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Cumbrian leaders pledge to work together to tackle climate change

By |2019-05-02T17:30:42+01:00May 1st, 2019|News|

Senior leaders from key organisations in Cumbria have met at the county’s first leaders’ summit on climate change, to plan how they can play their part in tackling climate change. The 27 CEOs and chairs from businesses, local authorities and the voluntary sector acknowledged climate change as a key issue demanding urgent action. They outlined their organisations’ ambitions and high-level targets for reducing carbon emissions, and agreed to develop a coordinated Cumbria-wide approach. “There was a phenomenal response to the summit,” said Hazel Graham, chief executive of CAfS, who organised and chaired the event on behalf of the Lake [...]

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Children show us the way at Cumbrian youth climate summit

By |2019-05-02T17:38:15+01:00April 30th, 2019|News|

Ninety young people and their teachers from thirty Cumbrian schools came together in April for the county's first youth summit on climate change. Organised by the head teacher from Robert Ferguson School in Carlisle, it was a moving and uplifting event that gave young people a chance to voice their concerns about climate change and other environmental issues. CAfS chief executive Hazel Graham went along to take part in a question panel and to listen to young people’s views and the actions they want to see. “It’s so obvious that young people have a good grasp of the science [...]

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CAfS supports exciting Fellfoot Forward project

By |2019-05-02T17:42:35+01:00April 30th, 2019|Community energy, News|

CAfS is taking part in an exciting landscape programme that will benefit communities in the north east of Cumbria. We’ve been asked to share our expertise on improving the energy efficiency of community buildings and supporting community energy, as part of the Fellfoot Forward project. The project aims to “forge creative connections between people and landscape, conserve habitats and key species and celebrate this beautiful area with its communities”. The area stretches along the Cumbrian side of the North Pennines AONB and UNESCO Global Geopark, reaching out as far west as the River Eden, and running north from Melmerby [...]

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Students launch youth climate network for Cumbria

By |2019-04-26T17:54:50+01:00April 26th, 2019|News|

Two students from Cockermouth have set up a new network for young people in Cumbria who want to help prevent climate change. The group, UK Student Climate Network (UKSCN) Cumbria, has three main aims, to: reduce the use of single-use plastics and other non-reusable materials in schools discuss the impacts of the proposed new coal mine with the community and Cumbria County Council, and encourage them to take the necessary steps to prevent it going ahead pressurize Cumbria County Council to declare a climate emergency Students from several schools across the county have already joined the group. The organisers, [...]

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Food-growing plans for Alston Moor take root after drop-ins

By |2019-05-30T15:01:32+01:00April 26th, 2019|Alston Moor Greenprint, Food|

A community orchard and a community farm have emerged as the tastiest options for food growing on Alston Moor, after residents shared their views at drop-ins organized by CAfS in April. The two sessions at Alston Town Hall attracted a constant flow of people who are keen to see opportunities for community food growing. The consultation was part of the Alston Moor Greenprint, run by CAfS and funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. “The consensus is that there’s real enthusiasm to get community growing projects up and running, as opposed to private allotments,” said Roe Baker, Greenprint manager. [...]

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On the road again for food study team

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

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 [...]

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Alston Moor food group takes to the road

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

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 [...]

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Try Cockermouth’s new plastic-free market

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

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 [...]

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Crowdfunding campaign powers up for solar schools

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

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 [...]

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

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

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 [...]

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