Sustainable Uttlesford marked its first anniversary with a lively celebration that combined the AGM with a showcase of community‑led climate action.
The evening brought together residents, partners and environmental groups to reflect on a year of major achievements and shared purpose.
Highlights included inspiring updates during the “Blow Your Own Trumpet” session and expert insights from community energy groups, Essex University and the Local Nature Recovery team on future funding and support.
Members finished the evening by identifying priorities for Sustainable Uttlesford's work in the coming year, with Chair Cllr Neil Reeve praising the “electric” energy in the room.
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Friday 20 March, 10am to 3.30pm
Museum of Power, Maldon CM9 6QA
Join the movers and shakers of community energy in Essex.
Speakers include community energy support organisations such as Ethex, the Greater South East Net Zero Hub and Community Energy England, alongside Tom Day from Essex County Council talking about how the council is supporting community energy groups to develop projects.
Anyone interested in learning more about community energy or finding a project and funding partner to get solar PV on a community building or school is welcome to attend this FREE event.
Booking is essential as tickets are limited. Lunch and refreshments will be served during the day.
► Book your space at the Essex Community Energy Conference
Wednesday 25 March, 7pm
Online
Rachael Luckin from the National Lottery will be sharing details of the funding available from The National Lottery Community Fund.
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear a major funder explain the application process, what strengthens a good application and common errors.
The Awards for All programme will fund from £300 to £20,000 for charities, constituted groups, not-for-profits, CICs and more. Reaching Communities funding works to support organisations who need more than £20,000 over multiple years.
Rachael is particularly interested in reaching more groups in Essex, especially those that work to address climate action and sustainability, and is looking forward to learning more about the projects you are looking for funding for.
► Webinar joining link – please save for use on the day
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Thursday 23 April, 6pm
The Coach & Horses, Newport
Join Newport River Group for an evening of talks and walks to explore the work restoring and protecting the internationally important chalk stream habitats which are found across Uttlesford.
Hear about the successes and what has been learnt along the way, from litter picks to planning a £200,000 wetland restoration project. Please wear sturdy, waterproof boots.
Spaces are strictly limited so please book your free ticket on Eventbrite using the orange ‘Reserve a spot’ button.
► Reserve a spot for the Newport River Group event
Photo courtesy of Jane Gilbey
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Add your community sustainability event to the Uttlesford Big Green Festival – a showcase of local climate and wildlife action across the district, in collaboration with Sustainable Uttlesford, running 6 to 14 June.
If you are involved in community action to boost wildlife, care for green spaces, pick up litter, save energy or spread the word on caring for our planet, we’d love to hear from you!
Add your regular community event to the district-wide festival programme to be put on the festival map and engage more people to join in local climate action.
► Read more and get in touch on the Big Green Festival website
If you would like to discuss how your project or group could contribute to the week-long festival programme, please email climatechange@uttlesford.gov.uk
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Switch Together Solar is a group-buying scheme that provides a hassle-free way to make the transition to clean energy, offering discounts on solar panels, battery systems, EV charging points and heat pumps.
Almost 2,800 Essex households have already installed solar through the scheme.
People can register their interest until 26 April for free and with no obligation to buy.
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Did you know watering with a can saves up to 1,000 litres per hour compared to using a garden hose?
As customers of Affinity Water, Uttlesford residents can save money on water butts to collect rainwater for their houseplant and garden needs.
Residents can also request free repairs for small leaks at home by reporting small, easily fixed leaks.
► Find the discount plus more waster-saving tips
► How to book a free leak visit
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RiverWatch volunteers are completing their first year of monthly monitoring of the River Chelmer, recording water quality, wildlife observations, and key measurements including temperature, turbidity, and nutrient levels.
Great Dunmow Town Council’s Open Spaces Team is enhancing biodiversity by adopting electric equipment, creating 34 acres of new woodland, planting native hedgerows, and reducing chemical use and intensive grass cutting across public spaces.
The Flitch Way Action Group is working to improve offroad active travel links in the area, and Friends of Dunmow Open Spaces have recently helped remove highly invasive Himalayan balsam from riverbanks.
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Sustainable Uttlesford has received a response following its contribution to the Parliament petition “Provide funding for a nationwide, nature-rich river corridor network”.
The government’s response stated that 20,000km of watercourses are being protected or restores and that over £7 billion is being directed into nature’s recovery along with additional funding as part of the revised Environmental Improvement Plan.
The RSPCA recently found that Essex was in the top 10 counties for litter-related wildlife incidents.
Essex Wildlife Trust is organising a litter picking challenge to encourage people to help protect vulnerable species and improve green spaces. The Spring Pickers challenge invites people to pick up five pieces of rubbish every day from 10 to 19 March to clean up their area ready for spring.
The Big Plastic Count
Meanwhile, from 9 to 15 March, thousands of people from households, schools and communities will be counting every piece of plastic packaging they throw away.
This initiative hopes to uncover the true scale of the UK’s big plastic problem .
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Uttlesford residents can join thousands of others from across Essex in listing their unwanted items on Freegle.
This not only helps to reduce waste, but it can also help to build community spirit in the area.
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Find these grants and many others on the Sustainable Uttlesford website:
The Alpkit Foundation – grants of up to £500 are available for individuals, community groups, schools, and other not-for-profit organisations to encourage people. Applications reopen in March.
Big Issue Invest is offering loan finance between £20,000 to £200,000 to social enterprises and charities in England, for energy efficiency and renewable energy installation.
The British Ecological Society has launched its latest round of outreach and engagement grants, offering up to £2,000 per project to support initiatives that connect public audiences with the excitement of ecological science.
The Energy Resilience Fund provides a blended funding package of loan (60%) and grant (40%) to bolster the energy resilience of eligible charities and social enterprises in England.
The Calisen Impact Charitable Trust promotes energy efficiency and move the UK towards net zero by supporting charities in the UK to become more energy efficient and sustainable.
Sports England’s Movement Fund provides up to £15,000 for physical activity projects in the community, including improving both environmental sustainability and providing physical activity opportunities.
The Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust– grants for garden creation, development and restoration to promote the physical and natural environment by promoting biological diversity through horticulture.
The Sustainable Uttlesford website is a resource for everyone in the district to find information, expertise and groups that care about our planet and want to protect it.
Explore local groups and projects, learn more with events and meetings, and find grants and other funding sources for your community project.
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Events support
If you are planning any events and want some extra support in publicising these, please share to the Sustainable Uttlesford Facebook page and email the details to info@sustainable-uttlesford.org.uk
This newsletter has only been sent to those who have signed up as a member of Sustainable Uttlesford. If you would like to add anyone else to the distribution list, please email the details to: climatechange@uttlesford.gov.uk. If you do not wish to continue receiving the newsletter, please let us know and we will remove you from the list.
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