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Thank you for subscribing to this newsletter. This is a place for us to update you on what we are doing at West Devon Borough Council and what things are going on around the Borough.
It will tell you what's going on nationally and things you, our residents and businesses can be doing to reduce your carbon footprint and manage your land to improve the environment and its biodiversity.
If you have anything you would like to include in this newsletter, contact our Climate Change Specialist by email here
We’ve launched our own wildlife warden scheme to help preserve the area’s biodiversity – and we're inviting everyone interested in nature to get in touch with us today.
The scheme, which looks for wildlife warden volunteers in West Devon help preserve the area’s biodiversity, was launched on 28 September at Kilworthy Park with a nature collaboration café event, held in partnership with the Devon Wildlife Trust.
Watch our video on the launch event here.
The scheme aims to bring communities, environmental groups, town and parish councils and other bodies together to network and create opportunities to protect, aid and increase wildlife in each of West Devon’s parishes.
We’ve also created the scheme to help meet our priority of creating a 10% biodiversity net gain in the habitats of Council-owned wood and green open spaces by next year.
If you’d like to find out more about the wildlife warden scheme, learn about upcoming volunteer days or get involved in any potential projects, please email wildlifewardens@swdevon.gov.uk
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Climate Ambassadors: recruiting volunteers!
Funded by the Department for Education (DfE), the Climate Ambassadors scheme helps education institutions in the UK take action to become more environmentally sustainable and climate resilient – and to better prepare young people to live in a world with a changing climate.
The scheme provides free expertise and support to nurseries, schools and colleges to develop and deliver impactful climate action plans.
The scheme is recruiting volunteers to put their sustainability expertise to work. All volunteers will receive training on climate action plans and advice on applying their knowledge and skills in an education setting.
Click here to find out more.
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Events and Webinars
Net Zero and Climate Change: Getting Started as Individuals and Enterprises
Various dates - Online
Net zero, carbon footprint, greenhouse gases, scope 3 emissions.
Gain the knowledge and confidence to navigate these concepts and find out how you can take positive climate action in a three-hour online workshop offered by the University of Plymouth.
Net Zero and Climate Change: Getting Started as Individuals and Enterprises guides you through why our climate is changing, what that means for us and our planet, and how we can combat it as individuals and enterprises.
No prior knowledge is required, so whether you are a student, professional, policymaker, or simply someone who wants to find out more about why we need to reach net zero carbon emissions, you can register for free.
Click here to find out more and register.
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Panel discussion: 'Operationalising climate policy for global net zero emissions'
89% of the world’s population live in a country with a national net zero target, but these targets need to be implemented effectively in policy and regulation if the goals of the Paris Agreement are to be achieved.
Too often, this is still not happening.
One important gap in climate policy is that it often focuses on domestic emission reductions, but does not prevent states from contributing substantially to emissions outside of their borders, for instance by remaining a major fossil fuel exporter.
This event will interrogate the consequences of climate policies that fail to look beyond national borders, and discuss best practice from around the world for curbing emissions at home as well as abroad.
Professor Wetzer will introduce the work of the recently established Oxford Martin Programme on Net Zero Regulation and Policy, and explain what the Programme aims to achieve.
Panel:
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Professor Thom Wetzer, Director, Oxford Martin Programme on Net Zero Regulation & Policy (Chair)
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Professor David Karoly, Visiting Fellow, Oxford Martin Programme on Net Zero Regulation & Policy
- More to follow
Click here to find out more and register.
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Agroforestry Research and the REFOREST Project - 28 October, 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Join Tom Staton of Reading University and Will Simonson of the Organic Research Centre for a review of the latest findings from the REFOREST project, a four-year European-wide project looking at interventions to improve the uptake of agroforestry on farms.
We'll hear about agroforestry's potential contribution to net zero, its knowledge infrastructure and how it has evolved over recent decades.
Tom and Will will also describe the ReForest UK living lab, including the application of the FarmTree tool to model agroforestry performance, and assessments of the sustainability of agroforestry using the Public Goods Tool.
This event is made possible thanks to the UKRI Agri-food for Net Zero Network+
Click here to register.
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Herbal Ley Webinar - 4 November 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Join the Soil Association and Pasture for Life for a webinar on herbal leys, featuring expert guest speakers Siobhan Griffin from Next Level Grazing, and Sam Lane from Cotswolds Seeds.
Siobhan and Sam will take us through how to select the correct mix for your context, proper establishment, and crucially, ongoing grazing management to maximise the positive outcomes herbal leys can deliver. This webinar is particularly focused at both arable and dairy farmers who are interested in using herbal leys as part of their rotation or across the grazing rotation on their platform, and for those looking to integrate livestock into an arable system.
Siobhain Griffin is a dairy farmer and coach with 30 years of experience farming, with more than 14 years in regenerative systems. Next Level Grazing offers guidance and support to help farmers create a more productive and drought resistant farm so they can keep farming for generations to come.
Sam Lane is Director of Seeds and Technical at Cotswolds Seeds.
This event is made possible thanks to the UKRI Agri-food for Net Zero Network+.
Click here to register.
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The National Garden Scheme (NGS) provides small grants to help community gardening projects.
Community groups, registered charities and Community Interest Companies (CICs) can apply for grants of between £1,000 and £5,000 for gardening projects in their community. Projects should use sustainable gardening methods and have short- and long-term benefits for the community.
The funding can be used towards plants, containers, landscaping materials, polytunnels, sheds, seating, tools and materials for providing refreshments.
Please note that funding is not available through this scheme for schools or local authorities (including parish councils).
Click here to find out more and apply.
The Nineveh Charitable Trust supports a broad range of UK-based projects and activities, with an emphasis on promoting better understanding of the environment and countryside. The trust also has an interest in encouraging schools’ interactions with the countryside and farming as a part of their STEM curriculum.
Grants are available to registered charities and Community Interest Companies but other organisations, including schools, can also be funded if there are clear outcomes, in line with the aims of the Trust which are to promote:
- The health, welfare and education of the general public
- The study and appreciation of agriculture, silviculture, ecology and land management
- The study and appreciation of land and estate management that encourages conservation of the countryside.
Most grants are in the range of £2,000 to £5,000. Click here to find out more and apply.
According to Butterfly Conservation, we've seen butterfly numbers fall across the UK in 2024.
80% of butterflies have declined since the 1970s and a third of moth numbers have fallen in that same period.
Butterfly Conservation's annual Big Butterfly Count has been going since 2010.
The event asks people in the UK to tally the number of butterflies and day moths they see over a period between July and August, a time where butterfly activity and abundance peaks.
More than 140,000 counts were recorded in 2024. 9,000 of those counts recorded no butterflies at all.
You can watch a short video from Butterfly Conservation here.
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In 2021, the IPCC concluded with high confidence that global mean sea level is rising at rates unprecedented in at least the last 3,000 years due to human-induced global warming.
In August 2024, the IPCC published a technical brief on the subject which provides a summary of the latest science on sea-level rise and its present-day and projected impacts — including coastal flooding — at a global and regional level, with a focus on major coastal cities in the Group of Twenty (G20) countries and the Pacific Small Island Developing States.
The findings demonstrate that sea-level rise is affecting the lives and livelihoods of coastal communities and low-lying island nations around the world today, and it is accelerating.
The climate actions and decisions taken by political leaders and policymakers in the coming months and years will determine how devastating these impacts become and how quickly they worsen.
Click here to read the report.
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