The awards – by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy - have gone to (pictured above left to right) Decoy Country Park and Courtenay Park in Newton Abbot, The Den, Teignmouth and Homeyards in Shaldon.
After 18 months that have seen our parks and green spaces play a vital role for people through lockdowns as places to relax, exercise and meet friends and family safely, the news that these four sites have again achieved the Green Flag Award is great news and a testament to the hard work of staff.
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Executive Member for Sport, Recreation and Culture, Cllr Andrew MacGregor, said “I’m delighted that these parks have again been recognised for their quality. They are wonderful places where families can have picnics, people can relax with friends, explore the wildlife or flora and fauna or use the different play areas on offer.
“I would like to thank everyone for their hard work in maintaining and improving all our sites and keeping them in a great condition for local people and visitors to enjoy”.
“I’d also like to thank everyone who visits or lives locally who help keep the areas tidy and free of litter and dog mess so we can maintain the high Green Flag standards and build on the excellent work done so far."
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Support #LYLM2021
A national campaign – Love your Local Market– is launching on Saturday and will run until 30 October.
This annual campaign has been delayed from its traditional May slot because of Covid and is designed to focus on the many attractions markets offer to shoppers.
Our markets team will be featuring on social media different traders throughout the campaign as a way of highlighting what Newton Abbot Market offers. Why not take a look?
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Devon appeals for help as care worker shortage gets worse
With demand for care rising, Devon County Council says it needs around 2,000 additional care workers to fill growing numbers of vacancies.
With Devon having one of the highest proportions of older people among its population in the country, the need for more care workers is beyond urgent says the council.
Early into the pandemic, people moved into social care from other sectors but now that all sectors of the economy are reopening, there is a drift back into previous roles.
Devon says that more people also need basic help such as with shopping, picking up prescriptions or helping to prepare meals and the county also needs more Personal Assistants – people who visit others at home who need help.
If you are interested in exploring career opportunities in social care, Proud to Care Devon is calling for people who are interested to complete an online form at devon.cc/findyourcalling. Applicants will get a call back and the offer of free one-to-one telephone support, providing careers advice and information about jobs and training in care and health.
If you can be a Personal Assistant, you can find more information, and list yourself by visiting devon.cc/pa-pinpoint.
If you have time to spare and can volunteer to help in your community visit Devon’s ‘Show you Care’ website devon.cc/care or get in touch with your local community group.
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Meeting the challenges of climate emergency
The Devon Climate Assembly report and Executive Summary have now been published, and can be downloaded from the Devon Climate Emergency (DCE) website. The climate assembly involved 70 representative residents from across Devon to discuss and come up with proposals to address the global climate emergency. They also agreed some key priority areas for the Devon Climate Change Emergency Partnership.
For more information about creating a resilient, net-zero Devon, please visit the DCE website.
Teignbridge officers will now look at this report in detail and work with colleagues from across the Devon districts to prepare a response and plan what action is needed.
Online event - The Devon Climate Assembly: why how, what?
Wednesday 20 October 18:00
You can find out more about Devon's citizens’ assembly on climate change, including why it was held, how it was run and its recommendations by joining this online event.
Kaela Scott from Involve, the independent facilitators of the Devon Climate Assembly, will present the assembly report and be available to answer your questions about the citizens’ assembly process. The Devon Climate Emergency project manager, Emily Reed, will explain the next steps towards completing the Devon Carbon Plan.
The Devon Climate Assembly: why how, what? Tickets, Wed 20 Oct 2021 at 18:00 | Eventbrite
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Bringing communities together through food
A crowdfunding initiative aimed at bringing local people together through food has reached its target and gained £500 support from the council’s crowdfunding budget.
Organised by LOVE Food CIC, the initiative aims to reduce food waste, increase access to healthy food and promote vegan cooking and includes a regular community lunch club in Ide Village Hall, an apple juicing project, and various other cookery and food activities.
As well as reducing food waste, it will make a difference by providing healthy food at affordable prices; increasing skills about how to cook with local, seasonal fruit and vegetables; and promoting the benefits of local, organic, vegan and ethical ingredients.
This is the second year that the community is running apple juicing activities. The funding will be used to pay for the juicing, bottling and labelling of the juice.
Funding will also be used to pay for more equipment to Love Food's regular community lunch club and cookery classes, as well as a new website and publicity materials. The lunch club helps reduce food waste, with surplus produce provided by Exeter Food Action and local farms, including Shillingford Organics.
Information about how community groups can apply for crowdfunding support is on our website.
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It’s not too late to have your Covid-19 vaccine first or second dose
As Covid infection rates across Devon increase again, local people are being reminded by the NHS that it’s not too late to get their first or second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Having both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine is the NHS says, the best way to protect yourself and others from Covid-19 and the potential long term effects. After a second dose your chances of developing Long Covid halve according to a study by King’s College London. It also significantly reduces your chances of needing treatment in hospital and the severity of symptoms.
Some people may not yet have got round to having the vaccine or were initially unsure about whether to have it but there’s still time to join the 935,930 people who have had their first dose and 872,675 who had both.
And younger adults can still become very unwell or develop Long Covid following an infection. Nine in 10 people receiving an initial Long Covid assessment in the south west were of normal working age according to statistics from NHS England.
People can find their nearest walk-in clinic on NHS England’s site finder here or book via the National Booking System online or by calling 119. Details of walk-in clinics are also shared on NHS Devon CCG’s social media pages.
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Does your passport need to be renewed?
The passport office is advising people to allow up to 10 weeks when applying for a new passport and to plan ahead, checking expiry dates in advance of any planned travel.
Since 2020, over four million customers have chosen not to apply for their passport. As a result, HM Passport Office is preparing for the arrival of a potential peak demand in passport renewals resulting in the 10 week warning.
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November deadline for community grant applications
Community groups have until 8 November to apply for a grant to help them organise events and activities in British Science Week (11-20 March 2022)
Supported by UK Research and Innovation, grants of £500 and £1000 are being offered to community groups that work with people who are typically underrepresented in science, and which set out to deliver an event or activity that involves the local community, challenges science stereotypes and inspires ongoing science engagement.
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Post Brexit guidance
The government has made available a collection of guidance on Brexit which includes advice for UK and EU citizens on travelling, working and studying both in the UK and EU.
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