Environmental Protection and Nature Conservation
This page is intended to be a community forum for the sharing of information and ideas to enable the community or individuals to contribute to preserving the local environment and ecology and achieving wider objectives in driving towards a net-zero economy. If you would like to upload an initiative or an article of interest to this page please contact the site's webmaster, Rachel Facey at weblanreathpc@gmail.com.
On this Page:
- Workplace Travel Grant (June 2024)
- Cornwall's Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy (June 2024)
- Renewable Energy Loans (June 2024)
- Community Energy Plus (January 2024)
- Help With Food (January 2024)
Pick up a free tree to plant for National Tree Week
Thousands of free tree saplings are being given away starting from this month as residents are encouraged to plant trees, increase nature in their communities and contribute to a carbon neutral Cornwall.
The Forest for Cornwall team are behind the initiative which will start during National Tree Week from November 23 to December 1 and continue throughout the planting season.
All the saplings have been supplied free of charge by construction company Morgan Sindall through Cornwall Council’s Local Investment in Nature Cornwall scheme.
The Forest for Cornwall programme has surpassed the milestone of a million trees planted earlier this year, making up more than 600 hectares.
This winter there are a further 400 hectares planned to include field corners, orchards and more than 20 kilometres of hedgerows.
As part of National Tree Week the Forest for Cornwall team are continuing with their Back Garden Forest tree giveaways at various locations.
There are a choice of native species to choose from including spindle, rowan, whitebeam, hazel, crab-apple, and dogwood.
Each sapling will come with a leaflet with information on the tree species and how to care for it.
The locations and times are:
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Newquay: Saturday 23 November, 10.30am -12.30pm, Newquay Library, Marcus Hill, TR7 1BD
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Camborne: Saturday 30 November, 10.30-12.30, Kehelland Trust Shop, Commercial Square, Trelowarren Street, TR14 8AT
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Padstow: Saturday 11 January 2025, 10.30am-12.30pm, Padstow Church Rooms, Church Street, PL28 8B
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Bude: Saturday 18 January 2025, 10.30am-12.30pm, Bude Library, The Wharf, EX23 8LG
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Helston: Saturday 1 February 2025, 9.30am-12.30pm, The Old Cattle Market, Porthleven Road, TR13 0SR
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Redruth: Saturday 15 February 2025, 10.30am-12.30pm, Market Way and Redruth Library, TR15 2AU
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Liskeard: Saturday 22 February 2025, 10.30am-12.30pm, The Workshed, Fairpark Road, PL14 4BA
Some libraries are also taking part taking part in the tree giveaway too with saplings supplied by community equipment services company Medequip UK.
The libraries taking part are:
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Camelford Library (Saturday, November 30, 6-8pm)
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St. Austell (Tuesday, November 26, 2-4pm)
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Wadebridge (Wednesday, November 27, 2-4pm)
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St. Ives (Saturday, November 30, 10am-12pm)
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Falmouth (Tuesday, November 26, 10am-12pm)
Libraries are being offered the opportunity to plant a ‘knowledge tree’ in their garden and some will have tree themed displays and interactive materials suitable for all ages.
Other National Tree Week events include:
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A free talk by Forest for Cornwall project officer Joe Harris aimed at anyone who would like to learn about trees, planting and maintenance. It takes place at St Ives Community Orchard on Tuesday 26 November, 1pm -3pm. You can also find out more about the wide range of support the Forest for Cornwall team offer to help plant trees in a variety of settings, from your local community to farms and landholdings. Go to for directions and further information.
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Seventeen Women’s Institutes are planting celebratory trees at their halls or other venues where there is public access.
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Tree-planting in St Aubyn Crescent and Whitegate Road, Newquay, where the first of this year’s Urban Tree Challenge Fund street trees will be planted following a public consultation.
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Volunteers from Suez and Cormac are helping out with tree maintenance on 26 November at a new woodland at Notter Bridge near Saltash.
