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Yearly Archives: 2021

Community Climate Grants to move towards a Zero Carbon Cumbria 

A new Community Climate Grant fund of £100,000, backed by The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK, has been launched by Cumbria Action for Sustainability this month to help local community groups fight climate change.     Groups can now apply for grants ranging from £200 to £10,000, for projects and events to raise awareness of the urgent need to stop climate change and to reduce carbon emissions from energy use, land use, waste and transport.    The grants are part of the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership’s ambitious emission reduction programme to make Cumbria carbon neutral by 2037.       CAfS chief executive, Karen Mitchell, said: “The aim of the climate grants is to help communities to reduce carbon emissions. Thanks to [...]

By |2021-11-25T10:32:43+00:00November 25th, 2021|Homepage, News, Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership|
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Seeds of Resilience

On Sunday 7th November members of climate action groups from across Cumbria came together with local residents for a day of discussion and celebration at the National Trust’s Footprint building in Windemere. The event, entitled ‘Seeds of Resilience’, was organised by CAfS and the National Trust as part of the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership to mark COP26 Nature Day and to reinforce the message that everyone can take positive action locally to contribute towards global efforts to reduce the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Said Cumbria Sustainability Network Coordinator Helen Attewell, ‘The event brought together members of [...]

By |2021-11-08T15:10:56+00:00November 8th, 2021|Homepage, News, Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership|
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Young people capitalise on COP26 to raise climate concerns

Young people in Cumbria have seized on the momentum generated by the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow to present their environmental concerns to leading figures within the county. They presented the outcomes from a recent successful Cumbria Youth Climate Summit to Councillor Celia Tibble (Cumbria County Council Cabinet Member for Environment) and Karen Mitchell (co-chair of Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership and CEO of Cumbria Action for Sustainability). The meeting, which took place at Cumbria County Council’s Kendal offices, coincided with Youth and Public Empowerment Day at COP26, the United Nations summit that brought together heads of state, climate experts [...]

By |2021-12-16T15:23:43+00:00November 5th, 2021|Climate politics, Homepage, News, Youth, Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership|
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Ask us about new grants for heat pumps

The newly announced government grant of up to £5000 to help householders replace an old boiler with a heat pump is already generating a lot of interest. And the CAfS team are ready to answer your questions. With a grant of £5000, if you can install an air source heat pump for £7000 then there’s just £2000 to pay, to swap out your old gas boiler and replace it with a heat pump - right? For some households, it could be that easy. But, even in these cases, there are some important differences between an oil or gas boiler and a heat pump. [...]

By |2021-10-28T19:21:51+01:00October 28th, 2021|Home energy efficiency, Homepage, News|
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COP26 – what we can dare to hope for and what it means for Cumbria

In a few days' time, world leaders will arrive in Glasgow for the UN climate summit, COP26. When the negotiations draw to a close two weeks later, will countries have made the commitments needed to keep global temperature rise within the crucial 1.5 degrees limit? Speaking to school children this week, the prime minister said: "I am very worried because it might go wrong and we might not get the agreements that we need and it is touch and go. It is very, very difficult, but I think it can be done." Whether the PM was managing expectations, or [...]

By |2021-10-28T18:14:27+01:00October 28th, 2021|Climate politics, Homepage, News, Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership|
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Electric Battle Bus rolls into Burneside

The good people at Burneside Community Energy (BCE) hosted the only Cumbrian stop on a UK tour of film makers documenting low carbon initiatives in a big, blue zero-carbon bus. The government-funded Zero Carbon Tour stopped by to feature the successful partnership between BCE and James Cropper PLC, which has seen a range of solar PV arrays installed at the firm's plant. BCE held an event showcasing their success and welcomed representatives from multiple organisations involved in Cumbria’s sustainability efforts.  The Zero Carbon Tour is a project from Planet Mark, a team of sustainability certifiers. They are embarking on a [...]

By |2021-10-21T15:48:20+01:00October 18th, 2021|Electric vehicles, Homepage, News, Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership|
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Youth Climate Summit 2021

Calling all Cumbrian schools! The Cumbria Youth Climate Action Summit is being held online on Friday October 15 2021, from 9:30am – 12 midday. We’ve been hard at work behind the scenes getting together a great programme, with a steering group made up of young people in Cumbria helping us plan workshops that will help inform and empower your students. These workshops cover a range of topics which you can choose from, from getting your voice heard and COP26, to making your school carbon zero, to what opportunities there are in the Fellfoot area. The event will be held [...]

By |2021-10-01T11:50:38+01:00October 1st, 2021|Homepage, News, Youth|
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Fantastic take up at the Ambleside to Zero Climate Action Day

Last Thursday 23rd September, as part of the Great Big Green Week, we supported Ambleside Action for a Future to hold their Climate Action Day. This public event was to both support local businesses and residents to cut carbon and was packed with information, advice and projects to get involved with. Excitingly, the event was featured on ITV news which gave a great overview of what it was about. Business support Businesses were able to have face to face conversations with Sarah Smith, manager of the Low Carbon Lake District Grant scheme, who explained how to apply for the [...]

By |2021-12-14T16:49:31+00:00September 27th, 2021|Ambleside to Zero, Homepage, News|
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Free retrofit advice consultations now available

As autumn progresses, many of us think about ways to make our homes warmer, more comfortable and cheaper to heat. And this year, we might also be thinking about better levels of controlled ventilation.  If you are wondering whether your home needs more insulation, improved ventilation and windows, or a new heating system, it is good to know you’re making the best use of your money to achieve your specific priorities.  Thanks to funding from Energy Redress, CAfS is able to offer home owners in Cumbria a free telephone consultation to answer your questions about retrofitting your own home.  All you need to do [...]

By |2021-09-27T15:47:26+01:00September 27th, 2021|Cumbria Green Build Festival, Draughtproofing, Home energy efficiency, Homepage, Insulation, News|
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Cold to Cosy offers lifeline amidst rise in gas prices

Cumbrians will see their gas and electricity bills soar with the recent rises in gas prices. CAfS can help households cut their bills with their free Cold to Cosy Homes Cumbria service.  Our friendly team of experienced energy saving experts can help householders reduce the amount of gas and electricity they use and keep their homes warm and comfortable.  This service is expected to be in high demand this winter as more and more residents find themselves struggling to cope with higher energy prices.  Gareth Field, who manages the Cold to Cosy Homes Cumbria service, said: ‘Unfortunately, people’s energy bills are going to rise. It’s a result of [...]

By |2021-09-27T10:50:54+01:00September 27th, 2021|Draughtproofing, Home energy efficiency, Homepage, Insulation, News|
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