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Climate friendly communities

Daventry District Council along with its partners across Northamptonshire have been running a project to encourage and support local communities to reduce their environmental impact, with a particular focus on carbon emissions reduction. The two objectives for the Climate Friendly Communities - Northamptonshire project are to raise community awareness of climate change and encourage community action to reduce carbon emissions. The focus is not just on domestic energy efficiency, with several of the groups already established looking at reducing waste and improving recycling, biodiversity issues, transport issues and reducing food miles.  Three communities in Daventry District have joined the programme and the progress they have taken is outlined below.

 

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Walgrave

 

Over the past two years, the Walgrave Green Community has encouraged and supported many organisations in the village to complete energy efficiency and environmental projects.

Initiatives include:

 

  • Upgrading the lights in Walgrave Primary School, the church and chapel with more energy efficient bulbs and a five-year plan to upgrade the street lighting;

  • Replacing the old boiler in Walgrave Village Hall with a highly efficient gas condensing boiler;

  • An energy workshop at the primary school;

  • Undertaking a thermal imaging survey of village homes with a follow-up insulation campaign;

  • Advising residents of the benefits of renewable energy, resulting in the installation of solar panels on the roofs of several homes in the village.

 

During 2009-10, Walgrave Green Community became an Energy Saving Trust Green Community, one of only five in the East Midlands.  It has also recently won the district prize in the Northamptonshire ‘Improve Your Patch’ awards.

 

Falconer's Hill Infants School

 

Falconer's Hill Infants School has promoted environmental issues and sustainable living for many years and has now been awarded three green flags under the international Eco-schools programme.  It has received many awards and won prizes in several competitions, including solar panels and a wind turbine.  Good environmental principles are not only taught within the school community, but through its Protect Our World project, the school reaches out to parents and the wider community, encouraging everyone to improve their environmental performance.  Most recently the school won the East Midlands award for schools recycling of electrical items and will be using the £500 of gardening vouchers to further improve their school grounds.

 

Brixworth

 

Prior to joining the climate friendly community programme, Brixworth had participated in a plastic carrier-bag-free campaign, encouraging the village shops and local residents to stop using plastic bags.  Since joining the programme, Brixworth has hosted a number of initiatives including:

 

  • A targeted promotion of Chillout, the countywide council-supported home insulation scheme;
  • An event to promote renewable energy to local residents;
  • An energy workshop at the local primary school.  

 

If you would like to find out how you and your community could get involved, view the Climate Friendly Communities Flyer

 

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