What can we in South Hill Parish do to protect our planet?
To be held at the Parish Hall, Golberdon, on Thursday October 21st at 7.30pmEverybody welcome
CLIMATE CHANGE WORKING GROUP
Author Archives: SAS
SHARE News Bulletin October 2021
SHARE AGM
Our AGM on September 22nd was well attended, firstly at an informal “board report” session outside the Parish Hall, to show what we do and progress made during the past year. The second, more formal part of the meeting was conducted inside the Hall, and was rounded off with drinks and snacks so that people could continue to chat.
It was especially good to meet and put names to some new faces. Membership continues to grow and now stands at 109 full members and 77 associate members.
Draft minutes of the meeting are being circulated to members who were present, and will in due course be published on our web page (https://south-hill.co.uk/share/share-member-area/)
Insulation, insulation, insulation!
There’s a great deal of talk about “retrofit” just now. Houses built without a high standard of insulation (and this includes many being built at this very moment) can never hope to be truly energy efficient without addressing this problem.
At the recent Cornwall Home Improvement & Self Build Show at Wadebridge, Sue went with the intention of finding out more about retrofit, but was a bit disappointed to be honest. There were plenty of stands selling solar PV, air and ground source heat pumps, even MVHR (mechanical ventilation and heat recovery) systems, but besides being expensive to install, without high standards of insulation in homes, these can also be expensive to run.
Sadly, we missed a recent talk given by Kate Royston of TEC (Tamar Energy Community), “Retrofitting your home – What’s this all about?” . Kate has kindly made available the presentation used for her talk – see attached. She says costs are coming down all the time, and the ones in the presentation are on the high side.
Kate would be happy to come and talk to our members about this. Please contact SHARE@south-hill.co.uk if you’d be interested.
Out And About
We’ve been thinking about possible visits to places of interest.
One example is the tree nursery and a new rainwater harvesting system at Meeth Quarry near Hatherleigh in Devon (https://www.devonwildlifetrust.org/nature-reserves/meeth-quarry)
This Devon Wildlife Trust site has been developed from an old clay quarry whose industrial past has produced a fascinating landscape for wildlife today. With 150 hectares of nature reserve we should be able to have a good walk and observe abundant wildlife too.
We’d also like to visit Trebartha, near Launceston, where as well as extensive gardens they have a hydro-power turbine installed in 2015. Trebartha Estate opens its gardens to visitors through the NGS – National Garden Scheme. The next open day is in May 2022.
At a recent open day we learned that “water comes from an intake area, through a 1.2km stretch of pipe dropping 90m down to the turbine house. The turbine is a 4 jet vertical shafted Pelton wheel with a 350kW generator. It is estimated to generate an average of 1000MWH of energy per year – enough for about 200 homes – which is fed into the national grid.” Naturally we’re interested in this as it links to our own hydro feasibility study.
There may also be an opportunity for us to learn more about methods of farming which are more in tune with the environment – fans of the Archers may have heard talk of “herbal leys” and such like! Example: https://www.facebook.com/LeanneBarriballbiz/videos/1033684474135257
If you have any ideas for SHARE visits, please let us know.
Website: www.south-hill.co.uk/SHARE email: SHARE@south-hill.co.uk
Survey – South Hill Community Jubilee Orchard
Welcome to South Hill Community Jubilee Orchard’s participant survey.
This survey will help to inform whether there is enough local support for a new community orchard.
Survey link: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/M6RDR58
A proposed view of how the community orchard might look
This new space is owned by South Hill Parish Council, near Golberdon, and would be a new area that the local community can access. It will be a joint project between the Council and SHARE.
Continue readingUnlocking, AGM and Big Green Week
In advance of our SHARE AGM event, to be held at South Hill Parish Hall from 7.30pm on Wednesday September 22nd, we are contacting all members informally. This message includes important information for members regarding the election of Directors.
