This page is intended to be a community forum for the sharing of information and ideas to enable the community or individuals to contribute to preserving the local environment and ecology and achieving wider objectives in driving towards a net-zero economy. If you would like to upload an initiative or an article of interest to this page please contact the site's webmaster, Rachel Facey at weblanreathpc@gmail.com.
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Thousands of free tree saplings are being given away starting from this month as residents are encouraged to plant trees, increase nature in their communities and contribute to a carbon neutral Cornwall.
The Forest for Cornwall team are behind the initiative which will start during National Tree Week from November 23 to December 1 and continue throughout the planting season.
All the saplings have been supplied free of charge by construction company Morgan Sindall through Cornwall Council’s Local Investment in Nature Cornwall scheme.
The Forest for Cornwall programme has surpassed the milestone of a million trees planted earlier this year, making up more than 600 hectares.
This winter there are a further 400 hectares planned to include field corners, orchards and more than 20 kilometres of hedgerows.
As part of National Tree Week the Forest for Cornwall team are continuing with their Back Garden Forest tree giveaways at various locations.
There are a choice of native species to choose from including spindle, rowan, whitebeam, hazel, crab-apple, and dogwood.
Each sapling will come with a leaflet with information on the tree species and how to care for it.
The locations and times are:
Newquay: Saturday 23 November, 10.30am -12.30pm, Newquay Library, Marcus Hill, TR7 1BD
Camborne: Saturday 30 November, 10.30-12.30, Kehelland Trust Shop, Commercial Square, Trelowarren Street, TR14 8AT
Padstow: Saturday 11 January 2025, 10.30am-12.30pm, Padstow Church Rooms, Church Street, PL28 8B
Bude: Saturday 18 January 2025, 10.30am-12.30pm, Bude Library, The Wharf, EX23 8LG
Helston: Saturday 1 February 2025, 9.30am-12.30pm, The Old Cattle Market, Porthleven Road, TR13 0SR
Redruth: Saturday 15 February 2025, 10.30am-12.30pm, Market Way and Redruth Library, TR15 2AU
Liskeard: Saturday 22 February 2025, 10.30am-12.30pm, The Workshed, Fairpark Road, PL14 4BA
Some libraries are also taking part taking part in the tree giveaway too with saplings supplied by community equipment services company Medequip UK.
The libraries taking part are:
Camelford Library (Saturday, November 30, 6-8pm)
St. Austell (Tuesday, November 26, 2-4pm)
Wadebridge (Wednesday, November 27, 2-4pm)
St. Ives (Saturday, November 30, 10am-12pm)
Falmouth (Tuesday, November 26, 10am-12pm)
Libraries are being offered the opportunity to plant a ‘knowledge tree’ in their garden and some will have tree themed displays and interactive materials suitable for all ages.
Other National Tree Week events include:
A free talk by Forest for Cornwall project officer Joe Harris aimed at anyone who would like to learn about trees, planting and maintenance. It takes place at St Ives Community Orchard on Tuesday 26 November, 1pm -3pm. You can also find out more about the wide range of support the Forest for Cornwall team offer to help plant trees in a variety of settings, from your local community to farms and landholdings. Go to for directions and further information.
Seventeen Women’s Institutes are planting celebratory trees at their halls or other venues where there is public access.
Tree-planting in St Aubyn Crescent and Whitegate Road, Newquay, where the first of this year’s Urban Tree Challenge Fund street trees will be planted following a public consultation.
Volunteers from Suez and Cormac are helping out with tree maintenance on 26 November at a new woodland at Notter Bridge near Saltash.
Cornhill Farm near Camborne has teamed up with Kehelland Trust and Kehelland Village School whose students will be mucking in to help with the planting during National Tree Week. The farm produces free range eggs and is planting trees to provide a better environment for their chickens.
Cllr Martyn Alvey, Cornwall’s portfolio holder for environment and climate change, said:
“Tree-planting season has started and National Tree Week is nearly here so we’re celebrating with some fantastic events to get involved in, organised by the Forest for Cornwall team and our partners.
“Trees are a vital tool in our mission to help nature recovery and to mitigate climate change. Our Forest for Cornwall team is working hard to ensure that the right tree is planted in the right place for the right purpose.
“Come and pick up a free tree for your back garden and help restore nature in your community.”
National Tree Week is an annual event organised by the Tree Council highlighting the importance of trees and their multiple benefits including providing shade, shelter, blossom, fruit, habitat and highways for nature, as well as improving our air quality, mental wellbeing and absorbing emissions.
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The Climate and Environment Alliance was formed in September 2023 and is made up of a diverse range of 62 (and growing) organisations from across Cornwall. These VCSE organisations are often placed based collectives and work within their specific communities, on a range of challenges such as carbon, litter picking, energy or nature recovery. There is also a collection of larger organisations that work across the whole of Cornwall on either general or specific projects to protect nature and build climate resilience. The alliance has a selection of public sector partners within it, with the remit that the ratio is always strongly in favour of the VCSE. We do find that this mix of partners allows open, powerful and collaborative discussion, and movement on our objectives. This diversity of voices is appreciated by both the alliance and its public sector partners- to have this direct interaction between policy makers and the sector, we’ve found, is of great benefit to both.
