Shipston Celebrates The Great Big Green Week
Residents of Shipston and local villages were excited and proud to take part in ‘The Great Big Green Week’, Britain’s biggest ever community action to tackle climate change and protect nature, during the week September 24th to October 1st.
Organised by local group Stourvale Action for the Environment (SAFE), there was a wide range of activities to suit all tastes. Perhaps most popular was the chance to have a sneak preview of Shipston’s newest public open space and designated Local Wildlife Site – Corn Mill Meadows. Visitors were given a conducted tour and were impressed by its potential to enhance both wildlife and leisure for people of the area; our thanks to those who made valuable suggestions for its future development. The site is not yet officially open to the public, but watch this space!
For those wondering what they can do to encourage nature in their own gardens, a visit to a superb garden in the heart of the Town, including 46 different wildlife friendly types of trees, provided a wealth of encouragement and ideas.
A big problem facing us all is the ever-increasing deluge of domestic rubbish. A talk by two waste project officers from Warwickshire CC gave an appreciative audience an insight into how our rubbish is disposed of and, most importantly, encouraged us all to greater efforts to recycle. Recycling is also a theme in a free booklet produced by Amanda Holden which puts together a convenient and impressive list of local businesses providing environmentally friendly produce. To reinforce this in a practical way the small group who regularly litter pick around the Town were joined by new volunteers, including two keen youngsters. They helped clear up the ugly and polluting rubbish from our Town’s streets. Thank You! Shipston is now a cleaner place!
A ‘Great Big Green Bike Ride’ was enjoyed by a group of 8 cyclists, both men and women, on a beautiful sunny Autumn morning. The ride took in some of our loveliest local villages in a 10-mile circuit and the excellent refreshment stop was kindly hosted by the Cherington Arms in a lovely riverside garden.
Two sessions illustrated the good work being done to assist local wildlife, in particular– Swifts and Bees. All seats were taken for a talk entitled ‘Swifts are Making a Comeback’ informing on both the threat to these remarkable birds (now in danger of extinction) and what is being done in Shipston to encourage them to thrive. A group called ‘Shipston Action for Swifts’ has now been launched.
Similarly, Shipston Beekeepers enlarged our understanding of the amazing life of bees, including a viewing of our very own hive, newly located in St Edmund’s Churchyard.
A big Thank You to all who took part, to the organisers SAFE and the White Bear as meeting venue. Next Great Big Green Week is June 10th- 18th 2023. Save the date!
New members of SAFE are always welcome. For further information on SAFE or comments on The Great Big Green Week please contact Amanda Holden email: amandajholden1@gmail.com or Verity Richardson Email: verityrichardson@googlemail.com
Pictured: SAFE members from L to R: John Dinnie, Jacey Jackson, Verity Richardson, Amanda Holden, Dave Passingham