< Back Middle Marches Community Land Trust launches White Grit Meadows Appeal Julie Howe 30 Aug 2025 Preserving unique habitats for wildlife in the Marches A Community Land Trust is a nonprofit, community-based organisation committed to the stewardship and affordability of land, housing and other buildings used for community benefit in perpetuity. CLTs across the country take a variety of forms; usually they have the aim of meeting local housing need and providing community benefit.However, in Shropshire, the Middle Marches CLT has a distinct purpose: to acquire and manage land of current or potential habitat and wildlife value to ensure nature conservation interest is developed and maintained in perpetuity. Currently the Trust holds four sites . It also works with land managers and organisations for habitat protection and improvement and shares information, advice, skills, expertise and knowledge on nature conservation. Now MMCLT is seeking to purchase and protect a site at White Grit: Wildflower meadows are one the rarest habitats in the UK. A local community land trust has been offered a rare and exciting opportunity to buy five acres of botanically rich meadow just over the Welsh border, at White Grit, within view of the mighty Corndon Hill. "It's a fantastic site", exclaims the Chair of Middle Marches Community Land Trust, Dr. Richard Keymer. " Across the UK, 97% of these meadows have been lost since the 1930's. We have launched an appeal for £45,000 to ensure that these small fields at White Grit will be there for future generations to enjoy ". Large billowing hedgerows enclose the meadows. On a summer's day there is a timeless feel to them as you wander from one room-like space to another, and it is all alive with bees, hoverflies and butterflies amongst the flowers. The site has been looked after by the present owners for 23 years, but they now need to relinquish their ownership, and have kindly offered the meadows to the Trust to purchase. The White Grit Meadows Appeal launched on Saturday 30 August from 1 to 4pm, at Cordon Marsh Chapel. Click here to give money to the appeal. Alternatively, donations can be sent by post, to the Middle Marches Community Land Trust, c/o Enterprise House, Bishops Castle SY9 5AQ. Please make cheques out to 'Middle Marches Community Land Trust. For further information please contact us via email . You can also read the Guardian newspaper’s recent article on MMCLT here . Previous Next

< Back Ludlow Quaker Meeting holds a Climate Fresk John Cherry 6 Nov 2024 Promoting discussion about the climate emergency and actions we can take in our communities In November Ludlow Quaker Meeting House members invited Sue Burnell and Kev Oubridge along to facilitate a half day Climate Fresk workshop using information cards based on data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports. This event was approached with some foreboding: could a game with cards be serious? It turned out to be both serious and thought-provoking. We used the cards to link the causes of climate change and its effects, for example the melting of glaciers leading to rising sea levels and flooding. Coming just before the terrible floods in Valencia, our pictures seemed prophetic. There was intense and noisy discussion and it became clear that the card labelled ‘Human Action’ was the root cause. Although there was little time to discuss practical action, it was clear that we should now address how our Meeting House could made more sustainable. If you are a community group or group of friends living in Shropshire or Telford and Wrekin and want to book a half day Climate Fresk workshops, which includes all the materials, find out more via the BizEd Projects website or email climate@bizedprojects.com Previous Next

