Notice

Sustainable Woodstock Noticeboard and other information

Saving Money - Saving Carbon - Tips from Sustainable Woodstock, Low Carbon Hub and others. Click here for full infomation ....

Graham Brown, Sustainable Woodstock's Treasurer, says "I think we would all like to save money on our energy bills ... and some would like to reduce their carbon footprint as well. There are a number of things we can do in our homes to help reduce the impact, things we can control ourselves. They may be small but will add up over a period of time and will make quite a difference. Now is the time to act, whether you are looking at draught exclusion, loft insulation, using appliances in a more energy efficient way or installing solar panels, there is information out there and local companies that can help save you money over the coming winter and the coming years.

Sustainable Sustainable Woodstock recently organised an energy event at Woodstock Baptist Church to share information ahead of the major energy price increases in October. We wanted to help answer questions and explain some of the jargon associated with our current energy crisis. We also wanted to provide tips on saving money and where possible point to grants to keep your home comfortable and more energy efficient. We were lucky to have 3 experts (Cathy Ryan from the Low Carbon Hub, Darrell Marchand from Reading University and Paul Spencer from Oxford City Council) to cover energy use, renewable energy and funding opportunities. Also present were Greg Bishop from Next Generation Renewable Energy and Douglas Drewniak, a local building performance manager, who kindly offered to help answer questions. Cathy supplied very useful handouts containing top tips on saving energy in your home, she also shared links for funding possibilities and introduced Cosy Homes (link below). Cosy Homes is a company that can audit your home energy use, suggest ways to improve your home energy rating and therefore save you money. When funds are limited, they can suggest how you should prioritise the work in order to maximise your savings or suit your purse, they can recommend companies to use and, if you want, they can also project manage all the recommended modifications.

There is evidence there is some misunderstanding related to the Government’s Energy Price Guarantee/Cap where some think their annual energy bills would be capped, not realising that it is the price per kWh for gas and electricity that has been capped until 2024 for domestic properties. Consequently, we will still see a large increase in our energy bills compared to last year ... the more you use the more you pay.

Sustainable Warmth is a new grant that has only just been launched from Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) and runs until March 2023. OCC invites applications for domestic assessments to lower income families and low energy rated properties (see details later). You can find out what your property rating is by visiting https://www.gov.uk/find-energy-certificate (not all properties are listed).

Many of the links are given below and we plan to put them on our website. Be aware ... this is a fast moving field and information is being updated all the time. If you think we can help ... email sustainablewoodstockuk@gmail.com .

Green, Sustainable and Socially Responsible

Investment Ideas

Graham Brown

If you are fortunate enough to be in a position to invest or concerned about the low interest rates in deposit accounts (take the NS&I for example), you may wish to consider a green alternative.

Ethex www.ethex.org.uk is a way to invest positively, to put your money directly into businesses whose missions, impact and outcomes you support. There is a wide range of options from renewable energy, social enterprises and community projects. For example, there is Low Carbon Hub, a local social enterprise which develops and manages renewable energy projects in collaboration with businesses, schools and communities across Oxfordshire. Kirtlington’s Village Hall rooftop solar panel array is an example of how Low Carbon Hub can help bring projects to fruition. Low Carbon Hub’s ‘Current Community Energy Fund’ is open to investment until 31st March 2021. As with any investment, take care to read their terms and conditions, it's a suggestion, no guarantees! CLICK HERE to watch a short Low Carbon Hub video.

Or you may be interested in the increasing number of share funds promoting ethical and sustainable investment in socially responsible projects. This has partly come about by governments around the world acting on the Climate Emergency and partly due to public pressure on where pensions and investments are being used .... many for example wishing to move away from fossil fuels. A suggestion .... something to think about for 2021.

Sustainable Woodstock is Ten Years Old

So what have we done since the group was set up at the end of 2008?

First off, we established our local profile through our Sustainable Woodstock long life shopping bags. Ditching the plastic bags habit has been a long term project for Sustainable Woodstock and so now we are working to become a “Single Use Plastic Free Town”.

And In 2009 ...............
we acquired a free lease to plant a Community Woodland of 1600 native trees. It is now maturing and is a haven for wildlife. In 2017 we extended it with 80 fruit trees of local varieties, so we now have a Community Woodland and Orchard.

And Early in 2012 ................... .....a hardy band of Sus Woo volunteers braved the winter weather to offer a heat loss service to local householders. We had the loan of a thermal imaging camera and presented them with pictures showing where their homes were leaking energy (and money!).

Still on the energy conservation theme, we formed a consortium with other sustainability groups and established a “preferred installer” service for residents wanting to generate their own electricity from roof mounted photo-voltaic panels. Those taking up the offer still enjoy a valuable government incentive payment for the energy they generate.

And For several years........................ .....we held “Swap Shops” at the Community Centre where residents brought items they no longer wanted and others for whom the item was just what they had been looking out for, took them away. By so doing many kilogrammes of items that would otherwise have ended up at the refuse tip were found a useful second life

More Other News!

In September, a few of us visited Charlbury for a Extinction Rebellion presentation (XR in short) in Charlbury given by Prof. Tom Sinclair (philosophy, Oxford) and English teacher, Megan Murray-Pepper. A packed audience of 130 people and not one spare seat … and all keen to hear balanced information produced by independent experts on the “climate emergency and what to do about it”. It was a tough message to hear followed by an hour long Q&A session where interesting views were exchanged and views respected. We strongly recommend that you find an XR presentation so you have all the facts. It seems that while voting, lobbying and petitions have made some difference, a greater change has to happen right now. Experts believe that governments around the world need to start by telling "the truth" about the climate emergency and need to start acting NOW. I hope you can find some time in your busy schedules to find out more.

There are ongoing presentations in Oxfordshire (see poster below) and we think it would be good idea if Woodstock Town Council hosted a presentation in the very near future. A collective audience is best so you can listen and exchange views but if you really can’t make a talk then view the presentation by Tom Sinclair on YouTube at (Please Note: It's NOT suitable for young children).

Thanks
Oxfordshire Museum, King's Arms & The Woodstock Bookshop
for Offering Water Refills.
Helping us kick the plastic

Join the Refill Revolution!

Refill is an award-winning campaign to prevent plastic pollution at source by making it easier to reuse and refill your bottle instead of buying a new one.

If you are a Woodstock business and wish to offer refills go online https://refill.org.uk . If you're feeling inspired, download the Refill app and make refilling the new normal!

Producing bottled water creates 500 times more CO2 than tap water. That’s why Refill Oxford has created a network of Refill stations where you can fill up your water bottle for free to reduce plastic pollution. Look out for a business with Refill stickers. There are now over 14 thousand Refill stations all over the UK and if Woodstock restaurants, schools, cafes or pubs would like to sign up to be a Refill station and help reduce plastic pollution just email refill.oxford@gmail.com and they'll do the rest.

Refill Oxford is part of City to Sea’s national campaign to promote the use of free tap water to reduce plastic waste. In Oxford, there is a network of nearly 150 Refill stations in places such as cafes, bars, pubs, restaurants, bus stations, hospitals, community centres and hairdressers all over the city. So now you can refill your water bottles whenever you need to, rather than buying a new plastic bottle.

Save money, stay hydrated and prevent plastic pollution at source by using the free Refill App on the go, OR look for the Refill droplet in shop windows. This will dramatically reduce the use of the billions of single-use plastic water bottles bought in the UK every year.

Engine's Running - Stop Now

We all have a right to breathe clean air.

Recently but not during the recent high temperatures......3 out of 4 cars outside of school were running their engines for air-con. Most seemed young enough and seemingly healthy enough to get out of the car and wait in the shade. How many too in car parks.... keep their engines running for air con or heating. It's polluting even when you can't see the gases and particles. It is really damaging our lungs and health. Please remind your families.

"We all have a right to breathe clean air. However, across the UK illegal and here in Oxford harmful levels of air pollution are damaging people’s health and their quality of life and cutting lives short." It doesn’t have to be this way.

Allotment Plots Now Available in Woodstock.

Gardening is good for your health and your wellbeing and can be good for your social life too. And of course can provide you and your family with fresh fruit and vegetables over the year. You can choose to garden organically and avoid ingesting chemicals that are likely to be present on shop bought fruit and vegetables.

Woodstock Allotment Association

The waiting list for new applications is now open to people living in Woodstock. The rents are reasonable, water is available on site and all plot holders are made members of the National Allotment Society where items such as seeds, etc. can be bought at discounted rates. If you are interested you can apply to the Town Hall or directly to raykinch@bt internet.com

Plastics Free Woodstock?
Email us for your Plastics Free Community Business Toolkit

Bags.
Did you know that 50% of us are still asking for bags at the Coop
..... shame on us.

Events in Woodstock

Try to ensure your events are single-use plastic free

Let's see if we can reward your business with a Plastic Free Champion certificate. We'll soon be visiting or revisiting your businesses, schools, etc to see how many changes have been made .... sharing problems and good news. What changes have you made to reduce your use of single-use plastic?

Extinction Rebellion XR What does it Mean?
Climate Change - the Facts

The public are waking up to the scale of the climate change crisis and pressure is now growing on politicians to act. Thanks to all those climate change activists who have sent their own time trying to speed up effective change that will make a difference to all our futures. If you think you don't understand climate change, how it affects us all and what we should all do now, then watch the recent David Attenburgh programme Climate Change - the Facts. Set aside, just an hour of your time to watch this programme that shows the result of inaction but what actions we can do to ensure that we and future generations have a future.

Sponsor a Tree in our Community Orchard?
Over 50% now sponsored. You can sponsor a tree as a group, with friends, colleagues. You will receive a certificate and can dedicate if you wish.
How to Pay?
Costs £30 (single payment)
1) BACS payment.
2) Cheque
For details contact as below.
Questions ? Call 01993 811975 or email sustainablewoodstockuk@gmail.com

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