Effingham Climate Change
On the 3rd June 2020 Effingham Parish Council agreed that we must play our part in the Climate Change Emergency and a new Working Group called Effingham Climate Change (ECC) was formed. Since then, we have had several people from the village who have come forward to help and to create and take ownership of a plan. There are many reasons we need more to come forward to help, in any way possible, as this affects us today, our children and their children. Why not join us and help make Effingham an even better place to live?
If you would like to be involved, please contact me, Jerome Muscat, at jerome.muscat@btinternet.com
Climate Emergency Declared
Following the setting up of the working group, Effingham Parish Council formally declared a Climate Emergency at its meeting on 27th July 2021.
Effingham Environmental Survey
The Climate Change Group would like to know residents’ views on climate change and what we can do to make our village greener and help shrink our carbon footprint. We are grateful to those who completed our online survey (here) and will publish the results soon.
ECC Meetings
Minutes of the ECC meetings are available via the links below.
ECC meetings are currently held via Zoom. If you would like to attend a meeting, please contact the Clerk to the Parish Council, who will send you a Zoom invite.
Date of next meeting: TBC
Projects under way
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Effingham Blue Hearts – Grass Verges Project
Blue Hearts – the project begins
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Extension of cycle paths within the parish
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Increased recycling options
Recycling in and around Effingham, Bookham and Horsley
Guide to Reducing, Reusing and Recycling
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Biodiversity
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Expansion of tree planting
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Electric car charging locations in the village
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Identification of areas that flood, for remedy
A report on the known local wet areas is available here.
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Residents’ survey on sustainability
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Update the Neighbourhood Plan to be more sustainable
News and Links
Pesticide-free Guildford Petition
Guildford Environmental Forum together with the national campaign group Pesticide Action Network are calling for Guildford Borough Council to phase out pesticide use on Council managed and owned land within the borough. You can sign the petition here.
Effingham Blue Hearts
It has been estimated there are nearly half a million kilometres of rural road verge in the UK. With over 97% of ancient wild flower meadows destroyed since the 1930s road verges are a vital refuge for many bees, butterflies, birds, bats and insects. Inspired by the work being carried out in Bookham (and beyond), we approached Guildford Borough Council to ask if some of our verges could be left so we could see what comes into flower, and we’ve installed ‘blue hearts’ to show which verges should be left uncut. For more details, click here.
Surrey Tree Planting Map
Surrey County Council has launched an online map to show the location of trees and hedges planted in Surrey as part of their 1.2 million trees initiative. If you plant a new tree, please let the County Council know so that they can record it on this tracker website. For more details, click here.
Guildford Environmental Forum
Guildford Environmental Forum aims to improve the environment in and around Guildford for wildlife and for people and to build a sustainable future. GEF has been working to make Guildford and the world beyond a greener and more sustainable place since 1993, by educating, informing, cutting energy use, reducing ecological footprints, helping wildlife and tackling climate change.
You can download GEF’s latest newsletter, and learn more about their work on the GEF website.
Empowering Communities
Surrey Wildlife Trust aims to empower local groups to continue to take action in their local communities, offering advice and support on topics including biodiversity, wildlife gardening and fundraising.
The presentation given to ECC in January 2021 is available here.
Centre for Sustainable Energy
The Centre for Sustainable Energy has a wealth of useful information and resources.
£15,000 grants to make your home energy efficient
The Green Homes Grant, provided by central government and Surrey County Council, helps eligible owner-occupied households to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Read more about it here, or contact Green Jump Surrey to find out if you are eligible.
