Logo Competition Entries

We launched a Logo Competition in February, to engage with the young people's organisations in the village (Cubs, Brownies) and Burton Joyce Primary School.

The response has been brilliant with 35 entries.

Have a look at this video. It gives a quick overview of all the entries:

To make it easier to look at them, I've photographed them in 8 sets of 4 + one set of 3 labelled A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H & J. 

The competition will be judged and the winners chosen by Baron Vernon Coaker of Gedling.

If you want to choose your own favourites, make a note of the logo ID - letter+number, for example E3 or G2 - and pop it in the Comments box at the bottom of this post.

Or you can post your choices on the Group Facebook page or on the Group Twitter account, hashtag: #BJCABlogo

We'd love to know what you think.

The numbering for each set is the same, as shown in the following table:

Here we go with the first set of 4, set A:

   

  

         

 

 

  

    

         

  

 

    

 

  

    

    

    

Action Group March Report

March Report 

Burton Joyce Climate Action and Biodiversity group.

Present on Zoom: Paul, Phil , Bobbie and Julia.

15-3-21.

1.      

Parish Council Environment Plan 

it’s a start. PC have said it will be reviewed every 3-4 months to check progress. 

Removal of bushes in cemetery occurred before the plan was put in place. 

       Disappointing that bushes (at the Cemetery) which provided cover for hedgehogs, birds etc removed without consultation and probably to look “neater”.

 

We can ask Ben Driver from Notts Wildlife trust what to replant in the prepared areas when he visits (yet to be booked due to pandemic).

We will also ask him to look at the old school site including the pond as it is not up to the Parish Council as this is owned by the church.

2.     

Logo competition. 

       Paul has told Scouts and brownies/guides about this at a zoom meeting and has also informed primary school via Mrs Wallace who runs the Eco group. Closing date 1-4. We could use the new logo on the villages Magazine. Steve Swann has done a temporary one for now. 

3.     

Allotments. 

       Julia met with Alison Chippindale who is on the allotments committee to discuss environmentally friendly practices on the allotments. She is going to discuss ideas with others on committee and then ?post on allotment’s Face book page and perhaps make a leaflet. I have asked if our details could be included on it.

4.     

Trees. 

      Severn Trent. Bobbie has been in touch with John Jackson who manages estate and we agreed a meeting with him when Covid restrictions a re lifted would be good. Old poplars need felling. The Canals and Rivers Trust have started planting trees including black poplars.

5.     

Bobbie has identified that there could possibly be money left over from the gravel extraction pressure group and the Village plan group. She is investigation whether this could be released to use to fund some tree planting or for wild flower seeds.

      

6. 

Insects. 

      Wildlife Trust have launched an insect plan for communities which involves mapping your area to see where “wildlife corridors” can be identified-this could be looked at to prepare for Ben Driver’s (NWT) visit and also link in to point 5.

7.     

Climate Emergency 

      No information back yet from Cllr Sam Smith regarding what Gedling are doing despite a few messages from myself and Paul. This is a priority area for Friends of the Earth, need to see what they recommend. 

XR are suggesting a banner drop to ask people to support the climate and ecological emergency bill on March 26^th. Phil is interested in putting one outside the Community Church.

8.     

Lendrum Court 

       Julia has emailed the builders to ask what wildlife friendly features they are adding to the grounds.

9.  

Planters of pollinator friendly flowers

      Julia has been in touch with the Coop deputy manager (but needs to confirm with the manager Heidi Burk) that we can have a planter of pollinator friendly flowers there with some basic information. They have said there is no funding available, Paul happy to make a planter and Julia has some Oxeye daisies and Self heal which she can put in there if we can’t get any seeds. Julia also contacted Johnson and Partners to ask if they would fund a planter or have one outside their shop.

10. 

Young people  

 Julia has had an email from a school girl in Wollaton who contacted her through the FOE Climate action website. We discussed importance of getting younger people involved post Covid.

Future Actions:

-Bobbie to make enquiries about wildflower seed donations.

-Bobbie to contact Chris Clark to see if he will fund a planter of wildflowers.

-Paul to email Nicki Brooks (labour county councillor) to ask who to contact at Gedling from Labour to push a Climate plan

-Paul to email admin at Gedling Council to see if a climate action plan can be put n agenda for next meeting.

-Julia to talk to Coop manager re a wildflower planter.

-Paul to continue with logo competition.

-Julia to contact Newark XR to see if they could provide a banner supporting the CEE bill or explore making one ourselves.

-Phil happy to continue with posting items on Facebook and website.

-Julia to check out FOE campaign about lobbying local councils to get some ideas.

 

Next meeting 19-4-21 at 2pm via Zoom.

 

The Climate & Ecological Emergency Bill

Extinction Rebellion (XR UK) are asking people to take action on 26th March to mark the CEE (Climate & Ecological Emergency) Bill. 

The Bill's second reading in Parliament was due on 26th March but has been cancelled due to Covid. The government continues to stifle opportunities for Parliament to discuss real solutions to the climate & nature crisis.

XR UK's plan is to mark the (non-)occasion with UK-wide banner drops on the 26th March. And a Twitter storm.

Briefing document here: CEC Bill

There’s still time (they say) to make a banner and get organised. 

XR UK ask people to upload their banner drop location (here) and think about what message they want to tweet their MP.

British Wildlife, a great little magazine

My copy of the February edition of British Wildlife has arrived. If you don't already know it, I recommend that you subscribe to this wonderful little magazine. Always packed with information, there is more than enough to keep you going for the two months before the next one arrives.