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Cornhill Farm near Camborne has teamed up with Kehelland Trust and Kehelland Village School whose students will be mucking in to help with the planting during National Tree Week. The farm produces free range eggs and is planting trees to provide a better environment for their chickens.
Cllr Martyn Alvey, Cornwall’s portfolio holder for environment and climate change, said:
“Tree-planting season has started and National Tree Week is nearly here so we’re celebrating with some fantastic events to get involved in, organised by the Forest for Cornwall team and our partners.
“Trees are a vital tool in our mission to help nature recovery and to mitigate climate change. Our Forest for Cornwall team is working hard to ensure that the right tree is planted in the right place for the right purpose.
“Come and pick up a free tree for your back garden and help restore nature in your community.”
National Tree Week is an annual event organised by the Tree Council highlighting the importance of trees and their multiple benefits including providing shade, shelter, blossom, fruit, habitat and highways for nature, as well as improving our air quality, mental wellbeing and absorbing emissions.
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Overview
The Climate and Environment Alliance was formed in September 2023 and is made up of a diverse range of 62 (and growing) organisations from across Cornwall. These VCSE organisations are often placed based collectives and work within their specific communities, on a range of challenges such as carbon, litter picking, energy or nature recovery. There is also a collection of larger organisations that work across the whole of Cornwall on either general or specific projects to protect nature and build climate resilience. The alliance has a selection of public sector partners within it, with the remit that the ratio is always strongly in favour of the VCSE. We do find that this mix of partners allows open, powerful and collaborative discussion, and movement on our objectives. This diversity of voices is appreciated by both the alliance and its public sector partners- to have this direct interaction between policy makers and the sector, we’ve found, is of great benefit to both.
As an alliance, the Climate and Environment group have worked hard to pin down what collaborative action looks look in practise and have mapped out a range of objective to work towards for the next year (insert image of objectives here).
With organisations such as Cornwall Wildlife Trust, Surfers against Sewage, Volunteer Cornwall and the Eden Project working alongside local place-based Clean Ocean Sailing, The Seal Sanctuary, PL24 and BF Adventure, it has been a steep learning curve about what we have collective capacity and power to have impact on for Cornwall. Collectively our strength is in the knowledge we hold, so one of our primary objectives is to take that learning and utilise it to support the wider VCSE sector to build resilience and become more sustainable as individual organisations. Weve also worked alongside partners in the development of the Climate Commision for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, to shape what future Cornwall looks like in this space.
Vision
To support the VCSE sector to adapt, mitigate and build resilience.
Objectives
The Alliance has spent significant time creating an Objective list for the year ahead, 2024. Its key targets are as follows:
- Declare a Climate and Nature emergency as the VCSE Sector. This has been codesigned with all alliances and is now live on our website – please sign up here
- Collect baseline data from VCSE organisations including information on: Energy, Banking, Pensions, Waste, Transport, Technology and Policies. This survey is now live – please take the time to fill it in here
- Workshops to research best practice in our sector: Happening throughout April and May in Hayle, Camelford, Truro and Liskeard
- Create a ‘How to Guide’ to support VCSE colleagues and organisations to take positive action to build climate resilience, using the baseline data subject areas
- Case studies on best practice from our organisations within the Climate and Environment alliance
- Launch of the ‘How to Guide’ and Event led by the Climate and Environment alliance to share knowledge across the VCSE
Membership
Chair
Peter Lefort- Greener Futures
Vice-Chair
TBC
VSF engagement support
Kirstie Edwards, Engagement Officer: kirstie.edwards@cornwallvsf.org
HOW COMPANIES CAN ACCELERATE VALUE CHAIN DECARBONIZATION
Up to
90% of a company’s emissions can come from value chain emissions, also known as Scope 3 emissions.
Scope 3 emissions are divided into upstream or downstream value chains, with downstream referring to use and end-of-life of a company’s products by a customer, and upstream referring to goods and services a company procures from its suppliers.
To deliver on their corporate climate targets and align themselves with the 4 A’s of Climate Leadership, companies must tackle Scope 3.
