Activities
Find out about the activities we are focusing on. These are based on feedback from our survey showing what was most important to local residents.
Home Energy Saving
Home energy usage make up the largest proportion of our CO2 emissions in Great Bedwyn – 42% of all emissions. Most of this comes from the use of oil for heating. This means that reducing home energy usage and changing to renewable energy sources is a very important part of our efforts to reduce emissions overall. With the recent increases in energy costs it is also a good way to save money.
Reducing flood risk and water pollution
Great Bedwyn has a history of flooding, and our sewage treatment works are regularly overwhelmed. In the last three years sewage has been discharged into the canal and on into the River Dun for 926 hours. We can all stop this happening by catching the rainwater from our roofs so that it doesn't go into the sewers. Great Green Bedwyn are working with the rivers charity ARK on a rain garden project to prevent flooding and water pollution.
Community energy generation
Our survey showed a lot of interest in community energy, with 66% of responders saying they were interested in community events on this topic. We have explored the potential for local community energy generation with a small solar PV farm, but it has been difficult getting a project going because of the substantial investment that would be needed. We are exploring other options including PV panels at the school.
Supporting nature and biodiversity
There is a high level of interest in supporting nature and biodiversity in Great Bedwyn and the surrounding areas. We have held various events on this theme, including Green Open Gardens, a talk by local farmers about regenerative agriculture and farm visits. Find out more about the farm walks here.
Low carbon travel
Our aims are to encourage people to switch to electric vehicles and increase use of public transport to cut down on car usage. We held an Electric Vehicle demonstration event in the summer of 2022 to share knowledge and bust some of the myths. In 2023 we aim to work with other groups such as the Bedwyn Train Group to improve public transport provision.
Repair, reduce, share and recycle
We have encouraged repairing, reducing, sharing and recycling. For example we took part in a repair cafe in Hungerford and promoted the repair cafe in the Parish News.
