TILTON GREEN NEWS
Issue 5
October 2009
Introduction
Welcome to the fifth issue of TILTON GREEN
NEWS. It includes exciting news about village
and school awards and competitions, more
support from the Energy Saving Trust, a new
DVD to watch and £50 grants for insulation.
There’s also carbon footprinting data for Tilton,
more recycling drop-off dates and a national
pledge to sign up to!
How can we help YOU?
Tilton has been selected as one of only six
communities in the East Midlands to receive indepth energy saving advice and support as part
of the Energy Saving Trust’s ‘Green Communities’
initiative. We need to know what help and advice
YOU want over the next 18 months. Please give
your ideas and requests to Margaret Henderson
(2597206) so that we can help YOU reduce your
fuel bills and your carbon footprint.
£50 grants for insulation
This winter TILTON GREEN will again be offering
£50 grants; this time just towards the cost of
cavity wall or loft insulation for homes in the
parish, as insulating your loft to 270mm thickness
and filling cavity walls are the most cost effective
ways of reducing your fuel bills. To request a £50
grant call Julian Bird: 2597500. You may be
eligible for FREE insulation if someone in your
home is over 70 or on certain benefits call the
Energy Saving Trust to find out: 0800 512 512.
The Big Switch Off
Switching off electrical appliances at the wall and
remembering to turn them off when you leave the
room saves money, resources and carbon
emissions. Different approaches help different
people. Maybe your computer printer needs a big
PLEASE SWITCH ME OFF sign stuck on it, or a
digital alarm clock in the spare room could be
unplugged or you could always switch the cooker
and microwave off at the wall after you use them.
The Big Switch Off Campaign runs from 12th18th October and is an ideal opportunity to focus
on switching off unnecessary electrical appliances
to save money, energy and the environment. For
example, even a modern computer with a
screensaver, if left on (but unused) uses 2kWh of
electricity in a 10-hour day. To find out more go
to: leics.gov.uk/bigswitchoff.
Tilton is the BEST!
Tilton on the Hill won the Calor Best Village of
the Year award in Leicestershire! Tilton also won
the county categories for sustainability and
community. Thank-you to everyone who
volunteers so much time and effort and all those
people who take part in such a great range of
village activities and events to make this village a
great place to live in!
Following on from Tilton’s success in the
county round of the Calor Best Village
competition the Rural Community Council (Leics.
& Rutland) has nominated the village to enter the
REGIONAL round of the competition. Two
judges will be visiting the village on Tuesday 6th
October from 10am-noon. Please come along to
the Rose & Crown bar to tell the judges what
makes the village such a great place and enjoy
catching up with friends and neighbours over
coffee and biscuits from 11.30am.
Tilton Household Carbon Footprints
25 households in Tilton and Halstead (10% of the
total) had actual transport and domestic energy
carbon footprints calculated over the summer by
Edinburgh University student Richard Vause. He
collected information about electricity, oil, gas and
coal usage over the last year, and journeys taken
by car, train, plane and bus, plus the efficiency of
the cars used (a carbon footprinting approach
developed by Marches Energy Agency).
The results show a wide variation and are
summarised on the graph overleaf. The average
actual per person carbon footprint in Tilton for
domestic energy (heating and electricity) was
4.16 tonnes CO2/year. This is much higher than
the estimated 2006 per capita averages for
Harborough District (2.65 tonnes CO2/year) and
the East Midlands (2.45 tonnes CO2/year) (from
DEFRA). The average actual per person carbon
footprint in Tilton for transport was 1.93 tonnes
CO2/year. Comparative figures were unavailable.
Scientists estimate that total carbon emissions
of only 1 tonne per person are needed to prevent
run-away climate change. No one in the village
has such low emissions yet, but a number of
families have already made big reductions which
have also saved them lots of money.
Did you know that using mains electricity for
heating and cooking produces emits more carbon
than using wood, gas, oil or coal?
THE AGE OF STUPID
Calculate Your Carbon Footprint
A spreadsheet that is really easy to complete and
gives you an instant carbon footprint to compare
with other residents from Tilton and Halstead is
available
on-line,
just
go
to
www.leicestershirevillages.com/tiltononthehill/tilto
ngreen.html and click on ‘carbon footprint
calculation’.
Tugby C of E Primary School has been awarded
a Bronze Eco-school Award. To achieve the
award the school has put together an Action Plan
and already implemented some of the actions.
Initiatives so far range from a new gardening club
and the installation of a green cone for
composting and a water butt, to the use of a
renewable energy teaching kit in lessons. Pupils,
staff, parents and governors have been involved.
The 10:10 Campaign
Billesdon’s Farmers’ Market
What do Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, the
Cheshire police force, designer Stella McCartney,
the mobile phone giant O2 and In the Loop actor
Peter Capaldi have in common? Answer: they’re
some of the big names who’ve signed up to the
10:10 climate change campaign. By signing up
they promise to cut their carbon emissions by
10% by the end of 2010. This demonstrates that
they are willing to act on climate change and puts
pressure on Ed Miliband, the energy and climate
change secretary, in the build up to the UN
climate talks in Copenhagen this December.
To find out more and pledge to cut your own
emissions go to: www.1010uk.org.
Following on from the very successful Farmers'
Market in Billesdon last year, there will be another
Farmer’s Market at the Coplow Centre on
October 11th from 11am - 3pm. There will be a
good variety of stall holders selling locally
produced and grown food. Entrance is free but
please walk, bike or park away from the Coplow
Centre as the stalls will be in the car park. Any
disabled drivers or passengers will be given a
parking space.
“We’ve signed up to cut our carbon emissions by
10% by 2010. We’re going to achieve this by
taking our next annual holiday in this country
rather than going abroad.”
The Age of Stupid is a new film that was launched
in over 60 countries to an audience of around a
million people gaining a place in the Guinness
Book of Records. Over 50 people attended the
September screening at Tilton Village Hall and
the money raised will be used to purchase a DVD
copy of the film for people who missed the
screening to watch at home. To add your name to
the list of people wanting to watch the DVD, call
Norma George: 2597603.
More recycling drop-offs
Following on from the increasingly popular
recycling drop-offs at the Village Hall on the
2nd Saturday of each month, you can again
bring batteries, foil, solid plastics & plastic
bags, tapes and discs, tetrapak cartons
and small electric appliances to the Hall on
Saturday 10th October (10 am–12 noon) and
Saturday 14th November (10 am–12 noon).
David Duckett will try to answer any recycling
questions you have: 2597231.
Bronze Eco-school Award
PLEASE HELP TILTON GREEN