We will be setting up a stall at this event on Saturday August 26th in Courtenay Park and would love to see you there. Both Wildlife Wardens and Carbon Cutters will be there with a range of exhibits, games and a quiz so come and test your knowledge, or just to chat.
Interested in lending a hand?
We are looking for people who are keen to take action on climate change by helping out at events we run or attend. This could include suggesting marketing messages we can send out, or talking to and/or listening to people. We plan to set up a group of willing helpers who will inspire each other! Please note you don’t need to be an expert, just passionate about taking action on climate change.
Visit us at our stand on Saturday if you’d like to know more, or if you can’t get to that, please contact Kate.
Can you paint, write, dance, make music or sing?
We ‘d like to meet you! We aim to form a creative community group within ACT focused on inspiring more people to take action on climate change. Art in all its forms speaks to us in a different way from facts and figures. We need to communicate the urgency of acting on the climate and ecological emergency in every way possible. So if you have any artistic talents, or know someone who does, please contact Kate for more information.
ACT events at Christow Village Hall
We were delighted to welcome ACT members in June to a packed evening featuring two events. We started with a storytelling session, with panellists telling their stories of how the climate and ecological emergency affects them before everyone was invited to contribute. This was followed by a discussion on how to tackle the issue of water pollution, featuring three speakers.
Welcome to Janine Peyre, an enthusiastic Carbon Cutter!
Janine is one of our recent Carbon Cutter recruits and has got off to a flying start by engaging family and friends in helping to reduce carbon emissions. She hopes to begin engaging the public on a regular basis at a venue in Teignmouth in the autumn. Read all about Janine here.
Energy Group
Monthly meetings continue. Here’s a link to the notes from the last meeting. Topics covered include retrofit, offsetting and greenwashing, and home batteries.
Wildlife Wardens
Read the latest newsletter to find out what Wildlife Wardens have been doing. Activities include:
We are reviewing our arrangements with the council following the local elections in May. The new administration is settling in and we will continue to support them in taking action on the climate and ecological emergency as we have for the past four years, but the liaison strategy may change.
Economy Group
This group has been revitalised recently. Its main aim is to bring 20th century thinking about economics, and its addiction to GDP and profit growth, into the hot light of the 21st century, in which we need economies that enable all people to thrive and prosper within the means of the planet and nature. Find out more here.
Carbon capture and storage: fact or fantasy?
The UK government has committed to a big expansion of carbon capture and storage (CCS), along with plans for more oil and gas drilling in the North Sea. Using CCS is a prerequisite of expanding fossil fuel extraction if the UK is to stick to its target of reaching net zero by 2050.
The government will spend £20bn over 20 years to support the establishment of two CCS clusters by 2025, and a further two by 2030. The aim is to capture 20-30 megatons (Mt) of carbon dioxide (CO2) a year and store it under the North Sea.
ACT’sStorytelling Event on 24th June, attended by around 40 ACT members, was quite a change from typical ACT events, which focus on the facts and figures of climate science and carbon emissions. Many people can’t or won’t engage with the science so we wanted to find other ways of communicating, and of connecting with each other’s feelings and experiences. We thought storytelling might help people understand the need for carbon cutting.
Three panellists set the scene with their personal stories of why and how the climate and ecological emergency affects them, then everyone present was invited to contribute their own stories and connections.
We heard beautiful memories of the vitality of wildlife, worries about the survival of future generations, and about hope generated by action. There was also uncertainty about how to talk with friends and family who don’t understand climate harm, feelings of betrayal by adults who fail to support young people who want change, and inspiration from role models who lead the way. And these were just some of the topics we touched on.
We concluded by pulling together some of the common threads and weaving them into our knowledge of the psychological science of effective climate communication before the panellists offered their final reflections.
One comment at the end maybe summed up the feelings of many of us, calling for more “passionate leadership” to tackle the challenges we face.
We will use the feedback from those attending to consider how to follow up.
