Shropshire Climate Action: Local retrofitted property examples Local examples Stories of local residents and their journeys to make their homes more energy efficient through the installation of insulation and renewable energy. Local example 1 Eco-friendly renovation of a medieval house Local example 2 Improving energy efficiency and insulation in a rural 1840s house nea r Clun Summary of the house and the work done to date Local example 3 Making a 1950’s ex-council house in Ludlow more energy efficie nt The full story Local example 4 Retrofitting a 19 60’s semi detached in a Conservation Area Local example 5 Watch the video tour of a local Shropshire couple's 1980's bungalow and how they made it more energy efficient The building Ditching the gas Six months on Domestic battery storage Cost & energy savings Local Example 6 Retrofitting a remote 1990’s house in the Shropshire Hills Local Example 7 Cost of installing renewables to a property (PV panels, battery & ground source heat pump) Local Example 8 Insulating a new build in Ludlow Local Example 9 Passivhaus New Build in Much Wenlock

Shropshire Climate Action: What's on Events in Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin Click on the link below to find out what climate action events are happening across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin from January to March 2026 including: Sustainability events Nature and food events Buildings and Energy events Transport events Repair cafes and mending events Green events listing January - March 2026 If you would like us to publish any events that your local group is arranging in our newsletter or social media please email the poster or specific information to contact@shropshireclimateaction.org . The deadline for receiving any information for our forthcoming newsletter edition is the last week of the month, with publication on the 1st of the month.

Shropshire Climate Action: Retrofit Information Sheets To make our homes more energy efficient, we need to install (or retrofit) energy-saving measures. These Information S heets are free to download as pdfs and provide advice on what can be done and the best order in which to do it. The sheets were updated in March/April 2024. Introd u c tory Sheet Sheet 1 Fabric First: Planning changes to your home? Sheet 2 Preparing for Retrofit: Resources on your doorstep Sheet 3 The Energy Hierarchy: The Principle behind the Whole Building Plan Sheet 4 Opportunities to Begin the Journey Sheet 5 First Retrof it Priorities Sheet 6 Insulation: Roof & Attic Sheet 7 Insulation: Walls Sheet 8 Insulation: Windows & Ventilation Sheet 9 Insulation: Floors Sheet 10 Water Efficiency Sheet 11 Heating systems Sheet 12 Lighting Sheet 13 Renewables Sheet 14 Costs & Grants

Shropshire Climate Action: Gardening Gardening You don’t have to be a landowner or have a big garden to make a major contribution to Shropshire’s part of the planet. Whatever the size of our garden, even our windowsill, we can increase the planet’s health and vitality, as well as making a positive impact on our own wellbeing. Things to consider: Observe 'no-mow' periods on your lawn Grow fruit and vegetables where possible Plant for pollinators Create a pond - however small, this is fantastic habitat for amphibians and other creatures Grow a native hedge as a living boundary How we can garden to help nature Local expert, Sue Crichton from Abdon & Wheathill, promotes ways to garden while creating habitats to encourage insects, amphibians, birds and bats. Use this checklist to see how to make your garden more wildlife friendly. Follow Natural Networks Around Brown Clee (NNABC) via their Facebook page to find out more. Information online: Here are seven links to the R oyal Horticult ural Society (R HS) website, looking at specific topics: About Climate Change and how gardeners need to adapt – a ‘why?’ piece 'Hands on': 4 key elements in gardening for the environment Some 'how to' garden sustainably tips Reduce garden pollution: alternatives to chemicals Water use in your garden Go plastic free in your garden Why not persuade your local Gardening Club to invite speakers on some of these ideas? Shropshire Organic Gardeners (SOGS ) has information about organic gardening and events such as plant exchanges etc. See Shropshire-based Nancy Lowe's website, www.thenaturalgardener.org.uk to find out about talks, clubs and courses. Check out Shropshire Wildlife Trust's website which has information about helping wildlife thrive in our gardens Support for schools Seedpips Garden Club and Produce Pr oject CIC currently supports Corvedale CE Primary School, Diddlebury with their weekly gardening club and a community larder . They want to facilitate and su pport volunteer led gardening club sessions and schemes in schools across South Shropshire.

