Newsletter - Autumn 2006
Abergavenny & Crickhowell Friends of the Earth Climate Change campaign.
Is a Climate Change Bill needed to force governments to take the radical action required on Climate Change? 393 MPs have so far said so, signing Early Day Motion 178 supporting such a Bill. Friends of the Earth is campaigning hard, now, to get a Climate Change Bill introduced in the next session of Parliament. Local FOE groups across the UK have been visiting their MPs to ask them to write to Tony Blair and the Secretary of State for the Environment, David Milliband, requesting this. Abergavenny and Crickhowell group have so far seen three MPs, David Davies (Monmouth), Roger Williams (Brecon and Radnor) and Dai Davies (Blaenau Gwent), and all have agreed to write. But what will the response of the government be? There are rumours that there may be something in the Queen's Speech to "protect the environment and tackle climate change", but New Labour has also been sending round briefings to their MPs saying basically – that Tony Blair has got it all under control. (Like Iraq, perhaps?)
Also as part of its Climate Change Campaign, the group put on a Public Meeting “Climate Change – what should politicians do?” as a fringe event during the Abergavenny Food Festival on 16th September. The Meeting, to an audience of over 100, began with an address by Mark Lynas, a campaigning British journalist and a leading voice in the climate-change debate.
Mark Lynas’s address was followed by an Any Questions session in which Mark and a panel of four Welsh MPs answered written questions from the audience. The MPs were David Davies (Conservative, Monmouth), Jill Evans (Plaid Cymru, MEP), Nia Griffith (Labour, Llanelli) and Roger Williams (Liberal Democrat, Brecon and Radnor). All the MPs agreed that the government should quickly bring in Energy and Transport policies that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including measures bringing about greater energy efficiency of buildings, the encouragement of micro-generation and development of renewable energy resources additional to wind. Two of them (David Davies and Roger Williams) declared themselves in favour of nuclear power, and two (Jill Evans and Nia Griffith) were against – as is FOE. Aviation was another issue producing disagreement. Aviation emissions are the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions, and are also the most damaging since they are discharged straight into the upper atmosphere. Yet the panel didn’t all agree with a questioner that air travel should be curbed. This is an issue that the government, too, appears unwilling to tackle. Is it because the UK has become too locked into the ‘ideal’ of globalisation?
Report by Rod Walters, Abergavenny & Crickhowell Friends of the Earth.
Monmouthshire GreenWeb news
Wentwood Timber Centre's pages on this site are amongst the most frequently visited of any of our member groups. Our web site visitors are evidently interested in sourcing local green products, and we want to help them to do this by providing a new Monmouthshire Green Directory on this site. We have been successful in applying for grants from Monmouthshire County Council (CEDS) and Rural Community Action to enable us to make a start on creating an on-line directory on Monmouthshire GreenWeb. The new area of the site should be live by Christmas, and we have been fortunate in recruiting the services of a volunteer Kathy Ellaway to help us contact local green businesses and get the Directory started. If you would like to nominate a local green business, which provides green products and services locally, or is eco-friendly in its operations, we would be delighted to hear from you. Green businesses are also welcome to apply to us direct. Please phone Sue Parkinson on 01989 770828 or email admin@monmouthshiregreenweb.co.uk.
Chepstow Heritage Trail
The Chepstow Society Heritage Trail is now (Mon 2nd October) very near to completion after three years of work by the Society. The trail starts from the TIC in lower Chepstow and leads you around the town's history by following direction indicators in paths and pavements illustrated by many plaques and tiles mounted in the paving or on walls and buildings. There are two trails, green and blue both approximately one mile long and, allowing for time to read the information on each plaque, they should take about one hour each. As a sample, start from the TIC and follow the trail past the Museum to the Old Bridge and along the riverfront for lots of information on the Port, shipbuilding etc. If that gets you interested just follow the arrows for a whole lot more!! For anyone who hasn't visited Chepstow recently the trails will be an added bonus, as the townscape itself has been reinvigorated with high quality sculptures, statues and seating reflecting the town's fascinating heritage. Back to top
TFSR Cymru's successful summer
TFSR Cymru have just finished their summer season of going to various festivals to sell surplus tools – the best way we have found of raising funds for our overseas projects.
Local events we attended include the Green Man Festival in August, where we ran workshops on Tanzanian-style blacksmithing for the public - mostly boys of course! We were also at the Food Festival where surprisingly we sold plenty of axes, slashers and billhooks – people are always on the lookout for a good deal.
We have had an extremely successful year at tool selling, taking over £14,000. Now we are back to refurbishing tools in a big way to send to lots of artisan groups in Tanzania – carpenters, cobblers, bicycle menders, mechanics and tailors groups.
Our next event will be our Open Day at our Workshop on Saturday 28th October from 10 am - 1pm as part of One World Week. The theme will be "Tangawizi Blacksmiths" - Come and have a go on our Blacksmiths Forge. Refeshments, Tools for Sale, and lots to do! More info on - 01873 811 755
P.S. We have been very successful at collecting sewing machines recently – so at present we are unable to take any more – they do take us a while to restore!
Chepstow Friends of the Earth traffic seminar
Chepstow Friends of the Earth have been campaigning to reduce congestion on the A48 through Chepstow for a number of years. To carry forward their campaign and launch the tolling study commissioned by the group from the Wales Centre for Traffic Research (WCTR), Chepstow FoE have organized a seminar on the 24th October in Chepstow. Monmouthshire County Council officers and councillors, town councillors, representatives of local transport firms and the Welsh Assembly have been invited, and the seminar is not generally open to the public to attend. It will be opened by Ned Heywood, Mayor of Chepstow, and addressed by: - Professor Stuart Cole, WCTR, University of Glamorgan - Bernard Tyson, Environmental Health officer, MCC - Neil Crumpton, FoE Cymru Transport Campaigner The group hopes to get the seminar attendees to brainstorm some solutions to Chepstow's congestion - as well as publicise the tolling study report.
The group hopes to get the seminar attendees to brainstorm some solutions to Chepstow's congestion - as well as publicise the tolling study report.
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Abergavenny Fairtrade Forum
Fun with Fruit Fairtrade Quiz On a blustery July day Forum members took part in a Children's Eco-day in the grounds of Abergavenny Castle, organised as part of the 2006 Abergavenny Festival. On our stall, as well as information about the Forum and where to buy Fairtrade goods locally, we ran a Fairtrade Quiz called Fun with Fruit. This proved educational for adults as well as children, as they searched on the world map for the countries where Fairtrade goods are grown. The winner was presented with a box of Geobars.
Fairtrade at the Abergavenny Food Festival The Forum hosted a well attended discussion on Fairtrade during the Food Festival in September. Our Co-Chair, Gill Branch made the case for Fairtrade and Clive Sussex of Waitrose spoke about their Fairtrade policy and explained the philosophy behind the Waitrose Foundation Label for their citrus fruits. He brought examples of the wide range of Fairtrade products available in their stores and samples of FT bananas and chocolate were enjoyed. Geoff Jackson using graphic statistics spoke of the importance of supporting the purchase of organic fairly traded cotton. The benefits to producers and their families included working in a clean and safer environment with a marked reduction in sickness and children doing better in school. For more information check out the cotton products section on http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/products_cotton.htm.
Festival visitors were offered Fairtrade products in the Green Zone in Market Street. The local VSO Group (Voluntary Service Overseas) ran a Fairtrade Hot Drinks Stall throughout the weekend and Carol Jackson of the Crickhowell Fairtrade Group had a stall of Fairtrade products.
Homemakers launch new web furniture catalogue
Homemakers Community Recycling have recently launched a website which includes a catalogue of some of the items on offer at their premises in St Michaels Rd, Abergavenny. Homemakers are a registered charity collecting unwanted items of furniture from households within Monmouthshire. Their core work is based around furniture and electrical items that are tested and checked by a qualified engineer.
The website was recently unveiled to the public at one of Homemakers sales at Monmouth’s Shire Hall where the public were able to view items online. Rob Davies of Homemakers said, “We have had various website versions over the years written by both staff and volunteers, but due to the success of selling through our e-bay Shop a more professional site with a catalogue was a necessary development for the project. The upgraded version has been funded by a grant from Rural Community Action. We have been very lucky to receive excellent advice from Deserie Mansfield of RCA and Andrew Banks of Abergavenny based web design company Website Without Worry."
Homemakers are looking for new volunteers interested in helping maintain the site. Interested persons should contact them on 01873 857618 or via the website. Full training will be given.
The Homemakers website for interested customers, donors and volunteers is www.hmcrecycling.co.uk where more information on the project can also be gained.
News in brief
GAVO (Gwent Association for Voluntary Organisations) have recently moved from Usk town centre to Llancayo Court, about a mile down the road towards Abergavenny. The new offices are in lovely rural surroundings, but are still easily accessible. The new offices have a meeting room, something we at GreenWeb have found to be in short supply in Monmouthshire!
The annual voluntary sector conference and GAVO network meeting for Monmouthshire will take place on the evening of Wednesday 6th December at Usk Campus Coleg Gwent (Usk Agricultural College).
Goodbye Catrin, hello Colette. At its AGM in September, the Monmouthshire GreenWeb Committee bade a sad farewell to Catrin Williams, the County Council's Sustainable Communities Officer. Catrin was one of the founders of Monmouthshire GreenWeb, and one of its strongest advocates, as well as our long-serving secretary. Catrin has moved to Hampshire following her marriage, and will continue her career in sustainable development there. We wish her lots of luck and happiness. We also said welcome to Colette Mooney who will be taking over from Catrin at Monmouthshire County Council. We hope that she will enjoy her association with Monmouthshire GreenWeb.
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