TREES GLORIOUS TREES

You may remember that last year we were able to plant new trees: along the bypass and around the playground. They are all doing okay but, being young, they need some love and attention. April Totham noticed that grass is growing around their base, and that grass takes water and nutrients away from the trees, which they really need at this early stage of their lives. So she came up with a brilliant idea

ADOPT A TREE

Would you like to adopt one of our young trees and just keep an eye on it? Clear any grass, make sure that, if it hasn’t rained for awhile, it gets a drink and ask for help if you think it’s poorly. It’s not a lot of work, it could be fun and educational for your young ones too.

If you would like to adopt a tree, please email FarringtonGreen.

Trees will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis, so the earlier you respond, the more choice you have. If we have too many volunteers, late arrivals will be put on a waiting list; they’ll get a tree when we plant more or when existing volunteers need a break.

Trees beautify our village and clean our air, making Farrington Gurney a healthier place to live. Let’s give them a helping hand!

DO YOU KNOW YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT?

A carbon footprint is a rough measurement of how much CO2 we generate in our daily lives.

To get to net zero, it’s helpful to know where we start.

There are lots of carbon calculators online, some for businesses, some for communities and some for individuals.

The University of Exeter has developed a calculator for British parishes. It draws on more than 30 datasets to estimate the total amount of greenhouse gases (measured in tonnes per year) produced directly and indirectly as a result of everyday human activities in the parish: heating homes, using electricity, transport, producing and distributing food, disposing of waste, etc. Here is what they found for our village

You can find a full report on Farrington Gurney’s carbon footprint here but if you want to estimate how much of the village’s carbon footprint is yours, try an individual calculator:

INDIVIDUAL CARBON CALCULATORS

Here are 2 calculators that come from trusted non-profit organizations.

Bear in mind that these are estimates, guides to how we might start to reach the national target of 2.5 tonnes per person per year.

 

WorldWildlifeFund – This is highly regarded and doesn’t require that you plough through years of energy bills.

ClimateHero  This is quite user-friendly and analyzes your information to produce useful recommendations about how you can reduce your carbon footprint.

CARBON OFFSETTING

It’s hard to change the way we live overnight. So one thing that companies and individuals have started to do is carbon offsetting. This is a way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to make up for those we can’t change (yet.) Another way to think about it is that, while we need to stop doing harm to the planet, we also need to start restoring it.

 

Of course offsets are tricky to calculate and to validate. And there has been a lot of greenwashing: projects that pretend to be doing good when in fact they do nothing, or worse, for the climate. Here are some principles to follow

(This graphic illustrates FG with the chemical illustration of carbon rings, for the scientists in the village.)

Offsets want to be

  • VERIFIED by credible 3rd party organizations

  • IMMEDIATE The time gap between buying the offset and the action taken to remove carbon should be minimal

  • ACCURATE Offset providers should convert the warming impact of all the greenhouse gasses into CO2 terms

  • ADDITIONAL The offsets should do something that would not have been done otherwise

  • PERMANENT The greenhouse gases removed stay out of the atmosphere forever

  • CO-BENEFICIAL The offset should be achieved in ways that don’t harm the local community where they take place

FarringtonGreen has consulted trusted experts on this topic and is pleased to share our first recommendation.

MOSSY EARTH  This is a project (or series of projects) which aims to restore biodiversity. The projects involve reforestation, rewilding and species protection. There is a great emphasis on transparency (giving you the tools to understand and critique what they are doing) and working only with companies that have the same ethos. Mossy Earth is a subscription-based community, so you get a monthly update on their activities as well as a running account of what has been done with your subscription money.  Quite a good way to get your kids involved in the environment too.

 

Please let us know if you come across others that you think we should recommend.

COMING SOON

 

Another LITTER PICK in the summer

A HEATING AND INSULATION festival in October to help us all reduce our heating bills, saving money and saving the planet.