Hello from Cllr Sarah Dyke, Environment Portfolio Holder,

The rain has finally started, which is overdue after a very long, dry and hot summer. Somerset has suffered from significant drought this year, an impact of the climate crisis. However... If you thought environment news and initiatives would slow down coming into the winter months, you couldn't be more wrong!

This month's newsletter is full to the brim with fantastic awards and commendations received for various work across the district, and this November is set to be a jam-packed month for environmental events. Read on to find out more!

Best eco wishes from Sarah x

Yeovil Rec nominated for two Grounds Management Association (GMA) awards!

During the summer the team at Yeovil Recreation centre were working around the clock to not only effectively manage the sports and recreation grounds, provide free family activities and implement a number of biodiversity and conservation initiatives, but they were also busy putting together not one, but two applications in this years Grounds Management Association Industry awards! They entered for:

• Best Managed Artificial Sports Surface of the Year 2022
• Best Environmental and Sustainability Impact 2022

The awards ceremony takes place on 2 November, so we will find out the results then, but regardless the team deserve huge recognition for their continuing efforts at Yeovil Recreation Ground.

Keeping Yeovil town centre litter free

Officers from Environmental Services and the Locality Team have been working together within the Yeovil town centre to tackle littering and fly tipping issues. They have taken action by talking to businesses and residents within the town about how they can help us to reduce this waste, whilst educating and encouraging recycling.

Pocket ashtrays have been given away to businesses to help reduce cigarette butt littering and new recycling receptacles have been ordered, with broken wheelie bins being removed and replaced.

In some areas, larger co-mingle bins have been introduced in an effort to manage waste volume and reduce the number of bins overall. This allows the Street Scene team at SSDC more time to focus on street cleaning and keeping Yeovil looking great!

We believe education is key and we have had great responses from the public at how clean our town is. In an effort to sort waste responsibly, did you know you can order more than one of each recycling box? Click here to order and help us keep South Somerset litter free.

Celebration of our Yeovil Country Park volunteers

We are very lucky to have a fantastic group of volunteers who dedicate their time and work hard to keep Yeovil Country Park a brilliant green space for all, and their efforts have not gone unnoticed.

The Yeovil Country Park volunteers recently received a runners-up trophy at BBC Radio Somerset's #MakeADifferenceAward in the Environment category, which some of our rangers attended on behalf of all our wonderful volunteers. Congratulations!

Bruton and Brympton Way EV chargers are go!

More electric vehicle (EV) charging points have been successfully connected to the National Grid Distribution Network and are ready for use!

The public can now access two EV charging sockets at Tolbury Mill, Bruton and two more at the SSDC Council Offices at Brympton Way, Yeovil, which will also help promote further council staff members and visitors to make the switch to electric.

To keep up to date with all newly installed EV charging points, click here.

In Bloom results are revealed

South West In Bloom is part of the National Britain In Bloom initiative. It is managed and overseen by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and aims to encourage local communities to help improve and diversify their local environment through the creation of innovative open spaces, biodiversity, community involvement, recycling and the conservation of local wildlife.

Many Towns and Parishes across South Somerset took part this year, and as a result a considerable number of commendations have been received within the district, as well as SSDC’s own Stephen Fox receiving a Community Champion Award. The results for this year are as follows:

• Yeovil received a Gold Award
• Curry Rivel received a Gold Award
• Crewkerne received a Gold Award
• Haselbury Plucknett received a Gold Award in the Champion of Champions
• Henstridge received a Silver Gilt award

Henstridge Primary School were also awarded Outstanding School effort and Curry Woods received the award for the best use of native plants.

Alongside the main In Bloom initiative the RHS also encourages local communities to participate in an It’s Your Neighbourhood (IYN) award scheme. This scheme seeks to commend and raise awareness of groups, businesses and individuals that strive to improve their local area.