As music fans will know all too well, during lockdown all gigs were either cancelled or postponed. At last that situation is changing as we head into ever more freedom. There has been a knock on effect; a lack of available venues, as everyone wants a stage at once. The SHARE AGM has been affected by the same issues, as we’ve had to postpone last year’s AGM until now. The similarity with your favourite band is that venues have become in huge demand. Our own Parish Hall is seeing a great upsurge in bookings, taking advantage of its refurbishment.
We have hatched a Cunning Plan: the format of the AGM will change slightly.
This September sees the national Great Big Green Week, (18th to 26th September) and we’ve chosen to hook into that for our Annual General Meeting.
Continue readingSHARE – Out and About Again
Lethytep Conservation & Wildlife Haven
Philip and Faith have transformed 52 acres of meadows, lakes and ancient woodland into habitats that they manage for wildlife. The amazing wildflower and hay meadows are managed the old-fashioned way using only carefully-timed grazing and cutting, resulting in a rich and varied habitat. Though probably not financially viable as a working farm, Lethytep is a valuable resource for biodiversity and wellbeing and is open to visitors by arrangement and on planned open days in June and July each year.
Continue readingFriendly Slimming World Groups
Wednesdays and Fridays
at Callington Methodist Church
Call Luisa on 07972856788 for details
The past year has been extremely challenging for support groups everywhere, and Slimming World has been no exception.
Some have found this period very difficult (stress and comfort eating); some have actually found it easier (no eating out or socialising over cake); some have concentrated on weight maintenance. All are glad to be getting “back on the bus” for the sake of their health and wellbeing.
Our lovely consultant Luisa Glinn has worked extremely hard to keep everybody from going off the rails. She has organised weekly Zoom sessions on Wednesdays and Fridays, and personal messaging and phonecalls for those less comfortable with technology. Last summer, when we were “unlocked” for a few weeks, we met in a barn on Luisa’s farm so that we could remain socially distanced but still get the help and support we are used to.
We’re flooding back to the Methodist Church schoolroom for our weekly dose of common sense and empathy. Members who stepped back from Slimming World during the pandemic are being welcomed back, and many new members are joining. All are welcome, and with luck by the end of June we’ll be able to use the kitchen to make our tea and coffee – exciting times!
Comments from members:
I have absolutely loved groups being back and getting everyone excited about the healthy journey ahead x Luisa (Consultant)
Lockdown was hard but Luisa was always there for us no matter what. Karen
Love being back in group with all and getting to share our experiences though lockdown and a big thank you to Luisa for all her support though this difficult year. Wendy
I love being part of the Social Team… keeps me on track… Great to get back to the Scales and see everyone . Fab support as always x Dawn
Advertising Feature
Family Quiz – Hedgerows in April
What is YOUR Carbon Footprint?
On Monday 25th January, SHARE members attended a Zoom talk on Community Energy Schemes by Dr Tim Jones of CEP. Despite a few IT difficulties, the event was very well organised and interesting.
The talk, hosted by St Cleer Outdoor and Environmental group, ranged far and wide over the relative benefits and costs of non-fossil-fuel heating; Cornish “Dickensian” housing stock; transport and other topics.
A mention of Carbon Footprints inspired us to look back to 2019 when SHARE commissioned a Carbon Footprint Report for South Hill Parish. Along with an analysis of energy supply and demand in South Hill,
Continue readingSHARE Hydro – Three Steps Forward and One Step Back
Rain stops play on SHARE hydro project… but only for a while
If you even glanced out of the window in mid-December, you may have noticed the rain…lots and lots of it. So even though SHARE are pushing full tilt to getting the hydro project monitoring, we have to recognise that the extreme downpours and Orange weather warnings all impacted what we do. But there has been plenty of progress all the same.
One step Forward
Continue readingSanta in South Hill
All the kids, large and small, were thrilled to see Santa and his Elves driving around the parish.
There were gifts for all the children – books from Jem’s Bookshop and sweets donated by Tesco. And to cap it all, there was sunshine, and a rainbow!
Thanks go to Cat, Jeremy, Liz, Rick, Rosie, and Jemma for this wonderful gift to South Hill.