Our latest newsletter is out, featuring Rob Smith’s blog post – It’s time to write to your MP about a Green New Deal; Shop Locally; a range of local producers to support and how you can still use your refill cup for coffee in cafes… ‘Coffee a Go Go’.
Friday 25th – Monday 28th October
The Malthouse Gallery, Town Mill, Lyme Regis
Guitars on the Beach
Saturday 19 June
This year GOTB is going green!
And Turn Lyme Green and Plastic Free Lyme Regis are joining in.
Come and visit our stand.
Enjoy the music.
Bring your guitar and join in with the Sand Band.
Find out more here: https://guitarsonthebeach.com/
The Green Weigh, Bridport’s Plastic Free shop will be bringing its wares to Charmouth and Lyme Regis on a weekly basis at the following two permanent pitches;
Mondays
9.30-12pm in Charmouth, trading from the layby at the bottom of town
12.30-3pm – Lyme Regis Football Ground
A message from Green Weigh –
“Bring any containers to fill or help yourself to our recycled jars (and donate your old ones), purchase draw string cloth bags or, if all else fails, there’s paper bags.
We sell loose dry foods, oils and vinegars, household cleaning product refills and personal care products and our prices are cheaper than supermarkets! Win win!”
Marine Theatre – 7.00pm
Tickets from Lyme Regis TIC (01297 442138) or online from the Marine Theatre website
We are fortunate to have this event here on our doorstep! Through film, talks, facts, and discussion 4 speakers will share how they have observed, recorded, advised, and broadcast the effects of plastic, climate change, over-fishing and pollution on our seas. Hear and see what they have done to change attitudes and the actions they’ve taken. Lyme Regis sits overlooking Lyme Bay – there is a wealth of sea-life and wonders on its doorstep. Find out how you can help preserve it for future generations.
Marine Conservation: our shore and sea need protecting both locally and globally – come and see what we have & how it’s being achieved. Plastic Free Lyme Regis will be there with tips for reducing the plastic that we use.
Speakers:
DAVID JONES – the founder of Just One Ocean, an environmentalist, media diving specialist, cameraman and ocean plastic consultant. David has worked with David Attenborough, Bear Grylls and Ben Fogle. His work includes the award winning documentary film A Plastic Ocean and for the BBC.
WILLIAM THOMPSON – an explorer, paddle boarder, graphic artist, mapmaker, and author of The Book of Tides, The World of Tides and Tide Walker. William has featured in The Daily Telegraph, on the BBC, and in The Scotsman.
MORVEN ROBERTSON- a UK Project Manager at Lyme Bay Fisheries and Conservation Reserve facilitated by the Blue Marine Foundation. Morven works with locals, fisherman, and organisations caring for the sea.
ANNE BAKER – Scientist, Educator and Ocean Advocate. In 2014, with other scientists, Anne took part in eXXpedition gaining first hand observation of the significant challenge of ocean plastic pollution seen whilst sailing across the Atlantic and around the British Coast. She developed an in-depth understanding of the impact of plastic on our planet, the oceans, and our health. She gave such an inspiring talk at Eva Fahle Clout’s art exhibition in June and we are pleased she returns to Lyme for this evening.
‘The Magical Moths of Dorset’ – Paul Butter will share his knowledge and enthusiasm about moths found in Dorset. Royal Lion Hotel. Lyme Regis. 7.15 for 7.30pm. More details to follow.
£5 in advance; £7 on the door
Tickets available at the TIC Lyme Regis (01297 442138) or online from the Marine Theatre website.
Dr Kate Baker, Research Fellow at The University of Exeter and Chair of the panel, writes, “The celebrated film ‘Blue Heart’ documents the power of local community in protecting the largest undammed river in the Balkans. After the film, there will be a discussion with local experts drawing on similarities between community action in the Balkans with projects closer to home; communities are central to any successful environmental project. As an individual, it is easy to feel disempowered by the various environmental issues we’re facing. However, by joining together and working as a collective, positive changes can happen. We hope this evening will inspire people to get involved in local projects to create a better environment for future generations.”
