Shropshire Climate Action: Climate & Nature News for Shropshire Telford & Wrekin Our newsletter Sign up to receive the monthly Shropshire Climate Action newsletter for Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin below. Read or download our newsletters (and past copies of the South Shropshire Climate Action newsletter as pdfs) or sign up to get them direct to your Inbox. Read our newsletters Sign up for our newsletters Latest News 1 Dec 2025 Artwork will highlight the global Climate Change impact Using underwater sculpture to make a point Read More 8 Nov 2025 Protest in Shrewsbury to "Say No to Rosebank" Calling for an end to drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea Read More 6 Nov 2025 Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin based environmental groups write to the Prime Minister Calling for urgent action on climate change ahead of the UN COP30 taking place in Brazil this November Read More 1 Nov 2025 South Shropshire MP supports the repeal of the Climate Change Act 2008 Our response to local criticism of the Act Read More 24 Oct 2025 Have Your Say: Help shape the future of EV charging in Telford and Wrekin Survey now open Read More 18 Oct 2025 Shropshire Hosts Record-Breaking Repair Cafe 'The Big Mend' Celebrating International Repair Day with repairers from across Shropshire and Telford Read More 17 Oct 2025 Get ready for the county-wide Green Open Homes event this November Book your viewing of energy efficient homes across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and beyond Read More 1 Oct 2025 Bishop’s Castle's Community Heat & Wind Network project update The good and the bad news Read More 1 Sept 2025 Shaping careers and growing the economy. Oh! And tackling climate change! A young climate activist's perspective Read More 30 Aug 2025 Middle Marches Community Land Trust launches White Grit Meadows Appeal Preserving unique habitats for wildlife in the Marches Read More 1 Aug 2025 Want to make your home more energy efficient? Find out what support is available from Marches Energy Agency Read More 26 Jul 2025 Reflections on the new National Food Strategy for Shropshire Shropshire Good Food Partnership consider if this is the solution we have been waiting for Read More 17 Jul 2025 Launch of the second share offer by Shropshire and Telford Community Energy Investment in Tremlowes Solar Farm in North Shropshire off to a good start! Read More 1 Jul 2025 Clean air for Shropshire Tips on how you can help improve air quality including how to tackle engine idling Read More 21 Jun 2025 Local groups meet with Julia Buckley (Labour MP for Shrewsbury & Atcham) Q&A focused on how we can better protect Nature and take climate action Read More 17 Jun 2025 Shropshire Council's approval of 200,000-bird intensive poultry unit overturned by High Court New environmental considerations for planning authorities Read More 7 Jun 2025 Big Green Week (7-15th June) comes to Shropshire Local library plays host to diverse range of climate activities Read More 19 May 2025 Interesting conversations at Morville Annual Community event Renewable energy popular with farmers, and a new argument for heat pumps? Read More 1 May 2025 Having climate conversations with the people you know We are the 89% who want their Governments to take action on climate Read More 10 Apr 2025 Celebration of South Shropshire Climate Action’s Achievements End of Project event held at the Discovery Centre, Craven Arms on 10th April 2025 Read More

< Back SSCA at Ludlow Green Festival Fiona Morgan and Jane Cullen 9 Jul 2023 Promoting climate action, carbon reduction and Nature recovery We had a lovely day at the Ludlow Green Festival on Sunday 9th July which was organised by Ludlow21.There was a vibrant atmosphere with lots of people enjoying the stalls displaying eco wares, arts and crafts, locally sourced plants, food and drink. SSCA contributed a series of speakers on key topics. They shared the stage with the bands who played throughout the day, alternating with the Ted-style talks. This worked very well, great bands, great talks including: Nick Read (SSCA) 'Faith and Zero Carbon - a guide to church action on climate change' Allan Wilson (Save Our Shropshire) 'Learning to live in the future' Rob Narraway (Marches Energy Agency) 'Is your home future fit? Things to do now!' Pat Sirling (Friends of the River Wye) 'Saving the Wye through people power' Colin Richards (Friends of Mortimer Forest) 'Can't see the wood for the trees, improving our plantation forests for wildlife and people' Our swap stand went down well too with lots of books, CD’s, toys and clothes donated, swapped and given away to encourage people to reuse and share our resources as a key way to reduce our carbon emissions. We also ran a stall on 'Gardening for Nature' which was festooned with wild flowers and a map of Ludlow town showing each dwelling. Local expert enthusiast Sue Crichton from Abdon & Wheathill joined us to promote and discuss all the possible ways to garden and support wildlife while increasing biodiversity, creating habitats to encourage insects, amphibians, birds and bats. We were also able to display some of the climate photographs by students from Hereford Sixth Form College taking A level photography. Previous Next

< Back So what do you do with your hoover fluff? Angela Vnoucek 12 Jul 2024 One Shrewsbury resident's journey to become a Zero Waster This is not a question which comes up in everyday conversation. It is however relevant if, like me, you do not like putting your general waste bin out. It was too much hassle for me with a busy job and one less thing that I needed to think about. No more " What day is bin day? " and all the aggravation which came with. It was 2011 and I decided to review everything I put in my bin and find another home for it, or, better still, not generate it in the first place. I soon reached the stage where a whole year had gone by and I could still see the bottom of my general waste bin. It was only in 2020 that I realised I was doing something which is rapidly becoming a growing trend – zero wasting. I became used to recycling, reducing, repairing, repurposing, rotting (aka composting) and refusing. My general waste bin has now been repurposed and houses, ironically, my garden equipment. And what became of the hoover fluff? That went into the green waste bin. So now that I have posed the question please ask yourself ‘What do you do with your hoover fluff?’ Your journey to be a zero waster has begun. Read more about Angela's zero waste activities on the BBC News website . Listen to her interview on BBC Radio Shropshire [Intro @ 26:40; then 30:13 - 36:30: 48:24 - 54:27: 1.42:09 - 1.48:49] Previous Next

< Back Mossy.Life - Shropshire’s online local green guide Caroline Talbot 1 Mar 2024 For all Shropshire's green events, groups, activities and more This beautiful county not only provides magical green rolling countryside, but is the home of a whole array of green-minded individuals, companies, organisations and groups, all trying to gain traction in working towards a net zero way of living. From start-up zero waste shops and community litter picking initiatives, to energy saving workshops and organic farms, Shropshire has so many green heroes working towards a more sustainable future. Although it is true that every little really does help, it is also true that by connecting like-minded people and working together, we can help amplify the effect. In 2019, Caroline Talbot, a Shropshire born environmental educator, wanted to make a difference, so started to build an online free to use directory whilst on maternity leave. The website Mossy.Life has gone from strength to strength and now lists over 630 organisations and groups, and between 50-500 environmental events in the online calendar at any given time. How you can use : Mossy.Life provides a green directory that can be searched by location, category or name, as well as a searchable events calendar . Both offer completely free listings to encourage even the smallest of groups to get involved. It includes a calendar of national and international campaigns , local green news and a range of eco living articles . The website can also be explored by area, showcasing Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin on individual pages to help connect individuals with everything local to them. You can also embed the Mossy.Life Directory into your own group’s website as South Shropshire Climate Action and Zero Carbon Shropshire have done to help publicize all the activities taking place locally to help address the Nature and climate crisis. If you know of an individual, organization, group, product or event that isn’t yet listed, please get in touch to help spread the word by sending an email to Caroline at hello@mossy.life Local Climate Groups Local Climate Groups Local Climate Groups Previous Next

< Back Beavers finally arrive in the Old River Bed, Shrewsbury! Julie Howe 10 Feb 2025 Hooray! Shropshire Wildlife Trust has released the long-awaited beavers into the site prepared for them in the Old River Bed. The pair are reported to be settling in well, and the boardwalks at the site are now open for quiet visits. For more information on the benefits the beavers can provide for the ecosystem and for water management, visit the SWT website . See also an interesting BBC news report about the beavers, on their release day. Previous Next

< Back Reflections on the new National Food Strategy for Shropshire Daphne Du Cros 26 Jul 2025 Shropshire Good Food Partnership consider if this is the solution we have been waiting for After digesting the new food strategy and considering the reflections and reviews of other professionals in food policy, this is our analysis, and what it means for Shropshire, our communities, and people. As a note, I write this as someone who has lived and breathed food policy for over 15 years of my career and have watched in disbelief as our food system and regard for farmers has continued to slide into the background of policy and governance. Opportunities have been missed and leadership on food system transformation has been weak. The result has been a heavy corporate influence that has impacted billions of people, our economy, our environment, knowledge, links to nature and confidence in our own abilities to feed ourselves and know food. Something has to change quickly, which is why I finished my PhD in Food Policy and started a Market Garden, and then became the coordinator of SGFP: We can’t wait for government to hand down a perfectly formed solution for us to take action (perfect is the enemy of the good, afterall). The grassroots must lead the charge on change, as indeed it always has. The National Food Strategy is a positive step for central government, but it’s essentially playing catch up with what we already know, and what many of us have been doing for the last decade(s). By and large, the National Food Strategy (NFS) is being well received, with comments saying that it picks up where Henry Dimbleby’s strategy left off (a good document that should have been put to work right away), particularly that it makes the effort to connect the dots on food, farming, culture, public health and environment. To read the full article on Shropshire Good Food Partnership's website please click here . Previous Next

