County Durham’s Environment Partnership Newsletter: Spring 2017
Altogethergreener
Terry Collins,
Chair of
County
Durham
Environment
Partnership
Welcome
Welcome to the spring edition
of the newsletter, which sadly
will be my last as Chair of the
County Durham Environment
Partnership.
As you know, my passion is
the environment and I am
really pleased and proud of the
progress the partnership has
made since I became Chair in
2009.
However, it is now time to
hand over the reins to a new
Chair. I will continue to be a
champion for the environment
and of course always take a keen
interest in what is happening
around the county. It’s always
heart-warming to see all the
excellent environmental projects
and to witness local people really
making a difference in their
communities.
I will be leaving the partnership
in safe hands with Oliver Sherratt
taking over as interim Chair and
I wish Oliver every success in this
role.
The Alt group
Friends of Wharton Park
The Big Dig Day – 22 April 2017 Volunteers needed
The Big Dig is a nationwide project, which is all about getting people involved in
local community food growing. Creating new beds, planting seeds and clearing
away the debris from the winter are some of the tasks the volunteers will help with.
Groups from all areas of County Durham are on the lookout for people to join in on
Big Dig Day.
If you have some time to help local gardens get ready for the growing season, these
groups are looking for volunteers:
• Blackfyne Allotment Association, Blackhill, Consett [email protected] or 07476 937 121.
• Cultivate 4 Life, Bishop Auckland
[email protected] or 07472 012 121.
• FRIENDS of Wharton Park in Durham City [email protected]
• Shildon Alive, Shildon Community Garden, Furnace Ind Est, Shildon DL4 1QB
01388 417 600 or 01388 417 474.
• The ALT Group at Blackhill, Consett [email protected] or 0779 395 3899
• Trimdon Community Garden, Hart View allotment site, TS29 6LA
[email protected]
For groups in other areas email [email protected] to find the nearest
garden to you.
Keep Britain Tidy
Awards
Sunflower and pumpkin
growing challenge
We are pleased to say Durham County
Council took home two prizes at the
Keep Britain Tidy Awards recently. They
won Local Authority of the year and
Environmental Campaign of the Year
for their anti fly- tipping programme
Operation Stop It. Well Done to all.
Community groups are invited to
compete in a growing challenge for a
chance to win a £100 gardening voucher.
Email [email protected] by
Monday 10 April with your group name
and contact details and you will be sent
free seeds and further information.
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Campaign update
Two environment awards presented
Big Spring Clean 2017
Every day from 27 February to 16 April there will be
litter-picks happening throughout County Durham and
Darlington.
To clean up your village or town
Email [email protected]
Call 03000 261 000 or visit www.durham.gov.uk/bigspringclean
Results from 2016 campaign Durham and Darlington
combined:
• 187 litter picks took place
• 2,581 people took part
• 4,982 volunteer hours contributed to the campaign
• 2,478 bags of litter were collected in total
Be like chip
Last year the #BeLikeChip
microchipping campaign
highlighted the importance
of making sure dogs are
microchipped. 1700 dogs were
microchipped free of charge and
local Crufts winner, Marie Burns
and dog, Devon, supported the
campaign.
Marie Burns and Devon
Operation Spruce up
Operation Spruce up is a fourteen-month environmental
programme, which will refresh the appearance of front
streets in selected towns and villages across County Durham.
These areas have already been ‘spruced up’
• Spennymoor – November 2016
• Fencehouses – December 2016
• Framwellgate Moor – January 2017
• Crook – February 2017
The next scheme takes place in South Moor during March.
A local environmental
group has been
presented with an
award for turning
unused space into
a beautiful and
productive garden.
The ALT Group, based
Liz Charles, Chair of the Environment in
in Blackhill, have been
your community group presenting The
Alt group CIC, Blackhill with a Caring for
renovating empty
your environment award.
space around Blackhill
Comrades Club in order
to provide a space for both people and wildlife. When the
garden is fully productive, the vegetables will be used in
the free community meal in the club, which The Alt Group
produces every Thursday, and which anyone from the
surrounding community can attend.
Residents at The Elms
a supported living
development by Cestria
Community Housing
pitched in to transform
their environment
and it has made a big
difference. Named ‘The
Residents of the Elms Chester le Street
Paradise Garden’, it
were awarded with a Caring for your
environment award.
was designed into the
development and is
composed of two large raised beds, two polytunnels and
some fruit trees. One of the beds is planted with flowers
and the second with vegetables. Once grown, most of
these were sold to other residents with the proceeds
going toward buying seeds and other garden materials.
Climate change
Durham Business Energy
Efficiency Project (BEEP)
The Business Energy Efficiency Project (BEEP) is live and
will be in operation until September 2019 providing energy
efficiency support to County Durham’s small businesses.
The project has secured funding investment of £533,887.
The project has already developed a close working
relationship with Business Durham, the Durham Business
Opportunities Programme (the Business Durham ERDF
supported project), the Engineering and Manufacturing
Network, FSB, Northern Powergrid, NECC and
Northumbria Water, plus others.
Flood safety leaflet
The Royal Lifesaving Society UK
and the Durham County Council
Civil Contingencies Unit have
been working collaboratively
since the completion of their
Water Safety Awareness
course to create some flood
safety materials that will
provide essential flood safety
information to those who may
be affected by adverse weather.
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Environment in your community
Home-grown project wins national award
Dog Control consultation
St John’s Church in Shildon has won a £10,000 national
award for their community garden work as part of the
Shildon Alive project. The project brings together people
of all ages for a range of activities including learning,
growing, cooking and eating, with a view to strengthening
community spirit and inspiring a sense of pride in the area.
The award means the project can continue and build on
the 1,000 people they had through the garden in 2016.
A Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) will come
into effect from 1 June to encourage responsible dog
ownership.
For information visit www.durham.gov.uk/dogcontrol
Coastal, heritage and landscape
North Pennines AONB Partnership
New projects
• ‘Plugging the Gaps’ will be working to boost the
conservation value of meadows with local volunteers
and groups of people with special education needs.
• Allen Valleys Landscape Partnership Scheme has
a new observatory and upcoming programme of
stargazing events.
• Pennine Way People is helping to maintain the
Pennine Way with the support of volunteers.
Let’s talk rubbish!
Free talks to school assemblies and community groups
on waste and recycling are now available and follow the
journey of what happens to household waste; what can
and can’t be recycled, where the collected recycling
goes and what it’s made into. Tips are given on home
composting, reducing food waste and reusing items.
Schools and groups wishing to book a talk email
[email protected] or call 03000 266 102.
Local nature partnerships
Best Place to Be
The North East England
Nature Partnership (NEENP)
recently brought together
people from across the
business, health, social and
environment sectors to
launch a new strategy which
will help shape the way the
region enables both people
and environment to become
healthier and wealthier in the
coming decades.
The vision is to integrate the
environment into all aspects
of life and make the North
East of England the Best
Place to Be.
Also launched was Investors
in the Environment (IIE),
which will provide support
and advice to businesses
and organisations to help
them to save money and
reduce their environmental
impact and the Capability
Foundation, a new charity
to support ‘landscape scale’
improvements to our region.
• Coast to Coast work to restore the trail route at
Nine Standards Rigg will be launched in March.
For more information visit www.northpennines.org.uk
Funding
Projects on geological education/tourism, health and
well-being and the Pennine Peat LIFE bid are due
for funding decisions soon. A third HLF Landscape
Partnership Scheme will be submitted in May.
Northern Upland
Chain Local Nature
Partnership (NUCLNP)
George Eustace Minister
of State (Department for
Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs) will be visiting
the pioneering resultsbased agri-environment
scheme pilot in late March.
