Welcome to the June edition of SEEN.

Highlights this month are:

• Free trees for schools and communities
• Pine martens on Exmoor
• How to boost wellbeing in nature
• Join the Plastic Free July Challenge

Wishing you all a joyous nature filled July.

Best eco wishes

The Climate Team

Frome residents are thinking about home improvement differently thanks to the Frome Retrofit project which launched last year, and local homeowners are seizing the opportunity to get a free health check on their homes.

Retrofit is all about finding ways to make houses easier to heat, retain that heat and reduce carbon emissions, as well as lowering energy bills. Are you a Frome resident thinking about how to make your home more energy efficient and reduce bills? If you’re not sure what to tackle first or how to get started, the Frome Retrofit team can assess your home as well as talking to you about your lifestyle to create a report unique to you and your home. Find out more and check out upcoming retrofit talks at Retrofit - Frome Town Council

South Petherton Wildlife and Tree Group known as TWiG are reaping the rewards of a splendid wild flower meadow, after securing parish land and turning it over to grassland to help reduce the impact of flooding in the area.

Resident and local environment pioneer Kath Brace, who is the founder member of TWiG has been in touch to tell us how it came about, how they funded it and their hopes for its future.

Somerset Council is working together with Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership (SASP) and school communities to look into ways to reduce congestion and improve the safety of children outside the school gates.

The School Streets trials are a new initiative that aims to reduce parking and congestion issues around schools by promoting sustainable travel like walking, cycling, or scooting. Temporary road closures occur during school pick-up and drop-off times outside selected schools.

Otterhampton Primary school in Combwich, Bridgwater test the scheme and launched their trial on 3 June, closing School Lane between 8:25 am - 8:55 am and 2:55 pm - 3:25 pm, Monday to Friday during term time. The trial runs for 18 months, and if successful, it will become permanent.

A public consultation is open for residents to provide feedback during the first six months from June 3, 2024, to December 3, 2024.

Have you noticed the positive difference leaving grass longer is making? We have!

Our grassland conservation ‘leave it longer’ plans are coming into bloom, and we hope those of you who are embracing the wild are seeing the same.

We called out to our teams and local communities to share the love and send in images of their grassland conservation areas and there have been some wonderful surprises.

Are you are leaving it longer? Keep it going to maintain the momentum and balance. A job for July is to remove dominant plants that are choking more delicate ones. In more fertile soil, you may see vigorous species dominating at the expense of more delicate ones. Successful self-seeders, such as teasels and thistles, can form large colonies unless controlled. So keep a watch on the balance of species and dig out any plants that are getting too big for their roots before they set seed. We would love to see pics of your wild spaces too. Please send them to climateemergency@somerset.gov.uk

Check out the video of some of the wild areas in our parks, greenspaces, residents' gardens and more. 

As camping season gets underway, Somerset Council and our kerbside collections contractor, SUEZ, are reminding residents of the danger of putting gas canisters in their recycling. 

This year alone, more than 1,000 potential fires from gas canisters have been avoided, thanks to the vigilant crews at the material recovery facilities in Taunton and Evercreech. 

Due to the increasing number of canisters being put out with recycling, crews have had no choice other than to manually check recycling ahead of the automated sorting process to avoid sparking dangerous blazes.

Last week was Better Transport Week, but it could be every week if you make the most of reduced bus fares and help safeguard routes at the same time! 

The £2 Bus fare for any single journey is extended to December 2024.

Somerset has so much to offer from historic hills to beautiful beaches and marvellous market towns. You can head to the beach on the 28, Exmoor on the 25 or explore the Levels and South Somerset on the 54 and 58. Don’t forget your well-behaved dogs can jump aboard too and travel for free!

Buses of Somerset confirmed that it has made improvements to the 54 Yeovil to Taunton bus timetable including a trial service to the Royal Navy base and museum in Yeovilton.

