How can you join us?
You can join us by visiting our website www.creditonclimateaction.org.uk and completing and sending the "contact us" form
or emailing Charles Mossman at charles@creditonclimateaction.org.uk
Read our News
Click on Crediton News in the left hand column and see what we are doing.
Crediton Climate Action Achievements 2009
The Food and Farming Group has been going just over a year and is involved in seed swops, a garden share scheme, seasonal supper events and is currently making a web-based local produce directory. They also had a stall at the Crediton Food Festival in June. The Transport Group continues to promote cycling and public transport and a feasibility study is now being carried out for a cycle path between Crediton and Exeter. Co-Cars, a car share club has nearly 10 people signed up, with only 15-20 needed to make it feasible to go-ahead. The Energy Group held a very successful open house weekend demonstrating renewable energies, and also ran a stall at the Mid-Devon show with Sampford Peverall group. After the successful plastic bag campaign in 2008, the Waste Action Group has been looking at the 3 R’s – Reduce, Reuse Recycle and is now tackling the 2 new supermarkets in town. The affiliated group, Women’s Environmental Network held a number of events and runs a shared allotment. The Education Group helped to decorate a Christmas tree for CCA at the Christmas Tree Festival and Gerald had just heard that QE 6th form are to organise a hustings event prior to the forthcoming elections this year. The Tree Group has continued to raise the profile of trees and has planted 3 cherry trees and another 3 native trees are to be planted. On 24th Oct the Core Group organised the 350 day event "Crediton Counts", to raise awareness of the dangers of CO2 levels rising above 350ppm. Over 300 people attended and 30 organisations signed pledges, as well as over 300 individuals. Gerald and Laura took all the pledges to Copenhagen (by bike) and it was encouraging to see other local organisations showing their support for climate change. The newsletter continues to flourish, due to the efforts of Paula Mossman, with around 350 recipients. The professional looking pdf version is put together by Jeff Bellingham who is thanked for his efforts. The website is kept well up to date and relevant by Charles Mossman and is visited by on average 30 people a day.
Crediton Climate Action Achievements 2008
During the course of 2008, as general events, we held a well attended 2nd birthday party and talent night in January, an AGM in Feb, and had a summer outing to the Tarka trail in June. More recently we attracted over 300 people to the Crediton Counts event in Town Square in October and sponsored and decorated a live tree at the Holy Cross Xmas Tree festival.
As a part of the wider Transition and climate debate, we sent a representative to the Transition Network and Low Carbon Network conferences in the summer and became active members of the Devon CAN network of climate action groups. We keep up a regular debate with our MP and Govt ministers and Gerald and Laura Conyngham presented our 350 pledges to our MP Angela Browning in November. They will also present them to Desmond Tutu at the Climate talks currently underway in Copenhagen.
CCA Action Groups planted 100 fruit trees in gardens around Crediton, organised a very successful renewable Energy Day in May attended by over 300 people, and had well supported and informative stalls at the Mid Devon Show and Crediton Food Festival. WEN held a great Teddy Bears Picnic in the park in the summer and the Food Group have recently begun a programme of seasonal local suppers.
Members of the Hearts & Minds group attended talks by Satish Kumar and Joanna Macy and joined forces with the Exeter Hearts & Souls Group. Alongside all this, the Core Group hold monthly meetings and all the Action Groups meet regularly, host stalls at the Farmers Market, and are planning many more activities in 2010.
To get our message across as widely as possible our website www.creditonclimateaction.org.uk has also been extensively improved and is now regularly updated. It currently attracts more than 40 visitors a day.
We have also had regular and extensive coverage of our views and events in the local press and finally, last but not least, have created 11 issues of this newsletter which goes out electronically to almost 350 people to keep them informed and in touch.
Phew!! A pretty impressive list for an organisation that started out as the brainchild of just 4 people less than 3 years ago!
I would like to send my sincere thanks and those of the Core Group to all the CCA Supporters who have made this possible (and my apologies for anything or anyone I may have left out). Together we really can achieve more (TEAM) and we look forward to all that is to come for 2010 and beyond.
Paula Mossman
THE GREAT NEWS IS THAT CREDITON IS NOW OFFICIALLY A TRANSITION TOWN.
After many months of threatening to become one, Crediton Climate Action have now completed all the criteria necessary and been officially accepted!! Gerald Conyngham, our CCA Steering Group chair, has written a short piece below to explain what this means to us as a group.
TRANSITION TOWN CREDITON - ITS OFFICIAL !!
Crediton Climate Action has now been approved as a Transition Town. We are part of a wider network which includes over 50 other towns and villages, all committed to taking action in their local communities and working together for wider changes in society. Key principles underlying this movement include the following:
A recognition that climate change and peak oil require urgent action, and this needs planning for, since it has major implications for the way society is organised. We need to act together and if we do so, we can use our creativity to create a future that is more fulfilling and enriching than our present lifestyle.
Some of the key steps include awareness raising, networking with other groups, organising public meetings, forming working groups, helping people to develop new skills, building contacts with local government, and creating an energy descent plan.
Much of this has been happening in Crediton, which is why we have been approved, but we still have a long way to go. Our next step is to hold a strategy meeting at which we can look at what we need to do at the local, regional and national levels. We hope to involve as many of you as possible in this process.
If you would like to know more about the transition movement, look at the following website: www.transitiontowns.org
We are planning to change our name to Sustainable Crediton in 2010 since most people do not understand the term ‘transition town’!
Gerald Conyngham Chair of CCA