< Back The Marches Real Food and Farming Conference: 15th - 16th September Jane Cullen 16 Sept 2023 Our reflections on this fantastic ground breaking local food conference The Conference held at Partridge Farm, near Bishop’s Castle, was a greatly enjoyable day and showed many exciting projects to a new audience – if you are at all interested in your food, where it comes from, how it is grown, how far it has travelled to get to you – you know all the issues - here were practical, pragmatic and possible models that deserve to be known, and adopted, much more widely. The dung beetle safari, led by Claire Whittle who is a farm veterinary surgeon specialising in conservation medicine and regenerative agriculture, demonstrated how dung beetles not only make the structure of the soil much better but rather amazingly also reduce parasite organs in livestock. Claire’s enthusiasm and knowledge lit up those on safari. Another eye opener was the Johnson-Su Reactor which Kate Gatacre opened and described. Although I could not build one in my small urban garden anyone with a bit more space could: all you need is an old pallet, some lengths of drainpipe, wire, fleece, sawdust, green waste and some space. The beautiful, crumbly, clean- smelling compost which was dug out was absolutely perfect. Having experience as a producer I went to the session on Market Linkage, which followed the path between local producers Tish Dockerty and Jan Morgan-Birtles, who trade regularly at the ‘Local to Ludlow’ Market, and a Food Hub in Birmingham, via Slow Food and the Open Food Network. It’s good to see technology making these links quick and practical - for the good of all. Lizzie and Jane Hulton-Harrop also gave an excellent presentation as they charted their move into Regenerative Farming. Pollardine Farm’s soil fertility is improving, rapidly responding to changes in their practice – the first one being a really good rest for the land. There’s much more to hear about this project and the careful research behind the changes, look out for our forthcoming video of the climate and Nature related work being done at Pollardine Farm - which will be available soon. Previous Next

< Back Celebrating the launch of our walk through Ludlow’s green spaces leaflet Trice Astill 4 Oct 2023 Connecting residents and visitors to Ludlow's urban green spaces On the 4th October representatives from local Ludlow organisations, including Ludlow Library, Hands Together Ludlow, and Friends of Whitcliffe Common, joined us for an evening stroll around the town’s green spaces using the recently republished walk leaflet produced by Shropshire Wildlife Trust’s Ludlow branch and SSCA and designed by local artist Sarah Jameson. We wound our way around the castle walls, through the gardens, past the sycamore tree, leaves still green, onto the high paths overlooking the Teme and down to the Millenium Green. Over the Dinham Bridge and along the Bread Walk by the river, past the rock layers, waterfall, weirs and salmon run. We walked up the steps to Whitcliffe, following the path to Ludford and over the bridge to Lower Broad Street then up past the Butter Cross to St Laurence’s Church and the Jubilee Garden. There our walk ended as dusk fell. If you know Ludlow you might consider why this short walk took us nearly 2 hours? That is the purpose of the walk: we took time – time to “stand and stare” and really look for wildlife and to listen to birdsong and to sounds of the river, time to breathe and relax, time to talk, to get to know each other and to swap information and knowledge. We saw mistletoe above the insect hides on the tree by the castle, goosanders diving on the Teme by Dinham Bridge among the mallards, dippers on the rocks by Ludford bridge and a farewell flypast of swans at sunset over the Readers House. We heard blackbirds alarm calling, the chatter of jackdaws and winter song of robins. We admired the linear garden in pots along Lower Broad Street and the flower colours glowing in the lowering light and finally enjoyed the peace of the Jubilee Garden. Members of the group noted how the walk is an opportunity to discover a different side to Ludlow “ Although I’ve lived here all my life and played here as a child, with the group I’m seeing it in a new way “; and to take a step back from a busy life: “ It’s been so relaxing after work. I wouldn’t normally have done something like this but it’s helped me destress ”; and engage and learn about the natural world: “I love the soothing sound of the river, just being near water ”. It also offered us a more engaging way to get to know one another while walking outside, rather than meeting around a table. The three aims of producing the map and walk were for residents and visitors to discover, observe and enjoy the wildlife in Ludlow town, improve people’s mental and physical wellbeing by connecting to Nature and offer a sustainable tourism option for visitors. If you or your organisation are interested in the Walk Through Ludlow’s Green Spaces leaflet you can download your own copy as well as an A3 poster of the walk from SSCA’s new website here . Alternatively Ludlow residents can obtain a paper copy free of charge from the Hands Together Ludlow office and visitors can access them from Ludlow Visitor Information Centre (for a small cost). Previous Next

