HedgeLink

Hedgelink is the partnership that brings everyone interested in hedgerows together, to share knowledge and ideas, to encourage and inspire, and to work with farmers and other land managers to conserve and enhance our hedgerow heritage.

See their website at:  http://www.hedgelink.org.uk

1st May is International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening day

Apparently the 1st of May is now 'International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day' !

Can we look forward to seeing sunflowers in those waste areas of Deal around August ?

More details at http://www.guerrillagardening.org

Trains4Deal Update: KCC now support HST at Deal

Our colleagues in the local Trains4Deal campaign have passed on the following:

• As previously announced, there's virtually no change in Southeastern's  May timetable
• But KCC's  Geoff Mee head of strategic transport planning has announced that the final version of the KCC transport strategy Growth without Gridlock would back high speed trains for Deal.
• They are encouraging all those who support the campaign to raise HSTs with the candidates
• Full report at Trains4Deal website at http://www.trains4deal.com/

Need a reminder for your recycling ?

Dover District Council have now got a recycling email reminder service to give you a gentle nudge.

Follow the link at:
http://www.doverdc.co.uk/streetdata/recyclingalerts.asp

Victoria's Green Matters - 29th April

Deal With IT's Secretary Victoria Nicholls writes a regular column in the East Kent Mercury: 
Have you taken the time to complete the questionnaire on recycling in the 25th March edition of the Mercury? If not, it is really important that you do respond so that council taxpayer opinions can be taken into account.

It seems a very sensible idea that Dover District, Shepway and Kent County councils are pooling their resources as far as kerbside-recycling collections are concerned. Hopefully, this means that they will be able to negotiate a much wider ranging contract for our recycling than previously.

We all feel very frustrated with the limited range of things that we can recycle when compared with neighbouring areas where everything seems to be collected.   It is difficult to understand about all the different types of plastic that are used everywhere today and why some can be recycled but not others. It is also very difficult to avoid buying goods wrapped in plastic or sold in a plastic tray.  We should, of course, be discouraging all retailers from using unnecessary packaging by refusing to buy over-packaged goods but this is easier said than done.

Trying to make sure that you buy locally produced food as often as possible is very important but there seems to be a trade off between that and choosing food that is package free. If you are very determined and brave you can leave any unnecessary packing behind in the supermarket, as long as you have paid for your goods!

We have to realise that there must be a market for all the material that is recycled. It is no good collecting the material if there is no business or factory that can put it to use. This is where government subsidies can help businesses to get started, using recycled materials and producing goods that the customer needs.

Please complete the questionnaire – you can do this on-line at www.dover.gov.uk and maybe we can work towards higher levels of recycling and less waste.
 

CPRE Kent Pines Calyx Video

A recent video from Protect Kent CPRE's 'Keeping the lights on' Meeting at the Pines Calyx in St Margaret's


Link is : http://www.yourkenttv.co.uk/community/tvpopupnew.aspx?aid=12394&vid=5451

KCC Climate Change Conference 5th June Ashford

Community Climate Change Conference 2010

Saturday 5 June 2010 9.30am - 4pm
Singleton Environment Centre, Ashford, TN23 5LW

The conference is free to anyone interested in empowering their community to take action to combat climate change and create a more sustainable future.

The day will show you what help and resources are available to make your idea a reality and teach you the skills to ‘kick-start’ community support for your project

The day will include a variety of talks and workshops to help kick-start your community to take action and make a positive, long-lasting difference to Kent’s environment. There will also be plenty of opportunities to meet like-minded people, learn how they have reduced their carbon emissions or adapted to climate change, and how your community can do the same.

To book your place please email - climate.change@kent.gov.uk

Website:  http://www.kent.gov.uk/climatechange

Leaflet: https://shareweb.kent.gov.uk/Documents/environment-and-planning/environment-and-climate-change/Climate%20Change%20web%20pages/Climate%20change%20flyer%20-low%20res.pdf

Join the 10:10 campaign today!

10:10 is a campaign to reduce UK emissions by 10% in 2010. Any person, school, business or organisation can get involved - so far over 60,000 individuals have registered. It is a simple 'pledge' system to reduce your carbon emissions by 10% this year with lots of good ideas how you can achieve this. 10:10 website is at http://www.1010global.org/uk

Good article in the Telegraph on the 10:10 campaign http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthcomment/6223936/1010-why-I-have-decided-to-sign-up-and-save-the-planet.html

Jack's Green Energy Workshop Group 1st Meeting this Saturday

Jack Domane is having the first meeting of the Green Energy Workshop group on Saturday 24th April between 2-3pm - please call 
01304 364138 or 07949231212or email him for details ...

Victoria's Green Matters - 23rd April

Deal With IT's Secretary Victoria Nicholls writes a regular column in the East Kent Mercury: 
How would an extra hour of daylight in the evenings suit you? Now the weather is improving you could use the time for more gardening, a game of football with the children, evening walks by the sea and lots more.

The ‘Lighter Later Campaign’ wants the clocks moved forward an hour so that we can enjoy an extra hour of daylight in the evenings, all year round. This means moving to Greenwich Mean Time plus one hour – GMT+1 in the winter and GMT+2 in the summer. Summer days would feel much the same in the mornings but have that extra daylight in the evenings while winter mornings will be darker but evenings lighter for another hour when most people are about and able to take advantage of it.

There are several benefits, not least the saving in carbon dioxide (C02) emissions with the use of less energy for lighting.  At least 447,000 tonnes of C02 pollution could be cut, equivalent to more than 50,000 cars driving all around the world each year. Lower electricity bills would obviously follow the lower use of artificial light.

