Shropshire Climate Action: Town & Parish Councils What can you do as a Town & Parish Council? Take action Parish and Town Councils are at the heart of our communities and can play a key role in cascading information to people about the climate crisis and how we can adjust our lives - through a change of diet, how we heat and light our buildings, how we travel, and what we buy so we reuse and recycle. Sign up to a Climate Fresk workshop Climate Fresk is a 3 hour facilitated workshop where you can get to grips with climate change in small groups in a safe, non-judgemental space, learn how to take action and enjoy some thought-provoking discussions. The workshops explore key drivers, mechanisms, and impacts of climate change, and map out where we are today and where we could be headed if we join forces. If you are a town or parish council and want to book a half day Climate Fresk workshop find out more via the BizEd Projects website or email climate@bizedprojects.com Use the Impact Community Carbon Calculator to assess your community's carbon footprint The Centre for Sustainable Energy has developed the online Impact Community Carbon Calculator tool. It calculates the total amount of greenhouse gases produced directly and indirectly as a result of everyday human activities (heating homes, using electricity, transport, producing and distributing food, disposing of waste, etc.) at the level of parishes, wards, district councils and unitary authorities. It helps communities target their resources to gain the greatest impact in reducing emissions. Use this toolkit to identify actions councils can take The Great Collaboration has designed a toolkit to help Town and Parish Councils identify the carbon reduction actions you have taken, want to take or are unable to take. The data is summarised into a Local Council Report that can be presented at a council meeting. The insights given in the report enable you to see what is happening in your local community and this valuable information can be used to inform your own Carbon Action Plan. Write a Town or Parish Council Climate Action Plan To help you: Use the Impact data to guide the priorities you set in your council’s climate action plan. Read some of the plans Shropshire Town and Parish Councils have already devised: o See Bishop Castle’s Climate and Nature Action Plan update 2024-25 o See Clun's Climate Action Plan update 2023 A simple proforma was developed for Wem Town Council’s climate action plan . A blank template for your Cli ma te Action Plan can be found here. Make your community buildings more energy efficient and save money The Centre for Sustainable Energy has a Community Action Plan guide on how to retrofit a community building Find local trusted contractors for your retrofit project via Marches Energy Agency's Future Ready Homes website . The directory provides details of recommended installers, trades people and professionals who can help you with retrofitting a building. The area covered by this directory includes Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin. The Marches Energy Grant (MEG) scheme offers free advice, energy assessments and grants for energy efficiency and renewable energy measures to SMEs from all sectors. The funding is also available to support community buildings. The project also provides networking and webinar events for SMEs and other organisations. Sign up via: www.marchesgrowthhub.co.uk/marches-energy-grant for a free energy efficiency audit to assess equipment, premises, processes and performance and identify opportunities for improvements in energy usage. Grants are available for projects worth up to £20,000 (some match funding is required) . Big Solar Co-op installs solar panels on rooftops which are the size of a tennis court or bigger, and where the building has high electricity usage (prior to 2022 prices, at least £20k in electricity bills). See their website to find out more or submit information about your site via https://bigsolar.coop/submit-a-site/ for an assessment and response from the local coordinator. Share your successful local projects with Carbon Copy Carbon Copy is a national charity offering ideas and motivation to drive local action to protect us from climate breakdown and defend Nature. The Carbon Copy network includes climate action stories from over 1,000 UK organisations (including some in Shropshire ) and area-specific information about the changing climate and Climate Action Plans. Add your success story here .

