This week we have had a double celebration as we celebrated Devon Day on Thursday 4th June and today we mark St Boniface Day (who since May 2019 has been) the Patron Saint of Devon. 

East Devon District Council Leader Councillor Paul Arnott joined the celebrations by saying “Although the idea of Devon Day is still only a few years old - and our wonderful green, white and black flag is not much older - it is never too late for a new tradition. In recent months thousands of us have thanked our lucky stars that we live here and it's good to celebrate that.

On Devon Day we also have a chance to consider the man to whom our flag is dedicated, St Petroc, whose outward looking life took him around the south west, to Britanny and to Ireland. Devon people are at their best when they feel an affiliation for the place where we live while reaching out to engage with the wider world. Let's hope that before too long that is what we will be able to do again."

So many people have volunteered in East Devon over these last few months due to coronavirus and we can celebrate their work this week as it's Volunteers Week. It's an annual celebration of the contribution millions of people make across the UK through volunteering. Although the coronavirus pandemic has stopped many of the things that would normally happen, it has been amazing the number of people who have been helping and getting involved in their local area. If you are volunteer, this is the week we salute and thank you!

This coming Monday 8th June there will be an Extraordinary Virtual meeting of the council which will take place at 6pm.

On Tuesday 9th June at 2pm there will be a Virtual Cabinet meeting.

All our virtual committee meetings can be now viewed via our YouTube channel, search for 'East Devon District Council' and visit the website for the agenda for any meeting. 

Due to the amount of internet shopping and home deliveries we are all recycling very large quantities of cardboard at the moment.

At times this is filling our recycling trucks up very quickly and we may have to leave some cardboard behind at some households.

If this is the case please help our crews and store your extra cardboard and put out for future collections. Our crews will collect it eventually!

Thank you for your patience and please keep recycling.

Exmouth Community Larder tell us their story

We’ve been featuring the amazing general community efforts in our weekly newsletters. This week we feature two great stories, firstly we thought we do something a bit different and feature one of East Devon’s fabulous foodbanks and tell their story.

“The Exmouth Community Larder was started in 2012 to provide food to anyone in Exmouth in a food emergency - no food in the house, no money to buy food - as referred by a suitable support agency.   We now include Lympstone, Exton, Woodbury, both Budleighs and Otterton based on donations we receive from churches, schools and others in Exmouth and the whole area.

Read more about this great community project.

Since the outbreak of Covid-19 and the beginning of the period of emergency measures on 16 March 2020, Cranbrook Town Council has been working together with several local agencies to ensure residents are supported through this challenging time. This has truly been an all-round community effort.

Reverend Lythan Nevard (Cranbrook Cornerstone Church) and Community Development Worker Aynsley Jones (Cranbrook Town Council) have been leading on coordinating the local emergency response efforts.

Read more to find out about this amazing project.

From 15 June, face coverings will be required while using public transport in England.

Wherever possible people should continue to avoid public transport and walk, cycle or drive, but for some people this may not be an option. 

People should wash their hands or use hand sanitiser before putting their face covering on and after taking it off and it is important that people don’t touch their face covering when wearing it, where possible, to avoid hand to mask transmission of the virus.

Sign up to our weekly business update to make sure you read the latest business news. This week we update you on the various new Government initiatives to help and support you at this time, plus a great range of training courses and initiatives.

The local authority discretionary grant fund for businesses will be reviewed by East Devon District Council’s cabinet next Tuesday 9 June, which starts at 2pm and we will update you on this afterwards.

Simply visit our website, add your email address and choose the ‘business’ topic. You can read this week’s edition by clicking on the link. 

THG NATURE SHORT 8 – Mike Perry

Mor Plastig (Sea of Plastic) © Eilir Pierce

Mike Perry is an artist whose work engages with significant and pressing environmental issues, in particular the tension between human interventions in the natural environment and the fragility of the planet’s ecosystems. Mike discusses Mor Plastig - a series of his photographs showing objects found in the landscape at 1:1 scale, capturing the effect of nature (sea and sand) on the surfaces of industrially produced materials.

Part of Culture + Climate 2020 in partnership with East Devon AONB, NATURE SHORTS is an online series showcasing art practices which inspire, build creativity and deepen our connection with nature especially during isolation. Every Wednesday, May to June.

‘Shy and secretive, otters are water loving mammals which spend their lives in or near water sources. We once almost lost otters from the UK, after years of hunting, habitat destruction and pesticide use,  their numbers crashed. Pleasingly at our Seaton Wetlands nature reserve there has been regular signs that otters have moved in to the nature reserve and made themselves at home. Along the water edges the rangers have almost daily seen otter tracks and spraints, although the elusive resident was reluctant to show themselves. Trail cameras are a great way to capture footage of wildlife during the times you are away, and do not disturb the animals. They can be attached easily to a branch or tree in an area where you think animals use regularly, taking images triggered by any movement nearby.  The trail cameras have picked up regular photos and videos of the otter patrolling his territory. We think this otter is a male, a dog otter, by his large size and broad face. So far he seems to be generally nocturnal, most often picked up by the otter cam at night or at dusk just after sunset.  So far we haven’t seen any footage of a female in the area, but no doubt there probably is one further down the river. We are hopeful one might appear closer to the wetlands, which would be fantastic! As the otter has been very active, we are hoping that his presence will deter any invasive american mink in the area. Although otters are much more shy and secretive that the American mink, they are also bigger and stronger. A large male Otter would see mink as competition for food and prime habitat and would likely drive off any mink from his territory. As there has been increasing signs of an otter in the area, we have also had less signs of any mink around. This is great news and we hope that the otter remains at the wetlands in the future!’