Many IYN groups took part across Yeovil, and the following groups all received the highest grading of 5 * Outstanding IYN:

• Able2achieve
• Kenmore Gardeners
• The Brookie Bridge Community Project
• Yeovil Rivers Community Trust
• Yeovil District Hospital Gardens
• Wyndham Park Community Association

Severalls Park Community Group in Crewkerne also received second place overall in the category of Best IYN. A big blooming congratulations to you all!

A special thank you to Somerset's Duke Of Edinburgh Award team

Somerset’s Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) Award team has received a special tree from the Queen’s Green Canopy ‘Tree of Trees’ as a thank you for the valuable work the team does for the benefit of the community. Designed by artist Thomas Heatherwick, the Tree of Trees sculpture made up of 350 smaller British native trees stood tall outside Buckingham Palace during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations this year.

300 organisations across the UK were gifted one of these special trees in a pot embossed with Her Majesty’s cypher. Presented by the Lead Lieutenant of Somerset, Annie Maw, the Tree of Trees was planted at Kilve Court on Friday, October 14, alongside a further 90 saplings as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy initiative.

The tree becomes part of the living legacy in honour of Her Majesty, joining over a million trees already planted across the UK as part of The Queen’s Green Canopy. You can find out more about the Queen's Green Canopy here.

Update on e-scooter trials in Yeovil

Zwings is celebrating its second birthday in Yeovil where riders have covered almost 200,000 kilometres since the Department for Transport (DfT) e-scooter trials began, the equivalent cumulative distance to travelling the entire way around the equator five times! Zwings' e-scooters will continue to run in Yeovil until May 2024 as part of the DfT trials.

Zwings have worked closely with SSDC to make the scheme as sustainable as possible. The e-scooters are serviced by an electric van and the electricity powering the e-scooters is from renewable electricity generation.

Users are required to be over the age of 16 and have either a full or provisional driving licence. To sign up download the Zwings app here.

Thermal imaging camera loan scheme

These easy to use camera units connect directly to your smartphone or tablet (either Android or Apple), providing a thermal image of your home or building. The image can be used to identify potential improvements within your home to improve energy efficiency and reduce bills.

The cameras are available to loan for up to one week free of charge from the following libraries: Bruton, Castle Cary, Chard, Crewkerne, Ilminster, Langport, Martock, Milborne Port, Somerton, South Petherton, Wincanton and Yeovil.

For more information, click here. 

The Somerset Green Directory is LIVE!

As part of the Somerset Retrofit Accelerator project, this directory has been put together to help you find local businesses and services for your eco retrofit project.

You can use this tool to:



• Search local businesses for your retrofit project including architects, construction companies, insulation and renewable energy installers. There are currently over 90 listings!
• Learn about energy efficiency and low carbon retrofit through the Retrofit Resources.
• Find out what some Somerset homeowners have already done to retrofit their homes, along with other news, in the Retrofit Stories.
• Submit your own listing and join the Somerset Green Directory if you are a business working to improve the energy efficiency of Somerset's housing stock!

What our champions have achieved this year and what YOU could be a part of!

Our Environment Champions have had an incredible year engaging in webinars, workshops and events that enabled them to learn about conservation, carbon reduction and mitigating the effects of climate change. Through these free resources our champions have been able to feed this information into their local communities and implement positive change.

Some of the events offered this past year include hedge laying workshops, tree planting, an engaging trip to Wyke Farm to learn about how they use green energy to make their produce and an introduction to fossil fuel free living at Tinkers Bubble.

These are just a few of the exciting experiences YOU could get involved with as an Environment Champion. With SSDC declaring a climate and ecological emergency in 2019, we now need more support than ever to improve the sustainability of South Somerset! If you are interested in joining this network, please contact us directly here.

Green Business

Sustainable Business Advice

If you own or work for a green business, or are looking to make your business more sustainable, Somerset County Council are offering business advice in one convenient place. Click here to access their webpage.