< Back Restoring Shropshire’s Verges Project (RSVP) Janet Cobb 18 Apr 2024 Supporting the recovery of Shropshire's wildlife Over the last 60 years 97% of our wildflower meadows have been lost. This loss has had a huge impact on wildlife. There are more threatened species associated with meadows than with any other habitat in the UK. Road verges offer a real opportunity to help reverse this loss. If managed correctly, they could form long, linear meadows, providing habitat in themselves but also helping to link up fragments of remaining meadow. Shropshire’s verges have huge wildlife potential. They could be wonderful linear meadows, providing nectar for pollinators, and food and shelter for small mammals, birds and other invertebrates. Sadly, many of them are not managed for wildlife in this way. They are regularly cut, with the cuttings dropped and left in situ, which increases soil fertility and encourages rank vegetation such as nettles, brambles, hogweed and coarse grasses to dominate. The remaining verges that do still have a diversity of flowering plants are often cut far too early, removing the flowers and preventing them setting seed. Restoring Shropshire Verges Project (RSVP) promotes the creation of wildflower-rich meadows on Shropshire’s verges. It was formed in 2018 and is run entirely by volunteers. Our main focus is the change in verge management, from a regular ‘cut-and-drop’ regime, to leaving the verges uncut between April and July followed by a late summer ‘cut-and-collect’. We now support over 35 local volunteer-led verge projects around Shropshire. How would RSVP like the verges to be managed? We want to allow grasses and flowers in the verge to grow, flower and set seed over spring and early summer. A rule of thumb would be to cut and remove the cuttings from August onwards. However this is weather dependent so verges being managed as wildflower meadows may be cut slightly earlier or later than this. This removal of the cuttings is key, as over time this reduces the fertility of the verges and allows finer grasses and wildflowers to appear. In places this can be augmented by sowing wildflower seed and planting plug plants. Will this make visibility for road users more difficult and lead to safety issues? RSVP has the support of Shropshire Council, who we liaise regularly with. Public safety is the primary concern and any verges which Shropshire Council lists as needing to be cut short for visibility reasons will still be cut as normal. In addition to this, all ‘safety cuts’, where a 1.1m width of verge bordering the road is cut short, will still be carried out. Many local authorities around the country, including Dorset, Lincolnshire, Herefordshire, now manage verges as linear hay meadows without any compromise on safety. Will managing the verges as meadows mean they become full of docks, thistles and nettles? Quite the reverse! The Council’s current management regime, where verges are cut several times a year and the cuttings are left to rot down and enrich the soil on the verges, is very likely to result in thistles, docks and nettles as they thrive in areas of high nutrients. But a change to an annual cutting and collecting regime will prevent these species from becoming dominant. Verges that have been managed as hay meadows by the introduction of species such as yellow rattle and a change to a cut-and-collect regime actually show a marked reduction in vegetation height over time, as soil fertility reduces and finer grasses and wildflowers become established. What wildlife will the verges support? Verges are basically linear meadows. Meadows and species-rich grasslands support a huge diversity and abundance of fine native grasses, wildflowers and fungi. This rich habitat supports a host of bees, flies, beetles, spiders, moths, butterflies, reptiles, amphibians, small mammals, bats and birds. Why does it matter? We are in the middle of a biodiversity and climate crisis which threatens not only other species, but the health and wellbeing of future generations of people. This may seem unrelated from some small patches of verge in Shropshire, but every single patch of wildlife-friendly habitat, from a huge nature reserve to a window box, can play an important role in helping slow and stop this crisis. If all our road verges become species rich grassland they would also be able to store much more carbon, helping offset our carbon emissions. Supporting evidence During the 2022 UN biodiversity conference, COP15, countries reached a landmark agreement that aims to reverse the unprecedented destruction of nature. One of the agreement's twenty-three targets, known as 30x30, aims to protect at least 30 percent of the planet's land and water by 2030. Across Shropshire roadside verges could make a significant contribution to towards this target by changing the management regime in any new highways contract. The potential for cost savings over time is significant. Savings could be used for roadside maintenance and the development of a strategy to replace missing hedges along roadside verges and the restoration of our ditch network – all significant contributions to mitigating the effects of climate change. Shropshire is successful in the engagement of willing local communities and volunteers in proactive community capital building and the enhancement of Shropshire’s status as Shropshire Hills National Landscape capitalizing on visitors and residents alike who are increasingly appreciative of the landscape and wildlife. Shropshire Council could also realize the value of the arisings in the production of biogas, biomethane or biochar using a process called anaerobic digestion. Finally, Shropshire Council has the opportunity to lead the way nationally on this via its contract to proactively restore the roadside verges to native flora creating a ‘win-win’ situation. Website: https://middlemarchescommunitylandtrust.org.uk/restoring-shropshire-road-verges/ WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR? Previous Next

< Back Shropshire & Telford residents go to Restore Nature Now March in London Fiona Morgan 22 Jun 2024 Coming together to call for urgent action on the Climate and Nature crises Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin were well represented at the Restore Nature Now national march on 22 June with residents from Broseley, Craven Arms, Ludlow, Much Wenlock, Oswestry, Shrewsbury and Telford among others, descending on London to make their voices heard. Over 60,000 people were noted to have taken part calling for the Government to take immediate action to address the nature and climate crises and protect and restore our UK wildlife. Among the 350 groups represented included the National Trust, RSPB, Woodland Trust, The Wildlife Trusts, Extinction Rebellion, Surfers Against Sewage, as well as indigenous people from the Global South who are in the direct line of fire from these devastating interconnected crises. Make your vote count for Climate and Nature on the 4 July. Previous Next

< Back SSCA visit to the NMITE exhibition in Herefordshire Mike Bourke 6 Feb 2023 Higher Education gets retrofitting Members of the SSCA Energy and Retrofit Group visited the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE) , a new university located in Hereford which offers a range of engineering degrees and short courses including on the sustainable built environment. They viewed the very energy-efficient building and the retrofit displays of wall insulation (external and internal), floor insulation and windows. Only organic materials were used (no plastic). Previous Next

