Tree planting and green spacesWe have continued to help Nick Burton of Forest Harvest with the planting in Festival Gardens to increase biodiversity there and it was great to hear that the proposal by Staffs CC to build a slip road through the edge of the gardens as been shelved. There was quite an outcry by Lichfield residents! So if you are walking through the gardens during the coming months, please take notice of the willow planting and the new beds as they develop. We are also pleased to have made links with Monks Walk Garden. They are keen to build up their volunteer base too so if you are happy to help then get in touch (details on the Transition website). These ‘secret’ gardens are behind the former Lichfield library building and to the left of the college. They are open to the public for wandering and sitting in!
If you are involved in any green spaces or conservation work then do let us know. Engaging with the County, City and District Councils on Climate Emergency and NetZero Very little to report on at the moment - slow progress on engagement and progress on strategies. Rest assured we will continue to keep up the pressure where we can but do encourage you all to join in however you can. Learning opportunities and inspiration There are so many resources available now about how nations, businesses and individuals can reduce their carbon emissions. Some bring a sense of hope that humans can make changes to their lifestyles to drastically reduce their impact whilst others demonstrate what an enormous task it will be, with time not on our side. How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates breaks down the sources of emissions into a few broad categories – making things, plugging in, and getting around – and Gates knows how to frame issues in a way that everybody can understand and engage with, without dumbing down the material. Nigel Topping’s initiative, The Race to Zero is another ‘biggie’ - a global campaign to rally leadership and support from businesses, cities, regions, investors for a healthy, resilient, zero carbon recovery that prevents future threats, creates decent jobs, and unlocks inclusive, sustainable growth. What’s not to like about that? In terms of being proactive in your own community, there are many case studies to read about and learn from. The Transition Towns Network has been very active during lockdown, with the What Next? Summit and various follow up training sessions. Their website is worth looking at, especially to find out what other towns are achieving. Liverpool and the Derbyshire towns New Mills and Belper are all doing a great range of initiatives. Climate Action Ilkley are also very innovative and active. Here’s a sweet ‘feel good’ story for you about a young girl in Wales taking on the publishers of her favourite comics/magazines. Heartening to read that change can be made if you keep pestering. A similar success was achieved by the two young girls in 2019 with the plastic toys given out by the burger chains. There are some very enlightening episodes in the 39 Ways to Save the Planet series on BBC Radio Four, in partnership with the Royal Geographical Society. Covering such topics as carbon capture, disposing of harmful CFC gases and the importance of peat bogs. An easy listen at around 30 mins per episode and very informative. Ethical investing/banking If you are wondering how you can have an impact on the massive issue that is climate change then simply take a look at where your money is invested (ISAs and Pensions in particular but the right banks are important too). ESG or RI funds are the way to go – where analysis has been carried out to understand the Ethical/Environmental, Social and Governance credentials of the companies involved. (RI is responsible investments). Why not take a look at where your investments currently reside and see if you can move them to funds and institutions that will benefit and respect the planet? And check out what your bank/building society are up to and move to a more ethical one if they are not acting in a way that you want them to. If everyone ensured that their money was being used for the greater good then we would all feel that we have been able to make a contribution. The Good With Money website is an excellent resource and this newly published Good Investment Review provides a real insight. Supporting businesses to become more sustainable When Panel Warehouse MD, John Blaskey, wanted to make his business eco-friendly, he asked his staff to come up with ways they could reduce their footprint on the planet. In a short space of time, they were looking at all areas of their business such as removing single use plastic, reducing unnecessary printing and coming up with many ideas which helped the efficiency, productivity and found new ways of doing things. They have since started donating to a tree planting fund which will replace the trees they use for their office panels and are continuing to look at ways in which they can make a positive impact on the planet. It goes to show that changes don’t need to be big or costly to be effective. If you would like a free 30 min talk on sustainability for your business then contact Shobana