Woodbridge Climate Summit

Following the first Woodbridge Climate Action weekend in 2019, Eamon and Woodbridge Town Council, organised a follow up. It inspired both Michael and I.

Here are some aspects I take away.

Organised by Woodbridge Town Council in particular Martin Wilks and Eamonn O’Nolan with the total support of the Council together with Woodbridge residents (12 people) to inform and guide Woodbridge into Net Zero. Town council aiming to step away more, although due to budgetary reasons will always have a presence.
25 presentations / Outside Campaign stands for conversations following the talks
Objective 20% – but how do we, in Halesworth, measure?

Climate Action Halesworth conference
Cooling down: Expand green spaces – the essential quality of trees and wild areas to bring down the temperature. It’s going to raise to 42 degrees by 2050 even if we act – and will we globally?. Vital cooling down element of woods, wood stacks, green spaces, (Chelmsford), joining up veins, Alotments?
Water – monitor river, helped with Camera Posts

Martin Wilks introduced Earth Protector member site.
https://earthprotectorcommunities.net/about/
https://earthprotectorcommunities.net/towns/
The town is also publicly supporting the Stop Ecocide campaign which supports the legal and diplomatic work to make Ecocide an international crime.

We began with a poem, by Andrea Skevington, a meander walk along the Deben estuary … and the cry of the curlew stays with us.

Christine Luxton CEO, Suffolk Wildlife Trust.

Appointed in 2019 all lockdown, one of first public ventures out
We have arrived at the decade to act, 2020 to 2030
Twins of biodiversity and climate change
PROTECT – Map of SWT sites supported. eg Redgrave and Lopham Fen, Winks Meadow etc) Continue to protect these sites and at the same time
RESTORE – Yes, continue to maintain but now scale up.Carlton marshes a prime example. Massive multi million pound project to take a nonproductive field and turn to marsh,
For biodiversity, extending natural habitats around which otherwise decreasing
Flood defence protecting Oulton broad.
John Lawton 30%?
Partnering up with farmers and land owners
Arger fen / Black Bourne valley / Foxborrow farm
Psychology – achieve a 1 : 4 ratio and the minority will influence the majority for it to become the norm.

Elmhurst kitchen garden – Matthew Ling

The story of how no allotments in Woodbridge led to direct action, with town council finally giving people a piece of a garden. (Allotments is a big story in Woodbridge, far more demand than space). They formed a community garden. Many outcomes. The strong support the weak, people can go on holiday, diversity of skills

Swift’s Eddie Bathgate Suffolk Bird Group

Not swallows not housemartins – which are all aerial feeders from Africa.
Decline in number caused by us renovating old buildings and new building regs, insulating and baring structures preventing animals from entering. Halved in last 10 years.
May to September. Easter egg body, to Toblerone wing
Woodbridge campaign successful to put up Swift Boxes around the town.

Prof Peter Hobson

Chair biodiversity University college, Writtle University College, Essex climate action

Unequivocal, The climate will change
Catch 22. Need for more evidence, and precautionary principle. Change happening now,
eg Canada usually under ice cooling themselves in deck chairs
eg Europe flooding
42 degrees I the summer inevitable

Landscape management
We’ve moved from wilderness to manicured. Not Elmhurst, as no nectar protectors
We need an eco system which can absorb heat.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/08/land-could-be-worth-more-left-to-nature-than-when-farmed-study-finds-aoe

Eg Madeira island eco system
Temperature evidence inside and outside of trees. Banana plantation and woodland a 10% difference. Leave biomass on the ground. How much forest can we afford to leave? 30%.?
Half the earth for nature.

Eg. Chelmsford
Evidence of difference in temperature green to no green. We need to cool down. Put away the mower!

Essex policy
30% greening of the towns expanded to whole county. Need to share narrative with farmers developers councillors

Regenerative Agriculture at Writtle college. Agriculture we need to do much more with less space.
20 years ago 8 tonnes per hectare now 4.5 tonnes. Why, because of reducing soil quality.
Need to change peoples view of land profoundly.

Michael Gidney, CEO Fairtrade Foundation
Ghana coffee, paid 70 p a day. Every time you buy you are casting your vote

Lord Deben, Chair, Climate Change Committee
CC is s symptom of what we have done to the world. Net zero. People concentrate on the zero. But we also need the Net.
RECOVER the balance as well as REDUCE
Inspired by Rachel Carson silent spring and Lady Eve Balfour who created Soil Association who was herself influenced by Steiner
The answer not vegan but mixed farming,

Proud of the IPCC and UK COP 26 and the UK Policies.
However, why are we still allowing horticultural peat in market while we debate? Hold up is horticultural trade association. Still out in consultation until 2025. No we must act now

However why still bottom trawling bad for food chain, bad for carbon. Fisheries have far more power than lawn mower association yet less of them

However Developers change in policy in 2017 2 million homes built with dismantled eco credentials. No we need to retrofit.

