The General Election was just one of the significant events that happened in 2024 which was interesting to us. Read on to find out what we have been doing – and why…..

Biodiversity

During 2024 we were very pleased to see the fruition of our work with the Parish Council to start replacing some of the trees that have had to be removed by the Parish Council for reasons of safety. Since 2011 there has been a net loss of over 40 trees to the village. New trees were planted in March and are now in place and being cared for by us as they find their roots. There is more to do but it has been a very good feeling to bring about a real change.

The verges project has continued though we have experienced some push back. Although this may seem disappointing when the loss of wildflower habitat is so obvious it is also an indication that people have noticed what we are doing – even if they don’t like it! Its far better to be acknowledged than ignored. We need dialogue to let people know why we do what we are doing and this is far easier when interest is taken. Did you know that we have identified over 26 species of wildflower in the verges that have not been mown which have included birdsfoot trefoil, ladies bedstraw and orchids. We will be continuing to liaise with the Parish Council on this important topic so that concerns can be addressed.

In November the nesting tower for house martins, swifts and bats was erected in Glebe Close in a joint project with Aldbourne Wildlife and funding from the Co-op. It will be fascinating to see what happens in 2025.

Zero Waste

During 2024 we continued to operate the collection points around the village so that harder to recycle products such as crisp packets and dental products can be fed back into the recycling system. We are continuing to ensure that a significant number of waste products have been recycled or Terracycled and kept out of landfill or the incinerator as a result.

We have been looking into Valpak which is a company involved in waste management and certification for businesses. It operates the National Cup Recycling Scheme which is advertised by Costa, Cafe Nero, Burger King and others as the reason why single use cups are not a problem. However, the scheme only manages to recycle 1.14% of all cups used which is a reduction on last year when it was 1.24% (rounded up!). This is greenwash at its best!

The Repair Network is continuing to bring damaged articles back to life. This has seen a variety of items including sewing machines and items of clothing repaired or altered and given a new lease of life. The Network has a group of dedicated repairers who give their skills, time and energy to stop unnecessary waste.

The Party Box has continued to be popular resulting in less needless waste from a birthday party.

On a slightly less serious note we conducted some in depth research into coffee cups that can be eaten once the coffee has been drunk. Apparently they taste like cookies, are vegan and stay solid for 40 minutes. Our Labrador loved one filled with yoghurt and ate the lot!

Community Garden

The Community Garden has continued to flourish and produce free food and flowers for anyone in the village. This year has seen a wide variety of produce including apples, pears, beetroot, potatoes, garlic, tomatoes, raspberries, plums, strawberries, chard, mange tout and runner beans. The apple juicing event took place again which is always a very enjoyable day.

The National Gardens Scheme Wiltshire Organiser visited the Garden to present a plaque to confirm the grant made to help the garden as it got underway.

June was a very positive time as Dobbies Hungerford chose the Garden as their winner of the Community Garden award. This has enabled a greenhouse to be purchased as well as a substantial amount of tools and other useful items.

We also helped the school to establish a new school allotment with some new raised beds in the school field. The children loved helping out (seed sowing was a definite favourite activity) and they were delighted with their harvests of onions, garlic, radishes and lots more. We also helped the school to apply for an orchard tree pack from the Tree Council so this season we will have 5 new fruit trees to add to the allotment.

Energy Group

Sunsave is a new scheme to enable homeowners to fit solar panels without having to find a capital sum to have them installed. We worked with the company to see if there were people in Aldbourne interested in taking up the scheme. The scheme is still open and you can find more details on the Sunsave website.

We promoted the heat loss cameras that can be borrowed from the library to help you work out how to save money on heating costs. You can find out more about the scheme on the Wiltshire Council Website. We also promoted International E-Waste Day in October.

The Election

We decided to look in detail at the manifestos of the various parties to see whether they were taking the climate emergency seriously. We were able to meet up with two local candidates, the Liberal Democrat David Kinnaird and Rob Newman the Labour Party candidate. David was cycling round the Constituency which certainly looked like a good way forward. Rob was interested in what we were doing here and David had direct experience of hedge planting and maintaining rights of way. We are continuing to monitor the progress (or otherwise) of the Labour Government.

So without Carbon Neutral Aldbourne there would be

1. Less trees
2. Less wildflowers
3. Less insects
4. Less butterflies
5. More pollution
6. Less fruit and veg
7. More waste
8. Less recycling and Terracycling
9. Less information about greenwash
10. Less optimism

Here’s to 2025!

We are always on the lookout for more ideas whether it’s ways to save energy and transition to renewable sources, ways to cut down on the amount of waste generated in the village, ways to increase biodiversity or ways to grow more food – we would love to hear from you.