On November 12, the village hall was full of Farrington Greeners who came to hear about the University of Bath’s climate change project in our village.
The University calls this a Vertically Integrated Project (because it takes in student volunteers from every discipline) but we like to think of it as our Very Important Project. After all, what could matter more than the future of our home?
Divided into 5 subject areas, students presented their thoughts on
Biodiversity: The UK has lost almost half of its biodiversity, a number far above the global average of 25%. What can we do to protect and then restore the rich natural wildlife of our countryside?
Transport: The largest emitter of greenhouse gases, transportation needs to change. And, for the most part, it isn’t. Emissions from travel have gone down just 2% since 1990. So what can we do to change our transportation habits and to influence local and national policy? A new attempt to build a cycle path between FG and Midsomer Norton was announced.
Energy: Since 1990, emissions from energy consumption have fallen steeply but burning fossil fuels to heat houses and to make things is still a major source of carbon emissions in the UK. So we need to find more and better ways to use less – and to generate energy that is cleaner. What are the new technologies and habits that can help us progress, and how do we put them to good use?
Consumption: The more we consume, the more of the earth’s bounty we remove. Nearly 1/3 of the world’s food goes to waste and we buy more of everything than we need. Recycling is helpful but it also consumes energy. The better pattern? The three Rs: Refuse, Reuse, Recycle.
Buildings: All our buildings need to be insulated so we use less energy in the first place. Passive houses use energy sources inside the building such as the body heat from the residents or solar heat entering the building – making heating far easier on the environment. But what about existing buildings? How can we retrofit insulation so we aren’t burning energy that goes out the windows and through the walls?
Lots of great questions and suggestions followed and the room was full of its own energy: to make progress on a burning issue. All the questions, comments and suggestions left on Post-Its on the tables were collected and are part of the VIP project. That so many people attended the meeting was ample evidence that working together as a community is possible and essential and there was huge optimism that, together, we can make a huge impact on a village we can be even prouder of.
What are the next steps?
The students are now going to design a survey, asking residents to provide as much information as possible on their consumption and habits.
This will be sent to all residents in an online version and a paper version. In addition, the VIP team would like to interview willing volunteers about how we live and what changes we would most eagerly embrace. It is expected that this research will start in January 2021. All data will be kept securely and used for this project only.
On the basis of the survey results, the VIP team will then start putting together a plan of options and choices for everyone to consider. The room was full of people wanting to act now – and it’s the VIP’s mission to provide as many recommendations for practical change as possible.
What can you do now?
· Please encourage your friends and neighbours to subscribe to this newsletter. Forward the email notice or just send them a link. This is the best, fastest and cheapest way to keep everybody informed.
· Please email green.farrington@gmail.com if you are willing to be interviewed for the survey.
· Please email green.farrington@gmail.com if you have professional expertise in any of the 5 topics and want to assist the VIP team.
· Please email green.farrington@gmail.com if you’d like to be invited to occasional meetings in the village with members of the team who’d like to know more.
· And please remember: this website and newsletter is produced by volunteers – and we need more! So if you have information or ideas that would help us or would like to write an article, please email green.farrington@gmail.com
Special thanks to Mike Hedges, Emily Wellman, leafleteers Lindsay, Tom and Melin and the great people at The Farrington Inn.
Mark Cassidy loves Farrington Gurney
Mark lived in Manor Close for a few years, moved away – but then came back again. After 15 years, he knows the village well. And as the Tree and Woodland manager for B&NES, he is always on the lookout for ways to make it greener.
“My first memory of a tree was being mesmerised by the beauty of a flowering cherry tree when I was in the infants school,” he says. “I always had grandparents that loved nature so I think I got it from them.”
Like the rest of us, Mark is saddened by all the trees lost to ash dieback recently. Somerset has been the worst hit region in England – and within Somerset, Mendip has had the largest number of casualties. But where we might see dead wood, he sees something much more exciting.
“There’s a party going on in all those tree stumps. All kinds of life – brackets and bugs and insects that feed birds and mammals.” Dead wood may look useless but it isn’t; slowly releasing nutrients into the soil, it feeds all the plants nearby, stores carbon and can make the soil more stable.
Naturally, Mark thinks about the impact of climate change a lot. “We know the news is full of bad stories about the climate. And the problem is that it makes people feel hopeless,” he worries. “But there is so much that we can do, right now. And the more we do, the more hopeful we feel – and then we can do more. Not just as individuals, but as a community.”
Mark foresees a future in which the need for change draws us all together. “We will have to look out after each other more. To do our Christmas shopping, why not lift share? Or: I’ve bought a load of tomatoes – why don’t we swap? Or hand some out down the street. I can’t foresee the future, but in time people will have to behave differently and more frugally – more of a make-do-and-mend world. I see things becoming simpler. Shopping locally, cycling. We are probably seeing what the future could be.”
Mark and his wife Helen start preparing for Christmas early, because they like to make the most of their decorations and their gifts. It’s a bit of a family tradition.
“ My dad is very frugal,” Mark says, laughing. “So I’ll fill a hamper of things he likes and things I’ve made. Sloe gin. I make Christmas cakes and biscuits.” Helen likes sewing, so she’s made garden kneelers, stuffed with old sheets or towels or all the packaging that comes with online shopping. “And we always make our own wreath; the base lasts year after year and we just weave in the colour – so we have had the same base now for 10 years!”
