business

Marlec Engineering – The Winds of Change

It all started in a field in Rutland. Back in the 1970s, a Rutland farmer was struggling to keep the batteries for his electric fences charged up, so he asked John Fawkes, a retired engineer, to come up with a solution. The Rutland Windcharger was born – a simple, reliable, quiet,

transport

Northampton's Market Square Revitalised

Good news, the Market Square has now officially reopened in Northampton town centre, and with it a chance to promote the potential of pedestrianised spaces. There has been criticism as to the progress of this regeneration project, particularly in respect of the temporary relocation of the market stall holders to

nature

Understanding the Biodiversity Crisis

It is increasingly recognised that biodiversity loss or the loss of Nature is as existential a threat as the climate crisis. The relationship between Climate and Nature and the importance of the global biosphere in mitigating climate change impacts was first acknowledged at the Conference of the Parties (COP) 26

food & farming

Plastic Packaging for Fruit and Vegetables

Recently the organisation WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Programme) has been calling for the removal of all plastic packaging from fresh fruit and vegetables1.  This is not as simple as they make it sound. A short article in the Fresh Produce Journal today (22nd October) by Jack Ward, director

nature

West Northants Council: Local Nature Recovery Strategy

Roy Hawkesford from Hackleton reports on a Webinar for parish councillors, organised by Ruth Rolls, WNC's Nature Recovery Strategy Officer (Environment, Countryside & Parks, Assets & Environment. The purpose of the meeting was to outline the Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) which will go out for consultation soon1.

podcastshelf

Greta Thunberg speech to COP25

This recommendation (a video rather than a podcast) comes from Teresa Cox, which has recently joined CA-WN's steering group. Teresa says: I've recently been studying a short course, Climate Change: Transforming your organisation for Sustainability. As part of this there is a link to Greta'

meeting reports

Report of 17 October CA-WN AGM and Monthly Meeting

October’s meeting started with the CA-WN Annual General Meeting, including election of officers. This was followed by a presentation from Marga Witteman, one of the co-founders of the More Trees Now movement in the Netherlands. Working with a range of organisations, individuals and community groups, this initiative has enabled

local matters

West Northamptonshire Area Climate Summit 2024

On Wednesday 9 October 2024 representatives from West Northamptonshire town and village councils met at Delapré Abbey for the area’s first ever Climate Summit. Over 50 delegates took this first step in a five-year programme intended to develop and support local projects aimed at dealing with, and lessening the

Talking action - popcawn October 2024

Last month’s popcawn was all talk…about why it’s important to talk about climate change and how to do it. One reason talking is good is that it is often a precursor to doing, and it’s vital that we do something. Talking alone will not reduce carbon

transport

WNC Local Transport Plan

The Local Transport Plan (LTP) is a document that sets out a long-term strategy for transport in West Northamptonshire and is currently open for public consultation. This consultation is due to end on the 17th October so it is really important to start getting feedback in. Have your say on

recipes

Creamy Fresh Tomato Soup

September.  Season, we’re told, of mists and mellow fruitfulness.   The poet didn’t mention unending torrents of rain.  Perhaps an oversight on his part, or perhaps it didn’t scan. Fortunately, my tomato plants are tucked up snugly in our old (but still weatherproof) greenhouse.  Unfortunately it is not

podcastshelf

The Great Simplification

Each episode of The Great Simplification consists of an interview by the host Nate Hagens with someone able to provide insight into an aspect of the climate and biodiversity crises (or 'polycrisis'). Most episodes come in at over an hour which allows time to explore the subject matter.

bookshelf

English Pastoral: An Inheritance by James Rebanks

Having just seen Six Inches of Soil, a documentary film about regenerative farming1 (which I highly recommend), this book seemed an appropriate one to add to our Bookshelf this month. It is a wonderful book, beautifully written and telling a story that carries a great deal of power coming from

food & farming

Six Inches of Soil film report

Six Inches of Soil was co-hosted at the Arc Cinema, Daventry on Thursday 19 September by CA-WN and ActNow Consulting Ltd. This thought-provoking film about three young farmers putting regenerative principles into practice has received wide attention round the country.  But there have been no public showings in West Northamptonshire.

housing

Visit to Nottingham Energy Partnership

Nottingham Energy Partnership (NEP) is a climate change and fuel poverty charity working across Nottinghamshire. They share CA-WN’s aims of reducing carbon emissions, increasing resilience and lessening reliance on fossil fuel. On our visit we were welcomed by their Chief Executive Officer, Miranda Cumberbatch, their former CEO Philip Angus

business

If only ...

London is about to trial an electric bus that looks like a tram, has a claimed range of over 200 miles and batteries that can be topped up in ten minutes at bus stands fitted with overhead charging points. The ieTram1 is manufactured at a purpose-built plant in Basque Country,

meeting reports

Report of 12 September public meeting

Our guest speaker for September was Tim O’Callaghan. Tim is a consultant at Electric Places, a not-for-profit company set up in North Northamptonshire to help public and private sector organisations in the area transition to Net Zero. They have been involved with projects to build EV charging hubs and

individual impact

Carbon Literacy training September 2024

As we have mentioned over the summer, CA-WN is pleased to offer Carbon Literacy training to all members. After completing the equivalent of one day's worth of training and committing to carbon-reducing actions, you will be deemed Carbon Literate and possess a certificate to prove it. Further details

individual impact

We need to talk about climate - popcawn September 2024

Do you feel that people generally don’t talk about climate change? Considering how it will, and already does, affect all our lives, it doesn’t get the airtime it deserves. Why could that be? I think there’s several reasons – it’s big and scary, it’s going to

council

Council Watch September 2024

Climate Change Strategy Consultation It won’t surprise anyone that CA-WN is pleased to see West Northamptonshire Council consulting on a Climate Change Strategy. Obviously we’d have liked to see it sooner but nevertheless it is very welcome. This consultation is intended to influence development of the strategy – there

council

My View - Andrew Stevens

I first started reading about climate change perhaps 25 years ago1. At the time I was interested in environmental issues in general as well as politics, specifically inequality and how I thought politicians don't take a lot of notice of evidence on what works to improve the health,

opinion

Meet the Steering Group - Rupert Knowles

As a child, I remember trotting round our orchard with my father and a large black umbrella.  We gave the branches a sharp tap and caught the bugs that fell.  We were looking for black-kneed capsids, a predator of red spider mites.  Today people are still talking about introducing IPM

bookshelf

Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth by James Lovelock

This book was first published in 1979. Even my second-hand 1991 reprint is over 30 years old! The ideas it set out were revolutionary at the time and are still fresh and enlightening today, at least to this reader. The hypothesis at the core of the book is that the

podcastshelf

The Countryside Kitchen meets...

One of the joys of podcasts is that they really are egalitarian – lots of podcasters are big names backed by well-established production companies, but just as many aren’t, and it is great to be able to recommend a podcast made locally. Milly Fyfe is a businesswoman and food blogger,

food & farming

Syan Farm visit

What is a Vertical Farm? As the vertical farmers at Syan Farm themselves say: "With space and time running out for open field farming, we’re looking up. We grow beautifully nutritious crops on multiple levels – vertical farming. It saves on space, reduces carbon and gives us total control