In winter, children’s journeys home from school would be in daylight and therefore much safer from a traffic accident point of view. 100 lives could be saved each year and hundreds of injuries could be prevented. Longer daylight hours make us all feel safer and fewer hours of darkness can reduce crime and the fear of crime.

Previous attempts to bring in the time change have been unsuccessful because of opposition from both the Scots and the farmers but recent polls have shown the Scots to be in favour of change now and the farmers have raised no further opposition.

There needs to be a successful popular movement to secure the time change so if you want to see lighter evenings join the campaign now and go to www.lighterlater.org

Carbon impact of Icelandic volcano

What impact is Icelandic volcano having on carbon emissions?  A negative one according to this green-bang article http://www.greenbang.com/will-icelands-volcanic-eruption-be-natural-geoengineering_14207.html

There is also a good article in this week's New Scientist http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18786-get-ready-for-decades-of-icelandic-fireworks.html

Transition Town Kingston film

The Transition Town Kingston have made this excellent film for their launch:



Or this link if you cannot see the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3gFd6iiYJw
TTK Website: http://www.ttkingston.org/

Call of Wild Photos ...

The Deal With It photos from the 'Call of the Wild' meeting can now be found at our Flickr site at here

Election Hustings in Deal on 29th April

Election Husting for the main candidates has been organised by Deal Churches together at Trinity Church, Union Road,
Deal, Kent CT14 6EA on Thursday 29th April at 7pm for a 7:30pm start.

Why not use this opportunity to put the climate question to Dover & Deal's prospective parliamentary candidates ? 

Deal With It's Election 'Ask the Climate Question' and Responses from candidates can be found here

A roaring 'Call of the Wild' meeting....

Deal With It's 'Call of the Wild' meeting attracted over 60 people to the Landmark centre on Friday evening.

The audience listened intently to Geographer Geoff Meaden explain all the factors that are effecting Kent's coastline now & the possible impact on the next 200 years- including the fact we are still dealing with the effects of the last ice age as Kent is sinking by a few mm per year.  

Michael Walter, from RSBP national nature reserve at Blean Woods near Canterbury, detailed the changes he is witnessing & recording of the impact of climate change on insect and bird populations, migration cycles & diversity. He showed particularly how our wildlife & countryside is vulnerable to the increasing extreme climate conditions.

There was a good discussion on rising sea levels, 'Climate-gate' & Climate science and what we can do to stop climate change.

We had stalls from RSPB Canterbury, Deal Fairtrade, Kent CPRE, Deal With IT and info from the Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory & Rippledown environmental centre.

Call of the Wild - What Kent's wildlife tell us about climate change

Deal With It's meeting this Friday - Call of the Wind: What Kent's wildlife & countryside tells us about climate change - is going to have a slot on BBC Kent Radio between 11:15am + 12pm on Friday. DWI Meeting organiser Becky Lythgoe and speaker Michael Walter from the RSPB will have a short interview.

Meeting starts at 7pm at the Landmark Centre - full details at http://transitiondeal.blogspot.com/2010/02/call-of-wild-what-kents-wildlife-tell.html

Victoria's Green Matters - 15th April

Deal With IT's Secretary Victoria Nicholls writes a regular column in the East Kent Mercury:
Airport expansion is always controversial; the expansion of Kent’s Lydd Airport is no exception and is causing major concern for environmentalists, wildlife groups and conservationists.

Lydd Airport is very close to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) reserve at Dungeness and there is great disquiet about the impact of expansion on the local environment and its wildlife. The Special Protection Area (SPA) of Pett Levels has internationally important bird populations and the Dungeness Special Area of Conservation (SAC) has great crested newts and a rare shingle habitat. The proposed runway extension would see the loss of part of the Dungeness SAC and the destruction of part of the Dungeness Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) which is geologically important.

Dungeness is the site of the RSPB’s oldest reserve and is home to some 120,000 birds. Birds and aeroplanes sharing the same air space is a recipe for disaster both for the birds and the planes as bird strikes have caused the loss of at least 55 civil aircraft worldwide.

The need for jobs and an increase in tourism in the Lydd area are usually trotted out as justifications for expansion but are invalid when journey times to London via Ashford and the High Speed Rail Link are boasted about. Just who is going to benefit if these plans go ahead? Not the local population, it would seem. Maybe the Saudi businessman who owns Lydd Airport – proposed to be known as London Ashford Airport – means to increase his personal fortune.
 
The increased greenhouse gas emissions resulting from growth in air travel will have a negative effect on climate change and wipe out all the emissions reductions achieved through our expanded use of renewable energy.

It is difficult to imagine why anyone could possibly consider damage to such environmentally sensitive sites an acceptable way forward in this day and age.

Rescue the Regent Meeting

The Campaign to Rescue the Regent  has a public meeting this week - At Deal Town Hall Thursday 15th April at 7:30pm. The Campaign aims to restore and convert the building into a performing arts & cultural centre.

Contact the campaign at:
http://www.rescuetheregent.com/
regent.regeneration@googlemail.com

Trees: The Convenient truth

Deal With It are showing the Forestry Commission Film : 'Trees: The Convenient Truth' at our April monthly meeting at DealAbility, 43 Victoria Road, Deal CT14 7AY - at 7:30pm. All Welcome


Copy of the leaflet > Here

Garden share to pub share...

You have heard of garden share, well how about Pub-share?

Pub landlord, Richard Munden at the Chequer Inn in Ash is turning his part of his pub garden into allotments and is offering out for a share of the produce. Interested contact Richard on 01304-813918 http://thechequerinnash.co.uk/