All the news for COP26, links to how you can find out more... keep up to date with developments... join in... take action locally... are in our COP26 Newsletter - out now.

​Restoring Nature’s Networks
7.30 – 9.00 pm Wednesday 10th November.
 
We are looking to these presentations to be a springboard for our campaign to establish a “Gert Big Dorset hedgerow(s)” to span the county North to South and East to West. There will be an opportunity for questions after each of the speakers.  The Zoom code for the meeting is:
 
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83151745426?pwd=bUNvQ0JBUHl5b0U0VVlRNzlNeFo4Zz09
 
Meeting ID: 831 5174 5426
Passcode: 786232
 
Nicola Hopkins from the ‘Farming and Wildlife Group SW’:
FWAG was first established as a charity in the 1960s by a group of forward thinking farmers who saw that the environment was an important part of a successful farming business. Our purpose is to promote and enhance the conservation of wildlife, the environment and the landscape in relation to modern environmental needs. The team in Dorset works with farmers to deliver projects with a range of partners. We currently work with the Dorset Wildlife Trust on a project called Dorset Wild Rivers, the Dorset AONB on Farming in Protected Landscapes and the Environment Agency on the Stour Headwaters project as well as providing day to day support for our membership.”
 
David Westbrook of Natural England has Nature Recovery Networks as his remit:
Natural England is the government’s adviser for the natural environment in England. Our vision is of thriving nature for people and planet and we have a key role in delivering the 25 Year Environment Plan. Our everyday work in Dorset is very varied - from the Purbeck “super nature reserve”, through farmer and developer advice, to collecting and analysing environmental data - and is all about working with the widest range of partners to restore nature. We’re particularly keen to help Dorset to play its part creating the Nature Recovery Network - a national network of wildlife rich places to help tackle biodiversity loss, climate change and well-being.

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Ethical Consumer Week, October 2021 | Ecotricity  
 https://www.ecotricity.co.uk › our-news › 2021 › ethical-consumer-week-october-2021
Ethical Consumer Week, October 2021. Press enquiries. If you are a journalist with a media enquiry, please contact our Press Office on 01453 761 318 or you can email pressoffice@ecotricity.co.uk. For all other general enquiries, please call 01453 756 111 or email home@ecotricity.co.uk. By Olly Rose. Sep 24, 2021. In the run-up to the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow this November, Ethical ...
 
Ethical Consumer Week 2021 | Programme   
https://www.ethicalconsumerweek.com › 2021-event-schedule   
Ethical Consumer Week
16th - 22nd October 2021. Browse sessions by day. Sat 16th - Housing & energy. Sun 17th - Travel. Mon 18th - Food and farming. Tue 19th - Clothing. Wed 20th - Money. Thurs 21st - Technology. Fri 22nd - Retail. Ethical Consumer sessions. Energy & Housing Saturday 16th October 2021 . To kick-start Ethical Consumer Week 2021 we have sessions focusing on the climate gap ...
 
Ethical Consumer Week 2021: Closing the Climate Gap. 
https://www.ethicalconsumer.org › ethical-consumer-week-2021-closing-climate-gap
Ethical Consumer Week 2021 (16th-22nd October) will look at the gap between current behaviour and where we must head in order to meet international targets, & how we can address the divide. It will consider our roles as consumers, citizens, workers, producers & more - asking what steps we can take towards supporting local, national & global behaviour change. Transformative change. Last ...
 
Ethical Consumer Week 2021  
https://www.ethicalconsumerweek.com › ethical-consumer-sessions   
Tickets for Ethical Consumer Week 2021 are provided on a per-session basis. You can find links to get tickets & sign up to individual sessions on the programme page here. Throughout the week we will be holding a wide variety of sessions on the theme of Closing the Climate Gap. One session each day will be hosted by Ethical Consumer, with many ...
 
Ethical Consumer Week webinar - ethex.org.uk  
https://www.ethex.org.uk › events › ethical-consumer-week-webinar  
​Ethical Consumer Week webinar. Friday 22nd October 2021 - 11:00AM Zoom Attend by Ethex 2 September 2021 . Join our Ethical Consumer Week online discussion on grassroots solutions to global problems . Join Lisa Ashford, CEO of ethical investing platform Ethex, with Rose Marley, CEO of Co-ops UK and representatives of some community-and climate-driven organisations for an open discussion about ...

Let's get Dorset's voice heard at COP26
After the extraordinary events of September, including Great Big Green Week offerings across the county, the Planet Purbeck Festival and Open Greener Homes, it may be hard to imagine doing more.  But there IS more ... COP26 is happening very soon!

COP26 is a critical moment in our history and our future. So what is Dorset saying? How can OUR voice be heard? How can all of us in Dorset contribute and be heard?

Please come to our online meeting on Wednesday 13th October, 19:30-21:00 (7.30-9pm).  Topic: Climate Reality/COP26 ~ Zoom Link (no registration necessary)

Please put the date/link in your calendar/diary now.

You will hear from:

1. Local Dorset organisations who already have plans for COP 26
2. Ellie Wills and Elena Cantarello - members of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps and both currently working at Bournemouth University. Eleanor works in the University's Sustainability Team, engaging with staff and students to help them feel more able and empowered to take action, as well as taking local action. Elena is Principal Academic in Sustainability Science, teaching Carbon Management, Globalisation and Sustainable Development. She has been the Programme Leader of the MSc Green Economy for some years.
3. Neil Morisetti - Professor of Climate and Resource Security at UCL.  Between 2009 and 2013 he acted as the UK Government Climate and Energy Security Envoy, and then the Foreign Secretary’s Special Representative for Climate Change.

