GET INVOLVED – GO GREEN – GET READING – GET ACTIVE

News and recent activities 

• A small group of members have been meeting via Zoom over the past few months, to keep up some momentum on contributing to Lichfield District Council’s Climate Emergency Strategy.  
  Ashley Yeates is the Councillor with responsibility for co-ordinating a response and we are keeping up the pressure on him, and other supportive councillors, to get an action plan in place and to follow that up with actual ACTION! 
  
• October saw our Facebook and Instagram campaign aimed at Michael Fabricant, asking him to support the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill. We used photos of supporters holding up messages and there were also videos, explaining why his constituents wanted him to support the Bill.  Thanks go to Philippa Birch-Wood for making this happen. We had a lot of interaction through social media although sadly, Mr Fabricant failed to even comment on whether he would support the Bill nor did he show any interest in what many of his constituents were saying on the topic. Instead, he asked for people to individually write to him, whereby they were informed that no, he would not be supporting the Bill. 
  
  
• For Christmas, a list of gift ideas was put together – ‘Local, Ethical and Eco – 30 items under £30’, to support local small enterprises and encourage people to buy local. An Eco Wrap session was held on Zoom in late November too, to encourage people to think about their Christmas wrapping materials and techniques to use things we have already rather than buying new. We would encourage everyone to continue to Buy Eco and Local and support small local enterprises as much as possible. 
  
  
• Tree planting is a topic on many people’s minds – a simple way to make a difference. We have been exploring ways of getting involved in planting up trees and have yet to find the right project. It is not quite as easy as it sounds! Nick Burton, the Green Spaces Officer for Lichfield City Council has been very helpful, as have other contacts but we are yet to identify an area of land to make it worthwhile.  
  
• Connecting with other Transition towns, eco groups and businesses. We have made some useful connections with the Lichfield & Tamworth Chamber, Transition Belper, Eco Sutton, and Acocks Greeners to share ideas and resources. Eco Sutton have loaned us three air pollution monitors, currently held by schools for when they are able to start monitoring air quality outside their school.  
  

Understanding the needs of businesses and their journey to NetZero is vital so having connections via the Chamber is a good starting point. It was heartening to read this recent announcement from the Great Birmingham Chambers. 

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: 

• Need ideas for taking climate action? There are 52 of them here! 
  
  

• Who’s been eating chocolate through lockdown?! Well, we may have to change our ways. Take a look at this article from TED about the impact of chocolate production. 
  
  
• The Soil Association’s Crowdcast which took place on 21st Jan: “Grow better together: What will 2021 bring for climate, nature and health”  You will need to register to watch the replay. 
  
  
• The Wildlife Trust have been sharing lots of useful resources and this one is a good one to look at ways of attracting insects in your garden. 
  
  
• If you have children who are concerned about climate change then there are some lovely books out there. Here is a Good Reads list of ideas. 
  
• And speaking of books, a number of members have said that they have topical books that they are happy to loan to others. We can compile a list of those and add to the Resources section of the website, so do let us know what you have on your Zoom-friendly(!) bookshelves.  
  “Carbon Choices – Common sense solutions to our Climate and Nature Crisis” by Neil Kitching is one that Pam Beale has a copy of and is happy to loan to others. 
  

Spotlight slot 
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: 

• Tesco have a Maybelline Makeup Recycling drop off container and also coat hanger recycling in the till area, as well as their longstanding batteries, lightbulbs, water filter and ink cartridges one in the foyer 
  
• St Chad’s Primary School collect crisp packets 
  
• Bore Street Dentist collect toothpaste tubes and toothbrushes 
  

There must be all sorts of other drop off points around! The Plastic Free Rugeley group have compiled a comprehensive list of recycling options/Terracycle collections for their area but sadly it does not extend to Lichfield! Could you help us do a similar list that could be added as a resource on our website?  
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.