The LNP Board are holding
a woodland creation event
on 20 June. It’s aimed at
anyone wanting to find out
more about creating new
woodland in the Pennine
uplands and is part of the
LNP’s activities to create a
landscape richer in trees
and woods, both native
and productive.
Tees-Swale,
Naturally
Connected
This is a project being
developed by the North
Pennines AONB
Partnership and
Yorkshire Dales National
Park Authority, and
is perhaps the most
ambitious landscape scale
conservation project in the
country. It will be
developed with the
farming community over
the next 18 months if
development funding is
secured from HLF.
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To find out more about the County Durham
Environment Partnership or to get involved:
What’s on...
visit: www.countydurhampartnership.co.uk
email: [email protected]
call: 03000 266 099
You can also look out for #altogethergreener on Twitter
World Earth Day
British Tomato Week
World Environment Day
The theme for this year is
To raise awareness of
The tagline for this year’s
22 April 2017
British tomatoes.
World Environment Day will be
For more information visit
‘I’m with nature’. It won the
For more information visit
www.britishtomatoes.co.uk
Earth Hour
8.30 pm – 9.30 pm Local Time
www.earthday.org/earthday
www.earthhour.org
Wildlife Watch
Pond dipping
1 April 2017, 10am – noon
Low Barnes Nature Reserve,
Witton-le-Wear.
Learn about the life cycle of
5 June 2017
Global environmental and
climate literacy.
25 March 2017
22 – 28 May 2017
Big Dig Day
22 April 2017
Groups across County Durham
will be preparing community
gardens for the growing
season. Email waste.aware@
durham.gov.uk for information.
mini beasts and take part in a
river-fly survey.
For more information visit
most votes in an online poll.
2017 Environment Awards
– Sponsors needed
The Environment Partnership is seeking sponsorship for
this year’s Environment Awards. The following three
options are available to sponsors.
Gold sponsorship – minimum contribution £2,000
Silver sponsorship – minimum contribution £1,000
Bronze sponsorship – minimum contribution £500
For more information visit:
www.durhamwt.com
National
Vegetarian Week
 www.countydurhampartnership.co.uk/envawards
 [email protected]
 03000 265 545
15 – 21 May 2017
Get Stuck In!
National
Gardening Week
Go veggie for the week.
National Gardening Week is all
newsletter-sign-up
10 – 16 April 2017
For more information visit
www.nationalvegetarianweek.org/
about helping new gardeners
to get growing plants.
For more information visit
11 April 2017, 7.30pm
Lanchester Community Centre
Dining Room, Laura Tedstone,
Durham Wildlife Trust
Heathland Heartlands.
For 2017 programme visit
www.durhamwt.com/event/
lanchester-wildlife-groupmeetings/getinvolved
Civic Pride
Help us make your neighbourhood
a cleaner greener place.
Email [email protected] or
call 0300 026 1000.
Durham Wildlife Trust
www.nationalgardeningweek.org.uk
Lanchester
Wildlife Group
Volunteering opportunities
Heritage Coast Festival:
Reach for the Beach
27 May – 4 June 2017
Celebrating the county’s
fascinating coastal heritage. To
include walks, kayaking, rock
pool rambles, mini beast hunts,
family fun at the Marina, ‘Barn’
Dance and much more!
www.durhamheritagecoast.org
Durham Wildlife Trust are
always looking for willing
volunteers. Get in touch at
www.durhamwt.com/ or call
0191 584 3112.
Durham Community
Action – A one stop
shop for volunteering
If you want to gain experience,
volunteer in a certain area,
get skills for work, volunteer
occasionally or help at one
off events.
Email volunteering@
durhamcommunityaction.org.uk call
01388 742 040 or visit
www.durhamcommunityaction.org.uk
Durham Countryside
Volunteers
Join us and make your own
valuable contribution to improving
the County Durham countryside.
Visit www.durham.gov.uk/countryside
or call 03000 264 589.
Volunteers Week
1 – 7 June 2017
Visit www.volunteersweek.org
National volunteering website check out https://do-it.org