Shropshire Climate Action: Reducing consumption Reduce consumption Easy actions to save energy & money Reduce use: turn things off, don’t overfill kettles, control room temperatures, use curtains and blinds. The Loop recommends reducing the vampire load of electrical appliances by switching them off rather than leaving them in standby mode. Their research shows the average household could be wasting £325 [2023 figures] on their Phantom Load annually. Wasted energy contributes to around a third of an average energy bill, so it’s a simple way to make a big impact. Install LED lighting. Draught proof doors and windows. Look at the efficiency of your appliances and boilers . Efficient appliances can save 50% compared to inefficient ones. Consider using smart controls and remote control radiator valves. Here are some Top Tips from Stretton Climate Care. Find out what the carbon footprint of your household is and get some further ideas on how to reduce it. Watch this video for tips on how to save energy, water & money at home Local Shropshire couple, Jon and Ann, discuss the changes they have made to their 1980's bungalow to reduce their energy and water use and the impact this has had on their bills and carbon footprint. Use their useful tips and information to make changes in your home. Here are our top tips for reducing your energy use & bills at home 1

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 cavity 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.

For contributors - how to use WIX We're trying to see if people who can use a text editor, such as Word, can contribute to this site. This page will grow to contain links to articles and videos on using it, as well as giving some initial guidance. Let us know what works for you and any helpful sources you find. If you've just started, you are not being asked to produce final, pretty layout, using all the features of WIX. It's sufficient to add pages you need, text boxes (with bullet points rather than WIX lists), and images to be used. The WIX documentation for the editor is here . Warning: this is being written by a new user - it's probably be full of mistakes, but these can be fixed. Finding things in the WIX editor user interface In your WIX account, click on 'Edit Site'. The editor will open at the home page. There are boxes around elements, that aren't visible on the published site. Make sure you don't work in the header or footer (it should be possible to lock these for most users). Hover over 'Site', to the right of the WIX logo. The 'Preview', 'View Site' and 'Exit Editor' options are useful for now. Ignore the rest, and the rest of that row of controls, except for 'Help' of course. You can also 'Save', 'Preview' and 'Publish' the site using the controls at the top right. Just below it a drop down box, starting 'Page: ...'. Click on the down arrow and you'll see a list of the pages on the site. Select a page to edit it. (It should be possible to limit editing / publishing of a page to nominated users.) Beneath the drop down, on the left of the screen, is a column of icons. In order they are: Add Elements: You build a page by adding elements (such as a 'strip', a text box or images) to it. See below. Add Section: The top level of each page consists of horizontal 'sections'. You work within these sections. See below. Pages & Menus: Let's you access the site's pages, create new pages and edit the menu (simply drag and drop). Site Design / Add Apps / My Business: ignore these three. Media: Let's you see images, documents and videos already uploaded and upload more. You can also upload as you add new media to a page. Content Manager: looks as though it should let us organise content and make it easier to use. More to come ... Marketing & SEO: ignore for now. Using the WIX page editor This isn't as easy as it might be, but is quite useable once you've had a play. The following concentrates on the basics, so you can (1) edit text or change or add images to an existing page, or (2) create a new page and bung some content on it, leaving the final layout, for now, to someone else. Basic page structure The top level of a WIX page is a stack of 'Sections', each of which is a horizontal layer across the page. Touch a section and it will be outlined, in purple for me at the minute. With it highlighted, you'll see an 'Add Section' button at the bottom, which adds a new section beneath the selected on, and an up/down arrow to let you change the height of the section (at the bottom, you can't move the top border down). The next (optional) level of hierarchy is a 'Strip'. This is a horizontal layer to let you group other elements within a section. I think that one thing it does is help advanced users make sure that pages appear sensibly on mobile phones. Touch the '+' (Add Elements) button on the left to see the elements you can add and drag a strip to where you want it in your section. You can place other elements either directly in a section or nested within a strip. I'd avoid using strips for now, but it's helpful to know they exist. Other elements range from text boxes and images, through to complex structures, including ones under 'My Designs' (which I guess we should use to create standardised layout for us novices to use consistently). People adding content can probably get away with text and images for now! Before proceeding, note that two vertical dotted 'guidelines' on the page. You need to keep all content within the lines to be sure they are visible on smaller displays - see the documentation on guidelines . Guidelines in columns (like those in the next section) override the normal guidelines, as in the documentation. Editing an existing page I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy. Creating a new page Click on 'Pages and Menu' on the left and click on '+ Add Page' at the bottom of the pop-up menu. You're offered a host of possible templates to start from, but few of them look useful to us. For now, click on '+ Blank Page' to get a blank page to play with. Add a blank section and then add a text box. Size it to fit if necessary. To edit text in the box either double click on the box or select the box and click on 'Edit Text'. It's best to only format the text using the Themes in the Text Settings window. (I'm currently using Paragraph 2 for this text.) I think it's probably best to have a separate text box for each heading and for each block of text, as in the section. I may be wrong. The headings can then each use an appropriate Theme (like a Word 'style'). A different new section Now click on '+ Add Section' at the bottom of the first section you created. Choose 'Basic' and select the template that looks like this section. It has a heading on the left and text in a box on the right, and isn't laid out very well! You could correct the layout, but don't bother for know. All that matters is that you can add a heading and some text as content. That can subsequently be put into a consistent layout for the website. As a final step, add an image element beneath the title in this section and resize it to fit. You can use an offered image or download one into the site media store. Again, the aim is simply to store an image away as content to be used with your text.

Shropshire Climate Action: Local lobbying Local lobbying Why lobby? Making climate-friendly personal choices is important. However , we know that behavioural changes by individuals and their local communities cannot reduce carbon emissions on the scale scientists tell us is crucial to avoid catastrophic climate change. National and Local Government and businesses must take action too . How to lobby Take a look at Market Drayton Climate Action's website and their dedicated Lobbying section for inspiration, suggested content and contacts on who to lobby by topic. Every month their members lobby those who can make changes at scale. This may be: companies extracting fossil fuels the banks and pension funds who invest in them and other organisations with large carbon footprints. You can also write directly to government leaders and potential leaders, nationally and regionally, holding them to account for climate promises broken and demanding the serious, strong actions we expect from them. Join the local lobbying network Climate and environment groups across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin are working together to share their lobbying efforts. If you would like to be added to the What’s App group set up for this purpose, please email contact@shropshireclimateaction.org to request this. This will require you to provide your mobile phone number. You can help the Climate and Nature (CAN) Bill by writing to your local MP. The Zero Hour (CAN) website helps people create letters: to our local MPs who are already supporters of the CAN Bill (Julia Buckley, Labour, Shrewsbury and Helen Morgan, Lib Dem, North Shropshire) and local MPs that have not yet agreed to support it (Mark Pritchard, Conservative, The Wrekin, Stuart Anderson, Conservative, South Shropshire, Shaun Davies, Labour, Telford). Groups that want to get more involved in the CAN campaign can use this pack of resources which has lots of ideas, including template press releases, downloadable materials and a pack of social media resources . Write to your MP You can also write to your local MP to demand action in relation to climate change policies. Click her e and type in your postcode to find your MP . Or use the details below to contact your MP. You can call, email or w rite to them. As long as you are within their constituency they are obligated to respond . North Shropshire - Helen Morgan 01939 809387 1st Floor Offices Maypole Court Wem SY4 5AA Click here to email Telford - Shaun Davies 01952 973714 House of Commons London SW1A 0AA Click here to email South Shropshire - Stuart Anderson 01584 872187 Ludlow Constituency Conservative Association 54 Broad Street Ludlow SY8 1GP Click here to email Shrewsbury - Julia Buckley 01743 650434 64 Wyle Cop Shrewsbury SY1 1UX Click here to email The Wrekin - Mark Pritchard 01952 256080 25 Church Street Wellington TF1 1DG Click here to email

Shropshire Climate Action: Green Your Money How to green your money so you don't fund the climate crisis One of the most important climate actions you can take is to make sure your hard-earned money (in your bank accounts, pensions, investments and insurance policies) is not unintentionally helping to fund fossil fuel production and extraction projects. Since the landmark Paris Climate Agreement in 2015, Brendan Montague estimates in ‘Banking on our Future ’ (Ecologist, 2022) that: the top 60 banks globally have injected $2.75 trillion in fossil fuels UK banks have contributed over $300 billion Insurers like Lloyd's of London, with $30 trillion in capital, are heavily involved. A key action you can take to reduce your personal carbon footprint is to move your money into ethical financial alternatives. This includes banks, pension and investment funds, and insurers who prioritise investments in renewables and carbon-neutral initiatives and do not fund fossil fuel projects and other harmful practices such as deforestation. This section will guide you through the green finance options that are available and give you the tools to use your financial power for the planet’s well-being! 1 Green Your Banking 2 Green your Pension 3 Green your insurance 1. Banking: How to ditch your fossil fuel supporting bank & switch to a greener alternative Banks, through their lending and investment decisions, significantly shape our planet’s future. Bank Green* states that since the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015, the Big Five UK high street banks (HSBC, Barclays, Santander, NatWest and Lloyds) have poured £311.3 billion into the fossil fuel sector, and £120 billion into companies at the forefront of oil and gas expansion (*Source: ShareAction’s 2022 Oil & Gas Expansion Report ) . So, what can you do to make sure you are not part of the problem? 1. Check your bank or building society’s ethical rating Use Bank Green’s search engine to see if your bank is using your money to fund climate chaos. See MotherTree’s Bank League Table which calculates the carbon emissions of major UK banks and reveals the top offenders. Use MotherTree’s Money Carbon Calculator for free to calculate your money's impact and get connected with greener banks. Look up Good with Money’s league tables for the: The worst banks for climate emissions Best ethical providers for current accounts Best ethical providers for savings accounts  Best ethical credit cards Best ethical providers for business current accounts Subscribe to Ethical Consumer magazine online to see the most up to date rankings of banks and buildings societies in the UK showing 31 current accounts, 50 savings accounts (including ISAs), and 30 small business accounts. As a rule of thumb Building Societies are almost always a greener option. Avoid banks such as Barclays and HSBC. Some credit unions also offer current accounts so you can help people and planet at the same time. 2. Move your money Use this FREE current account switch service to help you to make the change – it’s so simple! The switching service will: move your money, direct debits and standing orders across to the new account close your previous account transfer any payments meant to go into your old accounts, for example your salary All this takes just 7 working days to clean up your finances! Your action will make a difference! According to MotherTree , £12,500 held in a current account (the average UK household saving figure in 2022) with Barclays, contributes 2.9 tonnes CO2 per year - more than flying from the UK to Rome 14 times. So switching to a greener provider can significantly reduce your carbon footprint! 2. Pensions: Invest your pension in a greener future The UK’s pension funds – the largest in Europe – hold more than £2.6 trillion in assets (Source: ShareAction ). Workplace and personal pensions are typically the largest investments individuals make in their lifetime. But do you know what your pension pot is funding? This money could be invested in creating a better world but much of it is instead fuelling its destruction. Many pension providers' default funds, the ones people are automatically enrolled in, do not exclude sectors that are harmful to the environment. According to the Finance Innovation Lab : £300 billion of UK pension capital is invested in companies with a high risk of driving deforestation £88 billion is invested in the fossil fuel industry only 4% of the pensions industry’s assets are invested in climate solutions. Investments in fossil fuels are also risky which could undermine your pension’s long-term security (Source: ShareAction ). According to Make My Money Matter greening your pension is 21 times more effective at reducing your carbon footprint than giving up flying, no longer eating meat and switching energy provider COMBINED . No pension is perfect but you can take these steps to make yours greener: 1. Check where your money is going Review your pension provider’s investment policy and whether they have policies to exclude or reduce investments in damaging sectors such as fossil fuels. Use MotherTree’s Money Carbon Calculator for free to calculate your pension’s impact. Check your local authority pension fund using the Divest website . Subscribe to Ethical Consumer magazine online to see how 23 major pension providers are ranked. View Make My Money Matter’s rankings of the 12 largest UK pension providers on their climate plans here. 2. Demand ethical options If your pension provider does not offer ethical investment options, don't be afraid to speak up and express your concerns. ShareAction can help you lobby your fund manager for carbon divestment. Use their tools to take action. 3. Switch to an ethical pension fund Find an alternative pension provider or funds that prioritise sustainable investments and explicitly exclude fossil fuels and other harmful industries. Ethical consumer magazine have published this Pension Guide which you can subscribe to, to find the most ethical pensions. Their top 3 most ethical pension funds are: NEST (National Employment Savings Trust) ethical pension fund Pension Bee Climate Fund pension The People's Pension ethical fund Check out this free Good with Money guide - Best ethical pension funds in 2025. Before making any decisions about pensions seek professional advice. Ethical consumer magazine has this guide to finding independent financial advisers specialising in ethical investment . 4. Campaign for change Support campaigns for more responsible investment practices which prioritise sustainable and ethical investments. The UK Divest website is full of useful information for local grassroots groups who are demanding our public institutions divest from the fossil fuel industry. Find your local Divestment campaign here . Fossil Free Shropshire is campaigning for Shropshire Council to divest the Shropshire Pension Fund which still invests at least £26 million in the fossil fuel industry. Read this guide on how to lobby your local councillors about divestment. Write to your MP using UK Divest’s letter proforma. Sign the Finance Innovation Lab and 350.org’s petition calling on the UK government to reform the pensions system so it delivers better outcomes for savers and pensioners, the economy and the environment. Insurance: Switch to insurance that doesn't cost the earth Is your home insurance, travel insurance, health insurance, car insurance or pet insurance inadvertently funding the climate crisis? ShareAction’s Insuring Disaster 2024 report revealed that the insurance sector paid out over $100 billion a year for the last four years in claims related to the impact of global heating. At the same time the insurance companies are continuing to invest in and underwrite increased fossil fuel production and projects which destroy vital ecosystems for agriculture or mining. Here’s what you can do to make sure your insurance provider is not investing your policyholder premiums in activities that harm the environment. 