Buses are the UK's most used form of public transport. They tackle loneliness, connect communities, improve air quality, and cut emissions and traffic.

Help take nature's pulse by joining the Big Butterfly Count, a UK-wide survey aimed at helping to check the health of our environment simply by counting the amount and type of butterflies (and some day-flying moths) we see.

Download the free app. Join in and make your sightings count for nature.

Check out brilliant eco events happening across Somerset. Click on the Events Calendar button below to find out what's on and let us know about your eco events at climateemergency@somerset.gov.uk so we can tell our readers.

Are you a business that could donate unwanted business equipment to charity? Are you a charity that would like to benefit?

A Good Thing is a not-for-profit organisation whose mission is to reduce landfill waste by making it easy for businesses to donate unwanted items to charities across the UK. They act as a matchmaking service, ensuring that items find a new purpose while supporting community needs. If you are a business that could donate or a charity that would like to be listed to be matched with unwanted items.

We are hosting an exclusive webinar in late July (date TBC) for owners and managers of Somerset woodland to connect with fellow forestry enthusiasts, share insights, and contribute to the collective knowledge of woodland habitats.

With top forestry management experts at your service, this is your chance to share your experiences and challenges of woodland stewardship, and actively contribute to shaping the Local Nature Recovery Strategy woodland conservation strategies that will protect our forests for years to come.

Your voice Matters! We have already contacted our ‘woody’ network directly to let them know about the webinar and take part in a short woodland survey. If you haven’t heard from us and would like to be involved please get in touch. 

For more information contact Steve Dury our Senior Commissioning Officer for Water and Environment at steve.dury@somerset.gov.uk. Don’t miss out on this chance to make a difference for your woodland community.

Plastic Free July® is a worldwide initiative, empowering us to combat plastic pollution. By rejecting single-use plastics, we contribute to cleaner streets, healthier oceans, and more beautiful communities. Plastic is made from fossil fuels such as crude oil and gas which are major contributors to greenhouse gases and the climate breakdown as well as causing havoc to wildlife and waterways.

This month’s eco tip is an eco-challenge to say no to single-use plastic and switch to kinder alternatives.

Here are five easy wins to reject single-use plastic use: Some of them might seem obvious and we're trying our best to practice them, but can we do better?

Carry a reusable bottle. In the UK, we use over 35 million plastic bottles every day! Carrying a reusable bottle not only reduces plastic waste but also saves you money. Use the Refill app to find places where you can fill up your water bottle for free while you’re out and about.

Fancy a coffee? Say no to throwaway cups which can have plastic lids or film lining and take a reusable one: Approximately 2.5 billion coffee cups are thrown away every year in the UK, and less than 1 in 400 are recycled. Some cafes offer discounts if you use your own cup.

Let Loose when you shop! Avoid excessive food packaging when you shop, choose stores that offer loose fruit and vegetables. Often, loose produce is cheaper than pre-packaged alternatives. Bulk buy if you can, as this cuts down on packaging and often works out cheaper in the long run. There are also more and more refill shops popping up across Somerset so why not give them a go. 

Raise the bar. Switch shower gels, shampoos and foams for good old fashioned soap bars – they are less harmful to the planet and us and can last a lot longer. You can get soap bars for shaving, hair and body washing and more. With a bit of research, you can be perfectly groomed without leaching microbeads (small balls of plastic used in some cosmetics to act as an exfoliator) and harmful chemicals into the water system and you’ll have less to recycle too. *Always check the soap doesn’t have unstainable palm oil, which contributes to deforestation.

Ditch cling film. Cling film accounts for around 3% of plastic packaging waste produced in the UK, and when exposed to heat can even leach harmful chemicals into our food. Instead opt for washable beeswax wraps, silicone bowl covers or even a plate to cover food. Glass jars, airtight containers and compostable reusable food bags will also keep food fresh for longer.

Make July the start of your plastic free choices from now on. Are you up for the challenge?