Our newsletter We publish a monthly newsletter about the news and events across our network. Read or download our newsletters (as pdfs) or sign up to get them direct to your Inbox. Read our newsletters Sign up for our newsletters Latest News 21 Mar 2024 Announcing the Climate Conference for Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin: Saturday May 18th Book your tickets now for this event being held at Shrewsbury Town Football Ground Read More 5 Mar 2024 Bishop's Castle Heat and Wind Project gets some wind in it's sails Funding awarded to help progress community energy project Read More 1 Mar 2024 Mossy.Life - Shropshire’s online local green guide For all Shropshire's green events, groups, activities and more Read More 27 Feb 2024 Visit to Keele University’s smart energy network demonstrator site A joint visits by SSCA, ZCS and Shropshire Council staff and elected members Read More 27 Feb 2024 Bishop’s Castle receives £238k for local nature projects Apply for a job opportunity by Monday 11th March Read More 1 Feb 2024 The role of the Upper Onny Farmers' group One of the farmers groups in South Shropshire Read More 9 Jan 2024 South Shropshire farmers working together for environmental benefit Report from the Clee View Farmers Group Read More 9 Dec 2023 In December we clanged for COP28 in Shrewsbury Part of the Climate Justice Coalition Day of Action Read More 1 Dec 2023 The Shrewsbury Northwest Relief Road: why we should be concerned Roads or Nature? Read More 21 Nov 2023 Watch Channel 4’s “The Great Climate Fight” documentary Featuring Bishop's Castle Heat and Wind Project Read More 11 Nov 2023 Shropshire and Telford Community Energy (STCE) take ownership of Twemlows solar farm Bringing the benefits of solar power to Shropshire communities Read More 6 Oct 2023 Shropshire's Green Libraries Week SSCA's information stand at Ludlow Library Read More 4 Oct 2023 Celebrating the launch of our walk through Ludlow’s green spaces leaflet Connecting residents and visitors to Ludlow's urban green spaces Read More 3 Oct 2023 SSCA Four years on: Our next steps Looking ahead for 2023 and beyond Read More 23 Sept 2023 SSCA’s response to the government’s decision to roll back on the UK climate commitments Our letter to Philip Dunne MP Read More 16 Sept 2023 The Marches Real Food and Farming Conference: 15th - 16th September Our reflections on this fantastic ground breaking local food conference Read More 9 Sept 2023 SSCA at Bridgnorth Green Festival Sharing climate action information, swapping and sharing resources and providing energy efficiency advice Read More 3 Aug 2023 New guide on Shropshire's Green Spaces to promote wellbeing Featuring SSCA's Walk Through Bridgnorth's Green Spaces Read More 9 Jul 2023 SSCA at Ludlow Green Festival Promoting climate action, carbon reduction and Nature recovery Read More 24 Jun 2023 SSCA at the South Shropshire Youth Forum Annual Conference, Craven Arms Working with young people to make a difference Read More

< Back Announcing the Climate Conference for Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin: Saturday May 18th Fiona Morgan 21 Mar 2024 Book your tickets now for this event being held at Shrewsbury Town Football Ground You can now book your tickets to the Climate Conference which will focus on how we can accelerate action to achieve net zero in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and engage local communities to make that happen. The event is being organised by Zero Carbon Shropshire, South Shropshire Climate Action and Save Our Shropshire with support from young people on the Environmental Leadership Programme who will be facilitating many of the sessions. The schedule for the day can be viewed on Eventbrite. It includes morning panel discussions and afternoon workshops covering the following themes: land, transport, energy & buildings, circular economy and engagement tools. Organisations are also invited to apply to have a stand at the event. Book your tickets via this Eventbrite link . There are 2 types of ticket: free tickets and a separate ticket option if you wish to make a donation towards the cost of refreshments. Lunch is provided. If your group would like to register an interest in having a stand at this event please complete and submit this online form . Charges apply. You can share a stand with other groups. We are looking for volunteers to get involved in helping to organise the event and on the day. If you are interested please contact admin@zerocarbonshropshire.org Previous Next

< Back Bishop's Castle Heat and Wind Project gets some wind in it's sails Mike Watkins 5 Mar 2024 Funding awarded to help progress community energy project Previous Next

< Back Visit to Keele University’s smart energy network demonstrator site Mike Bourke 27 Feb 2024 A joint visits by SSCA, ZCS and Shropshire Council staff and elected members On the 27 February Mike Bourke (Stretton Climate Care/SSCA) and David Matthews (Zero Carbon Shropshire) visited Keele University together with five elected members of Shropshire Council’s Climate and Carbon Reduction Advisory Group and four council officers (the Assistant Director Commercial Services, the Climate Change Manager, the Communications Officer and the Video, Photography and Digital Content Officer). This followed a visit the previous week by Shropshire Council’s planning officers. Professor Trevor McMillan, the Vice-Chancellor, stressed the importance to the University of partnerships with local and regional industries and Councils in developing technical and community responses to the climate crisis. The Smart Energy Network Demonstrator (SEND) offers a practical model and research facility, backed by student courses and educational programmes (“from Skills Bootcamps to PhD’s”) to assist the development of policies and the training of apprentices and the existing workforce. The University is able to serve as an honest broker, independent of commercial or political agendas, to promote co-operation between interested parties and the general public and is already working with Staffordshire Council, and Rugeley and Dudley. Professor Zoe Robinson, Director of the Institute for Sustainable Futures, elaborated on these collaborations. Matt Dean, SEND Research and Innovation Manager, and Julian Read, Partnership Development Manager, described the Energy Park with its solar array, wind turbines and industrial battery, the relationship with the National Grid, and the associated Green Hydrogen production unit. The Shropshire delegation undertook to report back to their colleagues and explore opportunities. They welcomed Keele’s statement that “We have the staff, the students and the funding to help you”. Previous Next

< Back Bishop’s Castle receives £238k for local nature projects Bernard Edwards, chair of the Going Wild in Bishop’s Castle Steering Group 27 Feb 2024 Apply for a job opportunity by Monday 11th March Going Wild in Bishop’s Castle is celebrating an award of £238k from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to hire staff as coordinators to support the community to develop and implement local wildlife and nature projects. The group has been working with community groups over the last two years with projects in and around Bishop’s Castle focused on the ecological management of local land, including building and installing swift boxes and establishing meadowlands on local properties. Going Wild in Bishop’s Castle has become known for its winter talks and summer activities series. The ‘Going Wild Kid’s Club’ also provides an extracurricular outdoor education and bushcraft club for young people in the community. The grant, secured with help from Enterprise House, will allow Going Wild in Bishop’s Castle to hire a part-time coordinator and a part-time assistant to support the development, delivery and monitoring of local biodiversity projects. Bernard Edwards, chair of the Going Wild in Bishop’s Castle Steering Group said “This will help us increase wildlife locally and share our activities with a wider audience to showcase the potential of community-level rewilding. Above all, this is about joining the people of Bishop’s Castle to learn together and celebrate our landscape through embracing nature”. Town councillor Grant Perry said “The town council is delighted to have supported and continues to support Going Wild in Bishop’s Castle. This project helps us contribute to the town’s Climate and Nature Recovery Plan.” The Project Co-ordinator role will be based out of Enterprise House. Prospective applicants are invited to review the job description on the website . Application closing date: Monday, 11 th March. Previous Next

< Back The role of the Upper Onny Farmers' group Nick Read with information supplied by Cath Landles 1 Feb 2024 One of the farmers groups in South Shropshire We are fortunate in South Shropshire to have existing landscape-scale farmers’ groups, including the Upper Onny Farmers Group (UOFG), a key component in the restoration of wildlife habitats across 220 square km within the Shropshire Hills National Landscape (the new name for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty). UOFG was formed in 2018 and comprises 20 farmers who farm in and around the Upper Onny Valley, which lies in the Shropshire Hills between the Long Mynd and the Welsh Border. The group is co-ordinated by Cath Landles of the Shropshire Hills National Landscape Partnership. Since its launch it has been involved in two Defra Test and Trials of the proposed new Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes, produced 17 Whole Farm Plans, delivered 10 farm-based environmental workshops and demonstrations, created and restored hay meadows, species rich grassland and wood pasture, protected water courses, restored hedgerows, created orchards and encouraged a shift towards regenerative farming practices. The current focus is to put together an application to the Landscape Recovery Scheme (LRS), designed to support large-scale projects that require long-term funding to achieve their outcomes. [Photo: Upper Onny Farmers' Group visiting James Rebank’s farm in Cumbria] Previous Next

< Back The role of farmers' groups in south Shropshire Nick Read with information supplied by Cath Landles 1 Feb 2024 The Upper Onny Farmers Group We are fortunate in South Shropshire to have existing landscape-scale farmers’ groups, including the Upper Onny Farmers Group (UOFG), a key component in the restoration of wildlife habitats across 220 square km within the Shropshire Hills National Landscape (the new name for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty). UOFG was formed in 2018 and comprises 20 farmers who farm in and around the Upper Onny Valley, which lies in the Shropshire Hills between the Long Mynd and the Welsh Border. The group is co-ordinated by Cath Landles of the Shropshire Hills National Landscape Partnership. Since its launch it has been involved in two Defra Test and Trials of the proposed new Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes, produced 17 Whole Farm Plans, delivered 10 farm-based environmental workshops and demonstrations, created and restored hay meadows, species rich grassland and wood pasture, protected water courses, restored hedgerows, created orchards and encouraged a shift towards regenerative farming practices. The current focus is to put together an application to the Landscape Recovery Scheme (LRS), designed to support large-scale projects that require long-term funding to achieve their outcomes. [Photo: Upper Onny Farmers' Group visiting James Rebank’s farm in Cumbria] Previous Next

< Back South Shropshire farmers working together for environmental benefit Kate Mayne 9 Jan 2024 Report from the Clee View Farmers Group In the Clee Hills area of South Shropshire a farmers group instigated by the local community is proving the benefit of working together. The Clee View Farmers Group was set up in June 2022 and currently has a membership of 57 farmers across 13,321 hectares. The group’s aim is to share learning and seek practical solutions to producing affordable food whilst dealing with environmental challenges such protecting & enhancing biodiversity and reducing emissions of carbon, phosphates, ammonia etc. Over the last year and a half the group has held events on herbal leys, rotational grazing systems, soil health and more. There have been talks on priority species, research into new biodiversity markets & even a debate about rewilding with WWF. The group has undertaken carbon foot-printing on 38 member farms and in 2024 will be working to understand the main Greenhouse Gas emissions from farm practices in the area and what can be done to reduce them. The group’s soil health testing programme in 2023 delivered some fascinating results and highlighted some real positives from current farming practices. For both arable and grassland samples from 54 farms the average organic matter content of soils was high & carbon stocks were above the national average. There is lots more work to do in 2024 as the group considers what can be done to enhance the nature recovery network whilst maintaining food production on our fertile soils. For more information please contact Kate Mayne: Katyjmayne@gmail.com Previous Next

< Back In December we clanged for COP28 in Shrewsbury Fiona Morgan 9 Dec 2023 Part of the Climate Justice Coalition Day of Action On the 9th December groups and individuals, including those from environmental and faith organisations, met in Shrewsbury as part of the Climate Justice Coalition Day of Action and held a protest march “WHILE COP TALKS - WYLE COP RISES!”. Gathering at the bottom of Wyle Cop, we made the most of Shrewsbury’s traffic-free weekends to march and drum together around the town helping to raise the alarm about the lack of action on the climate crisis, stopping to support the North West Relief Road protest outside Market Hall. Previous Next

< Back Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s visit to Bishop’s Castle’s wind turbine public meeting in April Mike Watkins 1 Apr 2023 Lightfoot (members of SSCA 's network) show their support for the development of the Bishop's Castle Heat Network At a public meeting in Bishop’s Castle this month, called to report on the progress of the projected Wind-Turbine-powered Bishop’s Castle’s Community Heat & Wind Network , over 70 people responded to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s request for a show of hands to vote on the authenticity of the climate crisis, the use of on-shore Wind-Turbines as one means of countering it and, specifically, on whether a Wind Turbine should be used for BC’s Community Heat & Wind Network . There was an overwhelmingly positive response to all his questions, with only a few dissenting or undecided. Hugh proffered an opportunity to those unconvinced or unsure to join his team to visit and learn from other renewable energy projects that will be covered as part of the Channel 4 documentary, which is to be screened in the autumn. The Heat and Wind network, designed by Sharenergy and Carbon Alternatives with funding from Shropshire & Telford Community Energy , would supply heat from an air-source heat pump powered by a Wind Turbine, which could be pumped to at least 100 houses in the Town as well as the Community College, the SpArC Leisure Centre and Enterprise House. The Heat Network would not be financially viable without the Wind Turbine. The scheme would result in a massive reduction in carbon emissions for the Town – which has an above average carbon footprint, dependent, as it is, on oil and LPG heating - and enable people to get rid of their boilers and oil tanks. A response is awaited from Shropshire Council to a pre-planning application for the Wind Turbine. A FAQs document about the scheme can be accessed via this link . To find out more about the project please e-mail: climateaction@lightfootenterprises.org Previous Next

< Back SSCA Four years on: Our next steps Jane Cullen 3 Oct 2023 Looking ahead for 2023 and beyond SSCA is now four years old and we are halfway through our benefactor’s very generous donation. The coordinators have enabled SSCA to continue to strengthen networks across Shropshire, building closer links with local climate and environment groups and wider voluntary and local government organisations, to support the county’s transition towards net zero. This in turn benefits peoples’ health, wellbeing and finances. This work has culminated in the development of our new website which showcases the fantastic work that is already happening across Shropshire to help inspire individuals, communities, and organisations to take climate and environmental action. We will notify you of the launch of the new website very soon.SSCA is now entering a decisive phase which requires us to make moves towards acquiring future funding to sustain our work. This is more vital than ever. Any support, advice, or experience that readers can offer would be very welcome. This could take the form of a small monthly donation from as many supporters as possible. If you are willing and able to do this please set up a BACS transfer to the following bank account: Marches Energy Agency; Sort Code: 08-92-99; Account Number: 65044713; Reference: DONATION SSCA-NCZ. We need volunteers to support our many initiatives including the retrofit exhibition, producing and sharing user friendly toolkits and videos to support and inspire people to take local climate and Nature action, updating our new website, writing articles for the newsletter and representing us at events and talks. Please contact us by email on SSCA@mea.org.uk you will be very warmly received. Our next steps: Action Learning Project The major focus of our time and energy over the next 12 months will be on an Action Learning Research project. We have received a grant from Shropshire Council’s Climate Change Taskforce to undertake an exploration of 3 or 4 communities in South Shropshire and how they can adapt and develop resilience in the face of the Climate and Nature crises as they transition towards net zero. The purpose of the project is to learn from their experience, to find out what is successful, what is not and as far as possible the reasons. One aspect to emphasize is that these projects have to be driven by the community itself, it is not being done to or for them!We are working on developing some project possibilities covering a number of types of community including: a primary school (how to decarbonise a school); a town at the beginning of the climate action process (how to decarbonise a community); a very rural parish (how to decarbonise a remote community); an organisation with county wide membership (how to use an existing network to effect change across communities); and finally an old community building (how to decarbonise a building and use it as a wider community resource to effect behaviour change). I hope you find our future exciting and that you will enthusiastically support this refocusing of direction. Previous Next