The panel will include Richard Higgs, programme manager of the Riverlands project at the National Trust, a new £10 million project to bring the UK rivers back to life; Minni Jain, director of the Flow Partnership, an NGO working on rivers in the UK with community collaboration; and Dr David Smith from South West Water Upstream Thinking project, which aims find natural landscape-scale solutions to improve water quality.
Here is the trailer to the film: https://youtu.be/LadlBg9bmfg
Trill Farm: Supper and conversation
Sir Ghillean Prance, Turn Lyme Green’s patron, will be talking about his most recent work in Amazonia. He will focus on examining the current situation about deforestation and threats to the forest and include details of the time he has spent with the indigenous peoples of Amazonia studying their uses of plants and uses of the forest. For more information and tickets, follow this link. Talk only, £5. Talk and Supper £30.
The Bridport Friends of the Earth will have a stall in Bridport Orchard on Saturday 13 October to raise awareness of the Government’s attempt to bypass local decision-making and make fracking easier.
A great day out! Click the poster to find out more.
38 Degrees have an online petition and time is running out to sign it.
They write “The government has announced plans to streamline the planning process for fracking. If this goes ahead, it will be as easy to drill an exploration fracking well as it is to build a conservatory or erect a fence. These plans are deeply undemocratic – they twist planning laws to give the government and fracking companies the power to override the will of local people – who have fought relentlessly to halt fracking at every turn.”
You can also support 38 Degrees written representation on these proposals Click here to have your say. and add your name and objections to this proposal.
“This year we’ve seen heartbreaking images of dead sea turtles and birds, their bellies bloated with plastic.” EU politicians will be voting on new rules next week to cut plastic pollution. SumOfUs have a petition which you can sign. You can tell the European Parliament Environment Committee your view by signing. Follow this link to sign and find out more.
An enthusiastic group marched proudly in the Carnival Parade in August promoting Plastic Free Lyme Regis.
Charmouth, monthly 2018
Organised by the Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre, regular hunts for Nurdles to clear them off the local beach. Contact the Heritage Centre for dates, for these hunts and for beach cleans. Nurdles are tiny plastic pellets used to make most of our plastic products. It is estimated that 53 billion nurdles escape into the UK environment each year! Due to their tiny size, nurdles are eaten by marine wildlife so move up the food chain and also act as sponges in the sea, attracting pollutants.
What can you do to help? Pick up nurdles! The more we collect, the fewer end up in the sea. Always make sure you wear gloves when handling nurdles as they contain toxins. Nurdles have been spotted on Lyme’s Church Beach. Head that way and take a bag and some gloves to help get rid of them.
We had a stall at this very popular fete.
Details: https://www.facebook.com/Uplyme-Village-Fete-1493527620954915/
Sunday 13 May 2018
Turn Lyme Green had a stand at this popular annual fete. Fun games for children together with lots of information on Plastic Free Lyme Regis including tips for recycling and how to live with less plastic.
Turn Lyme Green had a stall in BuckyDoo Square, Wednesday morning, 25th April from 10.00am, again promoting Freggie Bags and ways of reducing our use of plastics – Reduce, Reuse, Refill and Recycle.
Over 30 people turned up for the Beach Clean on Saturday 21st April. The organisers issued gloves and picking sticks which made easy work of collecting bags of recyclable, plastic and general rubbish. Monmouth Beach looked much better after an hours worth of rubbish collecting and visitors were impressed and grateful for our efforts.
Every month we are fortunate to have a space in the ‘View From Lyme Regis’ newspaper. In December, Jo wrote…
IN PRAISE OF PLASTIC?
Can you imagine a Christmas without plastic?
So many Christmas presents contain plastic in some form or another it is hard to imagine a festive season without it!
How would we even begin survive at Christmas without sellotape, bubble wrap, crinkly, sparkly paper, with the pleasure from actually hearing it crackle? Can you imagine Christmas without that brightly coloured mixing bowl and spatula for those family pudding moments, the turkey baster with its irresistible balloon at the top? That is before we have even considered the plastic that surrounds our Christmas lights, invaluable toys boxes, squeaky dog toys. Christmas without a toothbrush? Agh, perish the thought! Actually you can get wooden ones, but I haven’t seen them in Lyme yet…The hoover, the computer, ipad and the irresistible phone, the list goes on forever.