As an alliance, the Climate and Environment group have worked hard to pin down what collaborative action looks look in practise and have mapped out a range of objective to work towards for the next year (insert image of objectives here).
With organisations such as Cornwall Wildlife Trust, Surfers against Sewage, Volunteer Cornwall and the Eden Project working alongside local place-based Clean Ocean Sailing, The Seal Sanctuary, PL24 and BF Adventure, it has been a steep learning curve about what we have collective capacity and power to have impact on for Cornwall. Collectively our strength is in the knowledge we hold, so one of our primary objectives is to take that learning and utilise it to support the wider VCSE sector to build resilience and become more sustainable as individual organisations. Weve also worked alongside partners in the development of the Climate Commision for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, to shape what future Cornwall looks like in this space.
To support the VCSE sector to adapt, mitigate and build resilience.
The Alliance has spent significant time creating an Objective list for the year ahead, 2024. Its key targets are as follows:
Peter Lefort- Greener Futures
TBC
Kirstie Edwards, Engagement Officer: kirstie.edwards@cornwallvsf.org
Up to
90% of a company’s emissions can come from value chain emissions, also known as Scope 3 emissions.
Scope 3 emissions are divided into upstream or downstream value chains, with downstream referring to use and end-of-life of a company’s products by a customer, and upstream referring to goods and services a company procures from its suppliers.
To deliver on their corporate climate targets and align themselves with the 4 A’s of Climate Leadership, companies must tackle Scope 3.
Scope 3 is an area many companies find challenging, particularly when it comes to getting accurate emissions data. However, companies do not need to have perfect Scope 3 data to get started on their value chain decarbonization journey.
To help companies accelerate Scope 3 decarbonization, we have brought together best-in-class tools, approaches and examples from across our network of partners, with case studies demonstrating company action.
Businesses can act now by asking their suppliers to make credible climate commitments. They can do this in
several ways, from asking on a voluntary basis to providing benefits and incentives, or penalizing suppliers for not committing.
The Supplier Cascade
The Supplier Cascade approach has been designed to kick start climate action through the value chain.
To participate, businesses ask their Tier 1 suppliers to:
This creates a domino effect of climate action as each subsequent tier of the value chain asks its own Tier 1 suppliers to act.
This approach is:
The Supplier Cascade approach is being tested with a cohort of early adopter companies in 2024, with key metrics and learnings captured to assess its impact. Many of the tools and initiatives for supplier engagement listed below can also trigger a cascade effect through the value chain.
Support for farmers to reduce their carbon footprint, improve water resilience and boost nature recovery
If you are a farmer in Cornwall or Isles of Scilly and thinking about how you can boost your environmental credentials then business support could help!
We have a range of business support programmes that could help you and your business. Below are some of the details of what is on offer plus we have access to a database of information and resources to help with your business questions.
You don’t have to worry about which support is right for you – that is why the Growth Hub are here! Together we will have a free business review to discuss all the options and point you in the right direction.
The Agri Carbon Kernow project offers farmers in Cornwall free support to help them:
Carbon Footprint Reduction: Participating farms will receive expert evaluation of their carbon footprint, along with a curated list of actionable strategies to minimise it. This includes the development of personalised decarbonisation plans, guiding farmers on the journey towards achieving Net Zero status and contributing to both local and global climate goals.
Water Resilience: Through detailed assessments, farmers will gain insights into their water usage practices and their impact on local watercourses. The program will offer a range of viable options for improving water resilience on farms, along with guidance on accessing funding opportunities to implement these strategies effectively.
Environmental Management: Agri Carbon Kernow will assist farmers in evaluating the natural environment of their farms, identifying opportunities for nature recovery and biodiversity enhancement. Participants will receive support in navigating initiatives such as the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), empowering them to integrate environmentally friendly practices into their farming operations.
The project is an extension of the highly successful Farm Net Zero project that already supports farms in Cornwall. Part-funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, Agri Carbon Kernow is a collaboration between Duchy College, Westcountry Rivers Trust, Cornwall Wildlife Trust, the Farm Carbon Toolkit and the Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Growth Hub to deliver support to a limited number of farms during 2024.
Decarbonising Homes – A Draft Strategy for Cornwall
Cornwall Council is working on a Housing Decarbonisation Strategy for Cornwall. This means looking at all housing, to find the best ways to reduce harmful emissions, while keeping our homes warm in the winter, cool in the summer and making them affordable to run.
As a council they want to make sure that everyone has access to the right advice and information. If you are a homeowner, tenant or landlord, having the best advice and support on the most effective ways to make green home improvements and ways to fund them is vital.
The draft strategy looks at how to improve energy efficiency and cut emissions in our homes.
More information is available at Let’s Talk web pages and a copy of the draft
strategy may be accessed via following weblink https://letstalk.cornwall.gov.
Cornwall Council are inviting residents to complete a short survey to give their views on the Housing Decarbonisation
Strategy. This survey will close on 16 September 2024. The survey can be accessed from the following weblink https://letstalk.cornwall.gov.
Cornwall’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (EVI) Strategy is published!
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the consultation on the Cornwall EVI Strategy. It has now been finalised and is available to view on the Cornwall Council website. The Strategy sets out how Cornwall Council will support the expansion of EV charging infrastructure over the next few years.
The Council webpages have other useful information that you may wish to use yourself or direct residents towards: