Businesses in the rural parish of Bigbury are pulling together to support the community-led group, Bigbury Net Zero which aims to inspire and support local efforts to reduce Bigbury’s parish carbon footprint. The forthcoming Island Assembly is being held on Monday February 21. The objective is to bring together invited delegates from South Hams capable of forming alliances to build ambitious projects which can rebuild wildlife habitat and reduce carbon emissions before 2030.  

 The event will gather delegates from local government; organisations involved in renewable energy, sustainable transport and wildlife habitat monitoring and restoration; farmers, local businesses, community groups and experts in carbon foot-printing.  Artists and musicians are also taking part in this event to play an important role in engaging people at an emotional level about the critical need to work together to save future generations from even worse climate change outcomes.  This inspirational event will be recorded to share on social media and posted on the BNZ website www.bigburynetzero.org 

The Burgh Island Hotel is the venue from where delegates will be able to watch farmer, John Tucker, write his message in the sand with his tractor plough in the middle of the day.  The general public are invited to come to Bigbury-on- Sea at 1.30pm on Monday February 21 to show their support for John’s efforts to keep us all focused on the Climate Emergency.  If the winds are not too strong, local videographer, Mike Wynne Powell will film the beach message from a drone flight. 

In November last year, this local duo enabled about 500 people from families in South Hams to join the Beach Assembly, to feature on aerial images which were later seen all over the world. What will his message be this time?  The invitation-only Island Assembly promises to be a memorable event for the delegates attending. The event will be opened with the traditional Oh Yea!, Oh Yea! from Modbury Town Crier, David Scott.  Key Note speeches will be delivered by international climate change lawyer, Farhana Yamin, the UK’s High-Level Climate Action Champion, Nigel Topping and Social entrepreneur and Head of Livebarefoot Fund at Vivobarefoot, Dulma Clark.  With guidance from Kay Michaels delegates will be able to write their own Letters to the Earth and follow in the footprints of thousands of people globally who have already made their pledges to the Earth www.letterstotheearth.com.  The full list of speakers and delegates, together with their contacts, will be posted on the BNZ website.  Committee members of the new climate and nature network, Sustainable South Hams www.sustainablesouthhams.org

will be attending the event to meet up with representatives from newly emerging community groups.  Leading footprint programme developers, Mukti Mitchel (Carbon Savvy) and Johnathon Smith from (Farm Carbon Toolkit) will talk delegates through the benefits of measuring carbon footprints using these simple tools. The highly successful Yealm Community Energy project will be described by its Chair, Peter Brown, whilst the Director of the Devon Energy Collective, Als Parker will highlight some of the ways forward on renewable energy projects in the South Hams.  The ground-breaking Co-Car project, will be outlined by the founder and MD, Mark Hodson. Co-Cars will also bring one of their e-cars and scooters to the carpark at Bigbury on Sea as a demonstration.  The Renewables & Transport session will be moderated by Nina Skorupska CBE - CEO Assoc. for Renewable Energy and Clean technologies.   In the Nature & Farming session. Lynne Kenderdine from Devon Wildlife Trust will describe the achievements of the Avon Valley Project which brought together landowners and farmers to create a wildlife corridor from Dartmoor to the sea at Bigbury. Guy Parker, Director of Wychwood Biodiversity Limited will outline the ways in which communities can help to protect wildlife.  This intensely inspiring day will be concluded by climate folk singer, Sam Lee, who will raise the ambitions and commitment of delegates through song.

Bigbury Golf Club will be hosting a follow up event for Bigbury Net Zero on the evening of Thursday February 24 at 7.30 pm for up to 50 people who sign up in advance on the Eventbrite link for this public event.  Numbers are strictly limited to those who have signed up in advance.  Further events are possible if this is over-subscribed.  The ‘Golf Assembly’ has the same objective as the ‘Island Assembly’ – to bring people together to talk about what they could do to make a difference in the next 8 years.  That’s the time we have left until 2030, when projects must have been put in place that will reduce our emissions and urgently slow down global warming.  Speakers at the Golf Assembly will be Farhana Yamin, the UK’s High-Level Climate Action Champion, Nigel Topping (recorded message), Peter Brown, the Chair of the Yealm Community Energy project and Lynne Kenderdine from Devon Wildlife Trust.

 

For more information you can contact BNZ Secretary, Louise Wainwright  [email protected]