​We have a new logo! Our thanks go to Chris Day, a local graphic designer whose work you may have seen around Lichfield

Keep your eyes and ears open for the appointment of a LDC officer responsible for the climate change strategy!  We are assured that this in the pipeline. The new LDC CEO should be in place within the next few months and it is hoped that he will be keen to work with community groups like ours.

If you find it difficult to know how best to engage with the council then perhaps join in this forthcoming session with Friends of the Earth - Winning change from an unresponsive council (26 July, 19:00-20:30)
“In this session we’ll explore how you can influence your council to take climate action where direct lobbying isn’t working. We’ll take you through some key arguments to use and discuss what tactics can help to push your council to go further and faster to address climate breakdown”. Register here.

LDC are holding a ‘Public Realm Consultation’ and it is certainly worth taking part in this. Here are the details from a recent email we had from Simon Humble, Major Development Projects Officer:

As part of the ongoing work to implement the Lichfield City Centre Masterplan, Lichfield District Council have recently commissioned Gleeds Management Services together with Austin-Smith:Lord Architects and Hydrock Consulting to develop a strategy that will enable us to provide a distinctive and high quality public realm throughout Lichfield City Centre.

The Public Realm Strategy will, when completed, build on the proposals set out and approved by the Council within the Lichfield City Centre Masterplan, in order to further develop a detailed strategy for future implementation. We want to develop distinctive, local solutions with the people who know the city best, so central to this process, the team wishes to engage with you as key stakeholders to develop city centre-specific concepts, and we would welcome your involvement with this exciting project.

From Monday 21 June to Friday 2 July 2021 we will be consulting with the public on some emerging ideas we want you to have your say on. The consultation has been developed to review specific themes that will be incorporated into our final strategy. These include:

• Vibrant streets and spaces
• Night-time economy
• Security and community safety
• Highways, public transportation and active travel
• Inclusive design and accessibility
• Open space/urban realm, including management and operation/surface water management
• Smart city technology and utilities

Your feedback will allow us to develop recommendations within the strategy and support the action plan that will set out a long-term programme of delivery options.
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There are three ways you can get involved:

• Visit our public display at the Nurture Nest Community Space in the Three Spires shopping centre between 9:30am and 4:30pm from Monday 21 June to Friday 2 July. Officers and consultants will be on hand in the Nurture Nest each weekday between 12.30pm and 2.30pm to answer any questions you may have. If you cannot make these times the displays will be available in the windows of the unit for public viewing 24/7 during the consultation period.
• Take part in one of our ‘Walk Shops’ On Wednesday 23 June and Tuesday 29 June (as long as it is safe to do so). Neil Chapman, Executive Director for Landscape and Urban Design, from Austin-Smith:Lord, will be taking groups around the areas of the city the public realm strategy work will be focussing on. These sessions are available for a maximum of 15 people and will be booked on a first come first served basis. The sessions will last for 1½ hours and will include a short period for questions and answers. The sessions will take place from: 
  • 10.30am – 12noon, 12.30pm – 2pm, 2.30pm – 4pm - contact Michelle.Evans@gleeds.com to book

• You can complete an online questionnaire. The survey will be available online from Monday 21 June and should take no longer than ten minutes to complete (check website for link)

 
The City Council have a new Green Spaces/Parks officer (Nigel Boden) so we will be liaising with him on planting/greening activities around Lichfield where possible. One of the areas that we have mentioned before are the Festival Gardens where the central area has been left wild. It is hoped that a log circle will be installed as a space to meet up, for social and crafting activities. As willow whips have been planted there, one idea would be to run willow crafting sessions, once there is enough willow to use of course!
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​We came across this fantastic looking organisation/centre in Uttoxeter – The Globe Foundation. We think it merits a group outing there one day! They are a non-profit working to reduce the impact of modern living on the climate and have an Eco Centre, Green Skills Hub, Zero Waste Shop and Recycling Hub. Do take a look and if anyone has a minibus then let us know….!

​Where do you turn to first when you want a book? A local bookshop or Amazon?  If you prefer online shopping but want to support small bookshops then look no further than Bookshop.org. You can choose which local shop you want to buy from and place your order that way and they get the full profit. So much nicer than supporting Mr Bezos!

