Hello SEEN readers

This month we're bringing you an extended version of SEEN as we won’t see you again until January 2024. 

First off, we would like to highlight COP28, which takes place from today, 30 November to 12 December in Dubai. It's been two years since the conference was hosted in Glasgow, and arguably little progress has been made since then, with some targets being pushed back such as the banning of sales of new petrol and diesel cars to 2035.

We also witnessed record-breaking temperatures across Europe last summer and through to autumn across the UK.

At this summit there will be 70 Ministers and delegates from more than100 countries, and in his PRE-COP opening speech, Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber COP28 President-Designate said:

“The Global Stocktake evidences that there is much to be done to get back on track and keep 1.5C within reach. It will require all parties to unite, act, and deliver a high-ambition GST decision at COP28.

I urge all parties to raise ambition ahead of COP28"

We'll be following this with great interest and you can too. Check out the Cop28 website and watch the BBC Panorama programme we're recommending in our ones to watch section.  

Until January have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year.

With all good eco & festive wishes,

The Climate Team.

As part of a national change, all Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB's), are now called National Landscapes and that includes Somerset’s Mendip Hills, Quantock Hills, Blackdown Hills National Landscapes (and the slither of Cranmore Chase that sits in Somerset).

National Landscapes retain the same powers and responsibilities as AONBs, as enshrined in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act, National Planning Policy Framework.

The new identity underlines their national importance; the vital contribution they make to protect the nation from the threats of climate change, nature depletion and the wellbeing crisis, whilst also creating greater understanding and awareness for the work that they do.

Somerset’s AONBs – now National Landscapes - are much loved and a key part of the county’s identity. And they also have an important role to play in addressing the causes and impacts of climate change and will be an important part of the Council-led Local Nature Recovery Strategy in years to come.

National Landscapes Partnerships will focus on habitat restoration to ensure the protection of some of our most endangered species and increase their work to help more people to enjoy time spent in beautiful places.

In previous months we have looked at germinating acorns, whitebeam berries and the seeds of other native broadleaf trees. 

As we go into the winter months, we can now gather and germinate seeds from the four evergreen tree species native to the UK, Holly, Scots Pine, Juniper and Yew. The Scots pine produces large cones that can be picked from the tree. To germinate, put the cones in a paper bag and store them in a dry place (avoid direct heat) leave for a week or two until they open and release their seeds. These can then be sown  directly into seed trays or flowerpots.

Holly with its bright red berries (on the female) is a winter favourite.  Remarkably few species depend upon it, but the berries are an important food source for  birds and it is the foodplant of the holly blue butterfly.  It can grow well in shady position. Learn more from the Tree Council guide to Holly. More info on Jupiter and Yew is also available on the Tree Council website.

Congratulations to the the Somerset Local Pantry Network (SLPN) who have won FareShare South West’s Social Impact Award for Community and Sustainability, for the innovative ways the network utilises food for community resilience. 

SLPN buy and collect surplus food and make it available to members for a low weekly fee, which helps reduce food waste, feed families, and save them money. 

Partnered with Somerset Council, local community groups and food charity, FareShare South West, the network provides initial grant money to fund the launch of a new pantry, and then each pantry is independently run by voluntary sector groups. 

Earlier this year, Action Against Hunger, another food charity, made a film about the Somerset pantries, highlighting the positive impact they make in communities. This video explains more about the great work they do.

It's inspiring to learn that Exmoor National Park Young Rangers have been working hard on an extreme ‘Plastic Free Exmoor’ Beach Clean at Glenthorne Beach.  

They collected a large amount of ocean debris from the high tide line including ‘ghost gear’ such as old fishing line and lobster pots, rubber, plastic bottles, polystyrene, buckets, and tyres.  

Leading the Exmoor Young Rangers is Sophie Tyler, Learning and Engagement Officer with Exmoor National Park Authority. Sophie said: “We are so proud of the way in which Young Rangers make a difference, through volunteering and inspiring future generations to connect and care for our amazing Exmoor landscapes. The climb back up to County Gate carrying sacks of plastic litter in heavy rain and wind was tough going, but they forged on regardless. They even learned how to recycle discarded fishing line via the ‘Anglers National Line Recycling Scheme” pipes’.”

For volunteering opportunities visit get involved, and to find out more about learning opportunities visit the Exmoor National Park website.