Water Quality Event
The mermaid takes centre stage at an XR protest in Dawlish
This event featured several presentations followed by a discussion on what can be done to improve the water quality of our rivers and estuaries, how we can work together, and plans for the future, writes Betina Winkler.
Anna Seal from the West Country Rivers Trust talked about how the Trust started, gave an overview of the areas it works in, and explained its citizen science investigation project, which covers rivers all over the South West region. For more information visit: https://wrt.org.uk/westcountry-csi/
David Leach of the Dartmoor Peatland Restoration Project explained how peat is formed, where we find the peatland areas in Dartmoor and the extent of degradation. The South West Peatland Partnership has projects in Exmoor and Dartmoor. Rachel Land talked about upcoming volunteering opportunities. Emma Magee, South Devon Catchment Coordinator for the Environment Agency, is responsible for delivering the EA’s environment programme within South Devon. She provided some links from her presentation:
Janine joined ACT’s Carbon Cutters group to help others understand what individuals can do to cut their carbon emissions.
Janine says: “The topic is very urgent and doing the ACT training course inspired me to help spread the message. I am learning things myself on a daily basis and have spoken to friends, family, neighbours and acquaintances about reducing their carbon emissions. What I like to pass on to my parish is ‘awareness’, so every one of us is prepared to think about what our actions mean to our planet and what we can all do to try and rectify any damage caused by these actions.”
Janine has been aware of her own carbon impact for some time and limits it by cycling or taking the bus when possible, driving a second hand electric car and using coach companies for holidays. She has reduced her heating costs by insulating her home, and has installed solar panels and storage batteries.
Janine says: “The thing I feel has most cut my own carbon footprint is to try and upcycle and re-use as well as reduce my own consumption. I buy second hand, and repair appliances if possible and find out the source of goods, as much as I can, before purchase. I think about my meat and fish intake, which is now nearly at vegetarian level, and I grow fruit and some vegetables in my insect friendly garden. I also keep bees and recycle rainwater where I can.
“I would recommend to everyone to become a carbon cutter to make life more bearable for the next generation and generations to come, so they can leave a better legacy for the planet than my generation.”
Hello fellow Carbon Cutters, I’m Scott Williams , your new coordinator, and I’m here to help.
Firstly a bit about me. I’ve been aware of the problems created by our burning of greenhouse gases for some time, since the call to ban CFCs, and have been trying to reduce my carbon and ecological impact and leave no trace. I picked up a copy of ‘This Is Not A Drill: An Extinction Rebellion Handbook’ and joined Action on Climate in Teignbridge, signing up as a Wildlife Warden. I am the founder of Turn The Tide Festival alongside Dave Hutton. In serendipity that same year ACT launched the Carbon Cutters project aiming to help communities across Teignbridge find sustainable ways to reduce their carbon footprint.
I’m also responsible for Reconnect Magazine, where we regularly provide local examples of carbon reduction, and champion reduce, repair and recycle.
Carbon Cutters can be change makers
It’s time to visualise a ‘net zero’ future, and how we might co-create that. I see Carbon Cutters as change makers, offering those seeking our help the opportunity to really imagine what life will be like, and offer possible pathways to get there.
A practical place we can start is by supporting local projects that already exist, or importing good ideas, and creating the conditions for low carbon ecosystems. We can educate and empower our young people with the knowledge and expertise they’ll need in the coming decades. We can work with local councils to provide enabling resources, and helpful policy and intentions that inspire our communities.
As your Carbon Cutter Coordinator, I’m here to help you focus on promoting the ideas and actions that offer the easiest way to reduce emissions. We can help an individual (or organisation) find for themselves the best direct action they can take, doing things within their control.
I see my role as a signpost, a community notice board, and an information centre. To signpost how to build resilience and community resource security. To find things to do, to celebrate what’s been achieved and to give everyone access to the information and advice they need to determine how best they can be empowered to cut their carbon footprint. If I can’t find the solutions to questions then our network can. Together we can share ideas, knowledge and cooperate on initiatives.
