Press releases
A flavour of what Action 21 groups have been up to lately...
Local to Global | Green business
RELEASE DATE: 3rd October 2005
A Greener Future for Shop at Princes Drive Recycling Centre
A new partnership of local environmental group Action 21 [1] and Bath Place Community Venture, a local charity, have won a contract with Warwickshire County Council to run the re-use shop at their Princes Drive Household Waste Recycling Centre in Leamington Spa. Refurbishment of the current building is planned to commence shortly and the shop is due to be re-opened early in the New Year as 'The Recycle Warehouse'.
The shop itself will be laid out as a green showcase with information and displays about environmental issues, and what people can do to help. Income from the shop will be ploughed back into schemes to alleviate poverty in the area and help people live in ways which are better for the planet. For example the shop will support a scheme to provide furniture for homeless people who have recently been re-housed, and environmental education activities and workshops for children.
Masses of useful things get thrown out every year simply because people don't need them anymore - the Recycle Warehouse will be putting quality second hand items to good use which would otherwise have been sent to landfill. People will be helping both the environment and the local community by simply using the shop whether they are shopping or donating something they no longer need. Prices will be kept low to keep customers coming back and to ensure there are always new, useful and unusual things to browse. Hopes for the shop in the future include providing training schemes to renovate items like furniture and bicycles working with young people and the unemployed, and using scrap materials for school art projects. Volunteers are needed to help run the shop along and a new shop manager is currently being recruited.
Jenny Sansom, Action 21 manager said,
"The Recycle Warehouse is a perfect opportunity to do what we believe in which is putting local environmental action into practice. We want people to think globally and act locally on issues like waste and climate change which are critical to the future of our planet. Above all we want to make sure the work we do is of benefit to the local community." and improves the quality of life in the District
Sarah Elliott, Contracts Supervisor, Warwickshire County Council Waste Management Group, said;
The huge success of the charity run re-use shop at the Burton Farm recycling centre in Stratford has led to Warwickshire County Council repeating the exercise in Leamington. The Action 21 and Bath Place Community Venture Partnership submitted an excellent business plan and we are pleased to invite them to run the shop at the Princes Drive Recycling Centre. We look forward to working together to minimize waste while benefiting the local community.
If you would like to find out more about working at the Recycling Warehouse, please phone 01926 456067 or e-mail jenny@action21.co.uk
RELEASE DATE: 15th August 2005
Are you a born leader? Walk this way
Some people love walking but prefer someone else to read the map. Action 21 is kick-starting a new programme of short walks across the District and need reliable volunteer walk leaders to lead walks. The aim of the programme is to promote healthy exercise at the same time as well as an environmentally friendly alternative to car travel.
The benefits of walking are endless. Increased physical activity is known to reduce instances of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and some cancers (DoH 2003). Physical activity can also help with weight management and falls prevention as well as helping to reduce anxiety and contribute to mental wellbeing all without any expensive equipment. Action 21's new walking program is a great way to discover local beauty spots in the town and country and meet new people whilst getting great low impact, free exercise. Now is also an especially beautiful time of year to enjoy the countryside in full bloom.
If you love walking and have the confidence and friendly manner to lead others who lack direction then contact Action 21 to register your interest. There are a variety of different areas and routes to choose from which last about an hour. Walks will take place about once a week and you can sign up to lead walks at times to suit you. You don't have to be experienced or even sporty; a short training session on 26th August with a free lunch to be worked off (at a later date) will tell you all you need to know.
For those unsure of leading a walk but who would like to be involved please also contact Action 21 for details of walks arranged.
RELEASE DATE: 13th June 2005
Waste of Energy?
Ever feel like you are wasting your energy? Its not just you - we all are. Almost all the energy we use in Britain is produced by burning fossils such as coal and oil, which contributes to global climate change. If you've heard all the debates about climate change but don't think you can do anything about it - think again - think global, act local. You can buy energy which is guaranteed to have been generated from a renewable source. For the armchair activist, buying green electricity is one of the simplest and yet most effective things you can do to help the environment.
