Herefordshire Green Network

Out walking this week we have seen daffodils, snowdrops and smatterings of white blossom, all harbingers of an early spring to follow this mild winter. They may yet prove to be false prophets but there does seem to be something in the air, as we have been very  busy making connections and new friends. Wednesday was a big day for our calendar, as we met with Ben Boswell of Herefordshire Council, alongside XR Hereford, to talk about sustainability in the county. It was a very positive meeting, and we hope to make ever stronger links with the council, who we think is making great progress. We will be reporting on that meeting in more detail in the coming days. That same evening saw us co-host a gathering, once again with XR Hereford, which was well attended, with over 50 people coming along to hear more about the movement, its values and plans for the future. Photos and stories from the event itself will come shortly!

This has been a fantastic first week as administrator, getting to know more about the network and all the wonderful things happening within the county. As some of you may have noticed, our Facebook page has become a lot more active! Please continue to share stories, news and ideas with us – this is what we live for! For those not yet members, why not join us and become part of our movement? If you’d like to know more about why, click here!

I hope to meet more of you in the coming weeks. Get in touch with us and tell us about the brilliant things you are doing to make our county more sustainable.

Friends of the Earth will be running events across the UK as part of Groundswell 2019. These events will be a chance to listen to experts, exchange ideas and attend brilliant workshops. If you would like to attend these events, please find the relevant links below;

Birmingham event on the 8th of June 2019

Bristol event on the 15th of June 2019

There are also events in Darlington, Cambridge, London and Manchester, should those dates suit you better. Click here to find out more about them!

Anyone attending, please report back and share, share, share!

SEED SWAP – with potatoes

Saturday 2nd February 2019      10am – 2pm

Courtyard Theatre, Hereford

FREE EVENT

Come along and swap seeds, plants and tips. 

Even if you have nothing to swap, you can still join in

and take home some seeds or plants.

Newbies are always very welcome at this friendly event,

and we look forward to seeing familiar faces.

MINI POTATO DAY

For the first time there will be seed potatoes for sale –

18 varieties available, at a modest 15p per tuber.

Great opportunity to buy all your Seed Potatoes!

STALLS

·       Tools for Self Reliance charity – they collect old tools

(so bring yours along), and also sell a wide range of their

refurbished tools;

·       Tool sharpening service;

·       Cottage Herbery;

·       Composting advice;

·       Bees/Honey/Jam and more…

TALK

Free Talk at 11.30 by Kevin Alviti on Unusual Vegetables.

Kev is a knowledgeable and highly entertaining speaker. 

He is a seasoned, multi-skilled homesteader and blogger.

There’s lots of advice and opinion on offer too…

For more information:

Email: shed@swapseeds.org.uk

Phone: 07880 730880

Facebook: Seed Swap Herefordshire

 www.swapseeds.org.uk

Kleen are hosting a talk and discussion at 19.30 on the 22nd of January at Parish Rooms, Church Road, Kington HR5 3AG. Join them to hear more about Electric Vehicles Now; practicality, pollution and charging infrastructure! If you’re thinking of making the change, come to this!

Happy Monday everyone!

On Wednesday 16th of January at 2pm, XR Herefordshire will be meeting with Ben Boswell (Herefordshire Council’s Energy and Active Travel Manager) and Trish Marsh (Green Councillor) in their bid to get the Council to declare a climate emergency. This event will be taking place in Room 2 of the Town Hall and will be the first information gathering for the campaign. Ben Boswell is expected to begin the meeting by speaking about what Herefordshire Council has done to date, an example of which is the ‘Carbon Management Plan’, but he has also been asked to cover any plans for the next year. If any HGN members would like to be part of this meeting and have their say, please do get in touch or come along. We will be reporting on any outcomes next week, so stay tuned!

Happy weekend all!

Join the Herefordshire Wildlife Trust for some after school, family fun at Queenswood Country Park and Arboretum on the 18th of January from 4pm.

The new year always brings with it huge excitement and hope, and the coming months will see lots of opportunities to connect with one another in the network and get involved. This is my first blog post as administrator and after meeting the Steering Group earlier this evening, I know I am joining a group of truly committed and passionate people, working hard for a greener, cleaner county for us all. I moved to Herefordshire from London with my young family after falling in love with the county and realising how important family connections were to survive the modern world. 19 years in the capital would give even the most committed Londoner pause, and there is a limit to how much exhaust smoke you can inhale in one lifetime. As soon as we could, we ran. One of the first things I found when I moved here was the Herefordshire Green Network and I couldn’t believe my luck when I was told that I was their administrator. I have big shoes to fill and hope to continue all the good work that was done before me by both Averil and Rebecca.

I hope to meet as many members as possible in the coming weeks and months as we have quite a few events coming up. Our first is the Public Gathering hosted by Extinction Rebellion Herefordshire on Wednesday 16th that I hope will bring many of you to De Koffie Pot at 19.30. I have posted this on both Facebook and Twitter so please feel free to share, or just tell your friends the old fashioned way. I will be updating the calendar shortly, so do keep checking so that you don’t miss out on anything you might want to attend, such as the film night at the Courtyard on the 5th and 6th of February, or our Members’ Workshop on the 20th of February (more details to follow). At the Steering Group meeting this afternoon, I heard that our newsletter is reaching well over 300 people, with our Membership increasing in numbers all the time. There are so many wonderful benefits to becoming a Member, not least the connection it gives us all to talented, like-minded people and organisations from whom we can learn so much. May this be what gives us the drive to continue our work in 2019. We have done so much this past year but there is a lot of work to be done; let’s connect and do it together!