About the Group
In March 2005 Hamish Wills, a local resident, hand delivered a letter to hundreds of Redland households asking if anyone else was concerned about climate change, CO2 emissions and environmental destruction. We held a meeting and the group began.
So far we have;
- established the regular Whiteladies Road Farmers Market
- established an email forum on Yahoo 155 members and still growing
- established a Redland CRAG (carbon club)
- installed solar domestic water heating in at least 20 households helped by a group deal
- made big personal changes in home energy, car-free travel, less or no flying and shopping differently
- held lots of events with speakers or films, and an Open Day with over 100 people which included a talk from our local MP
- registered as a Transition Initiative and as a member of the Low Carbon Communities Network
- agreed a Constitution and set up a Co-op bank account
- responded on local and national planning matters affecting the environment
- raised awareness through leaflets to households, stall at the May Fair, and local news media
- joined in with the Metford Road Community Orchard
- planted 99 apple trees in 2008 as part of the Transition Fruit trees project
- started a Gardens Club for anyone interested in local fruit and veg growing
- become actively involved in our local Neighbourhood Partnership
- helping to plan The Community Farm in Chew Magna
All our work is achieved by people giving up their own time. We cover costs of room hire and printing from small donations. A small grant from the Frances Wood Trust funded the initial costs of this website. Jake McMurchie who designed the site has given us lots of help with managing it. We are very grateful to Maryam Saleem, year ten student at Cotham School who has designed our Farmer’s Market leaflet, and to Morgan Beddoe Estate Agents of Whiteladies Road who very kindly organised the printing and covered all the costs. We are grateful also to local businesses for practical help and support with the Farmers Market, particularly Dreweatt Neate Auction Rooms and Rossiter Smith and Co.
We have a chair, secretary and treasurer and about twenty of us who devote time to projects run by the group. Basically anyone who wants to help with reducing our fossil fuel dependancy and our impacts on the climate is in effect a member of Sustainable Redland, and you don’t have to live in Redland.