(It’s worth noting that Rachel Morley is running a wreath-making workshop on December 10 at the village hall. If you’re interested, email her: rach.morley@me.com)
Wreaths don’t seem that daunting – but what about the big question: does Mark’s family buy a Christmas tree? “No,” he laughs. “No, we don’t.” But he knows that lots of people love their Christmas trees. So what are the alternatives?
“Well the hierarchy should be: 1. Don’t buy a tree. 2. Make your own with twigs and branches. Or 3: Put one in a pot in the garden and bring it in each year. If you buy one that’s already in a pot, it’s probably only about 5 years old, so it’s hardly grown. So keep pruning it to have a nice compact, branchy shape. Any kind of conifer would do.” And these days, you can even rent Christmas trees, bringing them home to celebrate – and then taking them back where they can go back to growing and trapping carbon.
But in the battle against climate change, what really makes the difference? For Mark, it’s the community working together, for the common good.
“My motive for work is public good. When I’m meeting people and talking about trees,” he says, “I’m not working as an individual but for the whole community. It’s the community that pays my wages, so I work for that. For clean air. For a sustainable planet – for the stuff we all need and all benefit from.”
Mark’s energy is contagious – and he’s brilliant at explaining how trees grow; a birch tree, he says, is like a wine glass, its shallow roots spreading around far from the trunk to keep it stable. He’s optimistic about the Forest of Avon project’s plan to plant 500,000 trees, connecting the Mendips with the Cotswolds. And he’s excited by the energy and potential of Farrington Green. “So many people in Farrington Gurney already do all kinds of things – repairing the playground, picking up litter, tidying the churchyard – for no other reason than because they want to make sure the community functions. People would do more, I think, if they felt it was appreciated. And knew how much fun it can be. There is so much we more we can do….”
WECA (West of England Combined Authority) is holding a consultation on the heated topic of transportation
This is hugely important — for air quality, for our carbon footprint. WECA tends to be dominated by Bristol and Bath, so it’s vital that they hear from villages like ours. Please complete the survey and make your views known. The decision made now will have consequences for all of us, our children and their children.
Here are the links:
Survey
https://travelwest.info/projects/improvements-on-the-a37-and-a367
consultation@westofengland-ca.gov.uk
Survey closes 5pm, Sunday 19 December
If you would like a paper copy of the survey call 07436 601899, and leave your name, address and request on the answerphone, or use the email link above
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EARTHSHOT
How to Save Our Planet
Prince William writes that our gravest danger is despair – that people will just feel overwhelmed and confused by the complexity of the crisis. But his greatest hope is the optimism and energy of people who refuse to give up. Which is, of course what Farrington Green and the VIP are all about.
The book is blissfully free of jargon; clearly a lot of effort has been made to make it a good, clear read. It looks at the 5 areas that need to be addressed: restoring nature, reviving the oceans, cleaning the air, eliminating waste and fixing the climate. And it’s full of stories of people making real progress all over the world. They aren’t all famous people in big institutions either – they’re ordinary people and communities (just like ours) that just refuse to take the lazy option of despair. Here are individuals who won’t stand by and be passive but are eager to make a better future for themselves, their children and all of us.
A hopeful Christmas present, full of inspiration for the years ahead.
3 Rs
REFUSE – don’t buy anything that is unnecessarily packaged in plastic. If you can’t do that, then
REUSE – find ways to use the plastic bottles and boxes your goods came in. If you can’t do that, then
RECYCLE – so the raw materials don’t go to waste.
Congratulation to the kids and parents who raised money to improve the BMX track. They started with a goal of £1000 - and reached it within a week. So now they are aiming higher - to cover costs for repairs. You can make you donations here
TIPS FOR A GREEN CHRISTMAS
CANDLES: Soya candles last 2 – 3 times longer than wax candles. And they burn more cleanly, without soot and particulates. Soy is biodregradable, unlike wax, which is made from petrochemicals.
DON’T buy wrapping paper! Almost all Christmas wrapping paper is impregnated with plastic, so B&NES won’t recycle it. Use reusable gift bags, or fabric, or newspaper: choose the right page with just the story for your gift’s recipients!
Party Going? Rent a party dress. Wear something nobody has seen you in before! Lots of glamourous online options for a new look in the new year.
Stay away from oasis! It’s non-biodegradable, non-recyclable, toxic for animals and humans – and uses the same amount of plastic as 10 carrier bags. Which is why the Royal Horticultural Society has banned it.
Less, better: Consider buying fewer, but more meaningful, gifts. Buy experiences instead of things. Here’s a great idea from Andrew Wainwright, part of the VIP team: Buy a guided wildlife walk in Somerset and learn what to look out for in our county.
Want to make Christmas last longer? Hide the presents around the house. It isn’t just Easter eggs that make a treasure hunt.
Bulk buy and Repackage: At the Great Wine Company, they sold big cans of outstanding olive oil to a customer who explained that he planned to pour it into smaller bottles and give them as presents.
Wrapping up…
Is a plastic-free Christmas even possible? It’s hard to tell - but a noble ambition that just got easier. Sellotape now comes plastic-free. It’s made from cellulose and naturally based glue, and they say it is 50% stickier and 20% stronger than its competitors. Which means using less.