SOW Meeting on 29th November

7:30pm at the Church Hall, Oakington. As well as updates on our current activities, we’ll have…

Birdbox and bug hotel building workshop

Come along for a fun and practical session, building bird boxes out of scrap wood. Bring the kids! You can take the finished birdbox home to encourage wildlife into your garden, or even give it as a Christmas present. We’ll also be making a bee hotel to put in the village orchard.

If you have them, bring some secateurs, and a drill with a selection of drill bits 2-10mm and a pz1 screw bit.

Talk on litter picking

We’ll also be hearing a presentation by members of the village Eco Club, who are at Oakington Primary School. Please come along and support these brilliant young people!

Repair Cafe

Oakington’s first Repair Cafe will be held on 10 February, 11am – 2pm in the Pavilion. Slots will be available to book in due course but if you want to make sure you hear as soon as bookings are open, email oakingtonrepaircafe@gmail.com.

f you are good at repairing things (clothes, electricals, bikes, toys, …) and could be a volunteer repairer, or if you’d like to help on the day in another way, please contact oakingtonrepaircafe@gmail.com.

Help get solar panels onto the Pavilion Roof!

The village has a chance of getting funding for solar panels on the Pavilion roof, which will make the Pavilion more environmentally sustainable, and more financially sustainable too. But it needs your help. If you have used the Pavilion for any reason: private celebrations, as a member of a club or group or society, for example, please write to Laura Lawrence, the clerk, clerk@oakingtonandwestwick-pc.gov.uk, to say how you’ve been involved, and useful the Pavilion is (and how good solar panels would be, perhaps.) This is because it’s a competitive bidding process – whoever has the best reason for improvements will get a grant. Only one in four applicants will be successful. The deadline is 5 December so write now!

(Notes from a talk given at SOW meeting in October 23)

Journeys by public transport usually take longer than driving – but you can do something on the journey so needn’t waste the time. Not always 100% smooth but often are, and much less hassle to plan now we have mobile phone apps and websites. Definitely reduce our carbon footprint – 25% of a typical personal footprint is transport and 75% of that is personal car use – it’s a relatively easy part of our footprint to tackle.

Top tip: use google maps

• Website or app (great if you are on the go – can start the journey and it will tell you when to change buses etc)
• Great for overview – different options – eg if you’ve no idea how to get to somewhere by public transport
• Doesn’t know about prices – may give expensive options
• 95% reliable. Worth double checking. Eg. use the website traveline.info

Bus tickets & times

• For the last few months, all singles have been £2 (→ £2.50 from 1 Nov I think). Has been great – easy to travel round the country regardless of bus company
• Most local buses are Stagecoach. A Day rider costs £5, but better is a Flexi 10 (bought on their app) working out at £3.50 each (and unlike normal Day Riders, includes St Ives via the busway)
• Megariders for regular frequent travel
• 30% off for youth; small group (up to 3 people, £8 for a day rider) and large group (up to 5 people, £11 for the day)
• All of these come in three flavours: “Town” (includes Oakington) “Plus” (county) and “East” zones

For local travel, use the MyBusTrip app. (Stagecoach also has an app & need for flexirider, but this one is better. Use this once you know which stop you need)

• Lists buses due at a particular stop
• Can see them moving on map– so you can see where your bus has got to
• Save your favourite stops
• Shows real or timetabled time (if the bus has not begun yet OR is not sending its signal) – like the realtime information at bus stops.
• Don’t give up. If a timetabled-time one is due then disappears, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, more likely it’s late!

Top tips for trains

Lots of websites available to give info and sell tickets, eg trainline, national rail enquiries, different operators. But these are our top picks:

• Google maps for times – if you just want to see how to make a journey
• Trainsplit for tickets (app/website). Splitting exploits loopholes in the ticketing system (eg Cambridge to Peterborough and Peterborough to Edinburgh tickets can add up to less than the cost of a Cambridge to Edinburgh ticket.) Trainsplit was the original website and is a good one. Splitting limits you even if you don’t have advance tickets, eg you have to stop at the split (Peterborough in the example). But normally you simply follow the schedule it gives you. Don’t worry about delayed trains – you are still allowed to travel.
  • Can choose fastest/cheapest/flexible
  • Sacrifice flexibility to save money
• Realtime trains (website) when you’re at the station. Simple website which lists the departures and arrivals at a station. (Including any delays, and which platform – often before the platform number is advertised on the station info boards.) It’s probably what the staff use!

