 The
Environmental Network Of North Somerset
is a networking group, with the purpose of raising
levels of awareness of environmental issues in our
area.
With this web site, newsletters,
and regular open meetings we aim to enthuse and empower
local residents, community and charitable groups,
and organisations to live more sustainable lives and
protect the environment by identifying solutions and
delivering change.
Views expressed on
this site by individuals or other organisations are
their own.
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See
our Facebook
page for photos and links
from the "Sustainable
Energy: The Local Options"
Seminar
17 March
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Social enterprise to work with communities to develop
renewable energy: Community launch at Renewable Energy Marketplace:
8 March, Westpoint, Exeter Download
flyer...
A new social enterprise, Communities for Renewables
CIC, is being launched to enable communities to generate their own
power by developing renewable energy projects. The company has been
established by the independent renewables experts Regen SW and specialist
developers Green Trust CIC, and will be formally launched to communities
at Renewable Energy Marketplace in Exeter on 8 March.
Communities for Renewables has received investment from Esmée
Fairbairn Foundation to work in partnership with community groups
that want to generate their own energy at scale and earn income
locally to support community projects. Work has already started
with Wadebridge Renewable Energy Network, a town in Cornwall with
ambitious plans.
Merlin Hyman, Chief Executive of Regen SW commented “We have
seen an extraordinary flowering of community groups who want harness
their natural resources to generate their own energy and make their
communities more resilient and prosperous. Communities for Renewables
has been set up to work in partnership with ambitious communities
to make these aspirations a reality.”
Jake Burnyeat, Managing Director of Green Trust CIC commented “By
using a social enterprise business model, Communities for Renewables
can provide the finance and expertise needed to enable communities
to develop community scale renewable energy projects and earn a
significant revenue stream.”
Communities for Renewables has been welcomed by Energy Minister
Charles Hendry MP who commented that this is: “just the sort
of expertise which I think is going to be necessary, to turn community
renewables from being an ambition into reality.” A video interview
can be found at: www.youtube.com/user/CfRcouk
A new website: www.communities4renewables.co.uk
is now live with tools, information and videos to help communities,
and features an on-line tool for them to assess at their local resources.
Freegle in North Somerset
Sustainable Weston, Transition Group, have
joined the Freegle movement to create a local ‘re-use’
group for Weston and the surrounding areas. The main objective
of this project is to keep things out of landfill and make
collections close and easy. When you have something you
no longer have room for or no longer need, but it still
has some usable life in it, Freegle helps you to give it
away to someone who wants it, will come and collect it from
you and will say "thank you". People can give
away rather than throw away unwanted items such as washing
machines or a pile of house bricks. Anything can be offered
as long as it is free and legal. The website address is
www.westonfreegle.org.uk.
You can go there to join yourself if you want to - you'll
need to register with yahoo if you haven't already done
so - it doesn't cost anything!
To launch this project Sustainable Weston
are hosting a ‘Give and Take Day’ starting 9.00am
Saturday 11th June on the Italian Gardens in the High Street
in Weston, by the Farmers Market being held that day. We
will be there at least until 1.00pm. Other participants
will be Hospicecare and people can choose to give direct
to them or to the British Heart Foundation close by, and
a bike charity rather than to Joe Public if they would prefer
to. For more details about Sustainable Weston click on www.sustainableweston.org.uk
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