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There's plenty to do, read, and be informed about:
Newsletter Editor: Philip Nalpanis
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Come and enjoy our Sustainable Market!
Sunday 25 October, 11 am - 4 pm
Sustainable St Albans are teaming up with St Albans BID again to host another Sustainable Market in the city centre.
In August we got rave reviews and we’re hoping this one will be even better! There will be local food and drink stalls, ethical clothing, health and vitality products, renewable and green energy specialists and lots more. Everything is outdoors, risk assessed, and run according to COVID guidance.
Email Craig if you’d like a stall.
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 Sustainable holidays – who knew?
Monday 9 November, 7.30 - 9.00 pm open online event via Zoom
Talks and discussion about taking your sustainable lifestyle on holiday with you. Contributors include James Blake, CEO of the Youth Hostels Association.
Free event, please book via Meetup here.
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 We need new trustees in 2021 - could it be you?
The current team of long-standing Sustainable St Albans trustees, now just five in number, needs expanding, and we aim to find up to five new trustees to start in early 2021. Could this be for you?
We are running three short Zoom sessions in October for people who are interested in exploring becoming a trustee. No commitment; just come and hear from current trustees about the role, and ask questions. Register for the session that suits you:
The trustees' role is to keep Sustainable St Albans healthy, set future plans, manage the finances, and ensure key processes are in place. We're a small charity with no permanent staff, so trustees are also quite hands-on, running events and getting involved with projects. All trustees need a passion for the environment, but you may have relevant skills as well. Click here to see more about the role.
We are conscious that we are not currently a very diverse group, and would like to change this by recruiting new trustees with a range of backgrounds and perspectives.
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Is heat leaking from your home?
Find out where by borrowing a Thermal Imaging Camera.
Sustainable St Albans has two thermal imaging cameras, one based in Harpenden and one in St Albans. The camera can help you identify where you are losing heat from your home: windows, front door, loft hatch, roof…?
 As a result of COVID-19, information sessions will be held via Zoom this winter and there will be socially distanced arrangements for collecting and returning the camera. Join a Zoom information session to find out more! It's free for residents of St Albans district to borrow the cameras.
The information sessions will start in October; see our website for more information.
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#LearningFromLockdown: Saving energy
Click on the image to download this poster!
This month's #LearningFromLockdown information poster from the Sustainable Schools Group is on the topic of Saving Energy and reducing your carbon footprint. Its aim is to generate ideas in class or at home, to encourage all of us to Learn from Lockdown and continue to take part in positive activities to support the natural environment and strengthen communities. Click here to find out more about Learning from Lockdown.
Do share your actions and pledges with us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, tag us @SustainableStAlbans and use the hashtag #LearningFromLockdown or send us an email.
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Teachers and Eco-Leads: Sustainable Schools Networking Event
Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, we are unable to run our annual Sustainable Schools training day this year. In place of this, we are running an on-line networking event via Zoom for staff teaching environmental issues and/or leading the school eco-committee. If you would like to talk to other teachers about what you have achieved in your school and hear from others to gain ideas and inspiration - this is the event for you!
The event will be on Monday November 16, 4.30 to 5.30 pm. Please register in advance; you will then receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
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It offers residents and businesses discounted solar panels district wide across St Albans, Harpenden and villages. For example, you can get a 12-panel 4 kW system installation for £4,000 (you can have a different number of panels).
- Any house or business in the district can apply
- A community fund donation of £50 for each installation goes to pay for solar for a local community project
- If 6 or more houses on one street get the installation, the community fund rises to £75 per installation – talk to your neighbours now!
As part of their Net Zero Action Plan, St Albans City & District Council is working in partnership with photovoltaic installer IDDEA Ltd to help homeowners and businesses install discounted solar panels.
- Click here to find out more and see some informative videos
- If you are interested, email for a a FREE no obligation survey
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St Albans Net Zero Action Plan
Since the Climate Crisis declaration in July 2019, the council has been working on a St Albans Net Zero Action Plan, one section of the wider Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy. Look out for the strategy, due to be published later in October: we’ll post on our social media when it’s available, and we’re planning an open meeting in November to tell you all about it. (Read our blog here about progress since the Climate Crisis declaration.)
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Catch up on our recent guest blogs
 
We've an informative essay on the journey to becoming an Eco Church, useful information for everyone interested in making their faith buildings more sustainable, written by Philip Nalpanis and Sheila Wright. And have you see our blog all about sustainable jewellery, written by local jewellery maker and passionate environmentalist Susheel Rao? You can find both of these and past blogs here.
Keep an eye out for these blogs coming up in October:
- Recycling Right, by Liz Sefton
- 20’s Plenty for St Albans, by Amanda Yorwerth of St Albans Friends of the Earth
- The Low Maintenance Food Garden, from Naomi Distill, inspiration behind St Albans’ Incredible Edible community gardens.
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Volunteer Independent Examiner wanted for our annual accounts
Could you be our Independent Examiner?
As a charity (and a CIO) that prepares its annual accounts on an accruals basis, Sustainable St Albans is required to have those accounts checked over and reported on by an Independent Examiner. The Examiner will have to follow and apply the relevant Charity Commission Standards, must be a member of one of the professional bodies listed on our website, and be independent of the Trustees.
You can view a copy of last year’s accounts here; the 2019-2020 accounts will be similar as regards both the financial scale and the design, and will be prepared by the Treasurer. If you are both willing and qualified to help us in this way, please contact our Treasurer to find out more. The work needs to be done in the latter half of October or early in November, and we are hoping that you will provide your services voluntarily, i.e. for free!
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UK Climate Assembly report and resources issued
The UK Climate Assembly has issued its findings in a landmark report from a group of representative UK citizens given access to expert reports and evidence. You can read the Executive Summary here. They have shared all the videos of the expert speakers at the Assembly here. Why not browse the videos and find one that catches your attention?
The Climate Assembly’s very first recommendation, to help the UK reach net zero, is, “Education and information: there is a need for information and education for everyone – individuals, businesses, government and others – about climate change and the steps needed to tackle it. It is essential for buy-in to the changes that are needed.” We couldn’t agree more! That’s exactly what Sustainable St Albans have been working towards, for over a decade now.
St Albans City & District Council have committed in their corporate plan to establish our own Citizens' Assembly in 2020/21.
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