The first meeting of the West Berks Council - West Berkshire Parish Climate Forum was held online via Zoom on Wednesday, 19th May 2021.
West Berks Council have set up the Parish Climate Forum to encourage and facilitate improved communications between local communities and West Berkshire Council, specifically to discuss environmental and climate action. It aims to:
- Provide information on current and future environmental projects
- Keep communities up to date on progress towards targets
- Enable communities to share experiences, learn from each other and raise views or requests that WBC may be able to help with.
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A WBGE members forum* was held on 5th May 2021 and we were delighted to have Megan Dalgarno and Helen Ramsey from West Berks Council to present the council's local climate action plan to us. Their presentation is here and a recording of the event is here. One member even joined us from his hospital bed!
The Local Climate Action Plan includes a framework for community action: The Greening Campaign; Eco-Schools and engagment with local businesses via the Berkshire Business Growth Hub.
The discussion that followed covered electric vehicle charging point provision, the imperative of a national programme to insulate homes, disinvestment from fossil fuel companies in such investments as pension funds (in particular the Berkshire Pension Fund used by West Berks Council), carbon audits, the importance of engaging children, the need for land to plant trees, the need for carbon targets and performance indicators for WBC's zero-carbon proramme, and a healthy dose of cynicism about govenment commitment given the recent scrapping of the Green Homes Grant and the earlier Green Deal scheme.
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November 2019 - Local Hustings prior to General Election
Thanks to our panel, chair and the 300 people who attended our pre-general election hustings on 28th November 2019 at St Bart's School, the event was packed out. You can listen to the different elements of it on the clips below.
Thanks to our panel, chair and the 300 people who attended our pre-general election hustings on 28th November 2019 at St Bart's School, the event was packed out. You can listen to the different elements of it on the clips below.
Introductions and opening statements |
Sustainable new homes |
Ending fossil fuel subsidies |
Climate Change |
Plastic bags |
Brexit's impact on environmental regulation |
Helping local people |
Truth in politics |
UK Aid |
UK income inequality |
The NHS |
September 2018 - WBGE AGM and Talk 26th September 2018
The WBGE AGM will be held at 7.30 at St George's Church, Wash Common on Wednesday 26th September.
After the AGM Richard Marshall will give a talk on 'Food Packaging - We can do it Better', looking at how plastic can be reduced in food packaging. All are welcome. Tea, coffee and biscuits provided.
The WBGE AGM will be held at 7.30 at St George's Church, Wash Common on Wednesday 26th September.
After the AGM Richard Marshall will give a talk on 'Food Packaging - We can do it Better', looking at how plastic can be reduced in food packaging. All are welcome. Tea, coffee and biscuits provided.
Ethical Investing Presentation
Given at the members' meeting on 21st February by Ian Brady and Jack Byerley of Harpsden Wealth Management.
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A Plastic Ocean directed by the journalist Craig Leeson
Village Hall in Pangbourne 16th Nov
There is a showing of ‘A Plastic Ocean’, directed by the journalist Craig Leeson, on Thursday 16 November at 8pm at the Village Hall in Pangbourne.
Tickets will be on sale at the door priced £5 to cover the cost of hiring the film. We hope to have a few examples of alternatives for some plastic items for people to look at.
www.plasticoceans.org/a-plastic-ocean-film-impact/
A PLASTIC OCEAN begins when journalist Craig Leeson, searching for the elusive blue whale, discovers plastic waste in what should be pristine ocean. In this adventure documentary, Craig teams up with free diver Tanya Streeter and an international team of scientists and researchers, and they travel to twenty locations around the world over the next four years to explore the fragile state of our oceans, uncover alarming truths about plastic pollution, and reveal working solutions that can be put into immediate effect.
Tickets will be on sale at the door priced £5 to cover the cost of hiring the film. We hope to have a few examples of alternatives for some plastic items for people to look at.
www.plasticoceans.org/a-plastic-ocean-film-impact/
A PLASTIC OCEAN begins when journalist Craig Leeson, searching for the elusive blue whale, discovers plastic waste in what should be pristine ocean. In this adventure documentary, Craig teams up with free diver Tanya Streeter and an international team of scientists and researchers, and they travel to twenty locations around the world over the next four years to explore the fragile state of our oceans, uncover alarming truths about plastic pollution, and reveal working solutions that can be put into immediate effect.
"This Changes Everything" Film
Thursday 24 Nov Pangbourne Village Hall
Based on Naomi Klein’s acclaimed bestseller
Doors open 7.45. Start 8.00pm
Runtime 90 minutes
Tickets from Garlands £5.00 (on the door £6.00)
Post film discussion led by our panel of climate experts
PAWS Pangbourne and Whitchurch Sustainability www.pawsg.com
Doors open 7.45. Start 8.00pm
Runtime 90 minutes
Tickets from Garlands £5.00 (on the door £6.00)
Post film discussion led by our panel of climate experts
PAWS Pangbourne and Whitchurch Sustainability www.pawsg.com
Brian Cox led a discussion on Climate Change in Reading
Brian Cox recently led a Climate Change discussion with
Prof. Sir Brian Hoskins. The event was a great success. The Great Hall of the University of Reading was full to bursting. Brian Cox was compère with a panel composed of two climate scientists from Reading, an ecologist from UCL and a journalist from the Economist. The questions covered a wide range of topics and made for a an interesting discussion of climate change, its likely impacts, and what can be done about it from governments down to individuals.
A video of the event is on YouTube, https://youtu.be/xj9bYALLYJ4
Prof. Sir Brian Hoskins. The event was a great success. The Great Hall of the University of Reading was full to bursting. Brian Cox was compère with a panel composed of two climate scientists from Reading, an ecologist from UCL and a journalist from the Economist. The questions covered a wide range of topics and made for a an interesting discussion of climate change, its likely impacts, and what can be done about it from governments down to individuals.
A video of the event is on YouTube, https://youtu.be/xj9bYALLYJ4
A talk by Brian Hoskins of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College London and Reading University
We were privileged to have Sir Brian to talk to a group recently on the urgent topic of climate change. You will find his presentation on the left.
Climate change is one of the defining issues of our time. It is now more certain than ever, based on many lines of evidence, that humans are changing Earth’s climate.
Some of the key evidence is at royalsociety.org/topics-policy/projects/climate-change-evidence-causes the Royal Society-US National Academy of Science Report on Climate Change.
Climate change is one of the defining issues of our time. It is now more certain than ever, based on many lines of evidence, that humans are changing Earth’s climate.
Some of the key evidence is at royalsociety.org/topics-policy/projects/climate-change-evidence-causes the Royal Society-US National Academy of Science Report on Climate Change.
A talk by Brian Hoskins 2017 |
Ecotricity leads a campaign for green gas
Recently Ecotricity launched a new report, which shows that Britain can get almost all of its gas from a very simple source – grass. The benefits to our country of making our gas this way are pretty astounding, so we’re calling on the government to rethink where Britain gets its gas.
Quite incredibly, we’ve found there is enough suitable land to produce enough green gas each year to power almost all of the homes in Britain (97%). And we can do that without affecting food production – in fact, we would be boosting it (via crop breaking), and at the same time we would create new wildlife habitats on an unprecedented scale.
Not to mention the £7.5billion boost to the economy and 150k new jobs in a new and sustainable industry - and making fracking a redundant concept.
Our report shows that we now have a more than viable alternative to fracking, which people have been fighting tooth and nail up and down the country to prevent.
It’s not too late, because fracking hasn’t started yet. But we need a proper review of where Britain gets its gas from – we can either frack the countryside or we can grow the grass. It’s that simple.
We’ve recently got consent for our first Green Gas Mill. All we need now is the government to get behind this simple, abundant and benign energy source.
You can keep up to date with our plans on Facebook and Twitter – check it out and join in by all means. There’s lots more info on our website about what we’re doing, including the full report and detail on how our Green Gas Mills will work.
Quite incredibly, we’ve found there is enough suitable land to produce enough green gas each year to power almost all of the homes in Britain (97%). And we can do that without affecting food production – in fact, we would be boosting it (via crop breaking), and at the same time we would create new wildlife habitats on an unprecedented scale.
Not to mention the £7.5billion boost to the economy and 150k new jobs in a new and sustainable industry - and making fracking a redundant concept.
Our report shows that we now have a more than viable alternative to fracking, which people have been fighting tooth and nail up and down the country to prevent.
It’s not too late, because fracking hasn’t started yet. But we need a proper review of where Britain gets its gas from – we can either frack the countryside or we can grow the grass. It’s that simple.
We’ve recently got consent for our first Green Gas Mill. All we need now is the government to get behind this simple, abundant and benign energy source.
You can keep up to date with our plans on Facebook and Twitter – check it out and join in by all means. There’s lots more info on our website about what we’re doing, including the full report and detail on how our Green Gas Mills will work.
Tesco & Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust
Photo by Laura Parker
The Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust is bidding to bag a massive cash boost from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative to improve the outdoors space at the Nature Discovery Centre for visitors – helping people get closer to wildlife.
The Tesco Bags of Help initiative awards grants of £12,000, £10,000 and £8,000 – all raised from the 5p bag levy – to environmental and greenspace projects.
From Monday 31 October to Sunday 13 November shoppers at six Tesco stores throughout West Berkshire are being invited to collect red tokens at the till when they pay for their shopping, and vote in-store for the group they want to receive the top grant.
Find out more http://www.bbowt.org.uk/news/2016/10/24/tesco-bags-help-wildlife-west-berkshire
The Tesco Bags of Help initiative awards grants of £12,000, £10,000 and £8,000 – all raised from the 5p bag levy – to environmental and greenspace projects.
From Monday 31 October to Sunday 13 November shoppers at six Tesco stores throughout West Berkshire are being invited to collect red tokens at the till when they pay for their shopping, and vote in-store for the group they want to receive the top grant.
Find out more http://www.bbowt.org.uk/news/2016/10/24/tesco-bags-help-wildlife-west-berkshire
North Wessex Downs AONB Annual Forum : Dark skies
The Ridgeway ©David Hall
The Annual North Wessex Downs Forum North Wessex Downs is on 19 October in
Kingsclere. This year the theme is “Dark Skies” and we have a galaxy of
experts to enlighten us on the subject. The fee is £10 (including lunch) and bookings can be made by contacting the Partnership Co-ordinator, Julie Baldwin by emailing :
[email protected]
Dark Skies of the North Wessex Downs
Wednesday 19th October 2016, The Fieldgate Centre, Kingsclere
Story of the North Wessex Downs – Rose Somerset
Come and hear Rose Somerset, Communications Officer of the North Wessex
Downs AONB, give our new presentation telling the story of this outstanding
landscape.
Kingsclere. This year the theme is “Dark Skies” and we have a galaxy of
experts to enlighten us on the subject. The fee is £10 (including lunch) and bookings can be made by contacting the Partnership Co-ordinator, Julie Baldwin by emailing :
[email protected]
Dark Skies of the North Wessex Downs
Wednesday 19th October 2016, The Fieldgate Centre, Kingsclere
Story of the North Wessex Downs – Rose Somerset
Come and hear Rose Somerset, Communications Officer of the North Wessex
Downs AONB, give our new presentation telling the story of this outstanding
landscape.
Newbury families could save £180 on bills with free visit
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Newbury residents can book their Smarter Home Visit by calling 0800 622 6623 or emailing [email protected]. For more information visit www.thameswater.co.uk/smart
Newbury church among first carbon neutral in UK
AFTER seven years of hard work St George the Martyr in Newbury is set to become one of the first carbon neutral churches in the UK. The church in Andover Road will be one of the first to install and use a ground-source heat pump, eliminating the need for a gas boiler.
This week saw drilling on the final phase of the project commence with the Bishop of Reading, the Rt Rev Andrew Proud, paying a visit. The project was launched in 2009 by the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey of Clifton, and the Nobel Laureate, Sir John Houghton.
This week saw drilling on the final phase of the project commence with the Bishop of Reading, the Rt Rev Andrew Proud, paying a visit. The project was launched in 2009 by the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey of Clifton, and the Nobel Laureate, Sir John Houghton.