The community in East Devon working for a sustainable future – an East Devon update.
Our East Devon Project Coordinator joined us in September last year and has been working her way around the district getting to know the people and groups who are part of the community landscape. We asked her to give us a round up of some of the great things that are happening in this part of Devon.
If you’re a local residents reading this post, and want to support the work you read about here, a great simple action would be to share this news.
Over the past few months, our East Devon Project Coordinator has been meeting and finding out about environmental groups across East Devon. As we have found in other parts of Devon there is a range of fantastic groups, projects and initiatives. With many people working hard to protect and restore local ecosystems, tackle waste, and bring communities together. Here’s a roundup of some of the inspiring work that Sarah has found out about.
Starting at the most easterly part of the district there are some superb people supporting the natural landscape!
Chardstock Eco Group runs a series of regular activities enabling people to get involved to protect and conserve local nature. They run a programme of presentations and training which regularly pack out the village hall and give people an opportunity to learn and share their passions for the natural world. The Chardstock ‘Womblers’ undertake regular litter picks, covering a whopping 34 miles each month. The group also coordinates the running of the Kit Brook River Restoration, sponsored by the Environment Agency and the Blackdown Hills National Landscape (formerly AONB). Working with landowners and the community to keep the Kit Brook in tip-top condition. Also under their umbrella is the Wilder Chardstock Community groups. Undertaking small scale projects, celebrating locals who go the extra mile to connect with nature and running a weekly Eco Club in the local primary school.
Friends of the River Axe (FORA) is the community voice of the Axe Rivers. The Axe has some of the highest environmental protections, and yet it is officially classified by Natural England as in an unfavourable condition and declining. FORA is bringing together numerous river-related community groups, businesses, organisations and ordinary citizens to make a difference. Activities include water quality monitoring, public engagement events that inform the public about what they can do to make the river better, working with younger people, river restoration initiatives, building relationships between the farming and non-farming communities and campaigning.
Axminster Town Council’s Climate Action Group is officially opening a community orchard and wildflower meadow in spring. The group is a collaboration local representatives of the town council and local people and the orchard project hopes to encourage local people to volunteer to take care of the trees and learn about nature. Closely connected to the action group is Axminster Allotment Association which has been revived with new volunteers who are hoping to help locals grow local by offering new ‘taster beds’.
Follow the River Axe trail to Seaton and all along the coastline you will find a brilliant bunch of people raising awareness, reducing waste, campaigning for plastic free communities and supporting nature.
Seaton Community Larder has a shop front on Queen Street and is run by SAVE food hub (which also has collection points in Sidmouth, Axminster and Colyton). Run by a dedicated group of volunteers the hub has been working with local food stores to redistribute surplus food to those in need while reducing food waste. Since opening it has prevented 87.5 tonnes of food from going to waste, equivalent to 245 tonnes of C02.
Seaton Repair Café will be celebrating its first anniversary this July and has been holding sessions on the second Saturday of every month.
Sidmouth Repair Cafe has been running since 2018 and hosts sessions are on the last Saturday of each month. Volunteers at both fix broken items, from household appliances to clothing, helping to save money and reduce landfill waste.
Sid Valley Biodiversity Group supports citizen science projects across the valley. It helps people to understand and celebrate the rich diversity of wildlife already present in the valley, encouraging them to take their own steps to benefit nature. The group also offers guidance and support to others including partners, organisations, schools and land owners.
In Sidmouth town centre a trial of an Eco Hub for local people has been open twice a month to let people drop in and ask questions and get information on energy, food, transport, recycling and waste, biodiversity. The Eco Hub trial is being run by local group Climate Awareness Partnership Sidmouth.
Exmouth Town Council’s ‘award-winning’ Climate Officer along with SideShore Community Hub and Transition Exmouth have been working together to develop a new Climate Action Network. Creating opportunities for the eco groups and local people within the town to share and support each other and encourage local people to volunteer. The network of groups include Devon’s first Eco Church to be given the gold award.
Exmouth Library of Things has been showing the way forward in how to borrow not buy, helping residents cut down on unnecessary purchases. Meanwhile, the Mushroom Food Network has been promoting community cooking and eating via their Saturday Loaf sessions.
Moving inland to villages that border Exeter you will find the small but mighty community groups who are hard at work keeping their village and surrounding areas clean and green.
For the recent Keep Britain Tidy Spring Clean the Broadclyst Environment Group motivated 90 local residents to join them in a litter pick. They run citizen science activities, tree and wildflower planting which anyone from the local community can take part in.
In Woodbury, a small group of residents have answered a call from the local parish council to develop a community allotment, some new shoots in the community here in East Devon.
If you are living in East Devon and want to volunteer in your town or village, we hope that this has given you a flavour of the community action taking place near you. Volunteering is a great way to make new friends, feel connected to your community and support nature and address climate change. An hour or two a week or a month that you can offer a local group will make a big difference. We know local groups would love to hear from you.
If you have a new idea or are thinking of starting a new group in East Devon we are here to help. Get in contact with Sarah by email on sarah.kersey@resourcefutures.co.uk
