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Greenprint Steering Group Meeting Minutes - Greenprint Steering Group Meeting Q2
Location: Alde Room, East Suffolk House
Date: Tuesday 23 April 2023
Time: 10:00-12:00
Invited: Betsy Reid, Chris Ryde, Daniel Wareing, Emily Knock, Jane Healey, Laurence Moss, Luke Bennett, Paul Mackie, Rachel Smith Lyte, Susan Harvey
In attendance in person: Betsy Reid, Chris Ryde, Daniel Wareing, Emily Knock, Jane Healey, Laurence Moss, Rachel Smith Lyte
In attendance via zoom: Amy Duran, Susan Harvey
Apologies: Luke Bennett, Paul Mackie
Agenda
- Minutes of last meeting
- Any matters arising from Forum on Food & Farming held 28 February (all)
- Next Forum – on topic of climate anxiety (DW)
- Update on Nature First small grants (PM/DW)
- Update on Field to Fork (PM/DW)
- Rebrand of ESC renaturing policy (PM/DW)
- Updates from Steerers (any)
- Any other corporate ESC updates (PM)
- Upcoming events of note (DW)
- Any other business
- Dates of next meetings
1. Minutes of last meeting
Reminder about events in June (Lowestoft Environment Fair, and First Light), members interested in attending to advise DW.
Thermal imaging – barriers to involvement of tenants flagged by RSL, due to lack of power to affect change even if recommendations are clear. TW targeted The Street and Edwin Avenue to target lower income homes eligible for support, 8 participants, device would only work with up to date iPhone, would not work with Android in the street. The surveys were found to be quite time consuming. Feedback would be a lot of effort for the relative benefit, but a useful conversation starter nonetheless where the real value lied.
Follow up action – DW to raise with Claire Ling and suggest a round table feedback session from participant groups.
2. Any matters arising from Forum on Food & Farming held 28 February.
Good attendance, including from the farming sector with the NFU in the room, though engagement with farmers from the more “conventional” sector still noted as a challenge.
Local food leaflet – could this be replicated for western Suffolk? ACTION – DW to raise with Jess Smith and Claire Ling. SCC are in process of looking at this for the county.
BR observed problem of food deserts/food waste/disconnection etc concentrated in bigger towns.
Feedback from farmers – How are Farmers Trained? Are there any progressive groups in the sector we can connect with and help amplify? E.g. Farming Clusters (with focus on threats and opportunities, can be based on catchment areas), LEAF, NFFN.
RSL: How do we get more people back on the land?
3. Next Forum – on topic of climate anxiety
Aim for after 26 August Bank Holiday – before they go back, end of the school summer holiday perhaps? Possibly 9 September. Evening event
To be held in Lowestoft, LM suggests getting a school to be the venue.
Door to the Cosmos – vegetarian café in Lowestoft – potential catering provider.
Range of solutions to be showcased, inclusion of some activity based actions as examples. Look at the book George Marshall “Don’t Even Think About It” for understanding of how to confront difficult issue.
EK – suggestion to get schools along (teachers/staff). Acknowledge that young people are under a lot of pressure anyway.
AD – suggestion of connecting with group involved in bird box making with schools to find out how they managed to get engagement – First Flight.
SH raised point of needing young people involved in the delivery.
Opportunity to work with the Youth Council of East Suffolk – DW to explore with JB/SK.
EK observed there aren’t really any youth climate groups available locally.
ACTION - DW to circulate ideas for potential partners of expert organisations active in the field.
4. Update on Nature First small grants
This has been on hold since last year pending us confirming if we can make an internal bid to use ESC environment reserves to fund a further round. We also had to wait to see if these will be required to deliver internal corporate projects, such as decarbonisation. These reserves have been recently refreshed, so we will submit a bid to reopen this shortly as part of a package of other community-level funding bids. The plan is still to increase the funding available compared to previous years.
5. Update on Field to Fork
F2F recently reopened. Last year it provided 1,500 growing kits to primary schools and this year it offered 1,900 growing kits including compost pellets, speeds and access to Groundwork support. Applications were online and all kits were allocated. This month a £2,000 grant scheme opened for community food growing schemes, which closes on 30 April. The intention is to run the scheme again if funding can be secured.
6. Rebrand of ESC renaturing policy
We are working on a proposal to refresh the ESC 'Pardon the weeds' scheme to better communicate the benefits of the approach and make it simpler for communities to request areas of land to be brought in to the scheme plus report issues. We also hope to go beyond the reduced mowing approach and deliver more proactive habitat creation / management in a set number of locations where there is community support for doing.
7. Updates from Steerers
JH – Transition Woodbridge have held their Food Fayre, completed for now their Thermal Imaging activities and held a debrief session on the bat surveys held recently.
CR – reminded the Steering Group that the countryside team is very small with lots of sites to manage. The team currently have a felling application for Sutton Heath for enhancement of biodiversity, which is to be communicated in the next Greenprint Newsletter to raise awareness of the rationale.
LM – Greener Peasenhall are trying to persuade Parish Council to preserve cemetery and working with local Cllr Ewart on ideas around flooding and water management. Thermal imaging camera project complete for now.
BR – Greener Waldringfield will hold a follow up to Green Infrastructure Workshop, working together with cluster of parishes and focused on producing an aspirational group biodiversity action plan to address common issues between the settlements.
DW – NESTA Strategy sessions with SCCP, these will be opportunity to get data on what disengaged people think about a range of policy scenarios presented to them. The first is to be held on 10 June in Felixstowe. Each will accommodate 12 people per session, there will be 2 session per district.
On 26 June a visit to SWT Worlingham Marshes has been organised for members of the Greenprint Forum, to be promoted soon.
8. Any other corporate ESC updates
We are currently drafting our 'Environmental Impact Plan' which will include an action plan for how we are delivering our 8 strategic environmental priorities plus summarise our wider work on climate, biodiversity and use of resources & recycling. The plan is to publish this in July and it will be an evolving document that builds on our previous Climate Action Framework.
The Environment team will be at the Suffolk Show in May alongside other ESC teams.
9. Any other business
RSL advised that ESC recently awarded funding to Green Light Trust to enable completion of build of learning centre at Castan Wood in Martlesham. Potential for Steering Group to use venue for a future meeting.
BR mentioned the programme of events from Deben Climate Action Centre; suggestion that if members of group are available and wish to attend there may be opportunities to inform and complement the subsequent Greenprint Forum event on 28 Feb.
10. Dates of next meetings
- 30 July 2024; 5 November 2024; 18 February 2025
Future meetings to be held in hybrid form (in person with facility for others to tune in via Zoom if needed) if held at ESC offices, unless held at a community venue with or without a site visit combined in which case it would be in person only.