More about train tickets…

• Basically the system is: Anytime/off-peak/super off-peak and Advance (cheaper, sometimes amazingly so, but fixed to a particular train) – but there are anomalies, rover tickets etc, and off-peak times unhelpfully vary between routes and operators
• Advance tickets sell out and you are tied to that train. Recommend getting a bus in hand if catching a train you have an advance ticket for!
• Railcards. Are you single, childless, able-bodied, aged 30-60, and not just travelling in the south-east? If so bad luck. Otherwise there is a 30% off railcard for you!
• Delay repay. From 15 minutes late. Disastrous journeys pay for themselves! Depends on train company

Europe by Train

• Definitely consider. Very comfortable and can be as quick or nearly as quick as flying. Probably not cheaper but the carbon cost of flying is much greater. And if you book in advance and are able to avoid busy times, not as expensive.
• Man in Seat 61 website. Brilliant website which will tell you everything you need to know about planning and booking your journey.
• Raileurope website to buy through tickets. Can be cheaper to buy different parts of your journey from different places, (eg buy a Germany to Czech Republic ticket from Czech railways, not German – man in seat 61 wil tell you) but RailEurope is simple.
• Deutsche Bahn website bahn.de is very good for train times throughout Europe. (Has an English version.)
• Interrail. Not just for young people! The cheapest 4-travel-days-in-a-month ticket can be cheaper than last minute booking normal tickets. You have to pay extra for fast trains including Eurostar and TGV, but not German fast trains.

Cycling websites

• Cyclestreets.net (website or app). Better than google maps for finding an urban cycle route. Turn by turn so either you need a good memory or to keep looking at your phone
• Cycle.travel website (probably one of several possibilities) for longer journeys – cyclestreets can send you along muddy footpaths I’ve found!

Concluding remarks!

In an ideal world there would be lots of public transport, cheap and easy to use. Like London! But won’t get to that ideal world if nobody uses public transport – use it or lose it.
It does help to plan ahead. I find this hard but it is satisfying to nab a bargain!
Enjoy the journey! Relax, watch the scenery, read a book, enjoy the bustle of our big stations, chat to someone at a bus stop, make the journey part of the destination!

All are welcome to the October SOW meeting, on Wednesday 25th, 7:30pm at the church hall.

There’ll be a short talk on “Transport Tips and Apps.” Making more use of trains and buses is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint – come and find out about some ways to travel more easily and cheaply too.

We’ll be catching up on progress of some of the actions planned last time, and on the Nature Recovery Project.

Plus tea and biscuits and a chance to chat, as always!

A guided walk around Oakington and Westwick was led by SOW member and tree expert Jake on Sunday 15th October. Around 25 people joined in. The talk provided wonderful insights into the trees we all pass on a regular basis, and was much enjoyed!

10am on Sunday 15th October

A guided walk around Oakington and Westwick – find out more about trees from our expert Jake!

Discover…

• how to identify common British trees
• how trees grow and respond to their environment
• how trees decay
• how trees are part of the landscape

Meet at 10 on Sunday 15th on the bridge over Beck Brook in Westwick. The talk should be no longer than two and a half hours. It will end on the green by the chapel in Oakington.

Please bring suitable footwear and clothing. Kids and dogs welcome!

Please email SOW to let us know you would like to come.

NB We will cancel if the weather is really poor.

(Notes from SOW meeting on 27/9/23 – ten members present.)

Activities under way / already being discussed

Repair Cafe. (Jenny reported on behalf of Philip.) Philip has taken part in online training by Cambridge Carbon Footprint. Repair Cafes take quite a bit of organising taking 3 months, and need about £200 upfront (usually recouped in tea/cake sales and donations.) But they are brilliant not just practically but for spreading the environmental message and bringing the community together, and CCF provide lots of help. Philip to tell us more probably at the November meeting.

Community meal. (Alice reported.) To bring people together, demonstrate veggie cuisine and use garden produce. Ambition for a future meal is to cook together. Pavilion is free Sat 18 Nov but costs £60 + food, and might be too big a space; church hall not free in November on Saturdays which work for us. Church hall has no cooking facilities (but a heating cupboard) so cooked food would have to be brought. Suggest February (albeit with limited homegrown produce.)

Nature Recovery Project. (Jenny reported.) Joint with EAG, this is really an umbrella for all the nature/wildlife/biodiversity actions, plus wildlife recording and habitat mapping. Had a meeting in July. John and Graham ran a wildlife observation session at the orchard. The many people who contributed observations on Village Day are on an email list. The Parish Council has funded hedgehog highway “surrounds” we can give out.

Main planned activities

We considered a list (a shortlist from the many ideas generated in July) and people put their names by those they were willing to help with. From this the next actions for the group to focus on were decided. We’ll go back to the others at a later date, but will concentrate our time and energy initially on:

	Champion	Team starting with
Repair Cafe (see above)	Philip	Alice, Jenny
Community meal (see above)	Alice	Gerry, Ems
Small groups of people to visit targeted areas of village 4-6 times next year and record wildlife spotted Involve school.	John Terry (suggested)	Jake, Kate, Ems, Lucy, Angela
Plant native hedging, or fruit trees, or hazel/willow coppice, along busway	Ems	Lucy, Leo, Gerry
Build and put up bee hotels (birdboxes, etc) in public spaces.	Kate	Angela, Ems, Lucy
Research which areas of the village are owned by whom, plus paths/ rights of ways / land use. (NB Paul D explained that ownership and management of land are often by separate bodies.)	Paul Kershaw	Gerry, Ems, Paul Dover

	Willing to help organise
Trip to Amey Cespa (recycling facility)	Jake
Community cider / bring your own apples to press (but see Dates, at end)	Ems, Jake
Use wildlife cameras to discover wildlife around the village	Kate (champion), Lucy
Car share	Gerry
Crayfish removal	Kate, Ems
Organise local Terracycle – public collection of hard to recycle items	Kate

Talks & workshops

Talks/workshops in some meetings draw people in but need to have 15 min afterwards at least to discuss plans. October’s is in half term with many away, so main event in October will be tree trail instead.

	Champion	Team
Tree Trail Planned for Sunday 15 Oct, 10-12, starting in Westwick. Participants to sign up in advance. Alice to help with Risk Assessment.	Jake	Alice, Kate
Using public transport apps Short talk for Oct meeting for those who can make it	Jenny
Making bee hotels/ bird feeders etc. November meeting workshop (Christmas presents!)	Kate	Jake
Energy efficiency and coming off gas	Paul K could do this talk
Local resilience plan – what can village do to prepare specifically for heatwaves, droughts, flooding etc.	Gerry, Paul K
Tree grafting workshop	Leo, Ems
More wildlife walks. Eg trees, birdsong, moths, etc. Good for families		Kate, Alice, Jake

Social media campaigns

Angela offered to coordinate monthly themed campaigns. Kate & Ems could help with putting good wildlife pics online. Kate & Angela to work out how to share managing the facebook page.

Report back on actions from last time

• Discussion document sent round for people to sign up to activities — Jenny — done
• Make a start on who owns where — Ems & Paul K — carried forward, above
• Community meal — already reported on
• Facebook survey on suggested actions — Kate — will report next time
• Journal article on wild flower planting — Rachel — next Journal
• Cycle ride — Alice organised this on Bank Holiday Monday, a trip to Fen Drayton lakes to picnic and birdwatch. Much appreciated!
• Solar panels on pavilion — the Parish Council are looking into this and Philip has spoken to the clerk about it.

Events coming up

• Sewage talk in Histon (A Really Crap Evening), St Andrew’s Centre. Wed 11 Oct, 7pm
• Cottenham Repair Cafe, Sat 14 Oct 10 — 2, go and see what it’s like
• Tree Trail led by Jake, Sun 15 Oct, probably 10am. Details to follow.
• Human Library on Home Energy, Grand Arcade, Sat 21 Oct, 10 — 4. Paul K is a book!
• Reimagining Community Energy Together, Whittlesford Memorial Hall, Sun 22 Oct, 2-5pm. Paul K is involved.
• Next SOW meeting Wed 25 Oct, 7:30pm — Public transport apps talk and update on action planning
• Apple pressing 28 Oct & 4 Nov, 12 — 4 (& picking 10 — 12). Bring your own apples to press beforehand.

Green Library

The green library of eco and wildlife books was open during the meeting and several loans were issued!

Traditional orchards are havens for biodiversity, providing food and shelter for hundreds of species,
some of high conservation priority which flourish under low intensity management. The well spread
trees (unlike the close planting of modern commercial orchards) allow light into the lower branches
of the trees and also to the vegetation beneath the trees, encouraging grass and wild flowers.
Natural populations of all wild plant and animal species are encouraged in the absence of pesticides
and artificial fertilizer.

As the trees come into flower they attract a range of pollinators like hive bees, bumble
butterflies, moths, hover flies, wasps and flies, in their search for nectar and indirectly, pollen. The
choice of varieties of the fruit planted can ensure a wide spread of available pollen and nectar
throughout each summer.

As the trees get older, they will become more valuable to wildlife in that some wood will rot and
develop cracks and holes in the bark, ideal for invertebrates and birds. The wood will also develop
fungi and lichen (a combination of fungi and bacteria) which will attract certain invertebrates.
Decaying and dead timber will attract woodpeckers, stag beetles, rhinoceros beetle and perhaps the
rare noble Chafer.

Mistletoe can develop, especially on the apples. Mistletoe attracts mistle thrush, marble moth and
various weevils. Mycorrhiza, the rooting system of fungi often live in association with trees; their
work is vital in securing nutrients form rotting organic matter and communicating adverse events
between trees.

Where wood is cut from trees for safety reasons, it is worth creating wood piles. This provides
overwintering sites for amphibians, hedgehogs and beetles. Beetle larvae attract shrews, voles and
birds and hence owls.

Windfalls and overripe fruit will attract thrushes and blackbirds and fieldfares and redwings as
winter approaches. Mammals are also attracted; badgers, hedgehogs and hares are all fond of
overripe fruit, as are insects including moths and hence bats. Where juicing of the fruit is carried out,
it is worth putting the leftover ‘scrat’ back into the orchard for wildlife.

The other opportunity for wildlife habitats is the hedges and plants around the orchard. These can
include perennial nettles, so valuable for aristocrat butterflies like small tortoiseshell, painted lady,
red admiral and peacock, blackthorn. Hawthorn and other hedge plant species and standard trees
like ash, oak and mountain ash. The grass, if unmown may attract brown and skipper butterflies.

John Terry

SOW meeting, 26 July 2023. Twelve people present; thank you Alice for leading.

Specific action points

ACTION JP (or other person with access to the mailing list) Send this discussion document round to all regular SOW attendees to see who wants to sign up for which activities.

• ACTION EJ and PK make a start on finding out who owns which parts of land that might be suitable for planting trees or other local nature actions. Include in that information from Philip about permissive paths in the area (on the principle of ‘use it or lose it’). The PC clerk is a good starting point.
• ACTION AJ find out when the pavilion is free one evening in late September for a community meal of free food for all comers (use produce from our own gardens and allotments).
• ACTION KS puts up a survey on Facebook with list of suggested actions SOW could help people with e.g. hedgehog holes, water butts, bee houses, repair cafe.
• ACTION RG writes an article on maintaining their meadow for the journal (deadline Tues 19 Sep)

Ideas discussed

Ideas for productive areas of activities, and suggestions. Some of the suggestions are for specific events that are not necessarily seasonal, and others are for info campaigns that might be beneficial etc. Categorised by subject area.

Transport

• Dedicated group of enthusiasts from SOW to promote sharing of transport resources. Eg have a pool of pedal bikes, then make arrangement with Sean with his ebikes as a village resource, then aim for a shared car (tie in with idea of a public charging point for EV at pavilion, and look to have a shared village car).
• Emphasis on ways to save money, such as using bus app, and ticket splitting etc.
• Encourage active travel – cycle repair workshop; community bike rides. Cycle ride – Alice could lead. SUMMER

Food

• Discouraging food waste through journal articles on how to use things up in the kitchen; use-by dates and what they actually mean.
• Foraging workshop; foraging trail
• Crop sharing, allotment (possible new allotments behind Mill Road orchard), along airfield road.
• Community meals – brilliant way of promoting vegetarian diet and bringing people together. Free food is hard to ignore. (Discussed doing as part of Village Day or Bonfire Night but not good to undercut other caterers; although would be good to have veggie option on bonfire night.) Autumn to use home-grown produce?
• Herb boxes, like the flower tubs. For all year round. By a SOW team? SPRING
• Using community soup evening as fundraiser (model is that there will be food – everyone who comes pays a fiver; people bid for a community project; attendees then vote for which project the best; they take the money to implement small local project and then report back next event. Eg three or four a year)
• Bring your own apples to press with the Jordans’ equipment. Sep/Oct

Biodiversity

• Bird feeders; bird boxes; Bee hotels; hedgehog highways – workshops and offering to cut hole in fence (possibly dressed as a hedgehog in order to be seen to be doing things)
• Plant native hedging along busway. Or fruit trees but would be expensive to use only fruit trees. Choose plants whose size can be controlled. Would need permission. October -> winter.
• Plant small trees in empty spaces. (Eg Arcadia Gardens?) AUTUMN/WINTER.
• Wildlife gardening advice team – eg James Y advised someone on planting wildflowers for pollinators;
• Tap in when there are annual counts of butterflies, birds etc and use this as basis for building up local understanding of what there is in our gardens and fields; use iRecord
• Wildlife walks, eg trees, birdsong, moths, etc. Good for families. Ask John T. SUMMER
• Good wildlife pictures to put up on facebook to grab attention
• Put up bee hotels in public spaces. Pavilion, church, church hall, garden centre, bus stops. SPRING
• Plant community hazel (or willow) coppice. Also along busway? AUTUMN/WINTER.

Waste

• discourage vaping – check if they are sold in village shop; nowhere to recycle them; potential fire hazard; talk to shop or highlight issues in journal
• Repair cafe – plug into CCF (Cambridge Carbon Footprint), who can help supply repairers; people need to sign up beforehand so you know what needs mending; probably need pavilion or church hall rather than Crossways because of space required.
• Terracycle – public recycling locally of items that don’t go in usual recycling (crisp packets; biros; toothbrushes etc.) – gives money back, although need to collect a lot of waste before any meaningful profit.
• Article in journal about what can and can’t go in blue bin
• Toy swap/library – is there another resource such as phone box where this could be housed?
• Get more use out of tool share
• Plastic awareness – like the Big Plastic Count – promote awareness and alternatives; use social media for drip-drip reminders, facts etc.

Water

• Messaging about water efficiency
• Can local parish impose local hosepipe ban?
• Water butts – train people to install, have team of people who can install; advise on large water tanks

Climate Change

• Local resilience plan – what can village do to prepare specifically for heatwaves, droughts, flooding etc.
• Letter-writing campaign eg about environmental policies to companies, press, politicians. This can be on individual basis or from groups

Energy

• Solar panels on pavilion – should pay back reasonably quickly, and people (eg Philip and Rachel) can help calculate how long it would take to cover costs. Look for a grant for that, work with parish council.

Thanks to all the 26 respondents to the SOW survey made available at the Oakington
Village Day on the 24th June 2023. This gives us all some idea what the village thinks.

1. ‘Do you garden for wildlife?’
   19 (73%) answered Yes (2 added “ish”)
   2 (8%) answered both Yes and No.
   5 (19%) answered No.
   
2. ‘Interested in learning about our local environment matters?’
   26 (100%) answered Yes.
   
3. ‘Would you like to help map the wildlife in our village?’
   21 (81%) answered Yes.
   5 (19%) answered No.
   
4. ‘What environmental issues concern you?’
   Respondents’ answers included the following themes:
   9 (35%) global warming/climate change
   6 (23%) water concerns (shortage, pollution, flooding)
   6 (23%) biodiversity loss
   5 (19%) destruction of wildlife habitats
   4 (15%) plastic, landfill, recycling
   3 (12%) access to sustainable energy
   2 (7%) deforestation, tree preservation
   2 (7%) air pollution
   2 (7%) sustainable living (vs. consumerism)
   2 (7%) climate anxiety
   2 (7%) negative environmental impact (noise, traffic/speeding, litter)
   1 (4%) growing food sustainably
   1 (4%) soil conservation
   
   
5. ‘What do you do personally, to live more sustainably?’
   14 (54%) grow veg, compost, garden sustainably/for wildlife
   12 (46%) recycling
   6 (23%) sustainable travel (walk, cycle, bus)
   5 (19%) solar panels
   5 (19%) sustainable shopping (eco provider, second hand, plastic free)
   4 (15%) store/collect rainwater (water butts)
   3 (12%) reduce food waste
   3 (12%) meat free/reduced meat diet
   3 (12%) electric or hybrid vehicle
   2 (7%) reduce energy use
   1 (4%) only two children
   1 (4%) educate myself about sustainability
   
6. ‘What would you like to be able to do, but can’t?’
   8 (31%) use renewable energy at home
   6 (23%) use car less / have electric car
   3 (12%) tackle pollution
   2 (7%) political change
   2 (7%) keep chickens/pigs
   2 (7%) plastic free
   1 (4%) plant trees
   1 (4%) have a bigger garden
   1 (4%) improve house insulation
   1 (4%) self sufficiency (grow own food)
   1 (4%) watch hedgehogs
   1 (4%) Buy sustainable food at local supermarket
   

Notes from SOW meeting, 28 June 2023

11 people present. Thank you Gerry for chairing.

We discussed what we would like to discuss, then voted on which topics to start on!

1. What to do to alleviate climate anxiety
2. How to maximise visibility of SOW
3. Community actions eg planting hedges, communal meals, plastic free
4. Get young people/children engaged
5. National eco schemes eg plastic free
6. Water – sustainable use
7. Review SOW so far & direction
8. What is the most effective thing small communities can do?

Hopefully the following notes will give a flavour of the discussions.

SOW review

SOW came out of the Net Zero Now course Paul did. This year he was a guest speaker on the course – SOW is seen as a successful outcome, one of several groups started locally.

Different categories of people turned up to the first SOW meeting, from those who wanted discussion to those who wanted XR-style action.

The talks we have had so far have been enjoyed – best were the workshops eg birdbox making – but the group hasn’t grown and the impact on the environment hasn’t been enormous? Would there be an appetite to do something bigger? Eg a village solar farm or something like the Histon Abbey Fields purchase. Best to go with the energy and strengths in the community. Or maybe better to start with small wins, actions with palpable, measurable results. The Local Nature Recovery Plan will have links to the wider area and national efforts. 

Everyone: think through 3 reasonably achievable local actions and bring the suggestions to the next meeting.

A constitution and committee (chair, secretary, treasurer) would be needed if we want to apply for grants. District Council Zero Carbon grants are easily available. Recruitment is better via community activities than explicit recruitment drives. Discussions are not necessarily better with loads of people. From the Village Day surveys, cost of living is a barrier for many people, so activities which pull in people needing to save money would be good.

We should ‘follow the data” but don’t have it. We don’t really know what residents are doing or could do to live sustainably – discussion of a Facebook or door-to-door survey.

Sustainable Use of Water

A growing problem – some councils have a permanent hosepipe ban. Longstanton saw water table drop with Northstowe phases 1&2. Do our small actions (short showers) make a difference? Water doesn’t disappear but more and more ends up as salt water – very energy intensive to desalinate. The rare chalk stream habitats are endangered. Water shortage is a more imminent problem even than climate change but people don’t engage. 

What could be done? Bulk buy water butts and offer to install? But plastic butts don’t last. Allotment holders have to bring water each night. Ems’s Nottingham allotment dug a borehole. All chip in and offer £100 prize in a Facebook competition for the best idea?

July meeting

Alice offered to chair. Bring suggestions for 3 actions. People to be invited (reminded each week?) to suggest in advance of meeting by Facebook/WhatsApp and email. Also bring ideas from the May meeting about the Nature Recovery Plan.

Also

• Green library – instead of a shelf in the phone box ( because none of the books were returned), bring books to the meeting to lend among SOW members.
• Jake has joined the Parish Council so let him know of any environmental issues you think he should be pushing.
• 25 SOW short surveys were completed at Village Day. Lucy will try to collate the responses.
• John Terry will lead the first stage of the SOW/EAG Nature Recovery Plan, starting with a meeting to discuss next steps.