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We caught up with Tracey Hart, our Chair of Trustees, to find out more about how and why she decided to join CAfS in the fight against the climate crisis.   Where did you first hear about CAfS? I first came across CAfS through its “Green Build Festival” - an annual fortnight of visits, talks and training events focusing on sustainability in the built environment, a topic very close to my heart. I was in the process of breathing new life into an old and unloved farmhouse tucked away in the Far Eastern Fells of the Lake District, so I [...]

With funded support from the Zero Carbon Cumbria Low Carbon Food Programme CAfS have teamed up with partners to tackle food waste in Cumbria using the unbridled power of the worm! We are working with Anna de la Vega, who set up The Urban Worm CIC, Anna is a vermiculture expert with years of international experience delivering training and consultancy on vermiculture food waste solutions to tackle this huge global issue. Windrow Growing Well Low Sizergh Dec 23 To date we  have installed two systems at Growing Well at their Low Sizergh site, a windrow demonstration site and [...]

We want to say a huge thank you to everyone who donated for our Big Give appeal in April, Change Begins at Home.

It’s Cockermouth Charity Week and CAfS are being supported by some wonderful sustainable businesses in the town.   The week runs from 17th-22nd July and throughout this period businesses in Cockermouth will be fundraising for their chosen charity. On the Saturday, everyone will be out on the streets to celebrate with stalls, live music and many other events happening in the town.  North Lakes Clinic and Health Food Store are supporting us with a promotion on sales of Bare Kind bamboo socks and in Market Place, Goodness and Grain will also be running a raffle with some amazing, sustainable prizes. Skylark Studio have donated a painting which can be [...]

Our CEO, Karen Mitchell, responds to the recent CCC report On Monday, the Met Office confirmed that June was the UK’s hottest on record. Days before that, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), the independent group which advises the government on emissions targets and reports to Parliament on progress made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, released its annual report, saying that their “confidence in the UK meeting its goals from 2030 onwards is now markedly less than a year ago”. The 438 page report cites a lack of urgency, and urges the Government to stick to existing [...]

You’ll have seen the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report in the news this week. You’ll have heard the latest warnings, an appeal to governments to listen, and the stark retelling of the scale of challenge that we are facing. What you won’t hear is what it means locally, for your town or village, your business, or your home. What does the IPCC report mean for Cumbria?   IPCC tells us Cumbria can make a difference  The report tells us that globally ‘there are multiple, feasible and effective options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to human-caused climate [...]