Winchester Action on Climate Change

The WinACC Training Group is currently preparing to hold its first training for low carbon champions on Saturday 20 September, from around 9.30am-4pm. A low carbon champion is an individual who facilitates group discussions on climate change and the benefits of low carbon living in their local community with a view to motivating others to reduce their carbon footprint. Click here for the training course outline.

If you think you’d like to pioneer low carbon living by becoming a low carbon champion, sign up now as places are limited.

To sign up or/ and for further information, please contact Catrina Pickering, catrina.pickering@winacc.org.uk, 01962 827083.

Hampshire County Council is preparing to change 90,000 street lights, lit signs and bollards across the county in autumn 2009 and is soliciting comments on street lighting from Hampshire residents. While WinACC recognises that street lighting may help to reduce crime, it also makes a significant contribution to carbon emissions and every effort therefore should be made to keep it to a minimum where possible. If you would like to make comments or suggestions on the level of street lighting you would like to see in your neighbourhood, email street.lighting@hants.gov.uk. Click here to go to the council’s website for further information.

WinACC has recently launched its 10 Top Tips for reducing your carbon footprint. The tips which range from food to waste, from transport to keeping warm are available here.

New Carbon Reduction Grants

Winchester City Council has launched a new carbon reduction grant scheme providing grants of up to £500 for projects that help promote or support carbon reduction initiatives such as installing renewable energy or taking energy efficiency measures. For further information see: www.winchester.gov.uk/AdviceAndBenefits/Grants/CarbonReductionGrants/

Guardian Green Living Awards

The Guardian’s Green Living Awards scheme is giving away cash awards to individuals who want to run innovative environmental projects in their local communities or on a larger scale. Amounts range from up to £5,000 to help start projects to £20,000 to expand existing projects. The seven themes for the green living awards are: improving urban green spaces; recycling; green transport; local food initiatives; campaigning; alternative energy; and the ‘lightbulb’ category, for exceptional ideas that don’t fit any of the other categories. For further information, see: www.guardian.co.uk/environment/greenlivingawards

For all of those who took part in our Hat Fair low carbon quiz to win a water powered clock, the answers are now published below. Find out what actions correspond to what savings you can make in both CO2 and £££sss:

• Turning off lights when you leave a room saves £1.49 and 6kg of CO2
• Changing 3 light bulbs to low energy bulbs saves £15.00 and 62kg of CO2
• Putting a jumper on before turning the heating on saves £7.50 and 31kg of CO2
• Turning off all standbys saves £37.50 and 155kg of CO2
• Washing laundry at 30º saves £8.72 and 36kg of CO2
  (more…)

WinACC will be holding its next Open Meeting on Saturday 2 August from 10.30am-12 noon at the Friends Meeting House, 16 Colebrook Street, Winchester. Come along and find out how to get involved in one of our action groups and find out about plans for the launch of our membership scheme.