Shropshire Climate Action: Nature and Biodiversity Nature & biodiversity Loss of biodiversity The crisis we face is both a carbon and an ecological crisis. T he UK has lost almost half of its biodiversity (the variety of living species on Earth, including plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi) since the 1970s and 15% of the 8,431 species found here are threatened with extinction (RSPB State of Nature 2019). The UK ranks in the lowest 10% of countries internationally for its (lack of) biodiversity and a study by the Natural History Museum published in 2021 reported that overall 41% of UK species were in decline, and that 26% of UK mammals are at risk of extin ction. Biodiversity is important; it underpins global nutrition and fo od security and impacts on economic growth, it contributes to human health and wellbeing for both physical and mental health, it enables clean air, clean water and healthy soils and it provides us all with beauty and wonder. Land management for biodiversity also supports carbon reduction, the two are inextricably linked, and critical to success is the relationship between food production and ecology, through farming systems that support high nature value. There are key policy drivers to improve ecological health, such as Nature Recovery Strategies for each county. The post-Brexit Environmental Land Management scheme (ELMs) is intended to support measures that improve “public goods” – those things provided by land management that are not provided primarily through market mechanisms, including the ability to store carbon, supply clean water etc Within Shropshire local initiatives are moving the biodiversity agenda forward. Woodlands Local targets are to expand an d restore woodland cover in ways that are sympathetic to nature and the landscape. Local examples include: The Ancient Woodland Restoration Project The Trees Outside Woodland Scheme Roadside verges and hedgerows Effective management of roadside verges and hedgerows can have significant impacts for biodiversity gain and also help sequester carbon. CPRE Shropshire’s Hedgerow project helps prov ide vital wildlife corridors for nature. Contact CPRE for more information and to sign up to the planting days via their website Restoring Shropshire Verges Project ( RSVP) is part of the Stepping Stones project, a National-Trust led partnership. The pro ject covers 200 km2 and includes the Long Mynd SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) and the Stiperstones NNR (National Nature Reserve). The aim is to create ecological connectivity; connecting wildlife habitats by strengthening or creating “Stepping Stones” and corridors of habitats between and around these two core sites. Other partners include Shropshire Highways, Plantlife, Caring for Gods Acre and Shropshire Hills National Landscape (the new name for this designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty).   RSVP vo lunteers ‘adopt’ verges, sowing and planting wildflowers to support wildlife. Partners in biodiversity enhancement Friends of Mortimer Forest help preserve and enhance the natural environment in Mortimer Forest which covers South Shropshire and North Herefordshire and to encourage its use to promote mental and physical health and educational activities. Going Wild in Bishop’s Castle is a project to ‘green’ Bishop’s Castle and encourage biodiversity by planting trees, hedgerows, herbs, shrubs, ponds, nest boxes etc. Land, Life & Livelihoods is a community initiative operating in the Clun Forest and working with farmers and the wider community. Marches Meadow Group operates on both sides of the Welsh Marches in Shropshire and Powys. They are interested in the management and conservation of wildflower rich hay meadows of all sizes from patches of lawn upwards. Join up and attend events, walks and talks. Middle Marches Community Land Trust (MMCLT) is a community-led Trust based in the Middle Marches which is committed to the promotion and development of sustainable and environmentally responsible agriculture. It protects, conserves, restores and enhances the environment through the purchase, lease and management of land. Shropshire Wildlife Trust manage over 40 Nature Reserves across Shropshire and run local groups and events across the county. Join a biodiversity collage workshop to explore the pressing issue of biodiversity loss Click here for information Local examples Sarah’s blog tells the story of an 11-acre field in south Shropshire bought in 2018 and now managed for nature (with wetland, meadow, woodland and ponds). Pam's Pools is a permaculture and wildlife project near Bridgnorth working to enhance the biodiversity of an 110 acre site centred on disused quarry pits.