Almost all the energy we use in Britain is produced by burning fossils such as coal and oil. In doing so we emit the harmful gas carbon dioxide resulting in a dense layer of gas around the earth, which then prevents heat from the sun escaping back into space. Scientists believe this process is linked to climate change and natural disasters such as the 2004 Tsunami. 2003 was the third hottest year on record with the UK seeing temperatures soar to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The shocking fact is that a third of UK emissions are the result of energy used in the home which we can all do something about.
Even politicians are waking up to the damage caused by climate change. The Kyoto Protocol, originally put together in 1997, aims to reduce emissions of six greenhouse gases from developed countries between 2008-2012 by at least five percent below 1990 levels. It has now been ratified by 141 countries.
But you don't need to go and live in a tree house to make a difference. The National Grid is now supplied by companies that produce renewable energy from water, wind and sun, as well as producers of non renewable fossil fuels, making renewable energy available to any address in the UK. Which supplier you want your hairdryer to be powered by or water boiled by is up to you.
Some people say you have to spend in order to save? Not so. Renewable energy is economically, not just ecologically, friendly and some companies promise you wont pay more than energy from your regional supplier. And if it does cost a little more, think of the long term saving to the environment.
Don't waste anymore time or energy and sign up for renewable energy through Action 21, currently promoting the two renewable electricity suppliers with the best environmental credentials, Good Energy and Ecotricity. For more information please call 01926 456067
RELEASE DATE
Mayors clock up miles
Next week, all four Mayors from Kenilworth, Warwick, Leamington and Whitnash will be taking on a peculiar challenge in the name of green transport. During the course of a week from the Saturday 11-18 September, mayors will compete to see how far they walk whilst going about their business. Thanks to special pedometers donated by Escape 2 in Warwick, mayors will be able to keep track of the exact number of steps they have taken.
This light-hearted competition has been organised for health as well as environmental reasons. The British Heart Foundation recommends that we should be walk approximately 10,000 steps per day to keep our hearts healthy.
Jenny Sansom from Action 21 says:
‘Choosing to walk more often instead of taking the car helps reduce pollution from car exhausts which is bad for our health and causes global warming. The Mayor Miles competition is a chance for the Mayors of Warwick District to lead by example and encourage us to be cleaner, greener and healthier.’
The trophy for the ‘Mayor Miles’ competition will be awarded to the winning mayor at Car Free Day, a family event set to take place a week later on 18th September at Abbey End, Kenilworth. Mayor Miles has been organised jointly by Action 21 and Warwickshire County Council.
RELEASE DATE
Pedal Powered Smoothies at Winter Food Feast
Winter might seem like a dull time for food, but the Food Group’s latest event in February surprised everyone by offering a feast of free seasonal flavours and food experiences. The Blenda Venda bicycle powered smoothie-maker provided free smoothies using pressed pear juice, yoghurt, locally grown apples and even parsnips! The aim of the event was to highlight local and British food which is healthy as well, by organising fun family activities at Lillington Youth Centre.
As well as cookery demonstrations such as a seasonal stir-fry, youngsters also took part in potato printing, growing windowsill crops and the veg taste challenge. The opportunity to grind English grown wheat using a hand-powered grain mill and watch an extraordinary Thai food carving demonstration made for a very enjoyable afternoon.
To get involved with more events like this one, join the Food Group by contacting Judy Steele.
The Action 21 Allotments Link Project is asking the people of Whitnash and the surrounding area are being asked whether they are interested in keeping a disused allotment site – known as Dobson Lane Allotments – as allotments or public green space. You do not have to be a gardener to take part in the consultation – just fill in a questionnaire. Everyone’s opinion is needed.
The site is hidden away between Allibone Close and Whitnash Primary School. A squad of volunteers from Whitnash, Warwick and Leamington LETS group and the Action 21 Food Group delivered the questionnaires to the doors of householders in Whitnash and parts of Brunswick ward in mid-January and the closing date for returning them is 17 February. The questionnaires can also be filled out online at http://www.allotmentslink.org.uk/.
“The questionnaire is very quick to fill in’ says Project Officer Judy Steele, ‘And we’ve added an incentive – the first three questionnaires out of the hat on 18 February will win either a case of organic wine, a £40 theatre token or a £40 garden gift voucher.’