Scope 3 is an area many companies find challenging, particularly when it comes to getting accurate emissions data. However, companies do not need to have perfect Scope 3 data to get started on their value chain decarbonization journey.
To help companies accelerate Scope 3 decarbonization, we have brought together best-in-class tools, approaches and examples from across our network of partners, with case studies demonstrating company action.
ASK YOUR SUPPLIERS TO MAKE CREDIBLE CLIMATE COMMITMENTS
Businesses can act now by asking their suppliers to make credible climate commitments. They can do this in
several ways, from asking on a voluntary basis to providing benefits and incentives, or penalizing suppliers for not committing.
The Supplier Cascade
The Supplier Cascade approach has been designed to kick start climate action through the value chain.
To participate, businesses ask their Tier 1 suppliers to:
- make a credible reduction target aligned with science;
- start a cascade by asking all their own Tier 1 suppliers to do the same; and
- publicly report progress on their targets and supplier action annually.
This creates a domino effect of climate action as each subsequent tier of the value chain asks its own Tier 1 suppliers to act.
This approach is:
- Measurable: prioritizing metrics that can be accurately measured and are within an organization’s control.
- Straightforward: no deep technical knowledge required, enabling implementation by procurement teams.
- Flexible: businesses can engage and incentivize their suppliers however they choose, prioritizing the biggest emissions reduction and business opportunities.
- Cost saving: buyers support a unified ask, saving suppliers time and resources from responding to bespoke requests.
- Scalable: the approach generates climate action far beyond an organization’s own value chain.
- Action-oriented: companies start now instead of waiting for the challenges around accurate Scope 3 emissions data to be solved.
The Supplier Cascade approach is being tested with a cohort of early adopter companies in 2024, with key metrics and learnings captured to assess its impact. Many of the tools and initiatives for supplier engagement listed below can also trigger a cascade effect through the value chain.
If you are a farmer in Cornwall or Isles of Scilly and thinking about how you can boost your environmental credentials then business support could help!
We have a range of business support programmes that could help you and your business. Below are some of the details of what is on offer plus we have access to a database of information and resources to help with your business questions.
You don’t have to worry about which support is right for you – that is why the Growth Hub are here! Together we will have a free business review to discuss all the options and point you in the right direction.
The Agri Carbon Kernow project offers farmers in Cornwall free support to help them:
Carbon Footprint Reduction: Participating farms will receive expert evaluation of their carbon footprint, along with a curated list of actionable strategies to minimise it. This includes the development of personalised decarbonisation plans, guiding farmers on the journey towards achieving Net Zero status and contributing to both local and global climate goals.
Water Resilience: Through detailed assessments, farmers will gain insights into their water usage practices and their impact on local watercourses. The program will offer a range of viable options for improving water resilience on farms, along with guidance on accessing funding opportunities to implement these strategies effectively.
Environmental Management: Agri Carbon Kernow will assist farmers in evaluating the natural environment of their farms, identifying opportunities for nature recovery and biodiversity enhancement. Participants will receive support in navigating initiatives such as the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), empowering them to integrate environmentally friendly practices into their farming operations.
The project is an extension of the highly successful Farm Net Zero project that already supports farms in Cornwall. Part-funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, Agri Carbon Kernow is a collaboration between Duchy College, Westcountry Rivers Trust, Cornwall Wildlife Trust, the Farm Carbon Toolkit and the Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Growth Hub to deliver support to a limited number of farms during 2024.
Decarbonising Homes – A Draft Strategy for Cornwall
Cornwall Council is working on a Housing Decarbonisation Strategy for Cornwall. This means looking at all housing, to find the best ways to reduce harmful emissions, while keeping our homes warm in the winter, cool in the summer and making them affordable to run.
As a council they want to make sure that everyone has access to the right advice and information. If you are a homeowner, tenant or landlord, having the best advice and support on the most effective ways to make green home improvements and ways to fund them is vital.
The draft strategy looks at how to improve energy efficiency and cut emissions in our homes.