How lucky we are! In fact we have never had it so easy in many ways. To share our luck and be aware of our gratitude, we invite you to help the town stay green and clean this Christmas by picking up ANY morsel of plastic from the beach to save it from being eaten by fish and other animals who think it is their food.
Tuesday 13th – 7.15 for prompt 7.30 start – Royal Lion, Blue Room
All you want to know about owning an Electric Car!
Have you thought about owning an electric car? Are you worried you wouldn’t reach a re-charging point in time? SIMON WEST will be leading the evening talking about the current players in the marketplace, who are the main car makers, and some thoughts on the future. Simon speaks from personal experience as an owner of a Nissan Leaf, and he will tell us why he and Tracy think buying their car has been one of the best decisions they have ever made.
The Royal Lion Hotel has kindly offered to let us use their upstairs Blue Room for the evening. So why not get a drink at the bar and then follow the signs, making your way on the ground floor, back past the hotel reception, to the corridor which will take you to a spiral staircase up to the meeting room. Please do NOT go through the restaurant on the first floor.
for your diary
November 10th Demystifying Light Bulbs David Tomkinson
December no meeting
Would anyone like to attend this conference coming up on Monday 23 November? It is organised by the Dorset Coast Forum and will take place in Dorchester between 1.30 and 5pm.
Location: Dorford Centre, Bridport Road, DT1 1RR Dorchester. If you would like to go, please contact Polly for more information: enquiries@turnlymegreen.co.uk or ring 01297 446066.
The invitation says:
Dorset is a beautiful county that we are all proud to live and work in. Communities, businesses, media and councils are all currently working separately to try and reduce littering across Dorset but imagine what we could achieve if we all worked together. At this workshop we hope to have everyone in one room to start a more collaborative way of working on this issue. There will be inspiring talks and workshop sessions to shape this new and exciting Litter Free Dorset initiative. The aim of Litter Free Dorset is not to duplicate, replace or reduce action already being carried out by councils, businesses, community groups, charities or other organisations but to act as an umbrella to achieve more working together. This event is organised by Dorset Coast Forum in partnership with Litter Free Coast and Sea, Dorset Waste Partnership and Members of Dorset CPRE Stop the Drop Group.
Local initiative and event on Saturday 20th February 2016
Tracey has written about a new initiative starting right here in Lyme Regis to draw attention to the need for renewable and sustainable energy. So watch this space and put Saturday 20 February in your diaries. A fact and fun-filled day for all. There is more information on the web site – www.knitfortheplanet.com. Tracey writes…
Knit for the Planet is a concept event aiming to raise awareness of the need for renewable, sustainable, clean energy. It was founded by Turn Lyme Green members Tracey and Simon West of Magic Oxygen Publishing based here in Lyme. They have just extended an invitation for anyone to attend their inaugural Knit for the Planet event on Saturday 20th February 2016, which will take place in Lyme Regis, Dorset, England.
From midday, knitters and crocheters from miles around will meet by the beach huts on the Cart Road to make 12 inch / 30 cm yellow squares. The organisers hope to lay out an impressively long line of blankets near the beach huts, whereupon the yellow squares will be joined together to form letters and then words. These words will be laid on top of the bed of blankets and will spell out several important messages about clean energy!
Tracey explained, “We are optimistic that it will be a sight to behold and believe it will create a perfectly peaceful opportunity to show the media the strength of worldwide support for renewable, sustainable energy.”
At 3pm, Woodmead Halls on Hill Road, Lyme Regis will open its doors to the public. Sustainable living author, Elizabeth J Walker (The Resilience Handbook) and a select handful of local green companies and organisations, will be on hand to offer advice about how people can live more sustainably.
At 7pm, Knit for the Planet founder Tracey West will chair a Q&A panel comprising various clean, green energy experts who will explain the facts about these new technologies and dispel the myths that surround them. She also hopes to be able to include a short address from an eminent science writer, broadcaster and independent climate scientist.
The talk will conclude at 8pm, at which point organic, Fairtrade tea, coffee and biscuits will be served and there will be an opportunity for further discussions with the panellists and stall holders.
There will be no charge to attend the eco-event, however the organisers will be grateful to receive donations for the refreshments. Finally, any blankets that have been donated, along with any funds raised from this event, will be split evenly and presented to representatives from the West Dorset Women’s Refuge and the men’s refuge in Poole and passed onto parents and children escaping domestic violence.