on shobana254@gmail.com. Food Waste and Carbon Footprint An issue that many of you will be fully aware of - if food waste was a country it would have 3rd highest emissions! Each day, the UK throws away 24 million slices of bread and 4.4 million potatoes. Shocking, isn’t it? Rob Whitehouse is running the Waste Savvy programme for Staffordshire County Council, to help educate residents on the issues of food waste. He has held a number of webinars that are free to listen in on (via their Facebook page) and will also be at events throughout the summer to promote the work going on. Volunteers will go into schools to run sessions with the students so do get in touch with Rob if you know of schools that might be interested. Contact details are on the SCC page. There has also been a lot of discussion on food programmes about buying local and why it matters that you know the provenance of your food. This piece from WWF magazine is a handy guide.  Spotlight slot Each month, we want to focus on one of the community groups or enterprises. This month is the turn of: Woodhouse Farm and Garden CIC Annamarie and Andy Stone took on the development of this fabulous community farm and have completely transformed it. They have restored the enormous (3.5 acre) walled garden and grow a huge range of fruit and vegetables there. They keep a small herd of Irish Moiled Cattle, Gloucester Old Spot and Black Pigs and 150 chickens for eggs.  The farm shop is open every Friday or Saturday 11-4 and Annamarie attends local markets to sell produce. There are plenty of homemade jams and chutneys available, as well as cuts of meat and homemade sausages, and a good range of fruit and veg too! A number of community groups visit the Farm to make use of the outdoor space and to learn new skills, and regular events are held such as apple pressing/cider making and Heritage Open Days activities. Do go along and support the farm if you can or become a ‘Friend’ to support them on a regular basis. Woodhouse Farm, Fisherwick Wood Lane, Lichfield, WS13 8QG Local recycling options Wendy Nugent has been working on the list of places where items can be recycled around Lichfield. Do send your suggestions if you know of additions. See end of Blog for details. Dates for your diaryWe have been invited to take part in the Green Gathering, being held virtually on Sat 5th June, and then in person on Sat 4th September in Stafford. Repair Café – It is hoped that this will be able to start up again towards the end of May or into June so keep your eyes/ears open for details! 17th May – Transition catchup on Zoom with feedback from LDC on climate strategy. 1.00pm. Get in touch if you would like the link sending through or check out the Events page on the Transition website. We welcome your suggestions for newsletter content, for Transition group projects and events, for groups that should be listed on our website and for useful connections. We look forward to engaging with you. Thank you for reading. TRANSITION LICHFIELD Recycling Points in Lichfield A Aerosols – Recycling Centre B Batteries – Tesco Extra (bottom of escalator); Aldi; Recycling Centre Bedding (clean animal and duvets) - Bromley Hayes Cattery, Kings Bromley - turn into Common Lane, first house on left Belts - Cash4Clothes (The Plant Plot) Blister packs (tablets) C Cat carriers - Bromley Hayes Cattery, Kings Bromley - turn into Common Lane, first house on left Cat, dog and pet food – as above Carrier bags – Tesco Extra, Morrison’s car park CDs - Cash4Clothes (The Plant Plot) Clothes – Co-op (Boley Park), Co-op (Curborough Road), Morrison’s car park, Cash4Clothes (The Plant Plot), Lichfield City train station Coat hangers – Tesco Extra Contact lenses and lens packs – Boots Opticians Crisp packets – St Chad’s Primary school (may be other groups eg Scouts) Coffee pods D DVDs - Cash4Clothes (The Plant Plot) H Handbags – Co-op (Curborough Road), Morrison’s Car Park, Cash4Clothes (The Plant Plot) Hats - Cash4Clothes (The Plant Plot) I Ink cartridges – Tesco Extra (Bottom of Escalator); Recycling Centre L Lego – The Buddy Bag Foundation charity (www.buddybagfoundtaion.co.uk) Lightbulbs – Tesco Extra (bottom of escalator); Recycling Centre M Makeup – Tesco Extra (by tills) Marigold gloves Used medicines Medicine bottles P Pens Pet accessories - Bromley Hayes Cattery Plastic Toys Pringle tubes Printer cartridges – Tesco Extra (bottom of the escalator); Recycling Centre R Reading glasses – David Arthur Opticians, Lichfield (and no doubt others) S Shoes – Co-op (Boley Park), Morrison’s car park, Co-op (Curborough Road), Cash4Clothes (The Plant Plot), Lichfield City train station Stamps T Teddies – Cash4Clothes (The Plant Plot) Towels – Bromley Hayes Cattery Toothbrushes – Bore St. Dentist Toothpaste – Bore St. Dentist Toys - Cash4Clothes (The Plant Plot) See also https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Waste-and-recycling/minirecyclingpoints.aspx?fbclid=IwAR07akj4jtZErYBtiuGvECBsrhtjAiy-wabepnIWTNgDm6EdPJXN7Wt7cAo for items not mentioned on this list. Cash4Clothes – Open 10am-12pm, 1.30pm-4pm, Closed Wednesdays and Sundays Charity shops are another option of course and many may collect unusual items so just ask!
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Tree planting and green spacesMembers of Transition assisted with the planting of a Holm Oak on Seckham Road, off Beacon Street. The tree was a replacement from a diseased oak that had to be cut down. Shame it was such a dull day though!  Forest Harvest was awarded a grant from Severn Trent for a planting project in the Festival Garden - the section of open space by the stream between Queen St and the clock tower. Nick Burton, current Open Spaces officer for LCC and Forest Harvest Director explained: “The project is threefold:
A small number of socially distanced Transition members assisted with the first stage of planting and volunteers are welcome mid-April for the next stage of planting and beyond, to help with on-going maintenance. Engaging with the District Council on Climate Emergency and NetZeroAs you will be aware, LDC declared a Climate Emergency in October 2019 and have yet to produce a strategy for the District. We are awaiting a response on progress from Councillors and will update via Facebook and the newsletter. You may be interested to read about what the city of Nottingham are doing though as they are way ahead of the curve on their planning and reduction of carbon. They have an Action Plan and Charter which are very easy to read and understand and we are trying to encourage our own Council to create something similar. Learning opportunities and inspirationWe know that many people have been engaging with other groups and organisations online during lockdown and there really have been some excellent events and learning opportunities for all. Here are some more for you: Even emails and websites have a carbon impact!Have you considered changing your web browser to a carbon neutral one such as Ecosia? They plant trees using profit made from web searches. They are doing an amazing job! We came across this interesting blog post from Bulb Energy about working out the carbon footprint of emails, and the fabulously named No Lesser Panda has some tips on reducing your footprint. Give us your feedback on changes you have made and that others can learn from. Have you heard of The Commitment?No, not the film from the ‘80s but something you can sign up to show that you want people in power to know how much you care about the environment. Here is a message from them to us: “The Commitment works to put climate change and the natural world higher up the political agenda, by collecting Commitments from the public and taking them to politicians, giving those in power a mandate to act. The Commitment are politically neutral and always will be. They are asking the public to make a promise to vote with a healthy planet at the heart of their decisions in all elections and explain why this is important to them through a personal message and image (this may be a long or short statement, poem, video, photograph or artwork). Making your Commitment is a quick and easy way to have your voice heard and create the change you wish to see, so click here to make your Commitment today! “ Spotlight slotEach month, we want to focus on one of the community groups or enterprises. This month is the turn of:  Established by Samantha Paddock in 2019 to provide a zero waste shopping option for local people. Sam said “Our aim is to offer people plastic-free alternatives to their usual products, locally sourced whenever we can. We are trying to keep the carbon footprint of our products as low as possible.” The business has grown from a small selection of refill type products to a beautiful shop with a great range of products, a café and soon to be deli at the Plant Plot Garden Centre. Take a look at the website for details of the items they stock – fresh fruit and veg, eggs, dry loose goods, full range of household liquids for cleaning and selfcare, frozen goods and some amazing bars of chocolate too!! And that’s just a few of the items! The team have some amazing tips and ideas to share and are open to ideas from their customers too. A big round of applause to Sam for getting this established and continuing throughout the pandemic, with deliveries to vulnerable people to add into the mix. Please do support these valuable small local businesses whenever you can. Get involvedLocal recycling options Wendy Nugent has volunteered to put together a list of places where items can be recycled around Lichfield. If you know of any schemes then do get in touch so she can add to the list (eg crisp packets, coffee pods etc). We will then add the document to the Transition Facebook and website. Email Wendy: wendygn1@gmail.com We need a ‘mapping’ expert! We would love to develop a proper ‘asset map’ for Lichfield, connecting up all the people and groups so that there is a central, attractive resource for the community to refer to. Other Transition groups and similar organisations across the world use them and it a fantastic way of representing all the connections and show what a vibrant community we have. A useful tool for mapping is Greenmap. There are bound to be others – Sum App is another we have come across but there is not much information about them out there. Could you help get this off the ground? Email us if you are interested in helping. Gardening/planting Projects We have come across Burton Conservation Volunteers. Although the name suggests that they are a Burton group, they do in fact work on projects in Lichfield. Do visit their website but the best contact is Lawrence Oates bcvflowerman@gmail.com 07432 608931 if you think you might want to join in. Lawrence said “ You need to be happy to be included on a general email list. Post code and description of each job will be included, and any special requirements, like wellingtons. All jobs are risk assessed and a task sheet produced, kept on site when we work, in case I am on a different part of the site. Tools are provided and we do our best to give volunteers the how and why of the jobs we are carrying out. Jobs are tailored to the volunteers requirement, so if they just want a day’s work doing good, then this is kept to a minimum, if they are studying a related subject, then they can have more in depth tuition.” It was useful to have a catch up with Lyn Hammant of the LDC Parks dept recently as Lyn was able to remind us of activities and groups that are ongoing and which people may want to participate in. The Countryside and Parks Conservation Group (CPCG) is made up of volunteers who want to help out in their district on conservation projects, working alongside Parks Dept staff. There are other ways you can get involved too, with park maintenance, helping with events or helping in the community garden. More info here. Contact the Parks team on parks@lichfielddc.gov.uk if you would like to get involved with any of their groups or fill in their volunteering form online. And if you want to see more about biodiversity across the District and the sorts of projects that have taken place, take a look at the Parks & Countryside page on the District Council’s website. It is an interesting read! This Guardian article is a useful quick read if you want some ideas of planting that can help reduce air pollution. Something that we can all be doing, especially those of us who live by busy roads. Dates for your diary25th-26th March is the Global Festival of Action! A virtual festival, full of interaction and entertainment. Register to take part.