People can also pick up the leaflets in the local library and at community centres, and Punjabi and Hindi versions are available on request.
Click here to find out more about allotments in Warwick District.
Lady Godiva proved herself to be naked at Pumpkin Day 2004, organised by the Action 21 Food Group. This rather ordinary looking pumpkin (right) holds a secret – seeds without a shell – green and ready to eat, just like the ones you buy in the shops.
Judy Steele, who had grown the pumpkin, did not cut it until the day, but Lady G did not disappoint. This was just a small part of the Action 21 Food Group’s Pumpkin Day, attended by over 100 people, at least 50 per cent of whom were children.
All the pumpkins were local and came from either the Beard’s farm at Leek Wootton or HDRA at Ryton Organic Gardens. Over 80 were used. Local allotment holders also donated pumpkins and a few submitted theirs against Councillor Bernard Kirton’s. One was slightly bigger, but as we had no scales we couldn’t be sure, and awarded them both a prize.
The event is aiming to become self–supporting, and money raised from the sale of plants at the Peace Festival plus donations on the day mean that it covered two-thirds of its cash costs. But if donations in kind and donations of volunteer time are added in it made a huge profit.
Cllr Mrs Agnes Leddy of Warwick took this year’s Mayor Miles competition by storm at Car Free Day in September. In the name of green transport the Mayors of Kenilworth, Warwick, Leamington and Whitnash competed in good spirit using pedometers to see how far they walked during the course of a week. Cllr Mrs Leddy came in first with an unprecedented 74 miles.
Prizes for the competition were presented at Car Free Day in Kenilworth which took place in September organised by Action 21 and Warwickshire County Council. There was themed street theatre-comedy, unicyclists, vintage bikes, wandering minstrels, Frettons mopeds, face-painting, and a multitude of competitions and information stands.
Road transport causes almost one fifth of the UK’s emissions of carbon dioxide, the major greenhouse gas. Also 60 per cent of men and 70 per cent of women are so physically inactive that they risk coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke or obesity. Mrs Leddy says ‘Leaving the car at home is better for us and better for the planet. Doing the competition made me realise that exercise is good for you.’
The Action 21 Allotments Link Project has funding from the Heart of England Community Foundation and Leamington Town Council to continue its work of supporting allotment societies and promoting allotments until September 2005.
The first three months of the project produced a leaflet, a display in all the district’s libraries, and workshops in fruit tree pruning, wildlife gardening and organic gardening for beginners. An exploratory social meeting, with Radio 2’s allotment gardener Terry Walton, was held in April to see if the district’s societies would like to link together in an Allotment Federation.
The Warwick District Allotment Federation is up and running and representatives from each site meet quarterly. They share problems, and their solutions, and can feed their views to the West Midlands Regional Association of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners.More workshops are planned for the New Year, including tool handle replacement, fruit tree pruning and beginner allotment gardening.
Black Lane allotments, Lillington, also known as Leamington North-East District Allotment Association, had experienced some hard times, but an enthusiastic committee has begun to turn things around. With some help from Action 21 a grant from Barclays Site Savers was obtained to enable volunteers from BTCV to create a recreation area on some disused plots, focused around a magnificent Walnut Tree. The area was used for a barbecue at the site’s first Open Day in July. An allotment with a greenhouse has been set aside for training purposes, and that’s where the beginner workshops will be based.
As a result of the meetings several sites have joined the National Association of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners, and benefit from very reasonably priced public liability insurance and a seed scheme.
Our allotments in Warwick District are generally very well used, and in Kenilworth the waiting list is so long that another site may be needed. This might become true in Leamington. It’s a healthy state of affairs. Many other towns and cities, including Leicester, show a decline in allotment use. We hope the district’s allotments will continue to be full of gardeners of every age and race growing fresh fruit and vegetables, and enjoying exercise, space and tranquillity – because for allotments it’s often true that IF YOU DON’T USE THEM, YOU COULD LOSE THEM.
To find out more about our work supporting and reviving local allotments contact Judy Steele.