Shropshire Climate Action: Transport Transport Transport affects all areas of our lives and impacts on personal and envi ronmental health. Walking and cycling more can help reduce heart diseases, obesity and diabetes. But this requires improvements in road safety, such as a 20 mile per hour speed limits on residential streets and cycle lanes. Research in 2017 showed that most trips are relatively short: 24% of trips were under 1 mile, and 68% under 5 miles. There is significant potential to car share, use public transport or active transport (walking and cycling), provided the right infrastructure is in place - and that is a particular issue in rural Shropshire. You can read South Shropshire Climate Action's (SSCA) '15 Asks' concerning transport which were presented to Shropshire Council. Active travel Buses Car travel Trains & Planes SSCA's 15 'Asks' Here are our top tips for reducing your transport carbon emissions 1

Shropshire Climate Action: Water Water Water management Water management is integral to achieving net zero carbon. Good soil management maintains and enhances water quality a nd regulates water flow. Soils facilitate the infiltration of water a nd water storage, thereby influencing the rate of surface run-off and times to p eak flow. Conversely, excessive run-off from degraded or compacted soils leads to erosion of topsoil and soil organic matter and depletes valuable nutrients with negative impacts on soil fertility and water quality. The Severn Trent Environmental Protection Scheme (STEPS ) works with landowners and farmers in priority catchments to improve water quality and enhance water availability. Natural Flood Management (NFM) NFM uses natural processes to reduce the risk of flooding and erosion. It generally involves three mechanisms: increasing filtration, for example by reducing soil compaction or improving soil quality; storing w ater, by restoring functioning floodplains or digging retaining ponds; and slowing flows by creating woodland buffer strips or “leaky dams” of woody material. Shropshire Wildlife Trust and Shropshire Council operate a “Slow the Flow” project working with landowners on natural flood management techniques. A new type of river management Cartoon explaining simply a holistic approach to river and water management and why we have to consider the whole system (4 minutes). Natural flood management Demonstrating simple practical methods of ‘slowing the flow’ and improving water quality in water catchments (7 minutes). How to get involved The following organisations are involved in flood prevention and river restoration: Communities Prepared equips Community Emergency Volunteer (CEV) and Flood Warden groups with the know ledge, skills and confidence to prepare for, respond to, and recover from flooding and other emergencies. Severn Rivers Trust is an independent charity established in 2008 to protect and enhance the River Severn, its tributaries and streams. This includes restoration projects, community engagement and land management projects with landowners. For volunteering opportunities click here. If you are interested in getting involved with monitoring river pollution , contact the Severn Rivers Trust and Shropshire Wildlife Trust.

Shropshire Climate Action: Land & Biodiversity Land & biodiversity Farmers are the wardens of our land. In their hands lies both great potential and great challenges – feeding a growing population whilst also restoring ecological health. Land use is crucial to achieve a net zero carbon future as the land represents a significant sink in which to store carbon. Many Shropshire farmers are pioneering new methods of agricultural production and the industry as a whole has committed to achieve a net zero carbon future. The climate crisis will test our food supply chains and there will be a need to build local food resilience and local food networks. SCA wants to lend support, share best practice and be an advocate for positive change. To join Shropshire Climate Action's Land and Biodiversity Working Group which meets regularly please email: contact@shropshireclimateaction.org We also do this in collaborative partnerships, as active members of: The Marches Nature Partnership The Shropshire Hills National Landscape Team (the new name for this designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) Partnership Board, and its Climate Group Shropshire Good Food Partnership South Shropshire Climate Action's Next Steps report identified a menu of opportunities for positive land use and a toolkit for change. Implementation of this menu rests with a range of collaborative partners and local initiatives. Land management Nature & biodiversity Food Water Gardening Nature walks

Our local partner groups Sustainable Bridgnorth Exotic Urbanism Misty Mountains

Sustainable Bridgnorth Contact us on Facebook Contact us via Email Sustainable Bridgnorth encourages residents, businesses, and organizations around Bridgnorth to take steps towards environmental sustainability, including water conservation, waste reduction, and working towards Net Zero. It aims to empower the local community to adapt to the effects of climate change and promote positive attitudes towards the environment. It's current main activities are: Energy Reduction: Volunteers from Sustainable Bridgnorth offer advice, in collaboration with the Marches Energy Agency charity, to local residents and businesses on how they might reduce their energy use, thereby saving money as well as reducing carbon emissions. We hold advisory sessions once a month at Bridgnorth Library (as publicised in their events sheet) and on a couple of Mondays each month at Bridgnorth Food Bank (held at the Baptist church on West Castle Street). It's best to contact us by email at energyadvice@sustainablebridgnorth.org.uk to book an appointment, either at an advisory session or at your home. We give advice on quick steps to reduce energy usage, how to improve insulation and energy efficiency in your home and on available grants. We also have an Infra-Red camera to help identify areas of heat loss. We are looking for more volunteers to be trained as energy advisors. Prevent Pointless Plastic: Running since 2018, this campaign has raised awareness of the issue of single-use plastic in the town, to reduce waste generated and plastic pollution of the River Severn, in addition to inspiring people and businesses to seek out re-usable products, re-use systems and recycling. It has involved local businesses, residents and church and school groups on projects such as Refill Bridgnorth . The town was accredited in 2020 by the marine conservation charity, Surfers Against Sewage, as a Plastic Free Community . Contact us via Facebook . How to join : contact the membership secretary at membership@sustainablebridgnorth.org.uk .