27th March 8.30pm - Earth Hour. Join in with others across the world with your lights off and use as little power as you can. 20th- 22nd April is the annual Earth Day event– 3 days of Climate Action. We have been invited to take part in the Green Gathering, being held virtually on Sat 5th June, and then in person on Sat 4th September in Stafford. Any ideas of how to contribute would be welcomed but one thought is to talk about the small things that people can do, simple changes that the whole family can adopt, as well as getting to know their community and working together. We welcome your suggestions for newsletter content, for Transition group projects and events, for groups that should be listed on our website and for useful connections. Forthcoming topics include ethical investing and support for businesses to become sustainable and reach NetZero carbon. Stay safe! We look forward to engaging with you. Thank you for reading. News and recent activities
Feel free to comment on any of the topics mentioned in the News section – you may already be involved in similar discussions or activities. Learning opportunities and inspiration We know that many people have been engaging with other groups and organisations online during lockdown and there really have been some excellent events and learning opportunities for all. Here are some more for you:
Each month, we want to focus on one of the community groups or enterprises. This month is the turn of: The Repair Café has been going for around two years, with monthly repair sessions held at Curborough Community Centre on the 3rd Saturday of each month, 2-5pm – when there isn’t a pandemic happening!! The idea is to bring together volunteer repairers and ‘skill sharers’ to help the community to reuse and recycle items, as well as share skills that could result in a new pastime for someone. Each session has resulted in the repair of around 15 items, anything from electrical items, clothing, pushchairs and toys. As the sessions are not currently taking place, the Facebook group page has been the forum for people to request repairs or support and this has been working well. At least items are still getting repaired. As soon as the lockdown rules ease, the Repair Café sessions should be back up and running, with an idea to also hold pop-up sessions in the town centre at the Hub in St Mary’s or in empty units in Three Spires so keep your eye on the Transition website Events page. If you have items that are broken or not working – get them repaired – it will save money and the resources. Get involved Local recycling options:
Get in touch if you would like to help. The ‘20’s Plenty’ Campaign We have been contacted by Michael Barr from “20’s Plenty for Staffordshire” who are starting a County-wide campaign that aims to see 20mph as normal for most roads (that are now 30mph), predominantly by using signs rather than engineering. Many councils in the UK have already committed to 20 mph limits. They have only limited local volunteer coverage for Lichfield and are looking for more volunteers to help with their campaign. Could you help? Email Michael on staffordshire@20splentyforus.org.uk Tree and wildflower planting Feel free to contribute to this discussion (mentioned in our ‘News’ section), especially if you already have experience of organising planting – wildflower meadows as well as trees. When we do find a project we will certainly need volunteers to help out! Dates for your diary 3rd to 20th March - The transition Network’s ‘What’s Next Summit’. Three weeks of workshops, events and networking to build community power across the UK. 15th March 1-2pm – Regular Transition Zoom Catchup. Link available on the website Events listing. 18th March 6pm – LDC Economic Development and Environment Scrutiny Committee meeting where they will be discussing their climate strategy/NetZero plans. Watch the meeting on YouTube. We welcome your suggestions for newsletter content, for Transition group projects, for groups that should be listed on our website and for useful connections. Don’t hesitate to get in touch. Stay safe! We look forward to engaging with you. Thank you for reading.  Typically we would recommend that activities are the best gift as opposed to material items, they are more likely to leave lasting memories, however time with our loved ones is currently restricted. We may chose instead to support our local businesses and send our family and friends a voucher or a little something. For our general tips and ideas on a "Plastic Free Christmas" and our "Ethical Shopping guide" check out the Resources part of the website. We have done some research and found 30 items under £30 from local businesses, the majority are in Lichfield, some extend to Birmingham. These items have been especially selected as they have been made with eco friendly, recyclable materials, are handmade, ethically sourced or are charity items. Leave us a comment and tell us your favourites! 
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