Posted by: editor | 02/24/2010

Inspirational ‘Be the Change’ event

On Saturday the 13th February we hosted a Symposium called “Be the Change” at St. Mark church in Reigate. The purpose of the Symposium, which began in 2005 and is now offered in 16 countries, is to create a world that is environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling and socially just.

Aproximately 25 people from Reigate, Redhill and surounding areas joined us to participate in workshops and discussions, and watch clips from inspirational speakers from around the world. Speakers who have made a change in their lives, and are helping to change the dream of the moderm world to be one that is less fixated on money, and more concerned with the environment and community.

The event was a huge success, and left most people motivated and inspired. My personal feeling was that it was amazing to connect with so many people who are involved in amazing projects within our community. It was a great day for networking, learning about the Transition movement, and all of the projects that are in the pipelines.

If you were unable to attend the event, but would still like to learn about or get involved with projects that we are working on, please come along to our meetings on the first Tuesday of every month at the Venture Inn on Lesbourne road, Reigate, or on the 3rd Tuesday of every month at Home Cottage, right behind Redhill train station. Both meetings start at 8pm.

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Posted in Local events

Posted by: editor | 02/11/2010

Recycling Blueprint Review response

This review response summarises all of the questions and suggestions made by members of Sustainable Redhill, including comments made following a presentation of the blueprint by Julian Ellacott at our meeting at the Home Cottage on 19th January 2010.

We support the plans to increase recycling locally. The following are suggestions of how the council could improve its plans, including a greater focus on waste reduction and reuse. Some of these are suggestions of areas where we could work together with the council. We look forward to hearing your comments back on the following and discussing how we might help work together on this.

Comments and Issues Raised

1. New Waste and Recycling Collection Plans

Street Cleaning. Can the council please confirm that now collection routes are clustered into areas (e.g. collections on a Monday, for example, are in Horley) that this will make it easier for the council to do a cleansing sweep after the rubbish has been collected, and that therefore this will improve the cleanliness of our streets. 

Question. How much of the 40% that is recycling is due to the 100+ neighbourhood recycling centres and how much is currently black box doorstep collections? Read More…

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Posted in Council activity, Monthly meetings, recycling

Posted by: editor | 02/04/2010

Success of local energy monitor scheme

More than 400 residents have taken advantage of the Surrey County Council scheme designed to help save up to £150 each year on energy bills.   For those who haven’t heard, local libraries across the county are lending out energy monitors to help people better understand the energy consumption rates of household appliances.  By understanding which devices are using electricity at any given time residents can reduce consumption by turning off appliances and lights that are not being used, and upgrading devices to more energy efficient models, saving up to 15 per cent.  

The energy monitor lending scheme has proved most popular in Reigate and Banstead, with 64 individuals and families borrowing the devices from one of the borough’s six libraries during October and November, compared with just 22 in Spelthorne.   Read more on the council’s website: http://shs.surreycc.gov.uk/sccwebsite/sccwspages.nsf/LookupWebPagesByTITLE_RTF/Scheme+to+save+residents+money+on+energy+bills?opendocument

Another great scheme coming up is being run by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and Partnerships for Schools (PfS).  They are running an exciting new initiative to get Energy Display Meters provided and installed into English state-funded schools, absolutely free.  

This is a fantastic tool for getting pupils and teachers excited about monitoring electricity use and actively engaging them in sustainability issues. It works by monitoring your electricity use and displaying real-time results on your school’s PCs.  

As we understand it, there are 4000 available and they’re on a first-come, first-served basis.  So, register on their website now – http://www.energydisplaymeter.co.uk/ – and they’ll let you know the moment you can apply.

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Posted in Council activity, Greening your home, energy efficiency

Posted by: editor | 01/21/2010

Transition Town Reigate & Redhill

In response to the challenges, and opportunities, of Peak Oil and Climate Change, a new group in Reigate & Redhill has been formed adopting the transition model.

Transition Towns is an environmental movement whose goal is to help communities build up resilience to the effects of climate change and peak oil (The time at which the maximum rate of oil extraction is reached, after which the rate of extraction can only fall.) It is a grassroots effort which encourages people to get together in thier own communites to make their town more sustainable, more self sufficient, and therefore more resilient. There are currently +/- 300 Transition Towns across the world, all doing projects in their own community such as creating local currencies, business waste exchange programs (matching the waste of one industry with the needs of another), re-skilling classes in woodwork, local food foraging, mending old products, bicycle maintenace, etc. and encouraging local food and energy production.

Reigate and Redhill are joining the Transition Movement along with Sustainable Redhill which already does a lot of projects with the same goals. We meet at 8pm on the first Tuesday of every month in the Venture Inn on Lesbourne Road in Reigate, to discuss ongoing and future projects. If you would like to get involved, please feel free to just show up on the day and introduce yourself.

If you have any further questions, please contact Rebecca at rebecca@sustainableredhill.org.uk or call her on 07942344801 /01737668584

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Posted in Transition towns

Posted by: editor | 12/18/2009

Consultation on Memorial Park, Redhill in January

NOTE: DELAY TO CONSULTATION; REVISED DATES TO BE POSTED SOON

A range of public consultation activities for Memorial Park will be taking place in January 2010 in order to agree on an Improvement Plan. 

As part of the Redhill Regeneration Programme, Reigate and Banstead Borough Council is in the early stages of considering how Memorial Park could be improved for the benefit of Redhill and its residents.  Some initial work has been done to assess the current condition of the park and they have been reviewing previous feedback from local residents. The next step is to undertake a much wider consultation with residents, voluntary groups, businesses and other organisations in and around Redhill.
Read More…

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Posted in Council activity

Posted by: editor | 12/18/2009

Mole Valley District Council joins 10:10 campaign

Mole Valley District Council has made a public commitment to reduce its carbon footprint by signing up to 10:10. As a signatory to this national campaign, MVDC are demonstrating their firm intention to reduce their carbon emissions by as much as possible during the year 2010.

10:10 is an ambitious project to unite every sector of British society behind one simple idea: that by working together a 10% cut in the UK’s carbon emissions is achievable in 2010. Signatories to 10:10 pledge aim to achieve carbon reductions in their organisation as close to 10% as possible during the year 2010. Read on and then sign yourself up to the campaign at http://www.1010uk.org/. Together, we can achieve meaningful cuts.
Read More…

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Posted in Council activity, energy efficiency

Posted by: editor | 12/01/2009

Growing Redhill receive prize

Growing Redhill recently celebrated a national win, of hundreds of pounds worth of gardening tools from Fiskars www.fiskars.com. The Finnish tool company selected the group from many entries to receive the tools as part of its commitment to ‘Love Parks Week’. The tools include spades, forks and rakes to use on the plots and loppers and a pruning saw to keep the trees and bushes in check. Celebrating the win on a wet and windy day at the end of November, group members got to grips with pruning the apple trees and creating a stag beetle loggery, as well as tending to the plots. Alex and Debbie shared around crackers with apple jam and chutney as well as apple tart, all made from apples on the site. Thanks to Dione, there were hot drinks to keep everyone going. Read more here www.orangethumb.co.uk/love-parks/.

Alex Goodey, spokesman for Growing Redhill, was delighted with the turnout at the event:

“It was great to have so many members of the community dig deep after what has been a difficult first year – but thanks to the new tools donated by Fiskars, we were able to make far greater progress than would have otherwise been possible. 

“Before their grant, we only had one rusty saw for pruning and a rather sad gardening fork with only three prongs. In just two hours with the new equipment, and with some elbow grease of course, we’ve dug a new plot, created a beetle sanctuary, and pruned two large apple trees.

“Now what we need are more members to get ready for next year, so if you’re interested in skipping past the allotment waiting list and want to learn more about sustainability, local wildlife, and growing your own food take a look at the website – www.growingredhill.org.uk”

If you are interested in growing your own and do not have access to a garden or allotment then call Debbie Fox Tel: 07717 678968.

 

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Posted in Uncategorized

Posted by: editor | 11/26/2009

Draught-busting days

Up to 50% of the heat we put into our Victorian/Edwardian houses escapes quickly through leaky or poorly insulated doors, windows, walls, floors, ceilings and the roof. The first step towards greening your home is to stop draughts. You will notice a difference immediately and could see fuel bills reduce by 10-20%.

A Draught Busting Day is an opportunity to learn how to make your Victorian house warm and cosy in time for the worst of winter.  These events are organised by volunteers in their communities, for their neighbours. If you want one in your neighbourhood, get in touch.

 The kinds of things that happen on draught-busting days:

  • Ideas for draught proofing kits for sash windows that really work.
  • Demonstrations on how to fit the draught-proofing to sash windows and doors
  • Demonstrations of affordable, removable secondary glazing 
  • Ideas for more low cost energy efficiency measures you can take which you could copy in your home
  • Contacts with local tradesmen who can help you carry out the work
  • Tea and biscuits!

 

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Posted in Greening your home

Posted by: editor | 11/19/2009

All change for your wheelie bin – council recycling blueprint

The council recently changed their some of their wheelie-bin collection days. 

By re-organising their routes to eliminate overlaps (e.g. collecting from parts of the same area on different routes on different days), they no longer need one of their 8 dustcarts, and this frees up staff for the next stage of improvements — collecting more kerbside recycling.

Whether you use it or not, everyone has an open-top plastic box for recycling paper, card and cans.  Now the idea is to add a caddy (with a lid!) for recycling food waste, plus a smaller caddy to collect the waste as you cook in your kitchen.  Whenever the smaller caddy fills up, you empty it into the larger caddy outside.

The council will also provide two more open-top bins, one for plastics and cans, the other for mixed glass (you’ll no longer need to sort by colour).

National surveys suggest that over 1/3 of the average wheelie-bin-load is food waste, over 10% is plastics (bottles, cartons and other packaging), and another 5% is glass.  In all, that’s about half the average load… if it was all recycled, the average wheelie bin would only need emptying half as often.

So the council proposes to empty the food waste caddy and other the other recycling bins each week, but only empty the wheelie bins every other week — always on the same day of the week.

If you follow the letters pages in the local press across other Surrey boroughs, this is the change that most exercises people’s imaginations.  A more interesting issue is where to keep all these bins and caddies, especially if you live in a maisonette. 

Read about the council’s proposals in detail, and give your views direct, here by Wednesday 13 January 2010.

Come along to the Sustainable Redhill meeting in January (19th) where we’ll be discussing the plans in detail, or add a comment here in the meantime to let us know what you think of the plans …

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Posted in Council activity, recycling

Posted by: editor | 11/19/2009

November 2009 meeting

There was a good turn out at the Home Cottage Pub this month to listen to Adrienne Campbell from Transition Town Lewes talk to the group about their transition experience.

A transition initiative is a community working together to respond to the shared concern of climate change and peak oil.  For more information, visit http://www.transitiontowns.org/.

Transition Town Lewes started around 3 years ago and now they have around twenty Transition Groups which have formed around issues such as energy, food, housing and transport, and many practical initiatives from these Groups are already underway. They are also developing a “Pathway to a Positive Future” – a path of action to increase their resilience as oil becomes much more expensive. Transition Town Lewes also organises an ongoing programme of events and reskilling courses.  For more information on their actions, visit http://transitiontowns.org/Lewes/Lewes.

Let us know your thoughts on setting up a transition town in Redhill.

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Posted in Monthly meetings

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