News
South Derbyshire Tree Giveaway
Fri, 12 October 2018South Derbyshire District Council has 2000 trees to give away to residents, schools and community groups. Households can apply for up to six free trees and community groups up to 60. To mark 20 years of twinning between South Derbyshire and Toyota, this year’s choices include maple and cherry trees, both of cultural significance to Japan. https://bit.ly/2yayh6M
AgeUK Help to Make Your Home Warmer
Fri, 12 October 2018AgeUK Nottingham & Nottinghamshire is offering free services to help make people’s homes warmer and better for their health this winter. If you live in Bassetlaw, Rushcliffe or Broxtowe, are a home owner over the age of 18 and someone in your household has a chronic health condition, you can call them on 0115 859 9260.
Services on offer include home visits and installations of boilers and radiators.
Opportunity to Help with Chestefield’s Abundance Project
Wed, 3 October 2018
There are hundreds of fruit trees in Chesterfield where fruit goes to waste. Abundance Chesterfield is a project to share this natural wealth. Volunteers harvest the fruit and distribute it free of charge. Tree owners and volunteers get some, food banks and communities get some, all free of charge. What can’t be eaten gets juiced. Nothing is wasted. Apples and other fruit will be donated to Chesterfield food bank and Gussie’s Kitchen, while surplus apples will be pressed into juice at the Brampton Food Festival in October (See events section of this newsletter) and at Inspire Community Garden, a community garden project.
If you can help harvest, store, transport or distribute fruit or know of an organisation that would like to receive some donated fruit, please contact Alison or Polly: abundance@transitionchesterfield.org.uk
Plastic Free Shop Opens in Belper
Wed, 3 October 2018
A new shop in Belper is aiming for zero packaging on a range of goods. Sue’s Sustainable’s is selling food that you can buy in paper bags or your own containers, refill supplies for items like washing up liquid, and plastic free solutions to items such as soap, shampoo and toothpaste.
The shop, which opened in September, will also stock upcycled furniture and support local artisans who make things from natural and/or upcycled materials.
Sue’s Sustainable is based at The Gate House on Chapel Street. It opens Wednesday-Friday: 11am-2pm and Saturday 11am-4pm. www.facebook.com/suessustainables
Hockerton Housing Project Celebrates 20 Years
Wed, 3 October 2018
Hockerton Housing Project (HHP) in Nottinghamshire is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion it welcomed the Chairman of Newark and Sherwood District Council, Councillor Keith Walker, to unveil a plaque commemorating the legacy of three parties. The project would not have got off the ground without an enlightened landowner, pioneering architects and a visionary local authority.
The homes at Hockerton Housing Project (HHP) use 20% of the energy used by a similar-sized house built at the same time, for the same price. The Project also meets much of its remaining energy demand through onsite wind turbines and solar PV. This idea caught on in its wider community. In 2009, the parish of Hockerton invited the trading arm of HHP to manage the installation and management of a community-owned wind turbine. This now generates power equivalent to that used by the village and raises funds for the sustainable development in the community. See the events section of this newsletter for details of upcoming tours of the project.