I’ve now had a chance to produce a summary of all the suggestions for improving sustainability that we could work on as a community.  I’ve captured 18 ideas which is a fantastic response, so thanks to everyone for your involvement.  I hope I haven’t missed anything but if I have, please let me know and it can be added to the next revision.

Given the large number of ideas put forward I suggest that we don’t spread our resources too thinly as we probably won’t have the resources to take all of them forward at the same time.  So I propose that as a group we select three that we can make happen as a priority.  As we deliver these we can replace them with the next ones to take into action.

Please have a quick look at all the suggestions on the attached list and then drop me a line and let me know which three you would like to see taken forward as quickly as possible.  Please rank the three in order of importance with your most favoured first/least favoured last.   I will collate the results and rank them to let you know which are the overall favourites of the group.

I suggest that we can then discuss plans for actioning these at the next meeting at 7:30 on Weds Oct 2^nd at The Cherry Hall.  If there is a specific idea with which you would like to be involved, please also let me know which it is.  If there are a lot of ideas where people are able to offer a bit of time to make happen, we may be able to increase the number of ideas we take forward.

As a group we may also wish to declare our support for those ideas we think are good ones, but don’t have the resources (yet) to make happen.  If there are any ideas on the list that you don’t feel able to support, please let me know. 

Best wishes
Giles

Sustainable Harwell: Ideas for community activity

The following ideas for community activity were suggested and discussed at the Sustainable Harwell meeting held on 16^th July 2019.  They are in no order of importance.

It’s great to see so many suggestions and the high level of enthusiasm associated with them.  To avoid spreading our efforts too thinly, I propose that we start by selecting three that we would like to take forward as fast as we can and concentrate on working on these first.  As they become a reality, we can replace them with other opportunities from the list.

Once we have chosen the first three through this exercise, I propose that we use part of the meeting in October to discuss and agree plans for making them happen.

As a group we may also wish to throw our support behind those ideas we think are good ones, but don’t have the resources (yet) to make happen.  If there are any ideas on the list that you don’t feel able to support, please let me know which they are.

I also propose to make this list a live working document and add new ideas as they come along.  So please keep sending me your suggestions!  We will review the list regularly to decided which further ideas we take forward as a group.

Delivering these ideas into action will take effort and if there are particular suggestions that you would like to be involved with do let me know.  We may end up arranging sub-groups to take them forward and any help is appreciated.   

Here are the ideas:   

1. Reducing the cutting of road verges and community areas. Provide the council with community backing to encourage them do this.
2. Run car-free days to encourage more cycling and walking. This also reduces noise and pollution.
3. Initiate more tree planting within public spaces. i.e The Rec. Work with farmers to encourage them to make changes.
4. Run a community allotment with the produce being shared within the community.
5. Undertake more repair and re-cycling schemes. Train people to repair things for the community e.g. bikes. See Didcot Repair Café.
6. Running a car sharing scheme locally – this could use older second-hand electric cars. Cars could be made available from the village hall or other community parking spaces, particularly for local use.
7. Build new cycle routes and footpaths. Provide priority to cyclists and pedestrians.
8. Reduce the speed limit to 20 MPH more widely in the area. Reinforce this.
9. Install solar panels on community buildings. The community would own the panels and sell renewable electricity to the building owners.
10. Build and own a larger-scale solar farm or wind turbine and sell power to local asset owners, railways and businesses. See ridingsunbeams.org and www.brightonenergy.org.uk
11. Litter picking. Start regular initiatives to reduce litter, particularly plastic.
12. Become a plastic-free community – “Refuse, Refill, Reuse, Recycle”. Free Harwell from single-use plastic.  See sas.org.uk.  Run a pop-up event to promote this.
13. Lobby for new-build houses to be more sustainable as part of planning requirements.
14. Review larger planning applications to push for a more sustainable approach.
15. Run a community apple-pressing day to produce apple-juice from apples which would otherwise go to waste.
16. Set up a refill station within Harwell to encourage the use of re-fillable containers. Could be at the village shops or the village hall.
17. Set up drinking fountains outside the village hall, church and Harwell club to encourage the use of re-fillable drinking bottles. This could be part of a wider plastic free initiative.
18. Set up a village re-cycling scheme i.e, (https://www.terracycle.com/en-GB/) Things most needed to be re-cycled are:

• Air freshener and home care waste (cleaning product containers)
• Bread bag recycling
• Pet food packaging
• Biscuit and snack packaging
• Writing instruments
• Oral care (toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes etc)
• Confectionary packaging
• Crisp package recycling already exists at The Harwellian club.
• There are specific bins for each category, and they are sponsored by the company associated with each product so are free.  Could they be put at the village hall?

Please select 3 ideas from the above that you would most like to happen as quickly as possible. 
Please list them in order of importance with your favourite first and least favourite last. 

Example:   18, 7, 4

If there are any ideas you would like to be involved with, please let me know.

Please email your choices back to me.

Giles