More primary schools are being urged to register for lessons in waste reduction and recycling. 

Since February 2018, Carymoor Environmental Trust has been delivering the Schools Against Waste (SAW) programme on behalf of Somerset Council, reaching over 55,000 children and visiting 191 schools, with many enjoying repeat visits. 

If your child’s primary school hasn’t had a visit from the SAW team recently, ask their school to make a free booking and register online.

SAW offers a free assembly and a choice of two fun, interactive and thought-provoking waste-themed workshops suitable for key stage 1 and/or 2. Over 96% of teacher’s surveyed would recommend these workshops to a colleague or another school. The most popular words teachers used to describe the sessions are informative, engaging and fun. 

Carymoor Environmental Trust is based on a former landfill site near Castle Cary. The team run education days for schools, teach various rural skills courses and offer volunteering opportunities for individuals and companies who help maintain the beautiful and unique nature reserve. 

This week is National Tree Week as it's the start of the tree planting season. This Saturday in South Petherton, the community are looking for volunteers to help prepare the ground and plant 300 saplings on community land based at Whitfield Lane Allotments, South Petherton, from 10am. It’s a great opportunity to plant trees to help reduce carbon, create habitats for nature and support cleaner air. If you can help out please contact Kathbrace7@gmail.com. 

All help gratefully received! The TWiG Team

Somerset Council has been recognised as a leader in its work to respond to the climate emergency.

The authority achieved a score of A- (“Leadership”) from Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) for our performance in 2023. This rating compares to a regional average of B and a Global average of C.

CDP is seen as the ‘gold standard of environmental’ reporting and this is the first time the new Somerset Council has been scored by the not-for-profit charity.

CDP runs the environmental disclosure system and helps organisations make their environmental impact transparent, reduce their impact and act as environmental leaders.

Find out more here: Somerset Council scores A- for climate work

The successful completion of the North Taunton Woolaway project is a priority for Somerset Council.

The regeneration scheme, based in North Taunton, is a high priority project which will replace defective housing by delivering new and more sustainable homes for our tenants.

Our project team is proud to build low carbon homes fit for the future, and in this video, they show us how they did it. 

Thank you for the great responses we received to the Environment Champions survey we shared in SEEN earlier this year.

Our aim was to understand how the Environment Champions network had been working in parts of Somerset (Sedgemoor and South Somerset). Some of the things we asked included how best would you like to engage moving forward.

83.6% of respondents saying they would enjoy activities such as in person site visits to existing community projects.

A further 74.5% also said engaging with in person talks and lectures from experts would be of interest. 

Topics of most interest included learning more about what the council is doing about the climate change such as ecological emergencies, followed by initiatives such as Plant Life, and the impact of National climate and ecological policy on the local Somerset position.

We also wanted to know what potential name we could use moving forward with the top two suggestions Environment Champions (33%) and Climate and Ecological Champions - (16.7%).

The feedback you have provided is invaluable. It will help us be informed for what we do next to build a network of like minded people to make a greener more sustainable Somerset.

Finally, please continue to get in contact and share the fantastic work you’re doing to tackle climate change where you are.

We hope you saw our special bulletin earlier this month about the new government Biodiversity Net Gain guidance coming in the new year. We want your help to shape it for Somerset.   

New national rules are on the way that mean developers will need to leave nature better than they found it – and Somerset Council is seeking your views on how we introduce them across the county.  

New government Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) planning legislation, expected to come into force in January next year, means planning applications for new developments in England must leave nature better off than before, and create new habitats and green spaces to compensate for the ones they are eliminating as part of the build.  

In some circumstances the BNG rules can be tailored to be fitting for the local area. We've drafted a guidance note and would like your input on whether our proposed approach for Somerset is reasonable and workable.

There is still time to have your say in our consultation which closes at midnight on Monday 4 December.  

DONATE IT is celebrating its 1,000^th device collection.

Steven Barfoot, Director at Donate IT said:

“It's been 2.5 years since Sarah Dyke MP contacted me to help a single Mum with three kids home schooling in lockdown with just one smart phone.

Now DONATEIT has donated 1000 devices!

I had no idea how big digital poverty was. DONATEIT has helped elderly, young, job seekers, homeless, displaced people, DV survivors, recovering addicts, diabetes kids, modern slavery survivors, disabled and so many more - all struggling to function and manage in an ever increasingly digital world. Thanks to all the agencies who have helped get these devices into the hands of people in need in our community - you know who you are!”

