{"id":4290,"date":"2022-11-03T14:30:23","date_gmt":"2022-11-03T14:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/backup.act.stringerhj.co.uk\/oldsite\/?p=4290"},"modified":"2022-11-04T17:38:05","modified_gmt":"2022-11-04T17:38:05","slug":"act-three-years-and-counting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/backup.act.stringerhj.co.uk\/oldsite\/index.php\/2022\/11\/03\/act-three-years-and-counting\/","title":{"rendered":"ACT: three years and counting!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On April 18th 2019, Audrey Compton was standing outside Forde House, the home of Teignbridge District Council (TDC), with a group of people holding banners. They were there to lobby the council to pass the climate emergency declaration proposal put forward by Councillor Jackie Hook. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe really didn\u2019t think it would pass, but it did, unanimously, and with an amended carbon neutral target date of 2025, which was quite a surprise,\u201d says Audrey, a Teign Valley farmer and environmental campaigner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That target date was the most ambitious in the country, says Fuad Al-Tawil who was also at Forde House that day. \u201cWe thought it would be tough for the council to meet that target so suggested setting up a support group.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The suggestion was welcomed, and Action on Climate in Teignbridge (ACT) was formed in the summer of 2019 following a public meeting in July at Coombeshead Academy in Newton Abbot attended by about 200 people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fuad says: \u201cThe idea was to support TDC to deliver on its climate emergency declaration and to work with community organisations in Teignbridge, including parish and town councils, as a bridge between them and TDC.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New ways of working<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A voluntary organisation working with a district council was a novel idea – unique even. Fast forward three years and how has that worked out? Well, the monthly meetings still happen and ACT has given freely of its expertise and opinions, which appear to be valued. It has at times offered a critical voice, and remains completely independent of the council. \u201cWe have built a good and pretty unusual relationship with the council,\u201d says Fuad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kate Benham, ACT chairperson, says it has been a learning curve for both parties. \u201cThe council moves slowly, which can be frustrating, but it\u2019s a case of understanding what it can and can\u2019t do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
ACT members join Councillor Jackie Hook and council officer Will Easton to view work on renewable energy projects at the Teignmouth Lido in July 2022<\/em><\/strong>
 <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Andrew Shadrake, a founding member of ACT, believes ACT has kept the pressure on the council: \u201cThings have happened that wouldn\u2019t have happened without us. We offer a resource, particularly on technical knowledge, that TDC relies on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the reality remains that carbon emissions have barely budged. Says Fuad: \u201cACT has  succeeded in doing what we set out to do, in terms of supporting the district council and engaging the community. But in delivering on what matters, carbon reduction, we haven\u2019t succeeded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Action on nature and carbon<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ACT has had success on the ecological front, in particular with its Wildlife Wardens scheme, launched in the autumn of 2020. There are now 100 volunteer wardens spread across Teignbridge who have received training and do what they can to help wildlife in their parish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Wildlife Wardens being trained to complete surveys by the Devon Biodiversity Records Centre<\/em><\/strong>
 <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been twice as successful as I ever hoped,\u201d says Audrey, who set up the scheme and runs it with Flavio Winkler-Ford, a part-time paid coordinator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe great thing is wardens follow their own interests rather than ACT telling them what to do,\u201d she adds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spurred by the success of wildlife wardens, in early 2022 ACT launched the Carbon Cutters initiative in a renewed effort to move the dial on carbon emissions. Trying to achieve this through engaging with local councils has proved tough. ACT will continue to work with councils, but will concentrate on engaging with community groups for the Carbon Cutters scheme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are working with around 13 groups so far,\u201d says Kate. \u201cThey are hugely enthusiastic and really want to help.\u201d The scheme is run by part-time paid coordinator Peta Howell, with the help of a group of ACT members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still going strong<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Demonstrating the global carbon budget at the Energy Roadshow in September 2022<\/em><\/strong>
 <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Three years since launch, ACT still has a core group of enthusiastic, ambitious and committed people, and a wider membership of close to 450. That\u2019s an achievement in itself, says Andrew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, with Wildlife Wardens, and now Carbon Cutters, \u201cwe have tested and succeeded in developing a model for people to take action. We have also demonstrated a way of moving a district along, and raised the profile of climate change in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flexibility is a key strength. \u201cWe are an evolving organisation that is learning all the time,\u201d says Kate. \u201cIt\u2019s good that we\u2019re not afraid to change direction if we need to and try new things.\u201d Mandy Cole, a psychologist who volunteers with ACT says it\u2019s also important that \u201cwe don\u2019t tell people what to do. We listen and learn more about what would help them to do more about climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is also the personal reward for ACT members that comes with taking positive action, working with like-minded people and just having fun. For Audrey, \u201cthe last three years with ACT have been the most productive of 20 years of campaigning on climate change\u201d.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On April 18th 2019, Audrey Compton was standing outside Forde House, the home of Teignbridge District Council (TDC), with a group of people holding banners. They were there to lobby the council to pass the climate emergency declaration proposal put forward by Councillor Jackie Hook.  \u201cWe really didn\u2019t think it would pass, but it did, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4291,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69,132,55,32],"tags":[114,106,130,77],"class_list":["post-4290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-carbon","category-carbon-cutters","category-ecology","category-news","tag-act","tag-action-on-climate-in-teignbridge","tag-carbon-cutters","tag-wildlife-wardens"],"yoast_head":"\nACT: three years and counting! - Action on Climate in Teignbridge (ACT)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/backup.act.stringerhj.co.uk\/oldsite\/index.php\/2022\/11\/03\/act-three-years-and-counting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ACT: three years and counting! - Action on Climate in Teignbridge (ACT)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On April 18th 2019, Audrey Compton was standing outside Forde House, the home of Teignbridge District Council (TDC), with a group of people holding banners. 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