Sustainable Girton News

On 28th May the `Sustainable Girton' Project was launched, when a number of people including Councillor John Reynolds, members of the Parish Council and representatives of the bodies who have contributed to the Project met on the Recreation Ground in bright sunshine around the Girton Float. After a brief introduction to the aims of the Project champagne was produced and we drank to its success.

Don Henderson then demonstrated the use of the Girton Shredder. One of the main uses of the Float will be a high-profile transport for the shredder as it tours the village converting garden clippings, hedge trimmings &c into valuable compost. We also hope that it will be a valuable educational aid, and a means of making it easier for members of the Village to act in a more environmentally-friendly way as we launch campaigns to recycle unwanted items and remove toxic waste such as batteries and paints from landfill. We hope our logo will quickly be associated with activities such as collections which will help you to dispose of unwanted clutter while helping the environment.

Both Girton Town Charity and CCORRN (Cambridgeshire Community Reuse and Recycling Network) have given generous grants to assist with the purchase of new batteries and tyres, and a winch. CCORRN has also funded our advertising, including the logo which we hope will soon become very familiar around the Village.

As well as the Float we have various other ideas for a sustainable Girton, and would be delighted to receive your suggestions too. There is more information at <http://www.de-lacey.org/girton/sustainability/> and you can contact the project at girton.float@de-lacey.org or by calling 01223 565219.

This month the Sustainable Girton project is aiming to give you the opportunity for a tidy-out while helping others and helping the environment.

During the week September 10--17th the Girton Float will be collecting used but serviceable tools for Tools for Self-Reliance.

Hand tools (eg chisels, planes, hand drills, saws, metal working and car maintenance tools) will be sorted, cleaned and sharpened by volunteers at TSR's workshop in Waterbeach, and sent on to be used by carpenters, builders, blacksmiths, car mechanics etc in various African countries. We regret that electrical tools are not suitable and will not be collected, nor will garden tools with the exception of garden spades, which can be put to other uses.

By offering unwanted tools you will be helping in 3 ways :

• Reducing waste going to landfill
• Getting rid of unwanted clutter
• Perhaps most significantly, giving African artisans and craftspeople the opportunity to be more self reliant

So, please look out any unwanted tools you may have, and contact the Sustainable Girton Project by emailing girton.float@de-lacey.org (or phoning 01223-565219) to arrange for collection some time during the week of September 10--17.

Since the article in last month's Parish News, the approval of the Parish Council was obtained to commission a full feasibility study for a wind turbine in Girton. The plan currently focuses on supplying the four central buildings of the Glebe School, the Church, the Cotton Hall and the Pavilion though we are also interested in other community projects. Income generated by the turbine could be used for a number of projects including grants for domestic solar heating installations.

We have had two visits from the group doing the study, the first lasting a full six hours as the consultant involved became more and more excited at the potential of the project. We have yet to receive the final report, and there are some significant issues to be resolved, not least the strength of the winds we can anticipate. Several sites have been proposed, most of which mean that the turbine will blot out the view of -- an electricity pylon.

Since our intention is that this should be a Village facility we are anxious to involve the whole Village in the discussions and decisions. However, if we are to apply for funding there are some stringent deadlines, so please look out for the display we intend to mount as soon as we have all the facts and figures, and please let us know what you think!

More details about the project can be seen on the Sustainable Girton website, whose address is <http://www.de-lacey.org/girton/sustainability/>. Comments and suggestions can be emailed to sustainable.girton@de-lacey.org.

Have you heard the one about the lightbulb? Well, in this case, it only takes one person to change it, and that person is you!

We all need to do something to reduce the amount of energy we consume. An easy and cost effective way for you to help is to replace traditional filament lightbulbs with low-energy fluorescent bulbs. If you're still using filament lightbulbs, you're not only wasting energy but also a surprisingly large amount of money.

A 100W filament bulb costs around 20p. To replace this with a low-energy one, you'd need to fork out around £3, but this new bulb will last ten times as long as the filament one, so only costs £1 more than the 10 normal bulbs you'd need. But, because it uses less electricity, it will save you more than 50ukp over its lifetime. That's a return that city traders in the stock market would be proud of. Think how much you could save if you replaced more than one bulb! As electricity prices are rising, and look set to carry on going up, this saving will rise too.

Obviously, the more you use a light, the faster you'll save money and energy, so replace those bulbs that get the most use. If you can make better use of natural light, by opening the curtains rather switching on a lamp for example, that's even better.

Low-energy bulbs use more electricity when you turn them on, but in just one minute they've already saved enough to repay this. And of course, all bulbs use much less energy when they are switched off. Leaving lights on in rooms you are not using is a waste of your own money.

Some people don't like the low-energy bulbs, either because they look a bit different, or because they're slightly dimmer for a few seconds when turned on until they warm up. Both of these concerns can be addressed with more specialist bulbs, which although they cost a pound or two more, will still save a lot on your electricity bill.

As well as saving money you'll also be helping reduce climate change. If you used this one bulb for two hours a day, by changing it you'd prevent 23.5kg of CO₂ being released every year.

So, when your next electricity bill arrives, and it has gone up again because of price rises, rather than just accepting it do something to cut your bill, and sort out your lightbulbs.

Tools for Self-Reliance is a charity which refurbishes used tools and uses them to make up tool-kits for third-world artisans; for instance a carpenter's toolbox, or one for a car mechanic.

During October, the Sustainable Girton Project launched an appeal for unwanted tools on their behalf, and during the week of 10--17 October offers came flooding in. At the end of that week the Girton Float trundled round the village picking up a large collection of tools including hand-drills, wheelbraces, saws, and spanners without number. As a result we are able to donate very many tools -- some of them in very good condition -- to the project. They will be taken out to Waterbeach where volunteers will sort, clean, sharpen and repair them. We are delighted at the response, which clearly also enabled a number of Girton residents to undertake an overdue clear-out of their garages and sheds.

We had one unfortunate glitch in that ntl managed to provide a non-functional answering service for the contact phone number, and this appears to be an ongoing problem which ntl cannot apparently fix. So if you believe you left a message offering some tools, and we haven't responded, please try again, but this time please ring 276757. And if you intended to call us but did not quite get round to it, do not despair, we shall be happy to make another trip!

Our next collection for charity will be after Christmas, when we shall be appealing for unwanted Christmas gifts or items replaced by Christmas gifts which can be passed on to appropriate charities.

To learn more about the Sustainable Girton Project go to our new website at <http://www.sustainable-girton.org.uk/> or use the phone number above.

With fuel prices rising all around us, and meteorologists predicting a very cold winter, there's never been a better time to invest in some insulation for your home.

Insulation comes in many shapes and forms. They are all designed to help keep your house warm in winter -- and cool in summer -- and so cut your energy bills as well as helping the environment.

One of the most common and important forms of insulation is in the loft. Because hot air rises, this is where most of the heat goes. The current recommended minimum level of loft insulation for new houses is 270mm -- that's almost 1ft! -- so even if you already have some the chances are you could still benefit by topping it up. For a typical three bedroom semi, the money spent on insulation could pay for itself in just one year if you don't already have any loft insulation, and less than five years if you're topping up. There are substantial grants available to all households to reduce the cost -- you can get details of these from the Energy Savings Trust (<http://www.est.org.uk>, 0845 727 7200), HEAT Cambridgeshire (<http://www.heatproject.co.uk>, 0800 093 4050) or from your gas or electricity providers. When installing loft insulation it's important to make sure you also insulate any water pipes and tanks in the loft so they don't freeze in winter.

Once your loft is sorted out, you should consider cavity wall insulation. Again, this costs surprisingly little (costs start from around £75 including installation) and the savings are typically over £100 a year. As with loft insulation, there are grants and advice available from the above sources.

Smaller things can also make a difference. Thick curtains significantly reduce heat loss through windows at night. Make sure that any drafty gaps around doors and windows are sealed up, though make sure that you leave adequate ventilation.

If you do all of these this winter, you'll not only find your house is cosier and your bank balance rosier, but you'll also have the warm glow of satisfaction from knowing that you've done your bit to cut down on energy waste and so help to reduce climate change.

There are more details of insulation in all its shapes and forms on the Sustainable Girton website:

There will be a break in the shredder calendar during the busy month of December, followed by a Christmas Tree Shredding opportunity soon after Twelfth Night. On Saturday the 14th of January, Matt Vernon of the National Trust's "Black Gold Project" will again bring over his large chipper/shredder which will be set up in the driveway in front of Girton Glebe School where we will shred any Christmas Tree for a £1 Donation. All proceeds will go to the school for the purchase of equipment for extra-curricular activities. At the same time any resident will be welcome, in return for a donation also to the school, to bring bags to collect shredded materials for use in the garden or to bring along any garden waste suitable for shredding.

The recently-commissioned Girton Electric Float will be there to publicise the activities and objectives of Sustainable Girton, and a "Green Father Christmas" will collect any unwanted presents for donation to charity together with any other redundant but re-usable items which have been replaced by new presents.

The Operators
Girton Community Shredder

Sustainable Girton were recently asked to support a feasibility study to examine options for alternative energy generation including solar power and a wind turbine to provide energy for the Glebe School, sports pavilion, church buildings and other community uses.

Following that study we would now like to consult more widely and involve the whole community in Girton. We plan to arrange a public meeting, possibly in Spring 2006, to give you an opportunity to air your views and to consider a variety of proposals. In preparation for this meeting, we will hope to have completed an exercise to determine Girton's "environmental footprint". We hope this may enable us to understand a wide range of issues including energy conservation and alternative energy generation.

This Spring 2006 meeting will give us an opportunity to present to the Village a review of what Sustainable Girton has achieved so far, and to discuss how best to proceed in the future. In the meanwhile, we would welcome more people to join us, as individuals and/or representatives of other groups and organisations in the village. The only requirement is a concern for our environment.

We have re-vamped our website and moved it to <http://www.sustainable-girton.org.uk>. For more information, email info [at] sustainable-girton.org.uk or phone 276757.