December – so do take a look and share your views. A summary of the challenges ahead is can be found in this 3 minute video: What is climate change? A really simple guide.
Stay connected and stay well this festive season,
Wotton Area CAN team
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December inspiration from fellow groups
Free Zoom talk:
'The Joyful Environmentalist'
7.30pm, 17th Dec
Join Sustainable Sherston's free Zoom meeting to hear from Isabel Losado, author of 'The Joyful Environmentalist'. Reserve your free seat using their Eventbrite link:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/isabel-losada-talk-sustainable-sherston-tickets-131370517755?fbclid=IwAR0F92R7CpKAQosGK8aq1DGb8d8h1Hky_2WLe4boxItAD45mlg3UwguSajg
Nailsworth CAN in conversation with The Long Table's Tom Herbert
‘What if everyone in our community had access to great food and someone to eat it with?’. Hear about Tom's experiences from his time at Hobbs House Bakery to cooking for refugees in Calais, and then working at the Grace Network; then finally to the idea of setting up a social enterprise, The Long Table.
Find the blog and video of Tom's interview on the Nailworth CAN website:
https://www.nailsworthcan.org/blog/what-if-everyone-in-our-community-had-access-to-great-food-and-someone-to-eat-it-with?fbclid=IwAR2fvLwicLAO1-HfIHoIcCjzZj14GpsVzhFJ5sHNc9CvusIXKiyZdvEptCc
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- Tree planting at Knapp Road Wotton Town Council have given Wotton Area CAN permission to plant a woodland on the land below the allotment at Knapp Road. The area has been marked out and saplings are available for planting, which you can undertake at a time that suits you.
If you would like to get involved, please contact Bel Whitwam by email to register your interest, and she'll share instructions with you.
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- Wotton Area Tree Survey: take part in your own time. Find out more about how to record trees on our website. A recent BBC Radio 4 programme gives more details about the Treezilla citizen science website that we’re using.
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A huge thank you to everyone who has recently planted trees in the area. Together, Wotton Area CAN and public volunteers planted 360 saplings at Matara in Kingscote on 6th December. And ours wasn't the only tree planting event in the area that weekend, as another 300 trees were planted by volunteers helping Wotton Community Sports Foundation at the Community PARC on New Road.
We have further tree planting activities ongoing, so if you'd like to get involved, please email Bel Whitwam.
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Many thanks to anyone who shared their Sustainable Christmas ideas with us. We particularly loved Julia's suggestion of using a small fallen branch as an alternative Christmas tree:
"The fun part and challenge is to spot a suitable branch, it MUST be already blown down. I have found beech is best (don't be tempted to use hazel as the catkins come out in a warm room!) The other good thing in this process is you have pea sticks in the spring and after that kindling for next winter's fire or two." - Julia
Another favourite was Alex's suggestion for oversized gifts:
"We tie dyed an old duvet cover to use for oversized presents like bikes." - Alex
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Good news stories
Following on from the inspiring film Kiss the Ground (available on Netflix), we’ve enjoyed learning more about “Regenerative Agriculture” from the local Eastington Farm Shop (via their Facebook page). They’ve explained how the farm is now using seed drilling, to avoid disturbing the soil, adopting new farming practices to support nature and using cover crops to reduce the need for pesticides. Follow our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages for more stories like this!
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Help our community to reduce carbon emissions
Would you like to feel empowered to make a difference towards a carbon-neutral, more sustainable future? Join our team to steer the boat and help our local area to take action!
Our Steering Group is made up of a small number of enthusiastic volunteers who share a vision to reduce carbon emissions locally. Project areas we focus on are in Land Use, Plastics, Energy and Transport. We meet monthly to organise our public meetings, agree how to promote events on social media and lead project work in the wider community. We're always on a lookout for new members!
If you can offer your skills and a bit of your time please reach out to Judit to arrange a friendly chat.
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FREE WAMA Christmas Box
If you're struggling to meet financial demands this Christmas, a WAMA Christmas Food Box might make things a little bit easier.
You will be able to order a box between 7th and 18th December (up until 6.00p.m) and it will be delivered on 21st December.
Please use this link to fill in a form and order a box: https://bit.ly/WAMAChristmas someone will call you back over the next few days to confirm we have received your order.
Or call WAMA on 07545 042794, leave a message and someone will call you back.
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