News

Carbon literacy trials prove successful

By |2020-01-07T13:58:53+00:00September 29th, 2019|News, Training|

Spreading awareness about the causes of and solutions to the climate crisis is a critical first step if we're to empower Cumbrians to play a role in tackling it, and that's what we hope to achieve with a new training course called carbon literacy. CAfS ran two pilot courses during our Cumbria Green Build & Sustainable Living Festival in September 2019, with all the places snapped up by organisations and community groups keen to learn more climate science, carbon footprints and solutions. This very interactive and fast-paced day was led by certified carbon literacy trainer Sarah McClelland of Great [...]

Climate emergency action summit helps forge next steps

By |2019-09-29T15:48:13+01:00September 29th, 2019|Climate politics, News|

Councillors, council officers and community groups came together on Saturday 22 September to pick up lots of practical information about next steps after a climate emergency has been declared. The Cumbria Climate Emergency Action Summit, organised by CAfS and sponsored by Ecology Building Society, was designed specifically for everyone grappling with what to actually do after declaring a climate emergency – what actions to take, whether to set up a citizens’ assembly, how to engage the public, what partners to involve. The event aimed to answer those questions, drawing from the experience and knowledge of experts and those who’ve [...]

CAfS supports global climate strike

By |2019-09-29T17:40:33+01:00September 29th, 2019|Climate politics, News|

Cumbrians took part in global climate strikes on Friday 20 September, joining with people from around the world calling for urgent action on climate change. Rallies were held in Carlisle, Penrith, Ulverston, Kendal, Keswick, and Cockermouth. Cumbrian businesses and organisations supported the strikes in large numbers. Ellergreen Hydro, RSPB and 2030 Architects were among those giving staff time off to support and speak at the strikes. “Young people’s future is in our hands,” said Tracey Hart, associate director at 2030 architects in Penrith, and a trustee of CAfS. “What we do today will shape their tomorrow. We believe architects [...]

Food businesses tuck into advice on changing diets

By |2019-09-29T11:12:48+01:00September 29th, 2019|Food, News|

Cafes, restaurants and caterers tucked into expert advice and experience to help them prepare for the trend towards diets with less meat and dairy, at our sustainable food event in September, co-hosted with Eco-innovation Cumbria. A wide range of food businesses gathered at the National Trust's Sticklebarn Tavern in Langdale on Monday 23 September to hear how they could cater for changing food trends and make their businesses more sustainable in other ways, too - from reducing food waste to using renewable energy. We heard from carbon expert Mike Berners-Lee from Small World Consulting about the need to become [...]

CAfS addresses business leaders

By |2019-11-01T16:03:23+00:00September 29th, 2019|News|

CAfS chief executive, Hazel Graham, addressed the board of Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership on Friday 27 September, explaining the urgency of the climate crisis. Hazel was speaking along with Colin Cox, director of public health, about the scale of the transformation required for a transition to a zero carbon Cumbria and the huge wealth of benefits this would bring. LEP board members were extremely positive and it was proposed to include the climate crisis as a standard agenda item. Board members emphasized the potential benefits for businesses and communities of decarbonising and acknowledged the huge opportunity it offers. Cumbria [...]

CAfS team on Cold to Cosy mission!

By |2019-11-01T16:03:32+00:00September 27th, 2019|News|

Our Cold to Cosy Homes Cumbria team have been out spreading the word about this brilliant new service to help people to save energy and cut their bills. Tina and Andrew from CAfS were at Ulverston’s bustling Eco Fair on Thursday 26 September, sharing information about the benefits that householders can tap into. A free home visit by our trained energy advisors, draughtproofing and energy-saving kit, LED bulbs, advice and referrals for other improvements are all on offer as part of the scheme. “This free support is available to a wide range of people, so we’d encourage everyone to [...]

CAfS appoints new CEO

By |2019-11-01T16:03:38+00:00September 27th, 2019|News|

We are delighted to announce that we have appointed Karen Mitchell as our new chief executive, after a very extensive recruitment campaign. Karen, who is currently the fundraising manager at Friends of the Lake District, will bring an exceptional breadth of expertise to CAfS. She has worked in the fields of sustainability and climate change for many years, for organisations including Natural England, Nurture Lakeland, Trees for Life and South Lakes Action on Climate Change. “We are very happy to have found a new chief executive with the combination of experience, knowledge and networks that we need at this [...]

Stay warm with our insulation offer!

By |2019-09-03T09:49:36+01:00August 30th, 2019|Insulation, News|

If you're looking for home insulation and want to use a sustainable, natural product, you could take advantage of a special discount for CAfS supporters. Ecological Building Systems are offering you 8 packs of Thermo-Jute 100 insulation for the price of 7, plus free delivery to CA and LA postcodes. Thermo-Jute 100 is made using jute bags from the food industry. As well as its superb thermal properties, it can help to regulate humidity in your home and buffer noise. It comes in different thicknesses. You can get full details about this type of insulation on the Ecological Building [...]

Could your premises host an electric vehicle charge point?

By |2019-11-01T16:03:47+00:00August 30th, 2019|Electric vehicles, News|

CAfS would love to hear from venues that could potentially host a charge point for electric vehicles (EVs). We want to find two hundred sites in Cumbria and other parts of northern England over the next 18 months, as part of the new project to build EV infrastructure that we announced in July. The project kicks off next month (September), so the eligibility criteria for charge point hosts haven’t been set just yet, but at this stage we’re keen to have expressions of interest from possible sites. Community buildings, private businesses with a forecourt, rural hotels in a village [...]

Celebrating 20 years on the journey to a zero carbon Cumbria!

By |2019-12-17T15:32:20+00:00July 30th, 2019|News|

This year, CAfS has been celebrating our first full 20 years as an independent organisation tackling climate change in Cumbria! It's a fantastic opportunity to look back and remember just how far we've come and all that we've achieved - especially at at time when there's more collective determination than ever to achieve our vision of a zero carbon Cumbria. To mark the occasion, we've produced a new booklet capturing some of our many highlights down through the years - from starting the UK's first Green Build Festival to helping set up several of Cumbria's community energy schemes. There's [...]

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