The Committee on Climate Change has just published the Adaptation Committee’s 3rd Independent Assessment of UK Climate Risk. The report draws on an extensive programme of analysis, consultation and consideration by the Committee involving over 450 people, 130 organisations and more than 1,500 pages of evidence and analysis to sets out the priority climate change risks and opportunities for the UK. Read it here. Over 60 major risks were identified, with 8 as absolute priorities.
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Some areas that have relevance to the kind of issues we have been talking about for Lichfield:

• Since CCRA2 was published in 2017 over 570,000 new homes have been built in England alone that are not resilient to future high temperatures. These will require costly retrofit to make them safe, habitable and water efficient in the future. In the next five years, at least another 1.5 million homes are due to be built across the UK; these will also lock in increased climate vulnerability unless planning and building policy is changed now
• There will be some potential benefits to the UK from climate change, such as longer growing seasons, new species arriving in the UK or benefits to health from warmer temperatures in winter. But evidence on the extent of these opportunities is limited. It can open a range of opportunities for growing new crops such as chickpeas, quinoa, vines, soya, lentils, peaches, apricots, tea, sunflowers, sweet potatoes, watermelons, walnuts, and truffles. In addition, for some crops, reduced times to reach maturity may be providing new opportunities for increased production by enabling multiple crops in a year, such as for lettuce and an increasing variety of salad crop
• There are potentially large economic benefits from reduced winter heating costs, which need to be factored into future energy policy. The changing climate can also bring opportunities to businesses from new markets for goods and services, better growing conditions or an increased need for financial solutions. UK businesses have a potential for market leadership, competitive advantage through early adaptation and being first movers, attracting clients and talent aligned to climate objectives and improved reputation.
• There is no clear evidence that climate risks or opportunities for agriculture and forestry are being strategically planned for or managed.

​Some of you may already have seen this from South Staffs Water if you have paperless billing but we thought it was worth sharing:

​And there is an app/website that you can make use of to monitor your water usage – we really do take our water supply for granted and should all be more aware of how much we use. The CCRA 2021 Report says that water scarcity in the UK will be a major issue by 2050, if not before.

Our group focus this month is The Big Red Bike
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​A volunteer run charitable organisation that takes older adults in particular but not exclusively, on short rides in a two-seater electric bicycle called a Trishaw, piloted by trained volunteer cyclists. Residents of care homes and any users of disability organisations in the Lichfield area can call/email to book a ride for family, friends and members of the community. Carers and family members are able to join the ride too and the route where possible can be determined by the passengers. 
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The cycle ride experience is focused on kindness, a slow, gentle ride, conversation, building trust through relationships, the benefits of fresh air and having fun. What a wonderful project! If you want to find out more then check out their website. Please do share with anyone you know who may benefit.

In February 2019 the British public were invited to put pen to paper and write a Letter to the Earth, perhaps to apologise for the behaviour of the human race or to reassure that things will get better. The invitation was open to all – to think beyond the human narrative and bear witness to the scale of the crisis. Letters of love, loss, hope and action were written by over 1000 people worldwide – from 4 year olds to great grandparents, authors, scientists, nurses. A book was put together of some of the letters received and it has inspired us to run something similar in Lichfield, and to display letters received at the Lichfield Arts Fuse Festival – the FREE community music and arts festival, held in Beacon Park – 13th to 15th August where Transition will have a stand. The project will be launched at the start of July, so watch out for further details!
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We would appreciate volunteers to help staff the stand at Fuse so please get in touch if you are able to help at all, but make sure you come along anyway as there are lots of great music and activities!

​The Government are currently debating the Environment Bill and put forward an amendment in the last few days which could have a big impact on wildlife. Read this piece by Richard Benwell, CEO at Wildlife and Countryside Link, where he explains why this falls far short of the promised "net zero for nature" and how a simple change could make a world of difference. Sign the State of Nature Petition too if you haven’t already (link in the article).

17th July – Repair Café at Curborough Community Centre, 2-5pm
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Tues 13th July – A tentative group meet up in Festival Gardens, Lichfield. Head towards the little red bridge that crosses the stream for 7.30pm and let’s see who comes along for a catch up!

Great Big Green Week will take place from the 18th to 26th September – what should Transition Lichfield be doing locally for that? Lichfield Methodist Church plan to hold something so perhaps we could contribute to their plans.
Other Transition Town groups are very active and have all sorts of talks and events going on. Here are some links from the Chesterfield group if you are interested. Something for us to aim for here in Lichfield!

11.00am - 12.30pm, Saturday 26th June: The Circular Economy
The speakers at this Circular Economy event will talk about an introduction to the topic, packaging recycling, and repairing items and pushing for longer-lasting products, followed by Q&A. Click here to register for the event. 

Dates of forthcoming events can be found here: Transition Chesterfield: Countdown to COP26

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.
Thank you for reading and feel free to share the newsletter with friends and family.
TRANSITION LICHFIELD
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We 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! 

​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.

​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.

​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.

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.
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​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.

​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

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.

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.
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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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: 

1. Planting plugs of yellow rattle in the meadow. When established this parasitic plant will reduce the strength of the grasses and allow wildflowers to increase. 

1. Planting some different coloured willow above where the brook tends to flood. When coppiced it will provide material for some community willow weaving. 

1. Plant 3 ‘forest garden guilds’ in the meadow behind the notice board. These are a collection of mutually supportive shrubs around a central fruiting tree. This is a novel idea for wilding up but with less “wild”. Each guild of plants is around 7m diameter so not overbearing.” 

 
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. ​

Each 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.

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. ​

25th-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. ​

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.
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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!