Environment & Sustainability Group

The Parish Council has recognised the importance of Environmental Sustainability. A group of like-minded people got together last year, Who Knew Group, their aim is to share eco ideas and we hope to work with them and build on this great work.

Whilst COVID-19 has dominated our lives for the last 9 months it has given many of us the opportunity to really appreciate the beautiful environment we live in. Our challenge is how to maintain this and improve its diversity for future generations.

The members of our group are Rod Lees (chair), David Bennett, Jan Cross, Gwyneth Godding, Lesley Haywood, and Jess Tidball. If you have any ideas or thoughts on how we can improve our environment we would be grateful. Contact details are available below and in News & Views (N&V).

This page on the Parish website is a section for Environment and Sustainability where you can find our long term aims and the notes from our meetings. In the short-term we plan to put light-hearted articles in the N&V each month with ideas and challenges relevant to the season.

The Great Collaboration has been launched in Marden, please see the poster below to see how you can make a difference to help Herefordshire move to carbon-zero by 2030.

We very much hope people will get involved and help us maintain and improve our local environment making it a joy for us all. If you are interested in getting involved please contact Cllr Lees on 01432880679 or email rodlees1234@btinternet.com.
The next meeting of the Environment and Sustainability Group is on 10 May. The agenda is available here

All welcome – Please email Rod Lees on rodlees1234@btinternet.com for the Zoom invitation if you would like to attend the meeting.

Useful Articles and Information

Safety on the roads
How to save money and our planet
Let’s make Christmas sustainable
Is your home cold?
Grants are available through Herefordshire Council https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/community-1/home-energy/2?documentId=682&categoryId=200139 and the government’s Green Homes grant scheme https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-the-green-homes-grant-scheme#how-much-you-can-get
The Freephone number for Herefordshire Council’s scheme is 0800 677 1432 and the advice line is open from Monday to Friday, 9.00 to 17.00.
Please use the links to see if you can get help to stay warm!
10 Energy Saving Tips

Notes of previous meetings are available below.

Herefordshire Council declared a Climate state of emergency in 2019 and it is very keen to work with parish councils through the Great Collaboration to develop and implement green actions. The PC now has an adopted Environment and Sustainability Policy and has set up a group to implement and develop the PC’s Environmental and Sustainability Plan.
The Group is led by the PC but with most of its members from the community. It is Chaired and led by Cllr Rod Lees, on behalf of the PC, who reports regularly to the Parish Council.
It is a really exciting opportunity and we would like to get as many people as possible working together on this project. Below is the list of actions that the PC has identified as priorities for this Group, though other actions will be undertaken and are the responsibility of other PC working groups:

  • Promote recycling
  • Promote walking, cycling and running – map a 2 mile circle round your house and walk/cycle/run everywhere within it
  • Set up a bicycle recycle scheme – using a database of outgrown/unused bikes to loan out
  • Encourage people to re-wild
  • Increase awareness about leaving engines running when stationary
  • Education and information on various issues – mending/reusing clothes and fabric, bike maintenance and environmental issues generally
  • Raising/tackling concern over river pollution and fish stock levels
  • Encourage a community composting initiative and at personal level
  • Promote upcycling of furniture, less food waste, buying carbon offsets if you fly, reduction in use of pesticides, obsessing over every drop of water
  • Consider a community group bulk buy, eg. of energy, heat pumps, solar panels

Notes of meetings

Notes from Environment and Sustainability Group meeting 12.1.21
Notes from Environment and Sustainability Group 3.11.20
Notes from Environment and Sustainability Group 20.10.20