Sampford Courtenay Environmental & Sustainability Group
Recycle Fashion Show and Coffee Morning
SCEnSus held a Fashion Show and Coffee Morning of Recycled Clothes donated by kind parishioners.
More lovely parishioners agreed to be a model for the night.
The result - almost £500 raised to go towards more Environmental Projects on the Village Green and a recycling of many items which will not now go to landfill.
THANK YOU TO ALL OUR SUPPORTERS.
If you were unable to attend but would like to read some of the facts about the "True Cost of Fashion" download the presentation below.
SCEnSus
Sampford Courtenay Environmental and Sustainable living group
Always aspiring to reduce our carbon footprint
SCEnsUs held its first meeting in June 2020.
The aims were agreed to -
- increase awareness of the way that our actions and lifestyles impact the world around us
- adapt aspects of our actions and lifestyles to reduce carbon emissions and other wasteful by-products
- improve communication between local people, thus facilitating the above and also fostering good community relations generally
It is just to encourage local people to ‘do their bit’ to improve the environment in and around Sampford Courtenay and facilitate sustainable living initiatives for the community. With this in mind, SCEnSus identified some priorities and below are brief summaries of the achievements so far.
SCEnSus and the local Climate Emergency Plans
Both Devon County Council and West Devon Borough Council have published their own Climate Emergency Plan - SCEnSus have used their plans to see how Sampford Courtenay can play their part in helping to save waste and carbon emissions.
We have put together a Plan which can be downloaded below - but as always we would welcome your comments on how you think individuals, SCEnSus and SCPC can help with the Climate Crisis.
CHECK OUT THIS WEBSITE AND APP TO HELP REDUCE FOOD WASTE
Join millions of neighbours all over the world who are using OLIO to share more, care more and waste less.
Give & get free stuff, borrow & lend household items, and shop homemade – all directly from your community.
Fight waste. Help your neighbours. Save our planet. Feel amazing!
Climate Change Suggestions for everybody (and every household)
It is vital that we all understand the impact we are having on the environment and the effects of climate change and to change the way we do things to make a real difference at local and global levels. The group, had identified a set of monthly suggestions to invite a community response which will have a much greater impact on the environment and climate than anything we can do individually. The idea is that each suggestion will build on the one that’s gone before so that the changes become a way of life, not just something you focus on for a month and then forget about! To try to embed those actions and make them relevant to the time of year SCEnSus are going to pull together a pool of seasonal suggestions that the community can become involved in and make a difference
Sampford Courtenay Environment and Sustainability (SCEnSus) Seasonal Suggestion – NOVEMBER
Several of us are officially ‘compost-obsessed’ and this is the right time of year to get things sorted. Making compost at home is an eco-friendly way of using kitchen and plant waste to create what many gardeners refer to as ‘black gold’. It can help your soil by helping drainage on clay soils as well as helping sandy soils retain more moisture. It contains nutrients for plant growth and encourages worm activity – all of which is good for your garden. Added to this, the wider environmental benefits of reducing landfill and the cost of transporting ‘waste’ away from your property are significant. We’ve included items here before about composting cardboard. Fallen leaves can also be added to ‘green waste’ (kitchen vegetable scraps, mown grass and garden prunings etc) to produce (in time and after the contents have reached 70C) a crumbly brown material that you can dig into your soil or put on the top to keep weeds down and moisture in during the hot Summers we’ve been having.
At this time of year you can work out the rotation of cropping in your vegetable patch to see where the compost will be most effective – use the internet to find out which areas of your garden need most compost added and the best sequence for planting crops year by year.
If you don’t have space for a compost bin then why not research having a ‘wormery’? All kinds of organic waste can be turned into a useful liquid feed for plants as well as what the worms have digested. Both can be used to enrich your soil. You can use a wormery for dog waste but, clearly, you wouldn’t want to use the results of the process on your vegetable patch – fine, though, on herbaceous borders. Interestingly, the worms in a wormery are not earthworms, they are thin red worms that process decaying organic matter. They usually just appear but you can buy them if you can’t wait for them to find their way to your bin!
A real bonus to making your own compost is not using peat based composts which are being phased out and not using the peat-free compost alternatives. Several keen gardeners in the Sampford Courtenay Parish have been asked how they’re getting on with the peat-free type and there is a very mixed response. Many praised the results they got with the sheep’s wool and bracken compost that we bought in bulk for Parishioners a couple of years ago. Nationally, professional gardeners are saying the same thing – it all depends what your peat-free compost is made from. Some types work well, some dry out too quickly and some just don’t get things growing. The results from our annual ‘Potato in a bucket’ competition would suggest that home produced compost wins hands down every time – just ask Barbara!
SCEnSus Achievements -
Supporting a horticultural peat-free Sampford Courtenay
The initiative for people to use peat-free compost was a resounding success with the supply selling out super fast. This initiative was linked to the new class in this years Produce and Flower Show encouraging entrants to use Peat-Free compost in their 'Potato's in a bucket'
Peatlands are critical to the health of the planet. Some interesting facts:
- peatland hold 70% of our UK clean drinking water and store huge amounts of carbon dioxide, mitigating flooding and providing habitats for diverse wildlife species.
- nearly 3 million cubic metres of peat a year are sold for horticultural use (66% is used by amateur gardeners).
- degraded peatlands in this country leak a million tonnes of carbon a year (2010 figures) the equivalent of 350,000 cars off the road.
With excellent alternatives available residents in this parish can work towards gardening without peat well in time for the Horticultural Peat Ban in 2030.
Members of the community are encouraged to follow the likes of Monty Don, the RHS and DEFRA guidelines and use a peat-free compost. Peat-free compost is available locally and don’t forget creating your own compost bins too.
Community hub
The group created a ‘communication hub’, developing that which was established in the parish at the start of the COVID. Providing information networks both virtually and through information boards set up at key locations across the Parish. The aim supports those who live and work locally to be more in touch with each other. To provide support in the form of sharing car trips, shopping collections and various events to encourage swapping or selling items no longer needed continuing the SCEnSus theme to Reduce, Recycle & Reuse.
Waste and litter
Supporting the Keep Britain Tidy volunteers took part in a Cleanup around the Parish
SCEnSus acknowledges that the best and most straightforward way to help our society as a whole to manage waste effectively is to recycle as much as possible via kerbside collections. Food waste should always be put in the appropriate bin rather than in a black sack.
We would also like to engage with all in the community so that we can support a parish-wide effort to keep problems with litter and fly-tipping to a minimum. This can be done in the following ways:
1 Reporting incidents of significant litter or tipping at https://apps.westdevon.gov.uk/webreportit or by calling 01822 813600. This should result in investigation and/or clearance of the offending items.
2 Organising ‘litter picking’ locally by arranging ‘clear-up’ days once or twice a year. In addition, supporting volunteers in an ongoing programme of litter picking in their area. PLEASE READ OUR LITTER PICKING RISK ASSESSMENT BELOW.
3 Local young people could be asked to design a litter poster. This would hopefully raise interest and result in eye-catching designs.
Other SCEnSus Priorities -
To create an outside community space that encourages biodiversity
Your ideas for the Village Green.
- Wild Flower Area
- Bulb Planting
- Bug Hotel
- Performance Area
- Central Play Area
- Fruit Trees
Take a look at the Action Plan below and see how you can get involved.
Reduction of reliance on regular vehicle use where avoidable
Car use and car sharing/electric vehicle charging points
The pandemic restrictions did restrict a ‘car sharing’ scheme. However as we come out of lockdown we intend to develop, through community consultation, a sharing scheme and this will need to be a simple (keyboard) click or telephone call away. We all need to be very mindful of our vehicle use given that the latest Government figures show that transport is by far the highest emitter of carbon into the atmosphere (at nearly 30%). We should therefore all play our part by reducing our vehicle usage, especially short trips under 5 miles, which emit the most greenhouse gases.
As the local use of electric cars (e-v) and electric bicycles (e-bikes) rises we shall find the ways and means to install, around the parish area, charging points for these four- and two-wheeled vehicles
Link to Devon County Council Car Share Scheme
Link to Devon Cycle Routes and Maps
In addition SCEnSus can support the new Dartmoor Line Working Group to ensure that all viable options for the Train Station at Sampford Courtenay to re-open are pursued and that effective public transport networks are in place to maximise the use of the new rail link to Exeter.
Local Liaison
Proactive and stimulating dialogue between local communities, including working together to raise awareness and arrange workshops, talks and other initiatives is the most effective way to maximise local awareness of environmental and sustainability issues by working with other local like-minded groups and organisations
Useful links
DPD - Clean, Green, Delivery -
Check out how DPD are aiming to reduce their carbon footprint while delivering all the parcels you order online.https://green.dpd.co.uk/#eco
Don't let Devon go to waste - https://www.recycledevon.org/
Lots of good ideas of how to REDUCE, REUSE AND RECYCLE - take a look at the website and sign up for their Newsletter.
Devon Bus App
Check times of local buses, plan your journey and even find out how "busy" your bus is with this app
https://www.stagecoachbus.com/promos-and-offers/national/stagecoachbusa…
Renewable Heat Incentive - grants for Hot Water and Central Heating pumps
https://www.gov.uk/domestic-renewable-heat-incentive
Green Deal - home insulation grants
https://www.gov.uk/green-deal-energy-saving-measures
Greener Homes Grants
In September, the Government will be launching its new Green Homes Grant aimed at helping us to ensure our houses are as energy efficient as possible.
Vouchers for up to £5,000 (or £10,000 for low-income households) will be available to those eligible.
Follow the link below to find out more:
Solar Together
The Devon Climate Emergency team has put together a scheme whereby residents can get together to buy solar panels at a lower price than is usually possible.
If you might be interested and would like to find out more, you can register at www.solartogether.co.uk/devon/home. There is no obligation to buy as a result of registering.
West Devon Action on Climate Change
SCEnSus aims to link in with the wider area re Action for Climate Change and members of the West Devon Group already attend our meetings. See what else they are doing.
Link to West Devon Action for Climate Change
Food miles Calculator
Refreshing the Countryside Code
Natural England is embarking on an updating of the Countryside Code, in part in reaction to the increase in numbers of people looking to the countryside for leisure as a result of COVID.
It would like to hear what you think is important to include in the new code and has produced a survey.
Please visit https://defragroup.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9sosQ0YlnPyfv3T to give your views.
Also available to download below is the Countryside Code Leaflet where you'll find more information and advise when out and about in the countryside.
Thank you.