If you have any questions about the event, the blankets or the small yellow squares that are required in abundance, please check the FAQs page on Knit For The Planet, or click here to drop the guys a line.
October newsletter
Follow this link to read this interesting newsletter of activities in Dorset
October Survey
Dorset ANOB has launched an online survey targeted at Dorset residents and business owners. They want to gather views on how they can “spread economic benefit to local communities, businesses and residents alike, helping to improve the local landscape and environment at the same time. By helping with their research, you are in with a chance to win a £50 Mark Hix restaurant voucher. Here is the link to the survey
Two evenings are planned in this series at Trill Farm around the subject of food. For more information, visit the Trill Farm web site.
Mysteries of Mushrooms
An evening exploring all things fungi – an introduction to how the Chinese view mushrooms and in particular the Ling Zhi, and how they are used medicinally in traditional Chinese and western medicine.
Good Farming and Good Cooking
Colin Tudge argues that the solutions to the world’s food problems is already in our grasp – but we can’t leave our affairs to the powers-that-be. We need to take matters into our own hands. Most of what are told about the world’s food crisis is untrue – in fact the solutions imposed from on high are often the main cause of our problems.
Recycling with Otter Rotters
Mark Howarth organised a very successful and interesting meeting earlier this month with Mandy Jennings of Otter Rotters in Ottery St Mary. We were again grateful to the Royal Lion for hosting us. Here is his report:
“A good attendance for our talk on how we could create a locally managed community enterprise where all residents of Lyme could take their green waste and have it processed in to good quality compost. The benefits of localised processing seemed to be boundless for the residents and the environment and any money made could be either reinvested in to better facilities or used as a cash cow for other environmentally friendly projects in and around our community. Or so we thought! Mandy very kindly explained the many pitfalls she had experienced, most of which had been experienced recently. My initial thoughts were that smaller operations were incurring the extortionate fees that the big private operators incur mainly to keep the smaller operators from encroaching on what seems like a very lucrative industry.
To create our community enterprise we would firstly need to liaise with West Dorset council to see what costs would need to be met as start-up costs and ongoing costs. The costs met by Otter Rotters make a project like this unviable unless it is undertaken on a number of small (less than 60 tonnes) private processing sites around the area. I feel we should investigate the underlying costs and run a viability study prior to looking at the smaller processing proposal.
As with all these discussions it never ceases to amaze me how members of Turn Lyme Green can look at problem solving to offer alternatives with the same outcome. One was to discuss green waste with the Allotment association about siting a green waste disposal facility in or around the allotments. The power of a strong community!
In summary we will put this project on hold until we have the necessary information from the council and allotment association. I would like to thank Mandy Jennings for her insight and all those who attended for your support and feedback”.
Tuesday 13th – 7.15 for prompt 7.30 start – Royal Lion (to be confirmed)
All you want to know about owning an Electric Car!
Have you thought about owning an electric car? Are you worried you wouldn’t reach a re-charging point in time? SIMON WEST will be leading the evening describing his love of his Nissan Leaf and why he and Tracy think it’s one of the best decisions they have ever made.
For your diary
November 10th Demystifying Light Bulbs David Tomkinson
December no meeting
Competition for 7-24 years old
Turn Lyme Green supporters might like to pass this information on to encourage groups of young people to take part.
CLS in Dorset has just launched a competition to find youth-led projects (7-24yrs old) in Dorset that can encourage adults towards environmentally-friendly behaviour. Think recycling clothes, transport, energy use, food habits. Launching in September 2015 and running until March 2016, the Big Ideas Challenge asks teams of Dorset young people (aged 7 – 24) to come up with a plan to help reduce carbon emissions in their communities.
What’s involved?
Plan a project that will make your community more environmentally friendly. You can chose to work on clothes, energy, water, waste, food, or travel and we will support you with excellent resources. Up to £250 will be awarded to selected groups to develop their ideas into reality, and support is available as well!
Register your interest by 30th September 2015 to Emily@da21.org.uk
Visit CLS Dorset Big Ideas for more information.
September newsletter
Follow this link to read this interesting newsletter of activities in Dorset