< Back The inaugural walk for our Walk Through Bridgnorth’s Green Spaces leaflet Fiona Morgan 17 Jun 2023 A walk designed to promote Wellbeing and Nature in Bridgnorth On Saturday 17th June we were delighted to launch the latest in our series of self-guided walk leaflets - the Walk through Bridgnorth’s Green Spaces - which has been produced in partnership with South Shropshire Climate Action, Sustainable Bridgnorth and Bridgnorth Library with the support of other groups including Shropshire Wildlife Trust, Energize, Bridgnorth Town Council, Community Resource and Buglife. 15 of us turned up in the first rains we had had in June for the inaugural walk which was led by the Chair of Shropshire Wildlife Trust, Bridgnorth branch. The walk was done at a leisurely pace, taking 2 hours to explore the green spaces around Bridgnorth’s High and Low Town including churchyard gardens, parks, a riverside walk, and the old alleys and paths in the town. During the walk we saw house martins swooping around Bridgnorth Bridge and geese and their baby goslings resting on the banks of the River Severn. A kingfisher was seen by one of the party darting under the bridge. We heard chiff chaff, wren and greenfinch from a spot overlooking the cliffs on the other side of the river which are also the haunt of peregrine falcons. A pitstop was made halfway round the walk at Our Green Shop (Bridgnorth’s zero waste refill shop) to buy much needed refreshments and snacks. We then headed back up to the High Town and leant about the fascinating history of the town and the history of Bridgnorth Libraries from members of Sustainable Bridgnorth and Emma Spenser, Branch Manager, Bridgnorth Library & Visitor Information Point. We finished with a stroll through Castle Park Gardens, where the second Bridgnorth Green Festival will be held on Saturday 9th September, and viewed the bug house and swallow boxes installed in the grounds of St Mary’s Church. If you are interested in doing the walk around Bridgnorth you can find the walk leaflet on the South Shropshire Climate Action website . The walk contains a variety of accessible route and more strenuous routes which include steps. The original walk leaflet, A Walk through Ludlow’s Green Spaces has also recently been revised and updated and can be accessed via the SSCA website too. We hope both walks will be used by people and groups of all ages to promote their physical and mental wellbeing through connecting people to the pockets of Nature that exist in our urban spaces and to promote sustainable tourism in south Shropshire. The more people connect to, and care about, Nature, the more they will act to protect it. Previous Next

< Back Action to protect our rivers in Shropshire Tina Teearu 28 Aug 2024 22nd September World Rivers Day As the saying goes: “Water is Life and Life is Water”. Rivers and lakes provide the water we drink, important wildlife corridors and recreational opportunities. Wetlands provide habitats where nature can thrive, store carbon and prevent flooding downstream. Yet in recent years pollution from agricultural runoff (from fields and intensive production chicken units), industrial waste, untreated sewage, pesticides, “forever chemicals” and heavy metals have been found in many rivers, posing serious risks to wildlife and human health. The situation is becoming critical with the Wye and the Severn slowly suffocating and dying in front of our eyes. Something has to be done. Progress towards safeguarding UK rivers for future generations is far too slow. Hopefully the new government will change the regulatory system from the top down, but we also need “grass roots” action. In Shrewsbury, campaigners Up Sewage Creek are working to turn the tide – volunteers (sometimes in poo hats!) have brought their “Poo-o-meter” to events like the Dragon Boat Festival and Folk Festival, raising public awareness of Combined Sewage Outfalls (CSO’s). The group organises local walks, talks and protests, and is currently running a crowdfunder for water testing kits so the water company can be held to account when breaches occur. A recent win for the River Severn has come via an allied group of keen open water swimmers who achieved Bathing Water Status for part of the Severn in May. This will bring extra funding to ensure certain stretches are clean enough for humans to swim in, but ideally we need the whole river catchment to be of this standard, supporting a rich ecosystem teeming with life from source to sea. So what can YOU do? National campaigns, championed by famous names like Feargal Sharkey and Joe Lycett, abound and there are many ways in which you can help in your own way. Take part in an event on World Rivers Day (22 September) Go on the March for Clean Water on 26 October in London. Join forces with Take Back Water which aims to bring about the re-nationalisation of the water industry in the UK. Whatever you do – do something! 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 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 Telford and Wrekin Borough Climate Change Annual Conference Fiona Morgan 18 Oct 2024 Working in partnership to adapt our communities to an uncertain future The second annual conference organised by Telford and Wrekin Council took place on 18 October. The conference was well attended by local organisations including the Fire and Rescue Service, town and parish councillors, businesses including Veolia and representatives of community groups including Climate Action Hub Telford, Sustainable Newport, Transition Telford, Shropshire Cycle Hub, Marches Energy Agency and local churches.Speakers covered topics including: how the council is reducing carbon emissions across the borough how the local business community is sharing good practice via the Telford Sustainability and Energy Cluster the sustainability projects being run by Shrewsbury and Telford hospitals Shropshire Good Food Partnership's work on reducing food waste with schools the Postcards from the Future visioning exercise about what Telford and Wrekin could look like if communities took action to get to net zero in relation to energy, buildings, transport, land, food and waste was discussed by the local communities forum. This was followed by a group discussion about developing an adaptation strategy for the borough as to the actions needed to make local communities more resilient to climate change. This was made all the more pertinent due to the flood barriers being erected in Ironbridge that morning. Previous Next

< Back Shropshire Hosts Record-Breaking Repair Cafe 'The Big Mend' Pete Martin 18 Oct 2025 Celebrating International Repair Day with repairers from across Shropshire and Telford Shrewsbury celebrated International Repair Day in spectacular fashion on Saturday, October 18 with the largest-ever Repair Café event in the town as well as the county: "The Big Mend." Organised by the dedicated Shrewsbury Repair Café volunteers, in collaboration with fellow Repair Cafés from across Shropshire (including Bayston Hill, Oswestry, Pontesbury, Stretton, Telford and Wem) and sponsored by Veolia, the event was a massive success, breathing new life into a vast array of broken household items and championing the value of sustainability and reuse. Held at Prestfelde School in Shrewsbury, the event saw an unprecedented turnout. Over 137 items were brought in by the public—far exceeding all other previous records of any repair café in Shropshire. Skilled volunteer "fixers" and "menders" worked tirelessly across various repair stations, tackling everything from the modern to the antique. The eclectic mix of items repaired or assessed included: • Faulty electrical items (like vacuum cleaners and hair straighteners) • Mechanical items • Broken clocks • Torn clothing and textiles • Damaged ornaments and toys (including a vintage Bagatelle pinball machine) Most items were successfully mended on the spot, preventing them from heading straight to landfill and saving their owners the cost of replacement. For those items requiring more complicated repairs, volunteers offered advice or took them away for further attention. The spirit of "The Big Mend" went beyond simple repairs. It was a true community celebration of the Repair Café movement's core values: • Waste Reduction: the event was a practical step against the 'throwaway' culture, keeping valuable resources in use and out of landfill. • Skill Sharing: people could watch or join in the repairs, learning valuable maintenance and fixing skills that are increasingly being lost in modern society. • Cost Saving: by repairing items for free, the event offered a practical solution to the rising cost of living. In addition to the repair stations, experts from Halls Fine Art Auctioneers were on hand to offer free valuations for items like jewellery, silver, ceramics, and militaria, adding an extra layer of engagement for attendees. The event's popularity was clear, with attendees flocking to Prestfelde School throughout the day. The vibrant atmosphere was noted by volunteers, with one repairer stating that the enthusiasm and happiness in the room was "wonderful." The importance of "The Big Mend" was acknowledged by local officials, with Shrewsbury MP Julia Buckley, Town Mayor Alex Wagner, and Vice Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire Jenny Wynn OBE all in attendance to show their support for the sustainability initiative. "The Big Mend" successfully made its mark, not just as the biggest Repair Café event in the area, but as a shining example of community action and collective commitment to a more sustainable future. The success of the day reinforced the vital role that Shropshire’s Repair Cafés play in local efforts to tackle both the cost of living and climate crisis. Previous Next