Yearly Archives: 2019

On the road again for food study team

There are lots of different ways to grow food as a community, and some of them are being explored as part of the Alston Moor Greenprint, with a view to setting up community-led food growing in the area. Lynn Barnes from Vista Veg, who's leading on the research, has been out visiting interesting sites around the region, along with enthusiastic volunteers from the Alston area. The group headed to the south of Cumbria for their second day of visits, on 20 March 2019. Roe Baker, the Alston Moor Greenprint manager, tells us more... "Our first stop was at Growing [...]

By |2019-04-11T14:34:50+01:00April 11th, 2019|Alston Moor Greenprint, Food, News|

Alston Moor food group takes to the road

The team behind the feasibility study into community-led food growing on Alston Moor has been out on the road looking at some inspiring community food-growing sites and potential management models we could replicate. The Alston Moor Greenprint manager, Roe Baker from CAfS, tells us more... "A group of us visited Gibside Community Farm, Burnopfield, near Gateshead on 8 March, to look at a community-supported agriculture scheme on National Trust land. At the community farm, everyone who works takes a share of the crops produced. For just £52 a year or £1 a week you can take home a fresh [...]

By |2019-04-05T15:08:49+01:00April 5th, 2019|Alston Moor Greenprint, Food, News|

Try Cockermouth’s new plastic-free market

Shop from a wide selection of plastic-free products, household and kitchen goods, cleaning products, skincare and clothing at the plastic-free market in Cockermouth. The Sustainable Pop-Up is on the second and fourth Saturdays, from 9.30am to 12.15pm in The Hub in Market Place. Goodness and Grain offers store cupboard goods sold by weight (bring your own containers). Enyo offers a range of environmentally friendly cleaning solutions. Rose and Hawthorne sell organic and Fairtrade baby and children’s clothing as well as their own range of clothing and sanitary and household items. Zora-Lou Organics sell handmade organic and vegan skincare using [...]

By |2019-03-28T18:20:40+00:00March 28th, 2019|Food, News, Plastic-free|

Crowdfunding campaign powers up for solar schools

Alston Moor Community Energy (AMCE) needs your help to install solar PV at Alston’s schools. Although too cloudy for a commercial share offer, a solar array would have huge benefits for the schools and AMCE has launched a nine-week crowdfunding campaign to ensure the project goes ahead. Installing solar will save the school budget over £1,000 a year, as well as cutting 9 tonnes of carbon a year and teaching the pupils about climate change. CAfS has supported AMCE from the beginning, helping them get established and facilitating access to grants from the Postcode Local Trust and from the [...]

By |2019-05-30T15:01:41+01:00March 28th, 2019|Alston Moor Greenprint, Community energy, News, Renewable energy|

Reinventing Retrofit: How to Scale Up Home Energy Efficiency in the UK

Green Alliance has recently published Reinventing Retrofit, a new report as part of a three-year strategy to decarbonise the heating and transport sectors. The report takes a closer look at a new and innovative approach to improving home energy efficiency called ‘Energiesprong’ (Dutch for 'energy leap'). It's a one-step approach to retrofitting homes, resulting in a home that's virtually net zero. The authors argue that adopting this approach could cut domestic peak heat demand in the UK by forty per cent and help decarbonise the heating system at a lower cost than current options. They recommend to the government [...]

By |2019-03-28T17:26:06+00:00March 28th, 2019|Home energy efficiency, News|

Job: Green Build and Sustainable Living Festival Coordinator

Posted: 28 March 2019 Closing date: 9am, Thu 18 April 2019 You’ll take overall responsibility for our annual green build festival. You’ll coordinate and deliver a series of open home events, site visits, bus tours, training events, film showings and other green build and sustainable living events. The main festival runs throughout September, followed by monthly events across the following year. There are full details in the job description and person specification below. How to apply To apply, please download and fill in the application form below. Instructions for submitting your application are included in the form. Application Form [...]

By |2022-11-23T12:18:49+00:00March 28th, 2019|Vacancies - expired|

Job: Energy Efficiency Project Officer

Posted: 27 March 2019 Closing date: 9am, Tuesday 23 April 2019 We are looking for a project officer to lead on the delivery of our new Cold to Cosy Homes scheme, which offers free energy services to households living in fuel poverty and other vulnerable people in Cumbria. You’ll also assist our energy efficiency manager with delivering our wider energy efficiency activities, including a national programme in which CAfS participates, called LEAP (Local Energy Advice Partnership). There are full details in the job description and person specification below. How to apply To apply, please download and fill in the application [...]

By |2022-11-23T11:22:10+00:00March 27th, 2019|Vacancies - expired|

CAfS’ work attracts Japanese professor of policy science

CAfS hosted a visiting Japanese professor this week, who is exploring how community-owned renewable energy could help to turn the tide on his country's rural depopulation and ageing. Nobutaka Matoba, a professor of policy science at Ryukoku University, met with Phil Davies, low-carbon development manager at CAfS on Monday 4 March 2019. Professor Matoba had been signposted to CAfS by the growing trail of Japanese business and academic delegates who have recently visited us, hoping to take back information and inspiration to counteract Japan’s chronic rural depopulation and rural ageing problem. They all hope that these trends might be [...]

By |2019-03-27T18:20:38+00:00March 8th, 2019|News|

Carlisle City Council declares climate emergency

Carlisle City Council last night (Tue 5 March) passed a motion to declare a climate emergency. They are the second local authority in Cumbria to do so, following South Lakeland District Council on 26 February. Carlisle's motion, proposed by Councillor Colin Glover, leader of the council, is one of the strongest in the country, committing the council to: Declare a ‘Climate Emergency’ that requires urgent action. Make the Council’s activities net-zero carbon by 2030. Ensure that all strategic decisions, budgets and approaches to planning decisions are in line with a shift to zero carbon by 2030. Support and work [...]

By |2019-03-28T10:25:42+00:00March 6th, 2019|News|

CAfS chief executive among Carlisle’s top 40 female influencers

It's official... our chief executive, Hazel Graham, is one of the forty women under forty who are shaping Carlisle! Hazel has been featured in the March 2019 edition of Carlisle Living, in a list of the women described as the innovators and leaders who are shaping the city.

By |2019-02-28T14:34:27+00:00February 28th, 2019|News|
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