On Sunday 17th November 2019, Staverton Parish Climate Emergency Action Group hosted a Community Call to Action event attended by around 40 people. Simon Oldridge presented a series of videos that outlined the current situation; you can find these videos on our website by clicking here. Gill Coombs, author and facilitator, guided everyone through an ideas workshop. Attendees were asked to write down any thoughts they had in response to the question;

WHAT CAN STAVERTON PARISH DO ABOUT THE CLIMATE EMERGENCY?

Find the collected responses below; we are very grateful to Gill Coombs for facilitating the event and writing up the responses. If you have an idea to add to the table, or would like to get involved with the action group, please submit it via the contact form at the bottom of this page.

	Notes/comments/ideas/questions	Actions – Climate Group/Council	Actions individual What you’re doing, what you’ve found out, what else?
TRANSPORT
Electric car ownership	Zero emissions so better than petrol or diesel, but in the long term Lithium mining for batteries will cause damage to the sea bed. Used EVs are now coming on the market for a few thousand pounds.	Share costing info on website
Public charge point in village	Oslo, for example, has these in every district. Makes an EV possible for people who can’t charge at their home.  State funded though. Would ours be privately owned?
Bus, bike, train	Living in a village, it’s all too easy to jump in the car. What would help us choose an alternative?	A way of recording our zero carbon journeys on the website – miles saved?
Car sharing	Ever followed a neighbour driving into town? How can we make car sharing more attractive? NB unless EVs, this still won’t be zero carbon although it will get us closer!	Website
Cycle tracks	Alongside the railway track, from the village up to the hall. Littlehempston have been negotiating with the Rare Breeds farm and/or railway for years.	Visits to landowners? Planning?
Work from home	Save using transport, reduce stress, get more done! Encourage (demand?) your employer to support this.
Holiday in Paignton!	Most flights are taken by frequent flyers. But even one flight a year is not carbon neutrality.
ENERGY USE
Install solar panels	Existing technology that, combined with wind and water, could make Staverton a zero carbon parish.	Share costing etc info on website Solar panels on roofs of public amenities?
Hydro-electric plants	As above – where could these go?		One scheme was initiated – where is this at?
Wind Turbines	As above. Community scheme?		Landowners? Who would hoist this?
Green Energy Providers for homes and businesses	Good Energy and Ecotricity only generate energy from renewables	Links on website
Energy Use audit		Simon has set this up, and some people have already completed it
Carbon offset	Higher carbon users to help fund insulation etc for others in the community. See community bank. NB a good short term initiative, but by definition not carbon neutral!
LAND USE
Plant trees	Trees sequester carbon, help prevent flooding, are good for mental health, and can also provide food if they’re fruit or nut trees!	SWAC Tree planting day happening on playing field, Charlie’s cross to be planted. No fruit and nut trees included yet?
Land for growing	Lots of people would love to grow their own, but don’t have the land. Garden shares? Allotments?	Matching scheme on website?
Rewilding	Allowing areas to ‘go wild’ and regenerate tends to be more effective for biodiversity than tree planting	Put on a talk about rewilding?
Wild gardens	Leaving wild areas, planting wildlife-friendly trees, bushes, hedges and flowers helps our beleaguered wildlife
LIFE CHOICES
Less meat	Less livestock = less methane
Buy local produce	Support local economy as well as reducing food miles. Eg local beef better than meat that has been transported as livestock and then again to be processed as meat and then again via supermarket networks
COMMUNITY
Share ideas, expertise and knowledge	Collaborative community can achieve much more than each of us on our own!	Website discussion/forum area	Street meetings?
Competition	What if Staverton competed with a neighbouring village in reducing its carbon footprint? What if streets competed with each other to get their average down?
Community Bank
Upcycling/repair days	Manufacture and disposal of new ‘stuff’ – toys, clothes, tools or furnishings etc – has a high carbon footprint. Why throw away what can be mended?		Who can do the mending/help pass on the skills? Could the community help fund them in some way?
Share Shed	Totnes already has a Share Shed where many items can be borrowed.
Share scheme	Would you be willing to lend/borrow your tent/sacktruck/chainsaw/ladders? As above: manufacture of new items contributes to carbon emissions and pollution.	Set up scheme on website
Communicating with those who don’t attend meetings	Many people in the parish aren’t yet fully aware of the scale and urgency of the problem. We can’t achieve carbon neutral without them!	Door knockers? Street meetings? Post about carbon neutral Staverton on social media?
FINANCIAL
Move your money	Choose an ethical bank over mainstream banks that still invest trillions in fossil fuels	Info/links on website
Assess every purchase	There is an environmentally friendly version of just about everything you buy. Research can be tiresome, but you soon get to know what’s good and what isn’t!	Share ‘ethical consumer’ info on website	Share info about what you’ve found locally
POLITICAL
Vote for whoever you think will implement carbon neutral swiftly and effectively.	This General Election could be the last chance to get a government that will take the necessary measures to halt the sixth mass extinction.	Link to climate policy comparison website?
Attend hustings/write to parliamentary candidates	When politicians know most people care about something, it is raised up the political agenda.	Hustings info on website How to write to PCs on website
Protest	This year’s climate protests have been hugely effective but need everyone involved. Even if you haven’t protested before, join Extinction Rebellion, Climate Strike etc. Or support them financially, on social media, etc.
Share what you’re doing	It is vital that we pass a tipping point where most people are on board. Many people will only accept the truth about climate change if they see enough other people concerned.		Talk about what you’re doing and why with friends, neighbours, family, colleagues, and on social media. Help make protecting the future of people and planet normal.

SUBMIT AN IDEA