1. Research your insurer's investments Read ShareAction’s Insuring Disaster 2024 report about the insurance sector which ranks the world’s largest insurers’ approaches to responsible investment and underwriting. Use Insure Our Future’s scorecard which provides more in depth analysis of insurance companies underwriting and investing in coal, oil and gas projects. Are they being transparent about their investment practices and do they disclose investments in sectors like fossil fuels and deforestation? Do they have environmental policies in place to actively exclude investments in industries that contribute to the climate crisis. Are they signatories of initiatives like the Principles for Sustainable Insurance. Have they received certifications from organisations like B Corp which confirm they meet rigorous social and environmental standards. 2. Switch to a more ethical insurance company Find an insurer that explicitly avoids supporting industries harmful to the environment and instead invest in renewable energy and conservation efforts. View The Good Shopping Guide’s ethical comparison table of the UK’s big insurance providers. Read Good with Money’s Best ethical home insurers in 2025 . Subscribe to Ethical Consumer magazine online and use their Green insurance guides which cover car, house, pet and health insurance. 3. Campaign for change If your insurance provider is part of the problem write to them or share your concerns on social media and tag your insurance provider to encourage them to take action. Support Insure Our Future - a global campaign urging insurance companies to stop underwriting and investing in fossil fuels. Join Insure our Survival to take direct action outside insurance companies around the UK.

Shropshire Climate Action: Land management Land management Land management is a significant source of greenhouse gases (GHG), though unlike other industries, the majority are not carbon dioxide, but other molecules such as nitrous oxide and methane. The management of ruminant animals is a key feature to achieving net zero carbon. Approximately 80% of the total carbon found in terrestrial ecosystems is in the soil, and the soils ability to store carbon is three times that of the atmosphere and second only to the oceans. SCA's Land and Biodiversity Group supported by evidence from Cranfield University and Natural England have produced the Carbon in Land in Shropshire report (2023) on the carbon audit of soils and vegetation, indicating that Shropshire’s soils offer significant potential to store more carbon. Key messages are: In all habitats (even woodland) significantly more carbon is stored in the soil than in the biomass (the growing plants) Peatland offers significant potential to store carbon, but only if properly managed, otherwise it becomes a net carbon emitter Because of the amount of land involved, how we manage local grassland and arable cropping will have significant impact. Find out our views on using land for solar farms . Peatland restoration Shropshire contains significant areas of peatland. Whilst peat is consid ered as a significant carbon sink, it is only effective if pro pe rly managed. Almost all of England’s pea tlands, including Shropshire’s, are drying out and emitting, rather than sequestering, carbon. It is a local priority, therefore, to rewet peatland and enable it to sequester (store) more carbon (see the video "Just Add Water"). We should encourage agricultural practices that increase soil organic matter in Shropshire’s grassland, and which reduce carbon loss in arable land by reducing tillage. Support for these actions is being facilitated through the Farming in Protected Landscape project (FIPL). Rebuilding the soil with livestock Rebuilding the soil. One Somerset cattle farmer’s experience of changing his grazing regime for the better (6 minutes). Maintaining good organic matter levels Looking at maintaining organic matter levels in arable and grassland (3 minutes). Trees & hedgerows on a dairy farm How trees and hedgerows are used on Tim Downes' Shropshire dairy, beef and arable farm (5 minutes). CPRE Shropshire's Hedgerow Heroes project (2021 to 2024) What the project has achieved and the benefits of hedgerows to the countryside (11 minutes). Life in the hedge: how to manage hedgerows for wildlife A talk by hedgerow management expert Nigel Adams on hedgerows and how best to manage them for their health, longevity and biodiversity (1 hour 40 mins, but worth the watch!). Agroforestry on upland farms A Soil Association (October 2021) video of 3 upland farmers in Scotland, Brecon and Devon and their experiences of using agroforestry (11 minutes). The benefits of agroforestry Two Scottish livestock farmers talk about the benefits of trees and woodland on their farms (4 minutes). Woodland benefits for poultry farms A Cumbrian poultry farmer on the benefits of woodland (2 minutes).

