Climate & Ecological Emergency Committee Newsletter 2024

Report from the Climate & Ecological Emergency Committee, CEEC

Hello people of Woodbridge and beyond; people of the Deben estuary

Last year we broke through the suggested ‘safe’ limit for post industrial revolution global warming: 1.5 degrees above the steady state pre-industrial level. This winter, we broke all records for the wettest Suffolk winter in history. The Paris agreement 2015, reached a consensus that by keeping global warming below this ‘safe’ figure we could avoid a runaway acceleration of climate and ecological breakdown. Such record breaking is doubtless already lost in the unendingly refreshed news cycling, but it is worth repeating. “Why?” you might say - “it’s so depressing, and there's nothing I can do about it.” But if we are brave enough to face up to that possibility of unbearable despair, then we’re better equipped to find something to do about it - something near to hand, something ‘local.’

Mr Paul Martin, for example - a retired engineer - has designed, built and tirelessly promoted, an ingenious semi-mobile container device, making use of upcycled materials, to house flowering plants appropriate to sustain bees by extending the wildlife corridor project into areas that are bereft of wildflowers. You will see an example of these down at the Longshed at the centre of the seating area and more are  now being installed. He explains:

“Woodbridge Town Council have funded eight new Bee Cafes that are on target to start feeding Woodbridge's bees from 1st March. Bee Cafes are stackable wooden planters packed with pollen rich blooms from March to October while the bees need them. They are placed to form an urban wildlife corridor allowing bees to move around and find new sources of food.”

This is surely an idea that will grow out and beyond our locality and to the benefit of pollinator insects as far as they need to go. Act local, go global?

Woodbridge will again be celebrating “Earth Day” on April 20’th mostly down in the Whisstocks area. More info to follow, but reserve that date. I am already considering my contribution - do you have any? It will be a great day out for family and friends. There will be bands, information stalls, another buzzy community gathering promoting the locally produced food economy.

The CEEC project for the “Trees for the Avenues” was brough into fruition on a day that felt like early spring. Edwin and Warwick Avenues in the Farlingaye ward will benefit from beautiful, organic, carbon capture devices, some of them fruiting, as well as cleaning the atmosphere, for years to come. The Twist family here from Warwick Avenue along with Rob Berry, Woodbridge Town Council maintenance officer, civi-member of CEEC Committee, local resident, and delivery driver - welcoming their apple tree!

We were happy to invest CEEC budget in this way and consider it a successful pilot project for future larger scale investment. Perhaps in other wards as well? Anyone over in Kyson interested?

The CEEC has a working party we call ‘modal shift’ - our intention being to encourage greater flexibility around how people get around our town. What mode of transport do you choose? We’re particularly seeking to help people become less dependent upon their personally owned fossil-fuelled means of transport. The Active Travel Woodbridge consultation is now open and requesting feedback around a set of more specific plans to make our environment more accessible for pedestrians, mobility devices, walking and cycling and, although this is not a Woodbridge Town Council project, we hope to collaborate with Suffolk County Council in their efforts to have an effective, respectful and inclusive gathering of local opinion.

Another of our civi-members of committee spoke out in support of our pre-existing public transport! Jan pointed out that Woodbridge IS relatively well served, that she had made a deliberate choice to dispose of her car since coming from the US to live here and explained how much she values the less stressed, less expensive modes of transport. Using a free app on the smartphone she can track the bus services she needs, and the rail connections up and down our branch line keep her connected with both London and the beautiful coastal nature area available to us here. She advises - “Use it or lose it” and I guess that this could well be the case.

If you make regular, personal car journeys - for work maybe - consider using SCC’s Liftshare platform. It’s a web-based noticeboard intending to put people together who share similar regular routes so that they can arrange, more simply, to liftshare, almost halving personal costs, halving ecological costs, and promoting possibilities for new networking and friendships. It’s easy to find this platform on SCC’s website.

 

Councillor Martin Wilks, CEEC                                          

councillorwilks@woodbridge-suffolk.gov.uk

PS. Pass it on