There’s a wealth of things those in our community wanting to bring about a change for the better are doing, I feel we just need to highlight them more. To do that I’d like to know about them, no matter how small or wacky. As Coordinator I hope to spread ideas and activities, and help community involvement in them. Once I’ve found my feet, I’m hoping to initialise a few new Carbon Cutters projects. In the meantime please let me know what you have done, are doing, and hope to do. I’d love to hear your ideas.
Training
Our next set of Carbon Cutters Training will take place over four sessions (the first one being an introduction) and we are set to start shortly. Please send anyone interested in getting on board my contact details: email scott@actionclimateteignbridge.org.
At the bottom of the piece there’s a link to the Net Zero Vision book, edited by David Sergeant and Emma Whittaker. This is a collection of essays by transition experts on key sectors of the Devon Carbon Plan’ in which Jay Tompt’s article first appeared.
Happenings
Dawlish will be celebrating the King’s Big Help Out as part of the coronation on 8th May with their Refreshers Fair which offers a chance for attendees to find out about volunteering locally and has over 20 organisations attending, including ours.
This year’s Big Green Week will be happening from 10th-18th June. I’m not aware of any specific things happening in Teignbridge – if you know of something please let me know.
A storytelling event has been organised by ACT for 26th June, 6-9pm at the Courtenay Centre (home to Newton Abbot’s first community fridge). The event is a pilot. The idea is that storytelling is an important way humans communicate. The actions we need to take and the understandings we have need to be personal, practical and perceptible. People from ACT will talk about how it felt for them to engage in climate action and the audience will share their stories, and have a reflective conversation about the stories they’ve heard.
Thank you to our sponsors
Lastly I would like to thank our sponsors Teign Energy Communities TECs for their support.
Welcome! It’s been a while since we updated you on ACT’s activities. That’s because we’ve been busy running our existing projects and setting up new ones. We’re sure there’s lots more we could do with your help, and we’re compiling a list of the skills, roles and support we need to take on even more projects.
We have also decided we need a stronger focus on communicating with members, so will aim to keep you informed on a more regular basis. Some of you will receive updates from the topic groups you belong to, but may have little knowledge of what else ACT does. We discovered this was the case at our Members Gathering, held in the autumn and pictured below. Thanks to all who attended. Read on for a sample of what we’ve been doing recently.
Teignbridge Carbon Cutters
We launched this group a year ago, aiming to train up volunteers so they can help their communities reduce their carbon emissions. We have run three training courses, attended by 19 people. If you’re interested in the idea of making carbon reduction happen in your community we would love to hear from you. Visit the Facebook page or the Carbon Cutters website to find out more or contact the Carbon Cutters coordinator.
Steering Group takes over!
This is the group that takes an overview of all our activities. It was previously known as the Coordinating Group but the name was changed following a review of ACT’s purpose and aims. The group’s most immediate focus is on putting together a response to the draft Local Plan, which is open for consultation until March 13th.
It is not clear how the policy relates to the government’s Carbon Budgets;
There is no requirement to reduce, or even state, the embodied emissions of a development as the policy only covers operational emissions;
There is too much allowance for using offsetting to reach net zero operational emissions.
We will propose changes to the policy in our response.
The steering group is also creating a list of areas where extra help is needed within ACT. This might be helping out in an existing project area, filling a gap we’re already aware of, beginning a new interest group or shadowing someone. All roles within ACT are voluntary, and many of us are not experts. Our effectiveness and impact is likely to be much improved with more hands on deck! If you would like to find out more, contact Kate, ACT’s chairperson.
Another initiative is to invite new members of ACT to a welcome meeting so we can get to know each other. We have held a number of these already and they are working well. If you would like to attend a welcome meeting to find out more about what we do and how you might help, contact Kate.
Energy Group
This group holds meetings every four weeks to discuss whatever topics those who attend want to talk about. It has also held several “at home” sessions in members’ houses to inspect and discuss the energy efficiency / carbon reduction measures taken by those members. Some members also provide input to the Carbon Action Plan that Teignbridge District Council is working on. In particular, they are updating ACT’s Carbon Footprint Tracker to make it more user friendly so it can be included in the plan. For more information on the energy group visit the website or contact Fuad.
Public Engagement Group
This group has a new focus on engaging with ACT members in a bid to increase their active involvement. We’ve taken a first step by contacting everyone who indicated an interest in Public Engagement when they joined ACT. We will continue to produce content for the website and for other media whenever we can and would love to hear from anyone who has something to say about climate change or biodiversity, or wants to share information about relevant groups and activities they are involved with.
We also continue to be involved in local events organised by other community groups such as
Turn the Tide and the Great Big Green Week. If you would like to help with an event or to share your views on environmental issues, contact Pauline.
Teignbridge Wildlife Wardens
The Wildlife Warden scheme has been running since autumn 2020 and held a celebration in January (pictured below) to mark its success, and to say goodbye to scheme coordinator Flavio.
There are now more than 100 Wildlife Wardens, involved in lots of different projects. One project has achieved great results: the Devon Biodiversity Records Centre (DBRC) is registering three new County Wildlife Sites as a result of work by Wildlife Warden surveying teams. Two of the sites are meadows beside the River Teign, and the third is Blackley Wood in Trusham. DBRC has been in touch about some more possible sites for this spring/summer. Visit the website to find out more.
Economy Group
Formally known as “Economy and Business” this group has been on ice for a while, but we feel it’s time people are made aware of how our outdated economic system is not only the driving force behind the climate and ecological crisis but is the last thing we should be using to get us out of it.
The group will explore and promote the work of 21st century economists offering new ideas, and provide guidance to ACT’s wider audience without the smoke, mirrors and myths employed by those wishing to maintain the status quo. Check out the Facebook page and future newsletters for updates and contact Paul with any thoughts and suggestions.
4Fs Group, covering Farming, Food, Forestry and Fisheries
This group’s main focus has been on farming, as there is a lot of uncertainty linked to the change in farming subsidies. We have run a series of events for local farmers on regenerative agriculture, giving them an opportunity to discuss new ideas and exchange knowledge. We hope to run a couple more.
The food sub-grouphas been looking for ways to encourage local people and organisations to buy local food. We would like to establish links to schools and other ‘buying groups’, enhance the provision of local food markets and foster discussions with the public about local food.
The forestry sub-group hasn’t been active recently, but there are lots of tree planting schemes happening. If you are interested please look into Park Life SW events.
The fisheries sub-group is involved in the West Country Rivers Trust and River Teign Restoration Project citizen science projects to measure water quality in different river catchments. Members have also taken part in consultations about the dredging of the Exmouth Marina and we hope to organise a meeting about the restoration of seagrass beds in our estuaries.
To find out more about 4Fs or get involved please contact Betina.
Liaison with Teignbridge District Council
ACT was originally set up to support TDC after it made its Climate Emergency declaration in 2019, and has met with relevant councillors and officers on a monthly basis from the outset. The meetings alternate between climate issues and ecological issues, with a presentation at each, usually by a council officer.The most recent presentation was on the progress of TDC’s Carbon Action Plan. In the summer of 2022, we met at Teignmouth Lido to see progress on the installation of heat pumps and solar panels (pictured).
Liaison with other groups
ACT keeps in contact with other groups so we can work together to address the climate and ecological emergency.
ACT attended a protest gathering about River Teign Pollution held on 28th January. This was a joint Community Action with many groups among the 200+ people who were present. A blue plaque in the style of English Heritage was one of around 90 such plaques unveiled around the country calling out local MPs who voted against protection for rivers.
Coming up: The Big One Protest. A mass action and “Movement of Movements” is planned for 21st-24th April in London. The intention is to hold a peaceful gathering of around 100,000 people around the Houses of Parliament. The aim is to achieve a ‘critical mass’ creating a moment that is impossible for politicians to ignore. All major environmental and climate concerned groups will be represented and minor ones too! A number of local people will be attending. Please get in touch with Mandy Cole if you want to join up with them. You will have to arrange your own transport and accommodation, although there may be coaches going from Exeter/Totnes.
Women’s Institute: We are working with the regional WI on a variety of projects and linking up with their climate ambassadors.
If you have any spare time and would like to get involved in our activities please let us know.
Teignbridge Wildlife Wardens enjoyed their first Big Gathering on January 29th, as 50 of the 100 plus team of wardens came together in the Teign Valley, writes Scott Williams. They convened at Oxen Park Farm, Higher Ashton, on a cold Saturday morning.
The venue is the location for Teign Greens, local food growers, and On the Hill Camp, a great organisation that educates school groups, universities, adults and families to live healthily and in harmony with nature.
This was the first time the Wildlife Wardens had had a chance to come together since the scheme was set up more than two years ago, so it was a happy occasion. However, the gathering’s mood was slightly tempered as it was also an opportunity for the wardens to say farewell to Flavio Winkler Ford, the scheme’s co-ordinator, who is moving on to a job in Scotland.
Flavio said: “We never managed to celebrate the two-year anniversary of the Wildlife Warden Scheme in October, so we organised a big gathering in January. There is a lot to celebrate! We now have over 100 Wildlife Wardens, and we are really proud of everything that you have achieved.
“Audrey was awarded Radio Devon’s Make a Difference Award for her work on the WW Scheme, and the Devon Local Nature Partnership awarded the Teignbridge Wildlife Wardens the ‘Special Award’ at their Community Wildlife Awards evening. Ogwild and Exminster Green Spaces also won awards. Well done everyone! Your hard work is being recognised.”
Host for the day, Jo Clark, made everyone welcome as they gathered in one of Oxen Park’s spacious rooms. ACT’s Audrey Compton spoke briefly about hedges and the new ones that she and John had planted last summer at their Teign Valley farm, and managed to keep alive in the drought.
Audrey had also invited two interesting speakers to further the group’s hedge and tree knowledge. First up was Shira Rub, a Wildlife Warden from Ashton, who spoke about her work surveying hedgerows. Then Dominic Scanlon spoke about trees and hedges. Dom works for Aspect Tree Consultancy and has also worked for Teignbridge District Council. He spoke about the importance of trees and hedges, and planting new ones, as well as legislation such as Tree Preservation Orders.
There was then a moment to thank Flavio for all his great work in the last few years and wish him all the best in his new role.
After a delicious homemade hot soup, there was an opportunity to enjoy a tour of Oxen Park Farm with Jo and Dom to see the ponds, a charcoal maker (Jo brought it from nearby Embercombe), new fencing, not to mention some beautiful countryside.
The farm has thousands of new tree plantings, and the group learnt about the problems of local deer who like eating new saplings. They also heard about and inspected old deer park walls, found an ancient oak and saw the new orchard – word is the inaugural Wassail will be next year!
The venue proved to be a perfect location for the gathering, and the range of homemade cakes the Wardens contributed were well received. The first Big Gathering was a great success and it’s hoped it will now (at last) become an annual event.
The Wildlife Warden Scheme is run by Action on Climate in Teignbridge’s (ACT) Ecology Group, supported by Teignbridge District Council, Devon Wildlife Trust, the Woodland Trust and Devon Biodiversity Record Centre. Founded just before the pandemic the volunteer, parish-based, Wildlife Warden Scheme was started to help our wildlife survive and thrive and to mitigate the Ecological and Climate Emergency.
Scott Williams is a Dawlish Wildlife Warden and publisher of Reconnect magazine
Teignbridge District Council’s draft Local Planis open for comment until noon on Monday March 13th. The plan details ‘how’ and ‘where’ proposed new housing and employment related development will take place in the district until 2040. It includes site allocations for housing, employment and wind turbines. The sites included are additional to those already allocated under the existing Local Plan.