Event for Wilder Somerset 2030- 28 October, 7.30-9pm, Ilminster

Somerset Wildlife Trust's Ilminster/Chard group welcome Katie Arber, Somerset West and Taunton’s (SWT) Deputy CEO and Director of fundraising, to speak about SWT’s Wilder Somerset 2030 Strategy, exploring what is being done now and future plans. For more information and ticket prices, click here.

Tinkers Bubble Autumn Visit: Off-grid community living- 29 October, 10am, Ham Hill- FREE

Join us and our Environment Champions for our autumn visit to Tinkers Bubble to see this special zero carbon, fossil fuel free community! Tinkers Bubble is a sustainable off-grid community living within the woodlands near Ham Hill. We will ask those attending to arrive and park at Ham Hill Visitor Centre for 10am, to then gather and walk to Tinkers Bubble for the tour, starting at 10.30am. Lunch will be provided from Tinkers Bubble's seasonal produce.

SPACES ARE LIMITED AND OFFERED ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS!

If you would like to join us, please register your interest by emailing us directly here or via our website.

Somerset Net Zero Business Workshops

Following the Somerset Business Climate Summit there are several FREE workshops being held across Somerset between October and December 2022 as part of ongoing networking and best practice sharing for Somerset businesses offering insightful practical steps to reducing your carbon footprint and becoming more sustainable:

🌍Sustainable Future Food Business- Thursday 3 November, 9.30am -12.30pm, J24, Bridgwater

Led by The Field Works and Maia Growth. A fast-paced half-day session through 5 modules covering customers, community, colleagues, governance and the planet. Book here.

🌍Sustainable Transport for Business- Wednesday 16 November, 9am – 1.30pm, Yeovil Innovation Centre

This event gives the opportunity for businesses to consider transport developments and actions to achieve sustainable transport solutions.

Book here.

🌍Building Greener Businesses, one habit at a time- Monday 28 November, 10am – 12pm, Deane House, Belvedere Road, Taunton

Led by My Carbon Coach. This workshop will explore some of the changes you can make on a daily basis within your business that will reduce your carbon footprint and add more depth to your sustainability policy. Book here.

🌍Net Zero and Sustainability for Business- Friday 9 December, 10am – 12pm, Albert Goodman, Taunton

Led by Albert Goodman and SCC. This workshop will provide an introduction to net zero and the different scopes of carbon emissions as well as some discussion around why this is relevant to all businesses. We will also review wider sustainability regulations, and goals, outside of just carbon enabling all organisations to find an area of sustainability which could become a focus for their business. Book here.

SCOPII: Somerset Congress of Parishes on climate change - 5 November, 10am-4.30pm, Edgar Hall Somerton



The Levels Climate Forum cordially welcomes your parish, charity, or organisation to join a day of discussion to draw up an action plan to protect Somerset from our changing climate.

Speakers will kick off breakout sessions to consider a change of

approach to our homes, our energy and our food. Then we will come together as a people’s assembly to decide the best way forward for our county. Bring ideas, bring news of projects you care about and bring something grown or home-made in your parish to share over lunch. Book via email here.

CCS Community Buildings Conference: A Warm Welcome- 8 November, 10am-2.30pm, Merriott Village Hall

An opportunity to meet funders, advisers, service providers, and other hall trustees.

• Hear how halls can offer a ‘Warm Space’ for their community this winter.
• Find out how Merriott Village Hall Committee have reduced their hall's energy consumption through efficiency measures and renewables.

Talk to energy consultants, Inspired Efficiency, about energy saving measures in your hall. Chat to the CCS Community Buildings and Smart Communities teams about any questions, issues or projects you have planned for your community building. Enjoy a delicious lunch with local produce provided by social enterprise ARK at Egwood. To find out more, click here.

Community Hall Climate Adaptation Workshop- 19 November, 10.30am-1pm, Othery Village Hall- FREE

Open to Environment Champions, community hall members, and public space volunteers.

