A change of pace

On Tuesday (14th), the new Town Council elected Cllrs Alex Chase and Virginia Edwyn-Jones as chair (mayor) and deputy respectively, and confirmed terms of reference of committees and working groups - including for Sustainable Shaftesbury which has now become an Advisory Committee. The first meeting of the Advisory Committee (referred to as SuSAC) looks likely to be on 11th June. Over the coming weeks and months the council will be reviewing its strategic plan and establishing the context within which the Sustainable Shaftesbury ambitions can start to be realised.

Participants in the Planet Shaftesbury network who met on 9th May hoped that this will bring about a marked change engaging the whole town with the response to the climate and nature emergencies. Meanwhile, we suggested that we could usefully focus on accessible public-facing initiatives that link to the Sustainable Shaftesbury themes and provide a catalyst for change. For example,

On 13th June (during Great Big Green Week) Planet Shaftesbury will host a talk by Jennifer Morisetti, Busting the Myths around renewable energy and creating a healthy home.

Information on locally-available food that's healthy for both people and planet has already been collated and is now being prepared for wide distribution.

We'll experiment with a regular, informal cafe evening where both members of our network and others who are doing their bit in their own lives can connect and chat over a drink. The idea is being explored with a potential venue - watch this space.

Please offer additional ideas for speakers/talks, engaging films, market/information stalls, or other activities. To make suggestions or volunteer support email planetshaftesbury@gmail.com.

Our website: The recent update has included a re-organisation of project pages so that those related to regular and ongoing activities are easier to find. There are a small number of project pages still awaiting updated information. We're getting there!

Shaftesbury School call for volunteers on 5th June: Alex More is organising "Speaking for the Planet", a World Environment Day event where students engage with prevalent environmental issues, create a script in teams, and then deliver their talk to an audience. Alex has provided details to explain how volunteers can help (underlined below).

• The session starts with a keynote talk given by ffinlo Costain who will speak about 3 main planetary themes (migration, use of fossil fuels, restoring biodiversity) 9-10am in Main Hall with Q&A. Alex requests some Planet Shaftesbury folk in the audience to stimulate discussions.

• Then, the 100 students will be split into 4 groups of 25 to work on a carousel of workshops to research the problem then create a presentation to tackle it (4 x workshops from 10-1pm). There will be a strong 'Oracy' focus teaching students to use their voice to communicate ideas in the spirit of the TED talks, Lightning talks and student council. Planet Shaftesbury folk could input here as learning support, helping students form ideas/stories

• Lunch 

• 1.30 - 3pm. Students present their 'Big Idea' in the Main Hall. Presenting in Teams. Planet Shaftesbury volunteers would make great judges / encouragers here 

Potential volunteers will be put in touch with Alex: please email planetshaftesbury@gmail.com

Sustainable Fashion: Get your thinking hats on? Jennifer Morisetti / Sustainable Dorset has set up a Dorset hub, a potential focus for local events during Sustainable Fashion Week that runs from 20-29th September. If you'd like to have your Shaftesbury area event included please contact her at jennymorisetti@hotmail.com Meanwhile, there are still tickets available for workshops and much more at Defashion Dorset, 24/25th May in Stour Provost.

'Sustainable' is not good enough! ffinlo Costain is hoping we'll all stop using the word. He points out that in his own area - food and farming - anything less than regenerative is insufficient (though there are multiple levels of detail in that). He suggests we should be more specific and precise and wrote: "If we're talking about climate mitigation we generally mean ending the use of fossil fuels and removing carbon from the atmosphere (mostly using nature's technology: grass, soil, trees, etc). Adaptation requires action and intervention to create resilience in the face of extreme weather. Biodiversity and water cycling require actions to improve natural habitats, particularly soil health and structure, to massively increase the numbers of minibeasts and fungi... etc.

'Sustainability' stops us from explaining and it limits understanding." Understood.

Restore Nature Now! Chris Packham and a wide-range of groups, from leading nature charities like the RSPB to environmental activists like Extinction Rebellion, are urging everyone who cares for nature to march through London on Saturday 22 June. This is going to be BIG. People will be gathering at Park Lane between midday and 1pm, and then walking to a central 'rally' in Parliament Square at around 2.30pm. The XR website has full details and is encouraging volunteers to sign up as stewards. There may still be places available on a bus from Wimborne organised by Gill.Horitz@icloud.com or email planetshaftesbury@gmail.com to make other shared travel arrangements.

Closer to home, there is to be a Council for Nature tomorrow (16th May) from 5pm at County Hall, Dorchester. This will be a joyful welcoming event for our new Dorset Council Councillors asking them to prioritise Nature in everything they do.  All invited to join in: there will be an 'open mic' at about 5.30-6pm if you want to say a few words and there are several speakers on the list.  For more information www.dtaction.co.uk/C4N

This newsletter appears once or twice a month. Please send news or event details to planetshaftesbury@gmail.com for sharing across our network