STANTON SAINT GABRIEL
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What Can We Do as a Parish?

1. We can all take steps to reduce the impact we have on the climate and the environment... as individuals, in our homes and families and where we work.
2. 
The parish council can work to set up and support initiatives to grow food locally, encourage car-sharing, promote wildlife and biodiversity, etc.  
3
. The parish council can look upwards and outwards to use our (relatively small) influence, mainly at county level, to achieve changes in policy on public transport, energy efficiency, pollution, verges and use of chemical insecticides, etc.

On this page you can see:
1. A list of steps we can all take now
2. Details of what the parish council is doing to use its influence at county level
3. Suggestions for community initiatives that we hope residents of the parish will discuss, amend and get involved in. We need to discuss these options, consider other options, get as many residents of the parish involved as possible (including farmers, the National Trust and other landowners) and agree a plan that a large majority of us can support.
1.
Thirty things that all of us can consider doing
2.
Things we can do to influence policy at county level
3.
​Community initiatives to involve the whole parish
You can't do all these things (you may not be able to cycle or have a garden...)
You may already be doing some of this....
Some exclude others (if you're vegan, you can't eat less meat!)
But have a look and see what you can do in your home/household/life. Set targets and try to keep to them...
​Food ~ Eating:
  • Eat less meat and dairy.  
  • Eat vegetarian or vegan once a week or more often
​
Food ~ Buying:
  • Buy food locally - local meat/eggs/veg/honey/fruit
  • If you eat meat, try to buy meat from farms whose stock is mainly pasture-fed.
  • Buy food that’s in season
  • Buy less food that has been imported/flown in
  • Shop more often so you throw less food away
  • Buy organic food whenever possible
  • Significantly reduce the amount of food you throw away
 
Growing:
  • Grow more of your own fruit and veg
  • Use no chemical pesticides and insecticides
  • Plant trees and/or an edible forest garden
  • Harvest rainwater
  • Make your own compost
 
Home
  • Turn off lights and electrical devices when not in use
  • Turn down your thermostat
  • Reduce air conditioning
  • Wash clothes at a lower temperature and less often
  • Switch to a renewable electricity supplier
  • Insulate your house better and draughtproof
  • Build with materials like wood, bamboo and hemp
 
Travel
  • Walk, cycle locally or to go to work
  • Use buses/trains whenever possible
  • Car share when possible
  • Set a target to cut the miles you drive and fly in a year
  • Buy an electric vehicle
 
Shopping
  • Buy less and make/repair more
  • Buy fewer clothes and wear them longer
  • Buy clothes and other materials made from organic cotton
  • Avoid buying plastic when you can
  • Buy second-hand and recycled goods
​For more ideas, see:
  • 52 Climate Actions
  • The Frome Footprinting Tool for working out the carbon footprint of a parish or community
  • Friend of the Earth's 20 actions parish and town councils can take on the climate and nature emergency
The parish council actively tries to influence policy at county level:
​
  • We have suggested locations for electric vehicle charging points in our parishes.
 
  • We try to visit and comment on every planning application in our parishes and we try to encourage plans and materials that will reduce carbon emissions and other adverse environmental impacts.
 
  • We will press for new homes to be properly energy efficient and stress the importance of PVs and solar panels. 
 
  • We hope to work with our MP to canvass for a return to a better feed in tariff. 
 
  • We will investigate issues like anaerobic digesters and waste incineration to produce power. Then we will develop a council policy and press for changes where we can.
​
  • We are developing a comprehensive list of proposals to put to Dorset Council in conjunction with other town and parish councils in the county.
 
  • We endorse Item 12 (on Planning) of the Friends of the Earth submission to Dorset Council
​

If you have other ideas or suggestions please let us know.
​​a) To create visible and significant change, we could focus on a key issue like...

1. Rivers and Beach

With Charmouth, Char Valley and Marshwood Vale Parishes, we could focus on our rivers and beaches. 
Working with the National Trust,  schools, farmers and landowners along the rivers, we could raise awareness of the rivers, the natural habitat they offer and ways to improve water quality. 

2. Chemical pesticides and insecticides
These are a major cause of the dramatic loss of insect populations (and the consequent loss of birds and animals that eat insects.) We could 
become one of the first UK parishes to abandon chemical insecticides and actively support the recovery of insects and insect-eating wildlife.

3. Organic
We could (if we all agreed) extend this to become an organic parish. We are small enough as a parish for this to be a realistic possibility. It could be a springboard for telling visitors about our approach and encouraging others to join. 


b) A wider approach could also include:

1. Ecological restoration

Look for ways to…
  • build on biodiversity initiatives (e.g. wildflower meadows at Stonebarrow/Hogchester, managed woodland at Prime Coppice, organic farms at Becklands, Monkton Wyld, Fivepenny and Brig’s).
  • change agricultural practices that rely on chemical fertilisers and pesticides, and encourage ones that restore soil health and diverse wildlife
  • encourage more people to eat less meat 
 
2. Reducing carbon emissions (see more here) and promoting carbon zero buildings.
Work to encourage…
  • homes and farm buildings to retrofit insulation, efficient heating /cooling, solar panels on all roofs
  • all new buildings to be carbon zero with insulation, renewables and district heating and cooling
  • better water conservation and re-use
 
3. Act local
Assess the current and future sustainability of our community (using the community toolkit) and then set up and support initiatives to…
  • increase the amount of food grown and sold locally
  • encourage local re-use, repair and recycling of household and garden goods and machines
  • provide work and housing for (especially young) people locally
  • involve local schools and children with farming, agricultural, woodland and similar local initiatives
 
4. Transport
  • Support local initiatives to reduce reliance on cars
 
5. Infrastructure needs 
  • Try to increase local renewable energy generation capacity - building on what's been done at Wyld Meadow Farm
 
6. Behaviour change
  • Encourage residents to take the steps in Column 1.
  • Home
  • About the Parish
    • The Parish
    • Parish Maps
    • Parish Writing
    • Parish History >
      • Vikings
      • Fishtrap
      • Desertion
      • Recent times
      • Saddening Agents
      • Digory Gordge
      • Buildings & Archaeology
      • Old photos
  • Parish Walks
  • Parish Council
    • About the Parish Council
    • SstG Parish Councillor
    • Flooding
  • Climate and Environment Emergency
    • Climate & Environment
    • Climate & Environment Reports
    • What can we do? >
      • Carbon and Global Warming
      • Dorset FoE submission on Planning
    • Our Planet in Crisis
    • Green Shoots