Welcome to August’s edition of Sustainability Notts. Our aim: to highlight where you can get involved and make difference to our local Notts environment...
Well, it’s been a bit wam in Notts and though we don’t want to point the finger, we can’t help wondering if it’s that global warming malarkey. Climate change? Bit abstract, innit? But what can we do in Notts to make a difference this month? First of all, if you want to check your carbon footprint, you can do so here.
Travel
Ditch the car for short journeys: use public transport, walk, or get on your bike. It’s a jungle out there, so brush up your cycle skills. RideWise are running free cycle training workshops for all the family, all over the city, all summer. Plus Dr Bike will give your pedals the once over.
Food Waste
The Carbon Trust reckon that each person in the UK has an annual carbon footprint of 11 tonnes of CO2, and about a fifth of that comes from the food we eat. Shopping local can help, as it reduces those pesky food miles; the distance travelled from field to plate, and the emission that goes along with it. Try Nottingham Food Assembly and fill your cupboards with a range of food from 21 producers, from an average of 21 miles away. Order online or via their handy smartphone app for a Thursday evening pick-up from their Market at Primary in Radford. Easy!
Plus, you can save money too. Food waste costs the average UK household £700 a year. Check out OLIO, the food-sharing app and get your chops round the surplus food your neighbours and local shops don’t want to chuck out.
Make Do and Mend
Wednesday 1 August was Earth Overshoot Day, which annually marks the day that us humans have taken so many resources from our planet that it can no longer naturally renew them. And it gets earlier every year. Ouch! Nottingham Fixers are a voluntary group who are trying to change this by teaching the skills of fix not throw away. So repair your bikes, small electricals, jewellery, knitwear and clothing with them at their regular Repair Cafes at Sherwood Methodist Church. The next one is on Saturday 1 September. So far, the good people of Nottingham, just from electricals alone, have prevented 692kg of carbon from drifting into our atmosphere.
Until next month. And stay cool.
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