Past Events

• Agriculture (food): this addressed creating local, sustainable food supply – how to grow more food with no fertiliser, no pesticides and less mechanisation. This included discussing urban growing, incredible edible schemes, and permaculture; how we might introduce these into how we source our food and feed the world.
• Energy: Looking at both energy and transport, it looks at how Copenhagen working to achieve zero carbon by 2025, as well as how Iceland has moved from a petroleum based economy to renewable energy. It also looks at agi-energy bringing farming and energy solutions together, looking at projects in Reunion.
• Economy: Discussing how we can take control of our local economy, looking at local currencies, such as the Totnes £, Brixton £ and Bristol £, how they work and the benefits. It also looked at the dual system in Switzerland, where small businesses are part of a separate monetary system.
• Democracy: Here they looked at how to bring democracy back to local people. They showed how people in Iceland reacted after the financial crisis in 2008, putting forward a new constitution and a new approach to democracy. They also showcased how a Mayor in India got his village to engage with democracy, setting the agenda, helping make it happen, and responding to how well the agenda has been met.
• Education: Changing the approach to education, they showcased how it is successfully being done in Finland. A key part of this was how teachers interacted, sitting with children during lunch, properly interacting with them during the day.

Following the film, we had an enjoyable discussion on what we were inspired to do. If you missed the film, some other fairly local groups are showing it in the next couple of months. 

Tomorrow is being screened as part of Bishop Stortford Community Climate gathering in October – see: https://www.communityclimategathering.org/

Also watch Sustainable Sawbridgeworth’s Facebook group, as they are planning to screen Tomorrow in November. 

Using this model we looked at the state of humanity and our planetary home, and then looked at how Rwanda, Brazil and the UK are performing; showing how all have challenges. This gave a national and international context before we started looking at the questions to consider at a local level.

With a local viewpoint, its addressing social and ecological thriving, considering both local aspiration and global responsibility as the image shows.

Rob then talked about how different countries, cities and regions have use the doughnut approach, such as

• Amsterdam, where they see it as their compass.
• Melbourne, where they looked at it through 4 lenses to create their approach.
• Costa Rica where they used it to create a regenerative approach.

There have been over 500 expressions of interest to use it worldwide, and it has been used successfully in the UK, including in Cambridge, Devon and Cornwall.

In using it, groups, local authorities and cities go through the following process:

• Purpose – create and socialise a shared vision
• Networks – convene, engage and mobilise a diverse local stakeholders
• Governance – share and enforce policy
• Ownership – own, access or operate local assets and services
• Finance – raise, influence and direct finance.

Downloads

YHA

• Presentation by James Blake
• www.yha.org.uk 

Earth Changers 

• Vicky Smith’s presentation (which has links to additional resources) 
• www.earth-changers.com 

Making business travel more sustainable

Many more business meetings are now happening virtually than even a year ago.  For businesses that need their employees to travel, Climate Perks works with climate-conscious employers to offer paid ‘journey days’ to staff who travel on holiday by train, coach or boat instead of flying – empowering them to act on their values.  In exchange, employers receive Climate Perks accreditation in recognition of their climate leadership.  The employees get extra ‘journey days’ off work if you agree to travel by train rather than fly.

B&B accommodation within sustainability centres

• The Centre for Alternative Technology at Machynlleth
• The Sustainability Centre in Hampshire

Brian, an engineer by profession, reviewed the status of 12 conditions thought necessary to create and support a culture of active travel in St Albans, and found them somewhat ‘wanting’.  They covered things such as political buy-in to the policy; stakeholder engagement in the design and delivery of a network; and its regular monitoring and maintenance; etc. In short, he concluded that St Albans is very far from a situation that could be described as having a culture of active travel.

One questioner asked how cycling routes in/around/through an urban area are decided.  Brian explained how observations are made about how cyclists travel in and around the area already; and how a grid of cycle crossings over urban roads is developed.

Another questioner asked what evidence is there that developing cycle routes actually changes the behaviour of the cycling community.  Brian provided information gathered between 2001 and 2011 in Hackney, demonstrating that the routes have been successfully adopted over time.

Andrew explained how the idea of providing a not-for-profit Community Bus service within Harpenden was sparked by concerns that especially older residents of the town were experiencing social isolation.  It was thought that a Community Bus route linking residential areas that are away from the commercial bus route through Harpenden might encourage more physical social interaction between friends and family who live in different parts of the town.  The results of a survey of 13,000 households conducted by Harpenden Trust did not yield evidence of social isolation BUT that there was enough of a requirement for a community transport option for other reasons from people who do not live close to the commercial bus routes.

It was also thought that a Community Bus service might help reduce the number of short car journeys into Harpenden town centre that were stressing parking provision and contributing to unhealthy air and noise pollution in the town.  After discussing possible routes with social workers, GPs, Helping Hands, taxis and Dial-a-Ride etc two buses were bought and volunteer drivers engaged and trained. 

Pre-lockdown the service was handling about 300 passengers/month, from an initial demand of around 25.  The service resumed on 5^th October.

Marcus described his sustainable delivery service over the final mile for product/mail distribution, using cargo/box bikes.  His customers include schools, a vegetable box franchise, parcel delivery companies, pharmacies and manufacturers selling small artisan products online. 

After their manufacture, using cargo/box bikes provide a delivery service that emits zero CO₂ greenhouse gas, takes up less space on roads reducing traffic congestion, enables healthier lifestyles for employees and creates less particulate pollution than motor vehicles. 

Four breakout groups shared and discussed the sustainable living changes they made during lockdown – at home, in their working lives, in their leisure activities and in their community interactions; and how far their new sustainable behaviours will become ‘keepers’ for the future.

Changes made:

• at home included more gardening and DIY; where from and which foods were bought; research on future home energy supply options etc
• by workers included travelling less; becoming virtual meeting experts; eating healthier lunches; better home/work-life balance etc
• to leisure activities included more walking and cycling; heightened awareness of nature; engagement in online activities eg quizzes, socials, club meetings, classes, church services, watching plays and virtual tours of cultural organisations etc
• to community interactions included supporting local mutual aid initiatives such as volunteering with local care homes; collecting prescriptions and for food banks; sharing home-grown food and plants; assisting the national Covid response by contacting and supporting vulnerable neighbours, making masks etc.

Wild Stevenage

By letting nature take its course, HMWT has successfully turned some areas into scientifically important havens for insects and plant-life, including bush crickets, spiders and bee orchids.

In Harpenden, Heidi has worked with the Town Council to introduce children to the natural world, including a novel volunteering project with the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award’s scheme.

Tim Hill said, “Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust is working for wilder places, working collaboratively with organisations, landowners, local authorities and communities in our counties. By working together and recognising the value of all habitats we aim to reduce biodiversity loss and address impacts of the climate crisis through nature-based solutions.”

Wilderhood Watch

Nadia Bishara explained, “Wilderhood Watch is about connecting neighbours at a street level to work together to protect and enhance the natural environment on their doorsteps.”

The audience debated the relative importance of tree planting compared to the amount of carbon captured by the soil, as well as identifying ways to start community initiatives for people renting properties or living in flats.

The Repair Shed in Dacorum is part of the Men’s Shed movement, the aim is to help, men aged over 50 to stay healthier and happier for longer by making, mending and learning (though it does have younger members and women members). Shedders work on their own project and also community project and commissions .. so do contact them if you have a wooden something that needs fixing!  

If you would like to join the Repair Shed in Redbourn, volunteer with them or have some wood to donation, you can find all the details here.  The Shed also has a Sewing Cafe which runs sessions on Thursdays from 10-12.30am at St Luke’s School, Redbourn. The cost per person per session is £5.00; the money raised will be equally supporting both the school and the Repair Shed – more information and booking details are here.

The Restart Project aims for a more sustainable relationship with our electrical and electronic devices by encouraging and enabling community-based repair.

Our speaker Philip has taken part as a fixer in many “Restart Parties” in London, and organised one as part of St Luke’s Upcycle and Repair Fair during SustFest19. He described his own involvement and also how Restart is growing a global network of affiliated groups supported by an online community, a repair wiki and a “Fixometer”, which tracks CO₂ emissions and waste averted. Restart is also increasingly active in lobbying for “right to repair” and design for repairability.

Restart resources

1. The Restart Project website: therestartproject.org
2. The Restarters’ community (Forums, Fixometer, Wiki) – registration required: restarters.net
3. The Restart Wiki (no registration required for read access): wiki.restarters.net
4. London Restart groups: meetup.com/Restarters-London
5. Right to Repair on Wikipedia.
6. The Restart Code (video – 1 min)
7. Our Story, Our Community (video – 4 mins)
8. Poulomi Holds a Restart Party (video – 2 mins)
9. Janet Gunter (Restart co-founder) at TEDx Brixton: Putting an end to electronic waste (video – 12 mins)
10. iFixit.com founder and CEO Kyle Weins interviews Janet Gunter (video – 5 mins)
11. A recent presentation given by Ugo Vallauri – no commentary but contains interesting statistics.

Prom Dresses needed – can you help?

Lara Davis from All Dressed Up is now collecting prom dresses for next year. Lara’s project is to re-use prom dresses and provide them free for Year 11 students in Herts and Beds who would not otherwise be able to afford them.

Do you have one to donate? You can either drop them off at The Mall, Luton or post dresses – all sizes, ready to wear condition – to: All Dressed Up, c/o The Mall Luton, Mall Management – Gallery Level, 37 The Mall, Luton LU1 2LJ

#SecondHandSeptember

Have you taken the pledge? #SecondHandSeptember – No new clothes for 30 days. To inspire everyone, during September we will be posting pictures of our stylish local volunteers and supporters in their second-hand outfits. Join in by sending us your photos to ourplanet@sustainableStAlbans.org

Permaculture Guide Nigel Crawley described permaculture as a framework for creating low-maintenance, nature-friendly lifestyles. It’s about observing how nature works and applying these principles to our own projects. Anything from design of a food garden up to a whole way of life design.

Nigel is a Certified Permaculture Designer and he runs Introduction to Permaculture workshops across the Chilterns and Vale of Aylesbury – see Nigel Crawley.  See here for information about a workshop in June.  Nigel is also involved in local community growing projects including the award winning Duckmore Lane Community Garden in Tring, which uses Permaculture Principles and includes a Forest Garden.  The garden has regularly gardening parties, see here for further information.

Incredible Edible supports local food growing projects across the country. Local co-ordinator Sahira described her role in supporting local projects and encouraged anyone who would like to start an incredible edible garden – a piece of land is available for this. Incredible Edible has funding to support new projects!

Next we heard from FoodSmiles site manager, Jayne. FoodSmiles is a Community Benefit Society, based in St Albans District, which aims to encourage people to grow and eat more sustainable local food through building a community of food-growers. It has sites in Harpenden and St Albans, and also manages two Incredible Edible projects in St Albans. FoodSmiles is open to new members and has open days – do visit the site for a tour.

There are two Incredible Edible sites in St Albans which are part of FoodSmiles. Anyone can join growing sessions at these sites and also pick the produce – see Incredible Edible St Albans for dates.

Louise and Helen from Plot31 spoke about their Community Flower Garden and also their newest initiative, a Community Growing Project in Harpenden, which is open to all on Tuesdays. Do get in touch with Louise find out more and get involved.

Feargal showed the audience images of our local chalk streams explaining that since the 1980s, many streams have dried up in part, and where they do run, they are polluted by sewerage works and surface water run-off. They are running out of water because of intensive water abstraction at their sources. Hertfordshire residents use on average more than 160L of water per day, but our rivers and streams can only support usage of around 110L. In Germany and Scandinavia, better use of grey water systems means householders only need to use around 80-90L per day.

Feargal lobbies the Environment Agency and Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs, the Environment Agency and local water companies in his role as chair of Amwell Magna Fishery to improve the ecological status of the UK’s rivers. In 2018 the proportion of rivers in England meeting ‘Good’ ecological status had dropped to just 14% (from 24% in 2016 and 36% in 2012).  He encouraged the audience to:

• use less water
• lobby their water companies and DEFRA to protect chalk streams

In particular, we were asked to write to DEFRA by 12 March 2019 responding to their consultation Improving our management of water in the environment; the link to respond is here.

Read more about Feargal’s mission in this Guardian article (Dec 2018).

Carolina has extensive experience from the clean energy/sustainability sector. She is an inspirational blogger, writing guest blogs for edie.net and The Planet Mark. Aiming to show how individual passion can create change, she leads the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) network in London. This is a grassroots network of change makers raising awareness, connecting people and inspiring to action towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Carolina loves walking in nature – in fact her MSc thesis was all about walking.