Then it's your chance to share views and decide between us which actions to prioritise and amplify now. We cannot all do everything – but we are stronger together! Working smarter not harder!

Please pass this on and encourage people to come!  And please reply now (dorsetcan@gmail.com) if you have thoughts/ideas/actions that you want to share before the meeting.

3 keys to public engagement 

1. The power of a team

On 18 September, the recently formed Beaminster ECO Committee held its first public event – a Big Green Day, which was the town’s contribution to the national Great Big Green Week 18 to 26 September.  The aim of the Day was to offer practical ideas on how we can all reduce living costs, cut waste, reduce our carbon footprint, encourage wildlife in our gardens, enjoy local food, plant trees and make our homes more energy-efficient. 
The Day included children’s activities on The Square and in the Public Hall;  a range of displays in the Public Hall;  and free refreshments, including excellent soup made of organic vegetables.  The displays focused on wildlife in your garden, planting trees, a beehive, the Green Living project, a food project, Open Greener Homes, retrofit of older houses, electric bicycles and an electric car.

Most striking was the strength of the wide team which organised the whole event.  This team was drawn from the Town Council, Beaminster Area ECO Group, the Church ECO Group, Beaminster School, Young Farmers, Army Cadets, Scouts, Women’s Institute, Prout Bridge Community Centre, Dorset Wildlife Trust, Beaminster Probus and others – a total of at least 40 people directly involved in organising the event.  The public response was strong, including many Beaminster people not previously involved in environmental activity.  After the event, one of the participants commented “It was a wonderful day and I loved that everyone of all ages just got on with what they needed to do to bring it all together, without anyone seeming to be in charge. Great stuff !”

2. The power of practical examples

Beaminster and neighbouring villages have contributed 6 of the total of 50 Dorset Greener Homes within the programme organised by Dorset CAN this year.  Two of these homes illustrate beautifully the power of an idea as seen in practice.  A newcomer to the Greener Homes family is Ubuntu, a brand-new home on the northern edge of Beaminster created by Sue Wardell and Mark Oppe.  It has high levels of insulation and triple glazing to passive house standard, solar PV with batteries, air source heat pump and mechanical ventilation/heat retrieval.  Introducing the house, Sue says “We were inspired and encouraged by houses we saw through Dorset Eco Homes”.

In the centre of Beaminster is Honeysuckle House, owned by Gillian Perrott and Sue Counsell.  Their house, built in 1997, has insulated walls, double glazing and loft insulation, achieving high standards of energy efficiency.  The living area is heated by a gas-fired Aga, and a Norwegian Jotul wood-burning stove using timber from this their own woodland.  In 2010, they installed 16 solar panels (capacity 3kW) on the south-facing roof of the adjoining barn.  This year, they installed an air source heat pump, replacing the gas boiler for heating & hot water.  On their first open day, 19 September, they were visited just by one local couple, and spent two hours with them.  On their feedback form, the visitors said “It was inspiring to see the equipment in place and to have an explanation of the practical implications, problems and benefits.  We intend to arrange a survey related to insulation generally and to installing solar panels and an air  source heat pump”.

3. The power of public opinion  

Parnham House, a fine historic house set in parkland on the south side of Beaminster, has for centuries been a major feature in the life and economy of the town.  The townspeople were deeply shocked in 2017 when the mansion was destroyed by fire.  They hoped for someone to take on the estate, with the resources to restore the building.  So, they were pleased when, last year, James Perkins bought the Parnham estate, with the stated intention to restore the mansion.  They welcomed the prospect of a restored historic building, and its sympathetic use as, perhaps, a hotel. 

Then came an interview in Bridport News in which James Perkins, described as former head of the rave scene promoter Fantazia, spoke of his desire to turn Parnham into an “adventure wonderland where people of all ages can come and enjoy, creating hundreds of jobs in the process”.  Local people began to fear what might happen on the estate.  In July, the Estate submitted to Dorset Council an application for an entertainment licence, stating the intention to turn the whole estate into an ‘events venue’.  The licence would enable it to organise a wide range of activities and events on the estate, including films, plays, musical and sporting events, with significant numbers of people.  Included would be late-night activity, running into the small hours, with available alcohol and (on some occasions) amplified music.  The estate proposed to build a pub, restaurant, shop and other facilities, alongside the restoration of Parnham House. 

This application attracted a storm of protest from people living in Beaminster and  Netherbury.  Dorset Council’s Licensing Committee received an unprecedented number of objections, and very few messages expressing support.  The outcome was a Committee Meeting lasting one and a half days, during which objectors argued passionately for restriction in the numbers of visitors, the frequency of events, the hours of opening and the parts of the estate on which large events, the sale of alcohol and the use of amplified sound could apply.  In response, the estate manager stated that the normal maximum number of people attending events on the estate would not exceed 130;  that events in larger numbers would be very few;  and that the estate was ready to restrict the large events to a limited area surrounding the historic house and its associated buildings and formal gardens.  Two days after the public meeting, the Committee published its decision to grant the licence, including most of the conditions which had been demanded by the objectors. 
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The next steps are likely to include planning applications for new buildings on the estate, which will be appraised with great vigilance by the local community.  They will wish to see an outcome which is productive for the estate and which makes a strong positive contribution to the well-being of the local community and economy.