What are we going to do about it?
Spring 17 days earlier this year than in 1960s.Each one of us is here for a purpose. We may not know what it is.

Questions.
Solar farms community ownership.
Nuclear part of the mix. Nuclear 20 to renewable 80
Therese Coffey excellent at work and pensions. Don’t be a moaning mini.
We win with kindness

AgroForestry & Short Food Chains David Wakelyns

Open day in May

Home composting Jodi peck Jodi Peck and Naomi Drown, Suffolk CC & Garden Organic

Homecomposting.co.uk

Deben Water Study, e-coli etc Professor Nic Bury & Eamonn O’Nolan Film

Joined up up group (on group app) of parish councils effected by River Deban
E-coli and nitrate evidence, working with with Citizen science.
Issue is capacity. New homes join on to existing sewage system, without capacity

Dr Helene Burningham,University College London

Using collaborative community science, two way feed
Set up Fixed point photography points along the Deban to monitor bank erosion. Each with a link to social media. Eg cliff erosion near Bawdsey. Not just high tide, but mix of variables eg rainfall.

Argus Hardy Wild East

20% pledge. Dreamed up on long journey back from Scotland in 2019.
Not rewilding, although inspired by Isabella Tree, rather connectivity, a mosaic.
So far 2.5% of 30 year objective.
Argos background, worked Wakelyns, practicing as an architect. Inspired by biodiversity loss.
Partners Anglia railway.
Software global map
On his own (inherited) land he is extending hedges a metre so not cutting for 5 years.

SUNDAY
Poem Andrea Skevington – memory

Adnams – Sadi Lofthouse

Adnams affected by Climate Change – outside their window, their raw materials, their market.
Sustainability at Adnams started 15 years ago by a visionary Simon. Moved central Adnams outside Southwold, Sedum roof, hemp insulation, water harvesting. No heating required winter or summer.
Distillery to recycle – solved one but found another – water
4 pillars
Biodiversity / Carbon / Water / Waste
Carbon aiming for net 0 by 2030 . Packaging reduction/ Fleet local electric/ Biofuel/hydrogen/ Naked deliveries (like milk)
Water – grey water used in house. Rcycling as much as they can for distillery – needs more
Bakery – replacing wheat with yesterdays bread.

Signed up to Terra Carta and UN…
600 employees
Partnerhing Suffolk Wildlife Trust/ Blue Marine /Bees / Elements

Solar PV and Home Battery – Phil Bull

Martlesham Climate Action part of. Engineer by training. Tied in with Martlesham Town Council. Working together with Deban
Purchased total up market system = £17,000, and monitored one year
KW Hours / KW power

16 x 400w panels / 6KW INVERTER BATTERY SMART METRE
Out put to Capacity 13KW Hours
UK Power network (average 9 in a day)
average 5KW day
kettle 2.5

Actual consumption 3,350 KW annually = 9.2KWH per day
21% used by home 30% used battery to house 50% to grid. Battery takes out of grid during cheep time.
Grid 10% Jan and Dec = £30 a year

Wildlife Corridors and backyard wildlife – Hilary Whyard and Gen Garfield
Joining up Woodbridges backgarden.

New hedges, trees, parks
Felixstow the paradigm
Members statics of no of bird boxes, fruit trees, bats, ponds etc, so they could measure increase etc over the years.

Localism – Martin Wilks

Oraniser. ower-ship of land and enclosures. issue of management of the commons. Science and human behaviour. pro-social model. Reduce competition to Co-operation/

AWAY ________________Inner_____________________ TOWARD
Outer

Don’t look up – Ian Rowlands (Siren Calling)

How to we change peoples view? How did I change my view
Cultural dynamism – what make people think
People are PIONEERS = global, connected, network, vision (10)
PROSPECTORS – status important, material (30)
SETTLERS – Family Home, safety (70)
Where is your bias
Do you want to be right or liked or free?

The Joyful Environmentalist – Isabel Losada

Who do you bank with? HSBC / Barclays the worst. Tridos
Who supplies your electricity? Bulb is Shell, the drivers of the Anti-climate change movement.
Try Green Energy UK / Good Energy / Eco-Tricity
Plastic is where the petrol companies are trying to expand the market
eg plastic pram for carrying a water melon

Buy nothing and drink Organic wine

Climate Anxiety – Jon Neal (MIND)

Food and drink / Sleep (Rem emotional hold) / Movement /
Security / Control / Community / Status / Privacy / Emotional connection / Achievement / Meaning purpose
Beware catastrphonising – I always loose my keys
Symptoms, stress is the cross over point
Do what you can. = control. eg Gretta
Circles – what I can control / What I cannot control

Limit news intake / Look for good news

Antarctic Sketchbook Claudia Myatt

Takes up 30% of our earth, absorbes 70% of our carbon
Starting South Georgia, albertros protected, on Royal Navy Icebreaker, artist in residence for 5 weeks.
Exploited until 1959 Arctic treaty. Industrial archeology of abandoned whaling stations