Shropshire Climate Action: Local businesses What can you do as a local business? 1. Get advice on making your business more sustainable Businesses of all sizes have a vital role to play in climate action and becoming more sustainable. There are steps your businesses can take whether you’re just starting out or further along the road to net zero emissions. Search the Marches Growth Hub website and their Marches Net Zero Information Hub for net zero advice and support including green finance, funding and local authority support or use their Support Finder and search ‘Net Zero’ for the latest programmes. Sustainable Leaders in Business is an online sustainability award which helps you assess your business’ current environmental performance and set some goals for future improvement. The tool auto-fills some actions to enable you to achieve your sustainability goals, so you’re not faced with a blank canvas. Sustainable Leaders in Business: helps you to get started on your sustainability journey de-mystifies sustainable jargon celebrates your successes trains you and your staff to carry out all jobs in a greener way is there to support you through this journey. Visit the Sustainable Leaders in Business website for more information or email info@e4environment.co.uk to find out more. 2. Sign up to a Climate Fresk workshop Climate Fresk is a 3 hour facilitated workshop where you can get to grips with climate change in small groups in a safe, non-judgemental space, learn how to take action and enjoy some thought-provoking discussions. The workshops explore key drivers, mechanisms, and impacts of climate change, and map out where we are today and where we could be headed if we join forces. Previous participants have said: ‘I knew a fair bit about climate change but I learned so much new stuff. It was incredibly powerful sharing ideas in the group and understanding how everything is connected. We discussed next steps we could take and I left feeling focused and upbeat’. If you are a businesses or organisation and want to book a half day Climate Fresk workshop find out more via the BizEd Projects website. or email climate@bizedprojects.com 3. Get financial support to make your business premises more energy efficient The Marches Energy Grant (MEG) scheme provides SMEs from all sectors with free advice, energy assessments and grants for energy efficiency and renewable energy measures across Herefordshire, Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin. Sign up via: www.marchesgrowthhub.co.uk/marches-energy-grant 4. Install roof top solar panels on your business premises (Big Solar Coop) (see below) Big Solar Co-op installs solar panels on rooftops which are the size of a tennis court or bigger, and where the building has high electricity usage (prior to 2022 prices, at least £20k in electricity bills). See their website to find out more or submit information about your site via https://bigsolar.coop/submit-a-site/ for an assessment and response from the local coordinator.

