Background
The Parish Council has committed to aim for carbon neutrality by 2030 in line with Herefordshire Council and the UK Government.
The consequences of global temperature rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius will be so severe that preventing this from happening must be the number one priority and thus built into the Parish Council’s decision-making process and plans for the future.
The Parish Council set up the Environment and Sustainability Group in October 2021. The group is made up of parishioners and Parish Councillors and anyone is welcome to join.
View more details about the E&SG.
In December 2021 the Parish Council adopted an Environmental and Sustainability Policy, and Climate and Biodiversity Emergencies were declared in March 2022.
These were review and adopted again in April 2023.
View all PC polices.
Annual Reports and Plans
The Climate and Biodiversity Emergency declarations commit the Parish Council to producing an annual Carbon Reduction Impact Report and Biodiversity Improvement Report assessing progress in the previous year.
Following on from these reports will be a Carbon Reduction Plan, and Biodiversity Improvement Plan setting out some suggestions for actions that can be taken over the year ahead.
The first of these reports and plans were published on 14th July 2023.
View the reports and plans on the Environment and Sustainability Group page.
Trees & Hedgerows Grant
Thanks to the hard work of Andy Dunn (our tree warden) and Debbie Cottam (Parish Clerk) the group received £1600 from The Tree Council to fund six new trees and seventy-five metres of wildlife friendly hedging, tree stakes and biodegradable hedge protection.
The trees will provide food and shelter for a wide variety of birds as well as giving extra shade on the recreation ground as summers get hotter due to global heating. The new hedgerows on Parish Council managed land will produce fruit and nuts for parishioners to pick and give habitat to many birds and mammals.
A Silver Birch tree was planted on the Recreation Ground to show solidarity with Ukraine and refugees staying locally.
Free Winterproofing Materials
Almeley Parish Council’s Environment Group asked Eardisland to take part in a pilot project supported by Herefordshire Green Network and funded by National Grid. Three parishes were supplied with a variety of insulation and draught proofing materials to be given free to interested properties.
Fifteen houses have benefited so far, and we’ll be reporting back on what materials were most useful. The Almeley group will be assessing results to see if this project can be rolled out across other parishes before next winter.
The most popular product was a simple reflective sheet which dropped behind radiators on external walls. The manufacturer claims it can reduce heat loss through the wall by up to 45%, reducing carbon use and heating costs.
Greener Footprints
The Parish Council signed the Greener Footprints pledge on the 21st July 2022.
Greener Footprints is a communications and engagement campaign supported by Herefordshire Council. This has been designed to encourage, inspire and mobilise people and organisations from all corners of the community to be part of a Herefordshire-wide “movement of positive action” on a scale never seen before in order to tackle climate change and protect the county’s rich nature and wildlife. These environmental ambitions and activities are being steered and driven by a specially created 16-strong Climate and Nature Partnership Board.
The Greener Footprints pledge commits the PC to considering actions proposed by the CNPB and promoting to the community if and when they take actions.
Click here to visit the Greener Footprints website:https://zerocarbon.
Plastic Free Eardisland
The Parish Council is supporting the Environment and Sustainability Group’s Plastic Free Eardisland initiative. We have joined over 800 other communities nationwide to support and encourage local events and businesses to reduce single use plastic and raise awareness.
Eardisland Parish Council pledges to act by example and remove single-use plastic items from its premises and operations.
Any interested businesses or events can get more information by contacting parish.clerk@
Visit the Plastic Free Communities website at https://plasticfree.org.uk/
The Great Collaboration
The Parish Council has joined The Great Collaboration (TGC) – an online platform that allows users to consider 60 actions that are rated for carbon reduction. The E&SG can see anonymous data on what people want to do and the barriers to taking action.
This will help guide future Parish Council policy and spending.
Take part in The Great Collaboration.
Climate and Nature Grant
A climate and nature grant from Herefordshire Council was awarded to carry out an Eco Event in March 2022 and fund the Tree Audit and Energy Saving projects.
The full display from the event can be downloaded here.
Energy Saving Eardisland
As part of the Climate and Nature Grant work, thermal images were taken of a number of houses within the parish.
Please follow the link to see an update on thermal imaging and what was learnt Download Thermal Images Meeting Notes
Checking if you have an up-to-date Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) – or getting a new one for about £45 – may give you some ideas of how to improve your energy efficiency. You can check your property here: https://www.gov.uk/find-energy-certificate.
Advice on insulating your home is available at https://keepherefordshirewarm.co.uk or on 0800 677 1432.
Eardisland Tree Audit
Understanding Eardisland’s tree and hedgerow cover (which species are planted where, how many there are, and what condition they are in) will help us when planting more trees and hedgerows. Parishioners can help by adding trees in their garden or on their land to the Treezilla app at https://treezilla.org/.
The E&SG is continuing to add publicly accessible significant trees, if you would like to help or would like help with adding your own trees please contact the Parish Clerk or download and complete the form below and scan it back to the Clerk.