South Somerset District Council and Sedgemoor District Council invite those of you who are involved in your local community hall or centre, to come along and learn about how to prepare your community space for the impacts of climate change such as flooding, storms and heat waves. 

With expert advice and a chance to network and learn about how other community spaces have already begun preparing for climate change, it will be an informative and inspiring morning! Open to Environment Champions, community hall members, and public space volunteers. Please book here.

Bradfords: Building Sustainable Communities- 24 November, the County Cricket Ground, Taunton

Following the success of their sustainability webinar earlier in the year, Bradfords are running another event in November- this time in person! They will be bringing in suppliers who are experts on home energy efficiency measures so residents can come and talk to experts about how they go about making their homes more resilient against increased energy prices. For details, see here.

Environment Grants

You can now find all information on external grants and funding on the South Somerset Environment website. Please click here for details and if you know of any other grants or funding currently available please let us know here.

Actions and advice

The cost of living crisis is affecting every household which is exactly why we have put together all of our energy saving tips here to help those in need of advice. You can also check out the grants section on the webpage to see if there is any support on offer, or for a longer term solution why don't you consider retrofitting your home?

The Warm Somerset Spaces Fund is also offering grants of up to £1000 to enable community spaces in Somerset to stay open longer so that they can offer a warm place for people struggling with the cost of living and fuel poverty. Applications close at 5pm on Monday 31 October, so make sure you apply quickly here. Warm spaces will be available across the district this winter, so keep an eye out for further details.

Top Tip of the Month

Composting!

Home composting is the most environmentally-friendly way of dealing with kitchen and garden waste, plus it produces compost that can be used as an excellent soil improver!

A bin that excludes rain, is located in a sunny position, retains some warmth, allows drainage and lets in air will make great compost.

Your compost should be made up of 25-50% soft green materials (e.g. grass clippings, annual weeds, vegetable kitchen waste, or manure) to feed the micro-organisms. The remainder should be woody brown material (e.g. prunings, wood chippings, paper, cardboard, straw or dead leaves). DON'T FORGET TO TURN THE COMPOST FOR BEST RESULTS (ideally once a month).

For more information visit the Somerset Waste Partnership composting tips webpage.

Green Careers Week - 7-12 November

Studies have shown that young people are worried about climate change, so Green Careers Week was created to educate the public on what jobs are available within the sustainability sector, and how to get there.

The event is sponsored by some very exciting partners including STEM.org.uk and the Met Office. Please visit this National Careers Service page to find out more.

COP27- 8-16 November

In November world leaders, community representatives, CEOs and climate activists will come together in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt to discuss the continuation of climate action.

The urgency to reduce greenhouse gases and minimise rising temperatures is increasing, and the added pressure of the energy crisis means that countries will have to work together to deliver on what was laid out in the Paris Agreement.

Click here for more information.

The forum-BBC News: A forgotten founder of climate science: Eunice Newton Foote

This podcast introduces the first person to link CO2 with global warming, and why she vanished from history.

The lakes with Simon Reeve- BBC Two

Follow Simon Reeve as he travels through the stunning Lake District and Cumbria, revealing the secrets of this iconic area and learning how central the county is to many challenges facing Britain, from peat extraction to nuclear waste.

How to Save the World For Free by Natalie Fee

City to Sea founder and environmentalist, Natalie Fee, has created an engaging and upbeat guide to make positive lifestyle changes that will contribute to helping our planet. From food to travel, this book will allow you to feel great and save the planet at the same time!

@climateincolour - Instagram

Follow Jocelyn Longdon, an environmental academic who not only talks about the common issues surrounding climate change but also speaks on the impacts of climate change on indigenous people and the global-south.

If you enjoy Get SuSSed and would like to share it, you'll find the link on our website here. Just copy and paste the link into your social media or within some text on your website. Or just forward the email to friends.

You can also find all previous issues of Get SuSSed here.

You can get in touch about Get SuSSed at ssdcenvironment@southsomerset.gov.uk