Shropshire Climate Action: Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin's emissions Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin's emissions We often get questions about whether the county is making progress on reducing its Green House Gas (GHG) emissions. While GHG savings can be measured for say a household or an organisation (using carbon footprinting tools ), and there are some general estimates available of the impacts of particular actions (e.g. not driving a petrol car) based on academic research, there is no easy way of calculating a figure for the county bottom-up. However, we can use the data provided by the Department for Energy and Net Zero which are calculated top-down, with Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin apportioned a percentage of the UK emissions based on its geography and characteristics. Below is a progress chart for Green House Gas emissions for Shropshire, Telford& Wrekin. To keep within our carbon budget and to around 1.5C of warming, we need to get to an average of approx 2.5t CO2 emissions per individual in the UK by 2030 so are not currently on track to do that. Shropshire's emissions According to the Impact community carbon calculator* , Shropshire’s residents are responsible for emitting 3,467,883 tonnes of CO2e per annum.** This pie chart shows the relative impact of the Greenhouse Gas emissions (GHGs) across the sectors represented in the South Shropshire Climate Action “Next Steps” report. * The Impact tool has been developed by the Centre for Sustainable Energy and Exeter University as a data visualisation tool which allows you to look at household emissions within geographical boundaries (parishes, local authority areas, etc). **(CO2e stands for Carbon Dioxide equivalent; the warming impacts of any GHG can be measured relative to that of a molecule of CO2, the standard unit of measurement). A note on data There are many carbon calculators and each measures greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in different ways. Comparing the results from different calculators can lead to misunderstandings or false conclusions. Please read this even if, or especially if, data is not your thing. When South Shropshire Climate Action wrote the Next Steps report transport’s contribution to Shropshire’s GHGs was assessed at 37%. This was based on the most accurate published data at the time from the UK government, but the government data did not include any assessment for the two most significant agricultural GHGs, methane and nitrous oxide. In more recent published data sets these two GHGs have been added, and this changes the percentage contributions from other sources, such as transport. Thus, the Impact Calculator assesses agriculture as 27% and transport as 32%. It is important to understand that the apparent reduction in transport’s contribution to Shropshire’s GHG emissions is not because there has been a decrease in transport emissions, but reflects that agricultural emissions were significantly under stated in older published datasets. The two most significant sectors for GHGs in Shropshire remain as agriculture and transport, and both need to be addressed if we are to reach net zero.

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Shropshire Climate Action: Energy Efficiency Improve Energy Efficiency Do it in the right order Most of us don't live in recent, energy efficient homes. We need to add (or retrofit ) energy-saving measures. Plan a series of steps, which can be implemented over time, saving money and disruption. Below is a summary of measures to consider taking in your own home. You can find more information in our Energy Efficient Homes Information Sheets . "Fabric First" Improve insulation, air-tightness and ventilation: Window and door replacement. Loft insulation Wall insulation - cavity, internal and/or external Floor insulation Air tightness It's vital to ensure that you address any damp problems and that you have appropriate ventilation and moisture control to avoid subsequent issues with damp and mould. Options include: t rickle vents, extractor fans, and mechanical ventilation and heat recovery (MVHR) First retrofit priorities Draughts. Drainage - maintain gutters, downpipes and drains. Condensation and damp - see above. Asbestos - may be discovered during a retrofit and likely to require specialist removal or treatment. Take opportunities to insulate You can insulate your loft at any time, although it's more comfortable up there in the spring or autumn. But adding wall, loft or floor insulation is more disruptive. Plan to do it when opportunities arise, possibly a room at a ti me, over a number of years. You could fit internal wall insulation when you are: Installing a new kitchen or bathroo m Replacing or repairing plaster or plasterboard Or just emptying and decorating a room Fit e xternal wall insulation if you need scaffolding, which is a significant cost, for any reason: Working on rendering or painting Fitting replacement windows Windows & doors Replacing single-glazed windows, with modern double- or triple-glazing, and old draughty doors makes a home feel far more comfortable and significantly reduces energy losses. It's important to avoid thermal bridging around the frames. The reduction in energy use, at current prices, means that replacement double-glazed windows typical pay for themselves over 15 to 20 years. Loft & roof insulation Adding loft insulation is usually the most cost-effective way of reducing the energy lost from a house. If you have none, adding 300mm of loft insulation will typically pay for itself in one to two years. There are few better investments. Care is required if you have a 'room in the roof', have ceilings immediately under a flat or sloping roof, or have dormers. Insulation needs to be installed to avoid condensation, either by having a moisture-proof membrane on the warm side of the insulation or, in certain older properties, using a fully-breathable structure. Make sure that any air leaks into the loft space are blocked. For example, this could be from behind plaster board in the top-floor rooms or through downlighters. Wall insulation It's almost always worth fitting internal or external wall insulation to houses that have solid walls ( without a cavity), as the work has a short payback period, typically of a few years. Care has to be taken to manage damp. In particular, condensation can form if a waterproof layer is installed on the cold side of any insulation. Some of the issues to consider are covered in this video: Returns are also good for adding cavity wall insulation to houses that have cavity walls but no insulation in the cavity. It can be worth adding internal or external wall insulation to houses with cavity wall insulation, built up to about 2002 (to 2006), when the building regulations standards were tightened. Houses built since then should have reasonable wall insulation, and it's currently not likely to be worth improving on this. Floor insulation The ease with which you can insulated a suspended timber floor varies depending on access: If you have access, insulation can be hung between the joists, suspended on net fastened to the bottom of the joists. Without access, you need to lift the floorboards, which is usually a big job. Concrete slab floors are, obviously, hard to insulate. You need to lay a layer of insulation with a floating timber sheet floor on top of it. All skirting has to be removed first, and doorways and the bottom of steps dealt with.