< Back Ludlow Town Council has become the latest Shropshire authority to back the Climate and Ecology Bill. Jane Cullen 15 Mar 2023 More support in Shropshire for the Climate and Ecology Bill. At a meeting on Monday night, councillors decided to unanimously back a motion calling on Ludlow Town Council to express its support for the Bill. The town clerk will now write to South Shropshire MP Philip Dunne, urging him to support the draft legislation as it makes its way through Parliament. So far over 200 UK councils and 125 MPs have expressed their support for it. The Climate & Ecology Bill aims to introduce a new UK law to deal with the full extent of the climate and nature crisis. It would ensure the UK slashes emissions in line with the 1.5C target; reverse UK biodiversity loss by 2030; ensure that the entirety of the UK’s global carbon and ecological footprints are accounted for; and invite the public to be part of the discussion on how to tackle the crisis. Jane Cullen from South Shropshire Climate Action, who spoke in favour of the motion in the public session of the town council meeting, said: ‘ I am pleased and relieved that Ludlow Town Council is backing this Bill. We’re already seeing the effects of the climate and ecological emergency here in South Shropshire, and we’re desperate for new laws to protect us, our beautiful county, and the wildlife we share it with. ’ Ludlow Town Council joins Shropshire, Bishop’s Castle and Ryton & Grindle Parish Councils on the list of Shropshire authorities that have come out in support of the Bill, with motions being tabled at Shrewsbury, Whitchurch, and Oswestry Town Councils later this month. So far only one of Shropshire’s five MPs – Liberal Democrat Helen Morgan – has publicly expressed support for the Bill. It will be reintroduced into Parliament later this Spring. Jamie Russell, a spokesperson for campaign group Zero Hour Shropshire, which is campaigning for the Bill locally, said: ‘ We’re extremely grateful to Ludlow councillors for supporting this motion. At Zero Hour Shropshire we’re hoping that more parish and town councils will back the Bill and we’d love to hear from any councillors who would like to know more about this very simple motion of support. Every Council that gets behind the Bill will help encourage more of Shropshire’s MPs to realise that the time for this vital legislation is now. ’ Previous Next

< Back Shropshire residents out in force in London for “The Big One For Biodiversity” March on 22nd April Fiona Morgan 22 Apr 2023 Members of SSCA joined in the March calling on the Government to protect Nature and take action on climate. On Saturday 22 April (Earth Day) people from across Shropshire and the UK attended the “The Big One For Biodiversity” March in Westminster calling on the Government to take meaningful climate action and halt the biodiversity crisis affecting the UK’s wildlife. The event was organised by Extinction Rebellion in partnership with over 200 environmental and social justice groups including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Fair Trade Foundation, Stop Ecocide, Keep Britain Tidy and faith groups. It was estimated that 65,000 people attended the March including children and their families to show their concern about the current crises, many of whom made some amazing creative art works to demonstrate their love and appreciation of nature. Previous Next

< Back SSCA's Objection to the North West Relief Road Design Amendments Jane Cullen 10 Mar 2023 Our response to Shropshire Council's NWRR consultation On behalf of South Shropshire Climate Action we are registering our objection to the North West Relief Road, in all its iterations. The planning application will clearly lead to irreversible loss of highly valuable greenfield sites and habitats at a time when nature and many different species are already severely challenged. The NWRR creates further massive issues including the risks to Shrewsbury's water supply, the likelihood of overspend and the resulting financial impact on the whole of the county which will suffer further cuts to other budgets (a county already undergoing £50 million cuts), and the negation of local democracy for example in the overriding of Town Council objections including Shrewsbury Town Council itself. Planning Application 21/00924/EIA embodies a profound contradiction of all current climate mitigation, the contradiction of Shropshire Council's recently announced support for the Climate and Ecology Bill as well as all the work that is going on in the county to educate and help communities face the climate emergency. We also note that the application is presented without scientific analysis of the carbon impact of the lifetime of the road and so appears to be a 'vanity project' running counter to the interests of Shrewsbury and the whole county of Shropshire. Planning Application 21/00924/EIA should be rejected on multiple counts, many not even touched on in this brief objection such as health, public transport and air pollution. Submitted on behalf of South Shropshire Climate Action. Previous Next

< Back SSCA's reflections on COP27, 6th-20th November 2022, Egypt Fiona Morgan 1 Dec 2022 From global to local action The Global Picture Delegates at COP27 in Egypt last month reached a historic deal to set up a “loss and damage” fund to compensate those countries, primarily in the Global South, who have done the least to cause climate breakdown but who are being impacted the most by the damage of increasingly unpredictable and extreme weather patterns and conditions. However, this significant and long overdue commitment is completely undermined by the ongoing lack of agreement of all governments to phase down ALL fossil fuels. Without this, the efforts to stay below 1.5C will be beyond our reach, given that global tipping points are now being reached. To put this in perspective, back in May 1992 when the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change was formed, 178 member states unanimously agreed to bring CO2 emissions down to 1990 levels of 354 parts per million (ppm) by 2000. Since then annual emissions have climbed 65% and now stand at 420 ppm (levels stood at 280 ppm in the pre-industrial era). And so the fight for climate justice and climate stability goes on. According to Carbon Brief "Tuvalu also became the first country in the world to endorse the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative , which aims to trigger a global fossil-fuel phase-out through the establishment of an international treaty, in a similar way to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons .". You can endorse this campaign as an organisation or individual via the above weblink. We shall watch this development with interest. Meanwhile in Shropshire….We Clanged for COP27 On Saturday 12th November environmental groups across Shropshire Clanged for COP27 as part of a Global Day of Action organised by the Global Justice Coalition to raise the alarm about the Climate and Ecological Emergency. Gatherings took place in Wem, Market Drayton and Ironbridge where drums and saucepans were clanged and bells were rung to demand world leaders take climate action and provide financial support to the global south for the climate related damage they are facing. Previous Next