< Back Broseley's Climate Action Group launched its first Green Day this April Fiona Morgan 15 Apr 2023 SSCA and Stretton Climate Care were there to trial the new Retrofit Toolkit SSCA’s project coordinator, Fiona Morgan, and Mike Bourke from Stretton Climate Care, attended Broseley Town Council’s Climate Action Group’s very first Green event in April. We used this for another first - to pilot the Retrofit Toolkit, which have been produced by South Shropshire Climate Action (SSCA) and its partner organisations Marches Energy Agency (under their Future Ready Homes project ) and Stretton Climate Care . The 15 information sheets which form the toolkit (which can be taken for a suggested donation of £5) are d esigned to help you plan a Whole House Retrofit to achieve Net Zero Carbon, either in one go or in a long-term series of stages. They: · recommend the order in which to take the necessary steps to fully insulate your home; · enable you to reduce your use of energy for lighting, heating and other resources including water; and · help you to make decisions about renewable energy generation for your home. Each handout gives further information and links to useful on-line resources for each topic. In time the handouts will also be accessed via the QR code on our new website. The toolkit will accompany Marches Energy Agency’s new Electric Van which will be bringing a Retrofit Roadshow to Shropshire communities this year to help householders to understand how to make their homes more energy efficient. The exhibition also includes: · A continuous PowerPoint retrofit slideshow · Samples of insulation and other retrofit materials. · The latest information on grants, and help for struggling households The exhibition will be at the following events this year. Saturday 20th May 11am - 4pm: Next Generation Fair, the Halo Community Centre, Craven Arms Saturday 27th May 10-4pm: StrettFest, Rectory Field, Church Stretton (behind St Laurence's Church) Sunday 9th July 10am -4pm Ludlow Green Festival, Castle Square, Ludlow Saturday 9th September: Bridgnorth Green Festival, Castle Gardens, Bridgnorth Saturday 23rd September: Bishop’s Castle Green Day, SpArC Leisure Centre, Bishop’s Castle So come along to find out more and take away a toolkit to start or continue your retrofit journey. Previous Next

< Back New guide on Shropshire's Green Spaces to promote wellbeing Fiona Morgan and Shropshire Wildlife Trust 3 Aug 2023 Featuring SSCA's Walk Through Bridgnorth's Green Spaces New guides showcasing local green spaces have been created to encourage people to spend more time outdoors experiencing natural environments to the benefit of their physical and mental health. 9 locations have been chosen across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin. Each location has a free downloadable route, instructions on how to get there, accessibility information, and details of what you can see and do. This is one of the outcomes from a two-year Green Social Prescribing project, run by a partnership between Energize STW (the active partnership for Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin) and Shropshire Wildlife Trust, with support from both local authorities in our County. The 9 guides are available to view on the Shropshire Wildlife Trust website at www.shropshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/local-greenspaces Our South Shropshire Climate Action Walk Through Bridgnorth's Green Spaces leaflet that we produced in partnership with Bridgnorth Library and Sustainable Bridgnorth features as one of the 9 walks. Sharon Smith, Green Social Prescribing Officer at Energize STW and Shropshire Wildlife Trust said: “ Our research has shown both social prescribers and the public were needing more information about local green spaces which are free to access and enjoy. Our focus was around what we coined the 3 Ls – low cost, low level, and local. ” Previous Next

< Back Save Our Shropshire to deliver low-carbon education for businesses for Shropshire Chamber of Commerce Richard Watkins 30 Apr 2024 SME's can book now on SOS's carbon literacy courses in June and July 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 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 Net Zero Progress - How are we doing in Shropshire? David Matthews 3 Feb 2025 Report on progress in Shropshire county We often get questions about whether the county is making progress on reducing its Greenhouse 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 their geography and characteristics. The progress chart for Green House Gas emissions for Shropshire, Telford& Wrekin displayed (the government reports can be found here . To keep within our carbon budget and to around 1.5C of warming, we need to get to an average of approximately 2.5t per individual in the UK by 2030 so are not currently on track to do that. The Centre for Sustainable Energy and Exeter University have created a very useful data visualisation tool, Impact, which allows you to look at household emissions within geographical boundaries (parishes, local authority areas, etc). For more details, see: Impact Previous Next

< Back Celebrating Marches Energy Agency 25th Anniversary Fiona Morgan and Nick Read 14 Oct 2022 SSCA's Project Co-ordinators deliver a talk at MEA's anniversary event In October SSCA’s Project Co-ordinators were invited to speak about South Shropshire Climate Action at Marches Energy Agency's 25th Anniversary celebration. The focus of the talks and discussions among those attending was on how to tackle the cost of living crisis and eradicate fuel poverty and how this aligns with getting to net zero carbon. With contributions from staff at Marches Energy Agency, Citizen's Advice, Wrekin Housing Group, Shropshire Council, Food Poverty Alliance, Zero Carbon Shropshire, Severn Wye, Community Resource, Shropshire Wildlife Trust, Evora Edge. It's by working together that we help to tackle these crises. Previous Next