Shropshire Climate Action: Food waste & composting Rot (food waste & composting) The impact of food waste Food waste contributes 8-10% of total man-made greenhouse gas emissions (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and global food systems contribute 30% (according to WRAP ). If food waste were a country, it would be the world’s third largest emitter after China and the USA. Food waste occurs at all stages of the growing, selling, cooking and eating process but in the UK 70% of food waste comes from our homes . Emissions from the total food waste in the UK is equivalent to 10 million cars on the road. According to Shrewsbury Food Hub , food waste costs the average UK family £700 a year. How to manage food waste Food waste contributes to greenhouse gas emissions both directly (for example as methane emissions from landfill sites where food is decomposing) and indirectly, since waste implies that for a given level of consumption more food needs to be produced than is actually being consumed. Shropshire residents produce an average of 486kg of waste per person per year (Shropshire Council, 2020). Data from Herefordshire Council (2019) showed that: 37% of all household waste is food and drink (1.9kg/household/wk). 59% of food waste was of a home-compostable type (1.1kg/hh/wk). Just under a quarter (23%) of the home-compostable food disposed of was within its original packaging. 41% of food waste was non home compostable (0.7kg/hh/wk). Over half (53%) of the non-compostable food waste was still in its original packaging. On average 35% of all discarded food waste (0.65 kg/hh/wk) was still within its original packaging. (The Food Waste Hierarchy diagram on the left shows what steps we can take, and in what order, to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions.) Actions you can take The first step to prevent food waste is don’t buy it if you don’t need it. Plan your meals: Love Food Hate Waste has tips including portion and shopping planners, food storage guides and recipes for leftovers. Sign up to Shrewsbury Food Hub’s Taste not Waste Challenge to reduce your own food waste and save money at the same time. V isit your local Food Share or community fridges/freezers where organisations collect surplus food from shops, manufacturers and farms to share with local communities: Shrewsbury Food Hub supplies regular food shares across Shrewsbury Foodshares also operates in Broseley, Bridgnorth and Highley. Food is available for a £1 voluntary donation. See facebook.com/foodshareproject for details of each event Hands Together Ludlow have a community fridge open each weekday 10am to 4pm In Oswestry OsNosh provide a weekly lunch on a Pay as You Feel basis using surplus foo d Check out Shropshire Good Food Partnership’s website for guides on how to preserve food, set up a gleaning network and more Composting The final thing to do with food waste is to compost it! Use the Garden Organic 'how to make compost' link below to check what food waste can go into your compost bin. According to Garden Organic each home compost bin saves 150 kg of waste from having to be transported away and saves you money if you use the compost to grow your own food in your garden. Action you can take Garden Organic has an easy to follow guide on how to make compost You can also volunteer as a Shropshire Master Composter and promote home composting in your local community. Training is provided.