What caught my eye this time was Wild Apples.

The eight page article by Richard Worrell, Markus Ruhsam and James Renny will tell you things you never knew about what most of us refer to as the Crab Apple tree. Wild Apple is to be preferred as the name, they say, because it underlines that it is a species native to the British Isles. It's been here since the last ice Age, apparently. 

Wild apple is recorded as having 93 species of associated invertebrates, the seventh highest of all British trees & shrubs. Kennedy & Southwood 1984

There's more than apples here though. There are two major article on Rewilding. The first, by Steve Carver and Ian Convery, sketches in the history of the rewilding movement and what it means in practice. I haven't finished reading it yet but I can tell you: this is good. There are things here we all need to know.

Then there are the regulars: Habitat management news; Wildlife reports; Conservation news and the four or five guest columns. 

Subscribe to British Wildlife. You won't regret it.

Action Group February Report

Wednesday 10th February 2021

Paul, Julia & Phil met via Zoom 

This is a summary of our discussion

1. Phil has set up a Website (this one), a Facebook page and a Twitter account. The Burton Joyce Climate Action & Biodiversity Group on Facebook has 34 members. The Twitter timeline is reflected on the website (You will see it down the right hand side of the screen). Phil would be grateful for feedback on any of these.

2. Julia suggested asking village kids to design a logo for the group. Paul will set up a competition and publicise it to Scouts, Guides and the village school and more widely around the village.

3. We agreed to try and contribute an article to The Magazine (aka The Parish Magazine) each month. Julia will write one this month.

4. Julia is continuing discussions with the Parish Council about improving the village environment. One possibility is (re)creating a wildflower meadow at the Grove. Another idea is planters outside the village shops. Julia is going to look into a source for wildflower seeds and Paul volunteered to make some planters.

5. Paul suggested he could hold an Open Garden event when circumstances permit where we could publicise the group and our objectives, demonstrate ideas for wildlife friendly gardens and engage with the village, especially youngsters.

6. Julia recommended Friends of the Earth webinars and courses. You can find some details HERE

7. We agreed to follow up on a previous approach to Gedling Borough councillor Steve Smith about the Friends of the Earth Climate Plan for Councils

If you can help with any of these, please get in touch

Climate Action resource from TEARFund

 This is an excellent resource from TEARFund

Link to the TEARFund Climate resource

Including:

WHAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE?

IS IT REALLY AN EMERGENCY?

HEATING UP

EVERY FRACTION OF A DEGREE MATTERS

CLIMATE CHANGE IS A JUSTICE ISSUE

CASE STUDY: ORBISA, A MUM IN ETHIOPIA

HOW CAN WE STOP CLIMATE CHANGE GETTING WORSE?

POSITIVE NEWS

Find the full resource here

December Review

 Burton Joyce Climate action and Biodiversity group

What has the Burton Joyce Climate action and Biodiversity group been up to?

Julia's article in the Parish Magazine for December

August  

A group of us met up with our Member of Parliament, Tom Randall, and Councillor Sam Smith in the beautiful (and Covid-safe) environment of the Grove to ask him if he will support a green and safe recovery. A copy of the Friends of the Earth proposals was given to him to read. This prioritises, amongst other things, people’s health and wellbeing and jobs in the green sector

Friends of the Earth Recovery Plan

We also discussed other areas including reducing plastic waste and also planning.
Tom clearly supported the idea of retaining green belt and maintaining the rural feel of the village. Which leads me on to:

September

We read through the enormous Greater Nottingham strategic Plan which is how the local area makes plans for future housing, business and infrastructure in the area, including Gedling. We made comments such as recommending that new housing is attached to areas which already have public transport, that housing is much better insulated, ensuring wildlife corridors are maintained, improving biodiversity in areas of development e.g. with planting and green spaces. We know that more housing is needed for our growing population, but there are ways of doing it to reduce damage to the environment and make our lives healthier. The consultation is now closed

October

We met with the Parish Council to discuss enhancing our local environment for pollinators.

Did you watch Jimmy’s Bee Rescue on the TV? Bees and other pollinators are amazing creatures on which we rely for our crops to be pollinated but they can’t cross large distances with no flowers. 

Did you know some of our favourite flowers, e.g. begonias, actually have no nectar for our insects? 

Did you know that all the mowing we do makes big flower-free deserts for our insects?

Pollinator numbers are declining but it’s actually very easy to give them a helping hand.

We talked about reducing mowing on the grass verges to allow flowers to develop, using pollinator friendly flowers in village flower beds, e.g. outside the library, and identified some possible areas in the cemetery for flowers to grow. We also discussed revitalising the lovely meadow area in the Grove and seeing if the Parish Council would pledge to make future planting bee/pollinator friendly.

We will hopefully get a chance to discuss these ideas at the next Parish Council meeting.

We also circulated information to Parish Council and our email group about the concerning new reforms of the UK Planning system that the Government is proposing, which aren’t good news for the climate, local communities or local democracy.

UK Planning reforms

Why not write to Tom Randall about it? 

December

Think about shopping locally for some presents and try and ditch the foil and sparkly wrapping paper which can’t be recycled!!

We all wish you a healthy and happy Christmas and New Year.
Best wishes from Burton Joyce Climate action and Biodiversity Group.

PS Please join us!
We’re always looking for new members
The more of us there are, the more we can achieve!!

Email: 
julia_smith24@yahoo.co.uk
philcolbourn@btinternet.com