This is the final version of the plan after several previous consultations. After the consultation closes there will be a public examination hearing held by an independent planning inspector.
If you wish to respond to the consultation it is advisable to watch the explanatory video. To read the whole plan, click on the Proposed Submission. For a shorter read, go to the Need To Know Guide. Note that when you are ready to respond, you have to scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the Start button.
You can comment on specific aspects of the plan, the whole plan, other consultation documents or supporting evidence. There are sections on climate change and the environment that lay out the proposed policies on these issues.
In brief
The plan allows for 4,560 new homes.
This is additional to the 7,969 already committed toin the existing Local Plan.
About 65 hectares are allocated for employment sites.
There are 10 sites for wind turbine development, which the plan says could generate 15% of the district’s electricity supply.
Quite a lot of land has been identified as potentially suitable for installing ground-mounted solar photovoltaic panels.
Most of the homes will be built in or around Newton Abbot and Kingsteignton (37%) or on the edge of Exeter (46%).
Of the new employment sites 55% are allocated to Newton Abbot and 31% to Exeter.
On April 18th 2019, Audrey Compton was standing outside Forde House, the home of Teignbridge District Council (TDC), with a group of people holding banners. They were there to lobby the council to pass the climate emergency declaration proposal put forward by Councillor Jackie Hook.
“We really didn’t think it would pass, but it did, unanimously, and with an amended carbon neutral target date of 2025, which was quite a surprise,” says Audrey, a Teign Valley farmer and environmental campaigner.
That target date was the most ambitious in the country, says Fuad Al-Tawil who was also at Forde House that day. “We thought it would be tough for the council to meet that target so suggested setting up a support group.”
The suggestion was welcomed, and Action on Climate in Teignbridge (ACT) was formed in the summer of 2019 following a public meeting in July at Coombeshead Academy in Newton Abbot attended by about 200 people.
Fuad says: “The idea was to support TDC to deliver on its climate emergency declaration and to work with community organisations in Teignbridge, including parish and town councils, as a bridge between them and TDC.”
New ways of working
A voluntary organisation working with a district council was a novel idea – unique even. Fast forward three years and how has that worked out? Well, the monthly meetings still happen and ACT has given freely of its expertise and opinions, which appear to be valued. It has at times offered a critical voice, and remains completely independent of the council. “We have built a good and pretty unusual relationship with the council,” says Fuad.
Kate Benham, ACT chairperson, says it has been a learning curve for both parties. “The council moves slowly, which can be frustrating, but it’s a case of understanding what it can and can’t do.”
ACT members join Councillor Jackie Hook and council officer Will Easton to view work on renewable energy projects at the Teignmouth Lido in July 2022
Andrew Shadrake, a founding member of ACT, believes ACT has kept the pressure on the council: “Things have happened that wouldn’t have happened without us. We offer a resource, particularly on technical knowledge, that TDC relies on.”
However, the reality remains that carbon emissions have barely budged. Says Fuad: “ACT has succeeded in doing what we set out to do, in terms of supporting the district council and engaging the community. But in delivering on what matters, carbon reduction, we haven’t succeeded.”
Action on nature and carbon
ACT has had success on the ecological front, in particular with its Wildlife Wardens scheme, launched in the autumn of 2020. There are now 100 volunteer wardens spread across Teignbridge who have received training and do what they can to help wildlife in their parish.
Wildlife Wardens being trained to complete surveys by the Devon Biodiversity Records Centre
“It’s been twice as successful as I ever hoped,” says Audrey, who set up the scheme and runs it with Flavio Winkler-Ford, a part-time paid coordinator.
“The great thing is wardens follow their own interests rather than ACT telling them what to do,” she adds.
Spurred by the success of wildlife wardens, in early 2022 ACT launched the Carbon Cutters initiative in a renewed effort to move the dial on carbon emissions. Trying to achieve this through engaging with local councils has proved tough. ACT will continue to work with councils, but will concentrate on engaging with community groups for the Carbon Cutters scheme.
“We are working with around 13 groups so far,” says Kate. “They are hugely enthusiastic and really want to help.” The scheme is run by part-time paid coordinator Peta Howell, with the help of a group of ACT members.
Still going strong
Demonstrating the global carbon budget at the Energy Roadshow in September 2022
Three years since launch, ACT still has a core group of enthusiastic, ambitious and committed people, and a wider membership of close to 450. That’s an achievement in itself, says Andrew.
Moreover, with Wildlife Wardens, and now Carbon Cutters, “we have tested and succeeded in developing a model for people to take action. We have also demonstrated a way of moving a district along, and raised the profile of climate change in the community.”
Flexibility is a key strength. “We are an evolving organisation that is learning all the time,” says Kate. “It’s good that we’re not afraid to change direction if we need to and try new things.” Mandy Cole, a psychologist who volunteers with ACT says it’s also important that “we don’t tell people what to do. We listen and learn more about what would help them to do more about climate change.”
There is also the personal reward for ACT members that comes with taking positive action, working with like-minded people and just having fun. For Audrey, “the last three years with ACT have been the most productive of 20 years of campaigning on climate change”.
I have just completed a summer placement with ACT and my experience has filled me with hope, writes Finlay Heppell. It was a great learning opportunity for me and I met many knowledgeable and passionate people who all share the same goal of tackling the climate crisis in Teignbridge.
Finlay at ACT’s Energy Roadshow at the end of his placement
I contacted ACT after finding the website while searching for placement opportunities that would be relevant to my studies as a geography student at Bournemouth University. I got involved with both the Carbon Cutters and Wildlife Warden schemes ACT runs, as well as learning about how energy is used in Teignbridge and the psychology behind influencing/attracting people.
I attended several Carbon Cutter training sessions where I realised there is still a lot I do not know about carbon emissions and the climate emergency. One of the new things I learnt was the idea of reducing carbon emissions in an intelligent manner. A great tool that ACT has is a carbon footprint tracker that allows you to accurately work out your carbon footprint and explains how you can reduce it in a smart way. Using numbers is such a great way of helping people understand how to reduce their carbon emissions as numbers are often treated as fact.
Overall, I enjoyed my experience with the Carbon Cutter scheme as I learnt so much new information and it allowed me to get a bigger picture of what people/groups in Teignbridge district are doing to try and reduce carbon. As a young person myself it is really encouraging to know that lots is already happening in my local area
Carbon Cutters was set up to help address the climate emergency. The other scheme I participated in, Wildlife Wardens, focuses on the ecological emergency through helping nature. I learnt many practical skills, such as identifying types of plants and the impact that our carbon emissions are having on the environment in Teignbridge. My first experience of this was at a Wildlife Warden training session on Orley Common with the Devon Biodiversity Record Centre (DBRC). This session consisted of teaching Wildlife Wardens how to fill out a County Wildlife Site survey. This was a great introduction to how site surveying is done as I was around people who were very knowledgeable with regards to identifying plants.
On top of this training session, I attended an actual survey of a meadow in Trusham. This visit allowed me to assess how much of what I learnt had stuck, but more importantly, reinforced what I had learnt. I have learnt so many new things from these two sessions.
Planting wildflowers
The other side of my experience with the Wildlife Warden scheme was focused more on working directly with wardens and helping out with their projects. This included researching information for an article on the health of the river Teign, clearing a flowerbed and planting wildflowers in Newton Abbot, and assisting with a nature trail project in Kingsteignton.
Another aspect of ACT which taught me a lot was learning about the psychology involved in working with the public. The Public Engagement group within ACT particularly considers this. It was an area I was interested in because I don’t have much of a psychology background, so a lot of the information was completely new.
The focus of this subject was to listen, understand, engage, and take action. The complexity of this topic was interesting as many things have to be considered when approaching people. The key takeaway for me was that evoking emotions in people is an essential part of enabling them to make changes, perhaps by overturning their cognitive biases. In this instance it would be changes related to cutting carbon.
The last part of my learning with ACT was the IT aspect, which included the gathering of data and creation of maps for the ACT website. This area was interesting as it tied in with a module that I had just finished at university. The module was about using Geographic Information Software (GIS) to gather data and create maps from it. Being involved with this side of ACT allowed me to see the real-world applications of what I had been learning at university.
As a young person it fills me with hope knowing that the district I live in has such a large and organised group tackling the climate crisis. The schemes cover a wide variety of problems, from ecological issues with the Wildlife Wardens, to how much carbon is being used through the Carbon Cutters scheme. On top of this, each scheme has further projects within it. This allows ACT to try and address multiple and diverse issues surrounding the climate crisis.
ACT is independent of Teignbridge District Council while still working closely with them and providing advice. The independence is important as it allows for much more freedom, and makes it easier to collaborate with many other smaller groups in the area.
In conclusion, my time with ACT was valuable both for what I learned and the people I met. I return to university feeling more hopeful about what we can all do to take action on the climate and ecological emergencies, especially if the ACT model is replicated throughout the country.
On Wednesday 20th July our water stopped running: after providing our farm with running water for 36 years our well was dry. For us this was serious and scary. We were already being careful with our water use as it has been dry since the New Year. But then, suddenly, the only source of water for our home, our garden, our livestock buildings and half of our fields has run out.
John Whetman, Audrey’s husband, setting up an emergency water supply.
We farm on the drier, eastern edge of Dartmoor, not far from the beautiful River Teign. We keep around 30 cattle and 20 sheep who graze our flower-rich pastures, making sure they are full of insects, spiders and birds. We have a garden full of vegetables and fruit that feed us right through the year. We farm with nature, not against it; we don’t use fossil-fuel based fertilisers or sprays and we heat our house using wood cut from our hedges when we ‘lay’ them. We are trying hard to minimise our effect on the planet – but our well is dry.
For many years we have known that our climate is changing and becoming more erratic, so six years ago we spent £2,000 on reserve water tanks, which we fill up with winter and springtime water. But we only have 10,000 litres, so we had to act fast!
The first thing we had to do was to move our cattle to the far side of the farm, where they can drink from the brook, or to our furthest fields, where there are mains water troughs. The cattle have now eaten the remaining dried-up grass in our far fields and we are feeding them our winter hay. It is going to be a long hot start to the winter! Thank goodness we have small fields and big bushy hedges that give our animals some shade throughout the day!
In the garden, anything that isn’t essential has been left to its own devices. In the house we minimise water use, but every evening we soak our tired bodies in a few inches of (shared) hot water. When we have finished, I add some eco-detergent and the dirty washing for a bit of a scrub and a good soak. In the morning we drain the laundry on a clothes horse propped across the bath before putting it out on the washing line to drip-dry. The rest of the bath water is used to flush the loo or water plants. Across the world millions of people live with very limited water, but many people in the UK turn on the tap and don’t even think about how it got there.
Why has our well dried up? We’ve only had 22cms of rain this year (less than 1 inches). In July we had less than 0.5cm. We’ve also had higher temperatures than we have ever experienced before. So climate change is definitely a big factor, but it is more complex than that. People use more water each day than they used to, and there are more people too! To satisfy the demand, water companies are extracting extra water from rivers and reservoirs. As a result, our natural underground water levels are falling, and in the summer the water is below well-level.
So, what next? It will probably be months before our well runs again, and we are fortunate that our neighbours have invited us to plumb into their supply until the situation improves. We have bought 250 metres of pipe to bring the water down to the farm and now we can start to be just a little less miserly with our water. So, we will get through, but this scorching summer has given us a lot of gruelling, extra work!