< Back Climate campaigners find common ground with Helen Morgan, North Shropshire MP John Hargreaves 18 Oct 2024 On the topics of awareness raising, pensions, energy and farming Helen Morgan MP met climate activists from Market Drayton, Wem and Whitchurch on 18 October, as part of the national Common Ground initiative by the Climate Coalition. The North Shropshire climate campaigners joined hundreds around the country who met their local Members of Parliament to discuss how to work together for effective action in the face of climate breakdown. ‘We appreciated Helen Morgan’s commitment to climate action, including her support for the important Climate and Nature bill now before Parliament, as well as her very well-informed and positive approach to the issues we discussed. We look forward to working together in the future to support climate action at local and national levels,’ said John Hargreaves, Chair of Market Drayton Climate Action. At the meeting Helen Morgan responded to four specific requests, as well as sharing her insights into some of the challenges and political approaches to action on climate. The importance of leadership in influencing public awareness of climate issues Helen Morgan agreed that although significant action on climate must come at government level, widespread community understanding and support will be required. The climate campaigners asked for Ms Morgan to help build public awareness of the issues by using opportunities in her communications to refer to climate links in many of the initiatives and areas in which she is involved. She responded that this is an area she will bear in mind in future. Ms Morgan pointed out that communicating about the climate emergency is challenging in the face of social media responses from climate deniers, and that biodiversity issues are often received more readily. Climate campaigners can support Ms Morgan in referring to climate by using social media to welcome her comments. Pension holdings in fossil fuels Liberal Democrat policy is for all pension funds to be divested from fossil fuels. Although locally there have been repeated efforts urging the Shropshire Pension Fund to stop fossil fuel investments, there have been negative responses or no response at all. The climate groups asked Helen Morgan to write to the Chair of the Shropshire Pension Fund to ask what steps they are taking to divest as a matter of urgency from fossil fuels, which she agreed to do. Supporting farmers to move to sustainable practice North Shropshire is an agricultural area in which we are witnessing loss of biodiversity and the increasingly the detrimental impact of bigger farms, including impacts on carbon emissions. The climate campaigners asked Helen Morgan to write on behalf of farmers in North Shropshire to ministers in Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs to ask about how they are planning across departments to incentivise sustainable practice which will be manageable, accessible and economically viable for farmers. Ms Morgan said she would write to the ministers, and also that she expects Tim Fallon as Liberal Democrat lead on farming to be active on these issues in Parliament. Barbara Cotterell from Wem Area Climate Action mentioned the possibility of a farming forum in Wem next year, which Ms Morgan could consider attending. Energy efficiency and renewable energy Chloe King from Wem, who works for an energy charity, gained Ms Morgan’s agreement to write to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, asking for retrofit grants to be reformed and to be more accessible. Chloe will send supporting data on experience with the difficulty in gaining support through the grants. Ms Morgan also described cross-party support in Parliament for requiring solar panels on all new builds, as well as moves to require landlords to upgrade housing to be more energy efficient. On behalf of the climate groups, John Hargreaves thanked Ms Morgan for her willingness to support climate action. ‘It is heartening for us to have national representation that recognises the crucial steps that must be taken toward a safe and healthy future,’ he said. 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