Well, we're back in another lockdown but we're hoping to lift your spirits with our punchy (yet long overdue) monthly newsletter. We are pleased to welcome Jago Yelland to the Communications Team, here at WACE Central. One of the positive sides (and we like to focus on these) of the Covid pandemic, is that many more people have been enjoying nature and becoming more aware of the need to protect our environment. We hope you find some interesting news. Happy reading. Best wishes, Helen, Kim and Jago.
Warm yourself, NOT the planet!
As the long nights and cold approach it's inevitable we'll be looking for ways to stay warm. However it's important we limit the impact this has on our planet. Some ways to do this are with; loft ventilation, double glazing or renewable energy generation (eg. solar panels)
For information on how to be more environmentally friendly this winter and how to apply for environmental improvement grants. Follow the link here
News from the Climate Coalition
Film: Watch theChoose Life film, which promotes our Declaration as an action.
MockCOP26: 19th November -1st December 2020, youth climate activists are running a youth-led, youth-run online conference that will show the world what would happen if young people were the decision-makers. A wealth of supporter resources which can be found here.
COP26 Coalition - From The Ground Up. Now - 16th November. There is a fantastic programme hereof events for the Global Gathering for Climate Justice.
London Climate Action Week 2020: 14-20 November. The full programme of events is available here, covering everything fromdebt relief, green recovery and NDCs to MDB reform, loss and damage and the future of geopolitics between the USA, China and the EU.
Don't be spineless, protect our hedgehogs!
Around the country hedgehog numbers are decreasing with over a 1/3 of hedgehogs lost since 2000! If you feel strongly about this and want to take action or raise awareness, consider becoming a hedgehog champion with 'hedgehog street'!
Hedgehog Street is as much about people as it is about hedgehogs. Hedgehog Champions are the people that make it work – you don’t need any special skills to be one, just a bit of initiative and a love for spiny creatures! For more info click here
Your views please Somerset Co-operative Community Land Trust (a non-profit community benefit society) is seeking to develop affordable housing for local people on the disused old Exmoor Ales site, and sees the potential for a community energy scheme that could benefit local residents and projects.
The community energy scheme will be owned by, and for, the people of Wiveliscombe. So, it is vital the we get your views and ideas, and if possible, help, to make sure it is not only a success, but also to ensure it can maximise the benefits for the Town, and direct them where they are needed most. To kick off the consultation we’re holding two open meetings to introduce the project (and the overall scheme) and get your views on what you would like it to achieve.
These will on Thursday 3rd December at: 11am and 6pm
The link for both is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89302609515
If you can’t make either and want to be involved or find out more please email steve@somerset.coop
For more information and updates visit http://www.somersetcclt.org.uk/2020/11/community-energy.html
An Emergen - SEA (Wivey XR members making their point) The sun shone down at beautiful Blue Anchor as the "tea party women" took their best china, teapots and table linen for a tasteful tea on the beach. Unfortunately climate change caught them unawares and sea levels rose faster than they realised. Soggy sandwiches, ruined party frocks and slightly dented dignity were the only collateral damage this time.
Real sea level rise will hit Somerset hard!
HS2 - Train-wrecking our environment It was a wild and windy day when the wild tea party women took to the woods above Wiveliscombe for a picnic. They seem to be morphing slowly into creatures of the wild - perhaps nature is trying to tell us something? It's time to listen to them, to stop sipping tea as an ecological crisis crashes in around us. A surprise guest in the form of Boris Big Head Bim dropped in, pretending to be on the side of the environment but proving unable to hide his true dastardly desires.
The wild tea party found a temporary home - after being driven from the woods by Boris Big Head Bim - thanks to the friendly welcome at The Bear Inn. It seemed only right and proper to thank them. Where will the tea party turn up next? Perhaps it's time to turn to our rivers - after all only 14% of Britain's rivers are in a healthy ecological condition ....watch this space!
Can you keep a low carbon footprint? Most of us have reduced our Carbon Footprint during lockdown and were able to keep it low even when restrictions were lifted. If you haven't already, now is the time to calculate your carbon footprint. It's quite easy. You just need to answer a few questions, including data from your electricity and/or gas bills. It's not about comparing with anyone else; everyone is different. It's helpful to keep in mind what our real carbon footprint is and what we can do to keep it low to minimise our impact on the planet. Either of these tools: https://www.carbonindependent.org/ or https://footprint.wwf.org.uk/#/
WACE has teamed up with Wivey XR to design a project to increase local biodiversity.
Wiveliscombe Town Council are submitting a bid to Somerset County Council’s Climate Emergency Community Fund which will comprise six projects in total; three addressing energy production/saving and two addressing waste reduction. If successful with the bid, we will create a year's freelance contract to stimulate, inspire and coordinate local residents, businesses, community groups, schools, councils and enterprises connected to the land to find fun and creative ways to double biodiversity across the town.
The UK has lost over 50% of its wildlife since 1970 according to the Space for Nature national reports. As the direction of travel continues downward, we aim to raise community awareness of biodiversity as a climate change issue and how much we depend on the rest of nature for our food, water, natural resources, and health and wellbeing. Inspiring change toward more sustainable behaviour in our gardens and shared outside areas will increase our ability to restore our link to the natural world.
A planet-friendly local start-up It's tricky at the best of times to start a business, but Covid adds an extra challenge. Jane and Helen are passionate about sharing the positive experience of being and learning outdoors. With local eco-friendly courses and events, they've delighted many already; starting with a children's nature craft workshop in the summer, followed by barn building and more recently a spooky Halloween Pop-Up Cafe in the woods. Despite some events postponed due to the latest lockdown, the Christmas Wreath-Making Workshops are going ahead on the 12th December. To find out more visit inthewilds.net
A low carbon Christmas!
Every Christmas many of us enjoy the experience of choosing a Christmas tree, bringing it home, decorating it and celebrating around it. But what to do with it afterwards?
Every tree is a 'carbon-store' and we want to reduce the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere. It can make sense to burn the tree if you heat your home with a wood fire. But if you don't, there are options. If you have a large garden you can let it rot naturally releasing the carbon back into the soil. However, more and more people are choosing a Christmas tree with roots, so that they can continue growing and capturing atmospheric carbon well after the festivities have passed. If you're blessed with a large garden, you can plant these out each year, but if not, you can hire and return your tree to continue it's life in the forest.
We're lucky around here with a choice of local Christmas tree growers. Heydon Hill Wood in Chipstable, provide rooted trees to buy or hire, and un-rooted (especially for larger trees over 4ft) to buy, both of which can be purchased on-line and collected from Wivey Market. For more information heydonhill@gmail.com
Volunteers raise money for WACE 27th September was a sparkly day at Wimbleball Lake, when 3 WACE members; Rebecca Cork, Nicky Saunter and Helen Rook, volunteered as marshals at the Exmoor Open water swim event. Many, many competitors took park in a Covid-safe version of this annual race. Pete, Holly and the fantastic team at Exmoor Open Water Swim (who previously helped with a WACE tree-planting event) have kindly donated £45 (£15 per volunteer) to WACE funds.
We'd love to share any news about local, sustainable, eco-friendly, low-carbon organisations, businesses or events. Please get in touch if you know some.
