meeting reports

Report of public meeting 19 June

Our guest speaker this month was Bruce Durham, founder of Harborough Woodland (HW)1. This community group have made a tremendous impact since their beginnings 5 years ago – you can read more about their story here2. They are also running a free training event on Saturday 28 June – details on

council

Reform to what?

I will start with a promise, to myself more than anyone else, that the next thing I write for the CA-WN Exchange will return to the subjects of local transport, pedestrianisation and localism. Subjects that I believe are essential not only to the green cause but to the prosperity of

business

Flour Power: How The Good Loaf Changes Lives Daily

The Good Loaf CIC (Community Interest Company) is a Northampton-based social enterprise that is ‘as passionate about giving people a chance as we are about producing delicious artisan bread’. The Good Loaf has been transforming lives since it opened in 2015. Located in the historic Boot and Shoe Quarter, this

nature

The Riches of Uncut Grass

Eluned Nicholls, Parish Councillor in Kingsthorpe, shares her experience of No Mow May We are now in the third year of No Mow May1 and Kingsthorpe Village’s verges and greens are showing signs of a remarkable recovery from years of being cut to within inches of life. Take a

podcastshelf

Rare Earth Podcast + The Rest Is Politics on Net Zero

Rare Earth - Is Net Zero a toxic brand? It's no secret that not everyone thinks Net Zero is a good idea - those on the climate-sceptic end of the spectrum see it as misguided at best, and even some who understand the harsh reality of climate change

bookshelf

And So I Roar by Abi Daré

This book is the first winner of the Climate Fiction Prize1, launched this year. The team behind the prize explained why: We want to reward and showcase powerful stories that depict the human response to climate change; how it impacts us and how society responds.  For societies to fully grasp

housing

My experience of installing an Air Source Heat Pump

This article comes from Mick Lorkins, CA-WN Steering Group member and founder of Northamptonshire Woodland Community Volunteers. We think it provides exactly the sort of honest and comprehensive information householders need - if you have an experience of making 'green' home improvements that you would like to share,

food & farming

Solar panels trial on polytunnels

CA-WN's Farming Correspondent, Rupert Knowles, shared this article about flexible solar panels on polytunnels being used to power farm equipment, and added some comments of his own on the possibilities of technology for fruit harvesting. Hugh Lowe Farms trials polytunnel solar panelsElectric Berry project powers farm tools and

meeting reports

Report of public meeting 15 May 2025

May’s speaker was Natasha Ginks. Natasha is a qualified Retrofit Co-ordinator with considerable practical experience as well as qualifications in the field of home retrofit. Natasha’s presentation was titled "Where to start with retrofit" - the slides are available to download1 and a recording of the

Carbon Literacy training Summer 2025

Following the great success of our previous Carbon Literacy training courses, we're looking forward to offering the next 4-week course starting in early June. After completing the equivalent of one day's worth of training and committing to carbon-reducing actions, you will be deemed Carbon Literate and

New in CA-WN Exchange for May

This month's CA-WN Exchange highlights the sustainability achievements of West Northamptonshire Council over the past four years1, includes insights from Steering Group member Mick Lorkins2, and features a post about grasses3 along with regular bookshelf,4 podcast5 and recipe6 suggestions. And it's Hedgehog Awareness week7. Local

nature

A Journey Through Grass

Members of CA-WN are involved in a grassland project, which aims to draw attention to the nature recovery potential of areas of grassland from road-side verges to small meadows. As a member of this group I considered it worthwhile to explore the importance of grassland and its relationship to humans.

council

Council Watch May 2025 – End of Term Report

Four years ago, the first West Northamptonshire Council was elected – a unitary authority that replaced four predecessors: Daventry Borough Council, Northampton Borough Council, Northamptonshire County Council and South Northamptonshire District Council. Lots of shoes to fill, and not an easy transition to make. There is now a new group of

recipes

Super Food Salad

The veggie boxes have reached that point in the year when the main thing on the list is brassica of varying sorts, onions, and, thank goodness, carrots.  Whilst we really enjoy carrot salad, and lovely though steamed calabrese and broccoli are served cold in a vinaigrette sauce, it’s good

opinion

Meet the Steering Group - Mick Lorkins

Q1. What is your motivation for being involved with the environmental movement and with CA-WN in particular? I retired in 2023 and have always been keen on environmental issues and wanted to do more.  Before retirement I would always ensure that, as part of my job as a project manager,

bookshelf

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

Paul Murray’s novel, The Bee Sting, which won the inaugural Nero Gold Prize and was shortlisted for the Booker prize, is a critically acclaimed tragicomic saga about an Irish family. It is also a book that, according to its author, cannot and should not ignore the climate crisis. Murray

podcastshelf

Happy Heat Pump Podcast

Our latest contributor to the Meet the Steering Group feature, Mick Lorkins, mentions in his piece that he has installed an Air Source Heat Pump in his home, along with other eco-friendly improvements. Coincidentally I recently became aware of this podcast specifically dedicated to demystifying heat pumps of all kinds.

nature

Hedgehog Awareness Week

The 2025 national campaign to help hedgehogs runs from 4 –10 May. Do you have hedgehogs in your neighbourhood? Hedgehogs play a vital role in controlling insect populations and are an important part of our ecosystem, but they face growing threats from habitat loss and road traffic. What can we

meeting reports

17 April Public Meeting report

This month’s meeting was slightly different to the usual format featuring an external guest speaker. Instead CA-WN’s Chair led an open discussion about climate adaptation risk – what are the risks to the residents and environment of our area from climate change and what should we be doing to

recipes

Simnel Traybake

This delicious fruit cake is traditionally made at Easter Tide.  It is a little fiddly to produce, as it requires several distinct stages but the end result is a wonderfully moist cake with a subtle spicy flavour and a lovely crunchy topping, so it is well worth the effort. The

opinion

popcawn April 2025

CA-WN is not a political group and The CA-WN Exchange is not a political platform. But CA-WN cannot stay silent at election time. Our elected representatives hold all the levers of power essential for delivering on CA-WN’s mission: the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from West Northamptonshire and preparing

podcastshelf

Climate risk and energy transition

We usually publish one book and one podcast recommendation each month on CA-WN Exchange. This month instead of a book, I’m going to suggest reading a short article published on LinkedIn*, and tie that in with two podcasts. The article, ‘Climate, Risk, Insurance: The Future of Capitalism’ is by

opinion

Meet the Steering Group - Harry Mellor

As others in the Steering Group are busy with local election matters it falls to someone with zero personal election interest to introduce themself. Q1. What is your motivation for being involved with the environmental movement and with CA-WN in particular? Simple questions that in my case warrant detailed, lengthy

meeting reports

20 March Public Meeting report

We were lucky enough to have two speakers this month. Alan Ryan and Sarah Parr from the RAIN Northants project, part of WNC’s Flood and Water Management team, spoke to us about the work the project is doing to make our area more resilient to flooding, and about what

local matters

Trees for Welford

CA-WN recently received this email from Hilary Hunt of Trees for Welford (TfW), and it's such a great good news story we wanted to share it. I am pleased to say that we have completed our Feasibility Study project and finalised our Report on the challenge of setting