Opening up brings opportunities to get involved: support nature-friendly Shaftesbury, connect with more people; Inspiring events in June/July; Where are we with Plastics?; Selected other news in brief |
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Opening up ... support nature-friendly Shaftesbury Planet Shaftesbury is back at the Town Hall on 22nd July for a talk, Hedgehogs in Shaftesbury, by Susy Varndell of the Dorset Mammal Group. Susy is reversing the decline of the hedgehog population in Dorset by helping towns and villages to become hedgehog-friendly habitats. We know we have hedgehogs in and around Shaftesbury. As they travel around one mile every night in their quest to find enough food, and a mate, come along to find out how to make their life easier. 7.30pm. Information on other Planet Shaftesbury activities will be available. Open to all, admission free, but please register on Eventbrite so that we have some idea of how many people to expect. - Bees & other pollinators: The last in Brigit Strawbridge Howard's series of online talks about bees took place on 17th June. These popular and inspiring bee talks were all recorded -
- Following the talks many of us resolved to do more to support Shaftesbury in becoming even more pollinator-friendly. You can join a working group that will initially work with the town council on wild-flower friendly management plans for verges and other green spaces. Contact Mariko by email at mariko.h.whyte@gmail.com or speak to her informally at the hedgehog talk.
- The Friends of Breach Common have recommenced regular volunteer sessions opening opportunities for both wildlife and people and are currently keen to remove the invasive Himalayan Balsam before it sets seed. Additional volunteers always welcome, long trousers and sleeves recommended. Meet at the lily pond at 10am each Saturday.
- A Swift can be reliably identified by its scream-like call and its long crescent-shaped wings. Lovely to see above Shaftesbury, but please watch out for fallen Swift chicks in parks and open spaces. Swift chicks can often be saved if the right treatment is applied quickly. The grounded bird may be otherwise healthy but unable to fly due to immaturity, exhaustion, temporary incapacity, or injury. There is downloadable identification and first aid information available from the Swifts Local Network (SLN).This includes details of some nearby Swift carers to contact if you come across a chick.
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Opening up ... connect with more people The current expectation is that Planet Shaftesbury's monthly meetings at the town hall will restart in August. Coming together again will be great ... but not enough. We're making additional opportunities to connect with many more people. Get involved. Help out in ways that fit in with your time and special interests. There's a lot of opportunities here! Contact planetshaftesbury@gmail.com Monthly meetings - 3rd Thursday of the month, 7.30pm from 19th August: we need someone to collect the town hall key in advance then unlock the hall; people to arrive early & set out the furniture; a meeter & greeter for first-timers; occasional facilitators. Gillingham & Shaftesbury Show 18/19th August: We have a substantial gazebo, attractive banners and a growing group of people keen to 'staff' our stand in a good location at the show which is open from 8.30am-6pm. Working with Greener Gillingham, we'll display information and offer activities to spark conversations. Get involved by helping to set up the stand on 17th August; suggesting information or websites to be included in the display (we're not distributing handouts); joining in for a few hours on the stand; contributing activities or surveys to spark conversations. Great Big Tree Festival 23-26th September: Several events, some already taking shape, others still to be organised by anyone else inspired to join in, celebrating our mature trees, the tree planting that took place last winter, and the tree planting that is yet to come. There will be walks, a session at the town hall on 23rd, music, poetry ... and could include paintings, prints, drawings, photography, film, short stories, choirs etc. Offer your creativity, lead a walk, discuss it with any groups you belong to, arrange to meet friends for a tree drawing session, nearer the time distribute posters or publicise through social media ... This corresponds with Great Big Green Week, a national week of events celebrating action on climate change. Open Greener Homes 25/26 Sept & 2/3 Oct: A Dorset-wide event, also linked to Great Big Green Week, where householders who have taken steps to reduce energy and resources open their homes to visitors so that they can share their experience. Some of these are new builds with strong eco-credentials such as heat pumps, sustainable building materials and ventilation systems. Some are retrofits where insulation, renewable energy or heating systems have reduced fuel bills. Others are where the householder has adopted a lower energy lifestyle, reducing waste, growing vegetables; collecting rainwater, or found ways of recycling equipment. See details of the comparable event that took place in Marnhull on June 12th here. We're looking for potential venues - would you like to open your home or allotment to visitors for a period during this event? Or do you have expertise or are you a local suppliers who may want to add to a display of information made available in Shaftesbury during these weekends? Contact planetshaftesbury@gmail.com |
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Upcoming walks, talks, events 27th June: Farm Sunday Walks - Gold Hill Organic Farm is one of the local farms open for visitors. There are guided walks suited to gardeners & growers at 10.30am & 1pm; family walks at noon & 2.30pm; and a conservation woodland walk at 11.30am. Cafe & art studios will be open. Tickets £2 for charity. Contact orders4goldhill@gmail.com 8th July: Food Systems & Forest Gardens - an online meeting at 7.30pm organised by the Land Use team within the Dorset Climate Action Network (Dorset CAN). Two speakers: Candida Blaker from Bridport Food Matters and Rakesh Rootsman Rak who trains in Food Forestry and runs Roots n Permaculture. 15th July: Ecosystem collapse, What is it & what does it mean for Dorset? - an online talk with Q&A by Professor Adrian Newton of Bournemouth Uni. Hosted by Planet Shaftesbury. Please register through Eventbrite so that we can anticipate numbers. Thursdays: 7.30pm - Planet Shaftesbury is holding online Zoom meetings every week until indoor meetings are permitted. Occasional speakers as advertised, other meetings informal. Hawkers Re-Creatives, a hub for sustainable fashion, will open on Thursdays and Saturdays from 10-4 starting on Thur 15th July, at Hawkers Farm (near Duncliffe Wood car park). See www.hawkersfarm.org for details. |
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Where are we with Plastics? Looking ahead to Plastic Free July Shaftesbury aims to become a 'plastic-free town', which would mean that the town council and a number of businesses were as free of single-use plastic as possible. Periods of lockdown affected progress over the past year but local efforts will get a boost during July (read on ...). - The town council's commitment to becoming as single-use plastic free as possible is the first step to getting the town certified. It has already made many changes and is currently investigating alternatives to the use of plastic in strimmers.
- Businesses who are already single-use plastic free, and approved as plastic free champions, are Bright Blooms, Coconut and Cotton, and the Botanical Candle Co.
The Plastic-Free Shaftesbury project group is inviting more people to join them in contacting and recording business progress over coming months as well as organising events and engaging with schools and local groups (some of which have their own initiatives in place). There's plenty of scope! Contact Lucy Barfoot by email hello@coconutandcotton.co.uk The TerraCycle scheme run by Alison Harding on Pound Lane is going very well (Thank You Alison!) and supporters are providing her with plastic-free tape and suitably sized boxes. There's more about TerraCycle, including details of the separate recycling schemes, here. Water refill points: Lucy has also connected with City to Sea who run refill.org.uk which helps people locate free tap water and fountains. Local businesses who are signing up will display a sticker on their door saying ‘Free tap water available here’. Meanwhile Wessex Water and the town council are planning to install a water fountain near the town centre. Shaftesbury's plastic free shopping opportunities have increased, now including: - Shaftesbury Deli: local milk refill station, herbs and spices refills
- Abbott’s: loose fruit and veg, loose pasta and grains
- Myrtle and Marigold: refill laundry, cleaning and body wash, shampoo etc. on the Thursday market or order online anytime for free delivery to SP7 and SP8 postcodes
- Also on market days: fishmongers accepts your own container; Kenson's Farm organic loose veg; Tis the Future electric food refill bus;
- Coconut and Cotton: plastic free homewares, beauty and health products, single use plastic alternatives. And also ...
Plastic Free July: Coconut & Cotton will be hosting a few pop ups in store to showcase other plastic free brands, including Green and Grainy (raw, vegan, plastic free snack bars made in Dorset). There'll also be informative videos on Instagram demonstrating plastic free and reusable products. Find out more by dropping into the shop in Swans Yard. (Thank You Lucy!) |
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Shaftesbury's responses to the climate & ecological emergencies Shaftesbury Town Council acknowledged the climate emergency two years ago this July and adopted their Sustainable Communities Action Plan in January this year. This puts a number of climate-related projects into their Strategic Plan - some projects which directly affect their own operations and some which will influence or encourage change across the community. From this summer there will be an informal forum providing opportunities to share ideas whilst monitoring, supporting and encouraging practises that can enable the whole town to be resilient to future challenges. We need diverse voices on this forum, if you're interested please contact planetshaftesbury@gmail.com |
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Buglife, Bumblebee Conservation Trust & Plantlife These small but important charities were mentioned in Brigit's last bee talk. Buglife, (saving the small things that run the planet), is behind the B-lines initiative that aims to ensure that wildflower corridors connect insect habitat across the UK. There are maps on their website. The Bumblebee Conservation Trust website has information on the different species and habitat needs including recommendations for garden flowers to help the bees. Plantlife aims to save wild plants and its projects include meadows and roadside verges (where Brigit pointed out that the prettiest wild flowers are not always best for insects - it's not easy being green?). |
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Land Unlocked ffinlo Costain, locally-based chief executive of Farmwel, a think tank working for climate, nature, and food security, continues to add to the stimulating Farmgate podcasts. Recent programmes explored issues around certification of sustainable fish and the origins of regenerative agriculture. His latest programme was a special collaboration with the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission, one of a series that will explore the challenges of delivering real action at this year’s COP26 conference and other major global events taking place in 2021. Posted on 14th June, in the 'Land Unlocked' programme ffinlo discussed land use, economics, optimism and story-telling, with Christiana Figueres and Professor Tim Jackson. |
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Assessment of Risk by the Climate Change Committee The most recent report to government from the independent Climate Change Committee indicated that they are failing to keep pace with the worsening reality of climate risks to business, infrastructure, housing, the natural environment, our health and risks from the impacts of climate change internationally. There is a dedicated website here. And, whilst highlighting risk, have you encountered this ethical insurance company https://www.naturesave.co.uk/? |
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The next monthly newsletter will be distributed in the 3rd week of July. If you have news to share please send it to planetshaftesbury@gmail.com |
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