For those that enjoyed the walk and camp setup for the festival (and those that missed it), the open day is coming up
Sylva Foundation House of Wessex
House of Wessex: Anglo Saxon Open Days
Activities for all the family
- Raising the timber frame
- Cooking
- Weaving
- Thatching
- Bone Carving
- Leather Working
- Games
- Storytelling
Just one minute of sitting with your car engine running and the vehicle not moving produces the equivalent of 150 balloons of harmful pollutants into the air.
This is why South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils have launched a joint campaign to help improve air quality across southern Oxfordshire.
The campaign called ‘Turn it Off’ – www.southandvale.gov.uk/turnitoff – which has been endorsed by Public Health England – is aimed at drivers who leave their engines ‘idling’ – still running even when the vehicle is not moving. This often happens when a vehicle is parked but the driver is still inside, waiting for someone outside a school or a shop.
The councils will be promoting the campaign on Clean Air Day Thursday June 20 at a stall at Henley Market in the morning and at Old Station Yard, next to Stert St, in Abingdon in the afternoon. These will be followed by more awareness events across both districts.
Air pollution has been identified by a number of organisations including the World Health Organisation, United Nations and the Royal College of Physicians as the biggest environmental risk to health. A recent report from Public Health England estimated that within the UK, air pollution is linked to up to 36,000 deaths each year. Older people and children are most sensitive to air pollutants.
Keeping the engine running while parked contributes to an increase of air pollutant levels. Schools, traffic lights and bus stops are most likely locations for idling.
The councils’ new campaign ‘Turn it off’ aims to educate people about air pollution and the links to engine idling and promoting cleaner ways to drive.
- Switch off when the car is likely to be stopped for more than 1 minute
- 1 minute of idling produces twice as many emissions as a moving vehicle
- 1 minute of idling produces the equivalent of 150 balloons of harmful pollutants
- Excessive idling is a waste of fuel (and money)
- People inside cars are exposed to high levels of air pollution, with children especially at risk of harmful effects
Vale of White Horse District Council cabinet member for Environmental and technical services Cllr Jenny Hannaby said: “Vehicles produce pollution and idling produces unnecessary air pollution and wastes fuel. We invite people to join our campaign and do something personally to help improve air quality in our area.”
South Oxfordshire District Council cabinet member for housing and environment Cllr David Rouane said: “The message is simple – if you are in your car and stop for a minute or more then you should turn off your engine for cleaner air.”
On Thursday 20 June – Clean Air Day – we will have stalls promoting the campaign at the following locations:
- 10am – midday Henley Market
- 2.30pm – 4.30pm Old Station Yard near Stert St in Abingdon
Ahoy there me hearties – all aboard for the adventure of a lifetime! Long John Silver and his fearsome crew may thing that the treasure is within their grasp, but they’ve reckoned without the ladies of the Smugglers Cove Women’s Institute!
Filled with mischief, custard pies, songs, and laughter, this is a voyage into a panto mayhem that you definitely do not want to miss!
For more info contact Ann: pantotreasure@gmail.com
The june edition of the Dorchester news is now available to Download
Earth Trust is delighted to announce it is to receive a Water Environment Grant, through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, for an exciting new partnership project to revive and create natural riverside wetland systems and increase biodiversity. Building on the success of the first wetland creation project, River of Life, near Shillingford, Earth Trust is partnering with local landowners, Church Farm Partnership and The Hurst Water Meadow Trust, to improve water ecosystems along the River Thames and River Thame.
Land next to rivers and streams can provide healthy life support systems for all life through biodiverse, functioning, natural freshwater ecosystems. To do this, land needs to be able to slow down and filter water and this can be done through the addition of wetland features such as ponds and water channels that are within the floodplain, some of which are connected to the river. The creation of these features alongside mosaics of other natural habitats such as woodland improve the quality of the landscape. These features also provide havens for spawning fish and wildlife essential to a thriving living system, from dragonflies to kingfishers and otters.
“Our first River of Life landscape scale project was hugely successful and pioneering. It created an incredible new wetland ecosystem on the Thames, demonstrating the management of water and wetlands in the landscape, and the benefits and value of water to society. We’re delighted to receive this funding enabling us to work with other local landowners to build on this success, and re-wild more of Oxfordshire’s riverside,” said Jayne Manley, Chief Executive of Earth Trust.
River of Life II will create these vital wetland habitats at three locations within the Parishes of Long Wittenham, Little Wittenham and Dorchester-on-Thames: at Earth Trust’s Clifton Meadow on the south bank of the River Thames; at Church Farm north of Days Lock, owned by the Church Farm Partnership; and at Overy Mead on the banks of the River Thame, managed by The Hurst Water Meadow Trust. Once completed, the new habitats will include 16 ponds and seven backwater channels, plus wet woodland at each of the three locations, all of which will connect to the main river to provide a refuge habitat for fish.
The project will also fund the creation of several new ponds in Little Wittenham Wood, home to one of the country’s most significant populations of great crested newts. Nationally, populations have dramatically declined due to loss of habitat and these new ponds will help strengthen the population of newts and other amphibians as our climate changes in the future. Little Wittenham Wood is managed by Earth Trust and is a designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Special Area of Conservation (SAC) due to its importance as a habitat for great crested newts
The funding will enable Earth Trust to put in place boardwalks amongst the features and way marking so that people can access and explore the wetland ecosystems.
Pre-construction work will begin this year and include discussions with local communities and other interested stakeholders, negotiating access agreements, archaeological and ecological surveys, and refining designs. The main earth works construction period will take place in summer 2020, followed by the final physical elements of the project relating to access and interpretation.
Jayne added: “River of Life has significant impact beyond these works: rewilding the River Thames and creating a functioning ecosystem is a demonstration of the creative thinking and action needed as we face up to the climate change challenges ahead. We need to radically rethink our approach to managing the Earth’s resources, such as water and soil, and accelerate projects that are going to sustain life on Earth.”
