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Welcome to your monthly Climate Change update.
Northumberland County Council is committed to making our county carbon neutral by 2030 and we need everyone to do their bit to help reduce carbon emissions.
How can you help make a difference? 👇
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We’re decarbonising buildings
We have been pioneering the installation of low carbon ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) in our non-domestic buildings to help reduce emissions in the county.
To date, 20 GSHP projects have been undertaken, including in fire stations, schools and office premises saving 1025.09 tons of CO2 emissions to date – the equivalent of a petrol car driving 2,544,484 miles around the county.
The pumps are being supplied by British manufacturer and installation partner, Kensa and present the best value benefit against the carbon saved which will help accelerate us towards our carbon neutral goal by 2030. Especially as GSHPs have a typical lifespan of 20 years and become even more efficient as the grid continues to decarbonise.
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New cycling and walking routes approved
Cabinet members have agreed to the development of high-quality Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIP) in Ponteland, Ashington and Blyth which will create stronger and greener links between towns for work, education and leisure purposes.
Funding for the development will come from the LCWIP fund within the Council’s capital programme and top-up funding from the Transforming Cities Fund and the Active Travel Fund.
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Northumberland pupils lead the way in national walking initiative Pupils at Stannington First School are celebrating coming third on a national leader board of active schools. The school is one of ten on the national leaderboard for the WOW Walk of Fame for October 2022 which supports pupils’ health and wellbeing while reducing congestion and pollution around the gates.
The autumn WOW Walk of Fame Challenge asked pupils to walk to school as many times as possible between 3 and 31 October. Pupils who live too far away or are not able to walk the whole way to school were encouraged to Park and Stride by asking their parents or carers to park at least ten minutes away from the school and walk or wheel the rest of the way.
Watch the video below to find out more: |
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Sustainable accreditation for our primary schools
Eastlea Primary and Allendale Primary achieved Modeshift STARS Platinum Accreditation this term for their work to promote and encourage sustainable travel for the journey to school.
Allendale Primary and Tweedmouth Middle School both recently represented the Northeast in the Modeshift National Sustainable School of the Year finals in London, 11 schools attended from across the UK with Allendale and Tweedmouth both winning runners up in the primary and secondary categories.
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Join our climate change collaboration event
We would like to invite you to our collaboration event where we would like to gather your perspective about how we can work together to reach our carbon neutral targets.
- Date: Thursday 08 December 2022
- Time: 6pm - 7:30pm
- Location: Headway Arts, Blyth, NE24 1BY
The event will be structured around three key topics that link to our climate challenges and solutions in Northumberland:
- Renewables, energy efficiency and fuel poverty
- Reducing transport emissions
- Natural resources and land management
This event mirrors a similar event being run with Council Members will include presentations, interactive breakout sessions and refreshments. On-street parking is available. All welcome.
Register for free.
This is event is the first of four collaborative climate change events which we will be hosting across the county between November 2022 and May 2023. More events will be held in Hexham (Jan 2023), Alnwick (March 2023) and Berwick (May 2023). Details TBC.
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Funding opportunities
Tyne & Wear and Northumberland Community Foundation - Northern Gas Networks Community Partnering Fund
The Northern Gas Networks Community Partnering Fund is providing grants between £1,000 and £10,000 to local organisations offering support to those most affected by the pandemic and likely to be further affected by the cost-of-living crisis.
Applicants must register with the Community Foundation and submit the application online. Deadline: 11 December 2022.
Find out more about the fund in this webinar from Pete Barrett, Senior Programme Advisor at the Community Foundation and Jill Walker, Social Strategy Project Manager at Northern Gas Networks.You'll also have the chance to ask your questions during a live Q&A.
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The Tree Council’s Branching Out Fund
Grants of between £200 and £2,000 are available for schools, community groups, parish/town councils and Tree Warden Networks to plant trees, orchards and hedgerows. Projects must have strong community involvement, and ideally involve children and/or young people. The grants can fund the planting of trees, hedges and orchards, reasonable costs of non-plastic protection and supports, and mulch (weed suppressant – usually bark chippings). Deadline: 4 December 2022. More information and the application form can be found here.
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Funding for climate and biodiversity projects in schools
The ‘Tomorrow’s Climate Scientists Programme’ from the Royal Society is offering grants of up to £3,000 to UK primary and secondary schools. The funding gives students aged between 5 and 18 the chance to “have a voice in the direction of scientific research by working with their STEM partner.” Applicants must have two project partners, a school partner from the UK and a STEM partner from academia or industry. Deadline is end of November 2022. More information on the grant can be found here. |
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This email has been produced by the Northumberland County Council Communications team. |
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