If you have unwanted devices you'd like to donate, you can find a list of collection points at the DONATE IT website.

Pictured are Sarah Dyke MP and Director of Donate IT Steven Barfoot

Drop in on 16 December, 10am to 4pm for a chat about reuse, repair or to donate any unwanted smart tech.

Recycling is great - but reuse is even better for the planet and your pocket.

We’ll be promoting the benefits of repairing and reusing electricals, rather than recycling them or throwing them away. We can’t do any fixing on the day, but Somerset has a fantastic network of volunteer-run repair groups, so come along for a chat about how to get things fixed locally and how to get involved.

If you'd like to donate any unwanted smart tech please make sure you bring any adaptors or cables and sign out of iCloud accounts (or similar). All donations are passed on to Donate IT who securely data wipe, and pass items on to people in digital need.

Regretfully, due to flooding, we must postpone the free Ham Hill Community Tree Planting event scheduled for 2 December.  We now aim to host this event on Saturday 27th January when hopefully the ground is firmer underfoot. 

Since 2003, rangers and the Friends of Ham Hill have planted over 6,000 native trees in an area called Pit Wood. Rangers and volunteers have removed damaged and diseased trees (mainly sycamore), introduced habitat piles and dead wood areas. Our Friend’s group, volunteers and local communities have planted 11 native species, including oak, hazel, and field maple to help boost the biodiversity of the wood.

Trees cost money and the Friends of Ham Hill, Woodland Trust, The Conservation Volunteers and Florence’s Street Clean Mission have been amazing, raising money or providing trees to make the world a better place – we could not do it without them! And thanks to so many tree-mendous fundraisers, another 400 more trees are on order for the Community Tree Planting day to help boost the tree canopy at Pit Wood.  We hope you can come along to help out. We’ll provide you with instruction, tea, coffee, biscuits, and the trees of course! Families and all ages are welcome but if you’re under 16 years of age, please bring an adult. Dogs on leads are welcome too.

Special thanks to Somerset Council house band District 7, who kindly raised money to buy some of the trees at a recent gig.

More details on our events page or the Visit South Somerset Website.

If you're looking to be more conscious about your spending this Christmas the Ethical Consumer is an independent, non-for-profit organisation that assesses businesses and products on their social and environmental impacts. Some of their information is free to access or you can subscribe for a small fee.

Who can deny the beauty of a wood burning stove?

It not only brings warmth to hearth and home but can be a renewable energy heating solution if the wood is sustainably sourced locally and regularly replanted.

In 2022 new regulations for the manufacture of wood burning stoves, multi-fuel stoves and fireplaces came into force, which meant that the manufacturing of these items must meet strict new guidelines known as Ecodesign.

Ecodesign stoves are independently tested by an approved laboratory ensuring that they meet the requirements on air quality and particulates. Over the period of a year, stoves are assessed on seasonal efficiency, for levels of nitrogen oxides (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM2.5), and organic gaseous compounds produced by a burning wood.

According to Government data published in 2022, wood burners accounted for 17% of particulate matter pollution, which was a significant improvement from 2019

You can make sure you are adding the right fuel to the fire by checking further advice.

Richard Bilton investigates why oil, coal and gas exploration is booming when almost every country in the world has committed to limit the rise in global warming to 1.5 degrees. The experts say that will only happen if we stop searching for new fossil fuels. So why is oil, coal and gas exploration still booming? As world leaders prepare for a landmark climate conference in Dubai, reporter Richard Bilton investigates why we are still looking for buried carbon in almost every part of the globe. 

Simple ways to waste not this Christmas.

Christmas is a time to celebrate with family and friends, but it's true meaning can get lost in a blizzard of panic buying, over-consumption, and waste.

This year, as the cost-of-living continues to pinch, how can we spend less, waste less and still enjoy the festivities without costing the earth? Well, there is so much we can do with a little forethought and planning, like meal planning, agreeing a present budget and buying local or eco gifts, to using recyclable wrapping paper and choosing a Christmas tree.

Want to know more? Check out the government’s 24 ways to waste not this Christmas and there are also some great tips on our Tackling Food Waste web pages including how to keep food waste to a minimum by planning your festive meals.