More information is available at Let’s Talk web pages and a copy of the draft
strategy may be accessed via following weblink https://letstalk.cornwall.gov.
Cornwall Council are inviting residents to complete a short survey to give their views on the Housing Decarbonisation
Strategy. This survey will close on 16 September 2024. The survey can be accessed from the following weblink https://letstalk.cornwall.gov.
Cornwall's Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (EVI) Strategy
Cornwall’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (EVI) Strategy is published!
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the consultation on the Cornwall EVI Strategy. It has now been finalised and is available to view on the Cornwall Council website. The Strategy sets out how Cornwall Council will support the expansion of EV charging infrastructure over the next few years.
The Council webpages have other useful information that you may wish to use yourself or direct residents towards:
- Suggest a location for a new public charging point. Pinpoint it on a map to help the Council with its future plans.
- Town and Parish councils can submit an expression of interest for new EV facilities on land they own or lease from Cornwall Council.
- How to apply for an EV charging channel (for residents without off street charging who wish to run cables across a footway to a vehicle)
- Information on grants for buying and charging electric vehicles (including for people who don’t have off-street parking)
- How to use Cornwall Council charge points
Renewable Energy Loans
Owning a property often means facing various expenses, from installing measures to reduce your energy usage to the desire for eco-friendly improvements. If you're considering installing solar panels and battery storage, or other renewable energy measures, spreading the cost with a council backed loan may be a good solution.
Cornwall Council has recently partnered with Lendology CIC offering a loan scheme for eligible homeowners for funding of energy efficiency and green energy installations. Ranging from £1,000 to £20,000, with a fixed interest rate of 4%, this initiative aims to make finance accessible for homeowners seeking to improve their properties sustainably.
Cornwall Council and Lendology CIC strive to understand and address the challenges homeowners face in funding property improvements. As a social enterprise lender and B Corp, Lendology prioritises people over profit, ensuring fair and accessible financing solutions.
Lendology CEO, Emma Lower, said: "We're thrilled about this collaboration with Cornwall Council, which marks a significant step forward improving the private housing sector. As we don't have a large marketing budget, we rely on word of mouth to ensure everyone can live in a home they're proud of. That's why communication with local parishes is crucial for us."
If you are a homeowner in Cornwall, apply now or learn more at www.lendology.org.uk or by calling 01823 461099. Take the first step towards a more sustainable home today.
We recommend that you conduct an independent retrofit assessment to establish whether any works that you may be planning to adapt your property are likely to be suitable for your property and goals.
Representative Example (4% fixed interest rate, Representative 4.2% APR)
Loans are subject to status and are typically protected by a Title Restriction. Borrow £5,000 over 60 months, £92.08 monthly repayments. Total amount repayable = £5,544.96, including £20 fee for registering the Title Restriction against your property at the Land Registry. The £20.00 fee is only payable if a loan is agreed by Lendology and you decide to proceed with a loan. We do not charge interest on the fee. A Title Restriction means that you may not be able to sell your home without our permission unless the loan is fully repaid. Missing payments could affect your credit rating and ability to obtain credit in the future.
This project is funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Cornwall Council has been chosen by Government as a Lead Authority for the fund and is responsible for monitoring the progress of projects funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
Community Energy Plus
Community Energy Plus is Cornwall’s energy advice charity. It provides free, independent advice and support to householders in Cornwall so they can enjoy warmer, energy efficient homes as part of a more sustainable future see: Householders - Community Energy Plus (cep.org.uk). This webpage
provides access to “page turnable” leaflets on saving energy and money, energy tariff information and available government financial assistance and grants.
It also supports a wide range of public, private and third sector organisations to support innovative projects relating to energy efficiency and renewable energy see: Communities - Community Energy Plus (cep.org.uk)
Help With Food
Help with Food | Let's Talk Cornwall
Cornwall Council keeps an up to date list of local food banks, including those who accept people without food vouchers. This list has opening times, contact details and more information:
https:/letstalk.cornwall.gov.uk/help-with-food
For information regarding the waste collection for Lanreath, please click on the link: