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STOKE FOOD PARTNERSHIP Stoke St Gregory, Somerset, England stokefood@yahoo.com Back HERE to Stoke Food Partnership Home Page FOOD MILES ( Carbon Footprint) ‘Food Miles’ is a way of measuring the distance any food travels from the land to your plate. ‘Food Miles’ have increased dramatically over the last twenty years, for three main reasons: we buy (what should be) seasonal food all year round; we buy more processed food; and we like to pay as little for it as possible. We also add to the mileage ourselves. We now travel further for our shopping, even if it’s to an organic farm shop, and use the car more often to do it. Then there’s all the food coming in to the country. Nearly all the fruit, and half of the vegetables, eaten in Britain are imported. The amount of food being flown into Britain rises each year. To take one example, strawberries are flown in from warmer climates to satisfy our desire for permanent dietary summertime, and air freight has a far bigger impact on the environment than sea or road travel has. Even the humble pizza, because of the way the food processing industry works, causes problems. Its various ingredients travel around the country from factory to factory, before they make their way to the shops. Even simple items like prepared salad travel far longer distances than they used to. ‘Food Miles’ is not everything, though. The way in which food is produced also has a significant impact. Reports shows that it is less environmentally friendly to grow tomatoes in Britain under glass than it is to import tomatoes from Spain. The energy needed to heat the glass houses for growing tomatoes in Britain is significantly more than the energy used in transporting tomatoes from Spain where no heating is used because of the warmer climate. But, of course, this debate about tomatoes would be irrelevant if we eat fruit and vegetables when they are in season. A final point about Food Miles is how do we know how far any food travelled? A food’s country of origin may be on the label but, beyond this, it’s generally impossible to tell how far the food has travelled and by what means. A long journey by boat, has less environmental impact than a shorter one by road. Even in a Taunton supermarket, milk labelled ‘West Country’ may have been produced in Cornwall, travelled hundreds of miles to be processed, before returning to the local in store shelf. It can be all very confusing, and work is needed to find out about the food we buy here in Stoke and in the surrounding towns.

STOKE FOOD PARTNERSHIP Stoke St Gregory, Somerset, England stokefood@yahoo.com Easy Cooking (For Everyone ) Click HERE Food Waste (Using All We Can ) Click HERE Food Miles (Carbon Footprint ) Click HERE

To see this working, head to your live site. Categories All Posts My Posts Forum Welcome! Have a look around and join the discussions. Create New Post General Discussion Share stories, ideas, pictures and more! subcategory-list-item.views subcategory-list-item.posts 493 Follow Questions & Answers Get answers and share knowledge. subcategory-list-item.views subcategory-list-item.posts 703 Follow New Posts Getty 4d 'I love going home' Stefon Diggs on going back to where his football journey started Questions & Answers Like 1 comment 1 Tristan Elvis 5d What Unique Features Make FMWhatsapp Stand Out? General Discussion Hello everyone, I’ve been curious about FMWhatsapp and how it’s different from the regular WhatsApp app. I’ve heard it has some unique features like more privacy controls and better customization options. For those who have used it, what makes FMWhatsapp worth the switch? Are there any must-try features, or things to watch out for, like security issues or account risks? I’d love to hear your experiences before I decide to give it a try. Thanks in advance! Like 0 comments 0 blaisarnesons 3d Cowboys news: Padded practices kick up the intensity at training camp Questions & Answers Like 2 comments 2 Forum - Frameless

HEDGEHOGS BACK to Projects This little hog was snapped having a picnic in a garden near you. Amazing night-time footage of our local hedgehog population was revealed at the Envirofair , Saturday 16th October. Considered a gardener’s best friend, hedgehogs will happily hoover up slugs roaming in vegetable beds. Covered in spines, hedgehogs like to eat all sorts of bugs, but especially slugs and crunchy beetles. They are most active at night and hibernate through winter. From recent social media posts, you may have realised that Trevor Williams has been collating sightings of hedgehogs around the village. He already has some photos and video clips, but it's not too late to send him some more (or just a word about where you have seen a hog). Email: envirostoke@yahoo.com or contact Trevor direct. Even if you haven't seen a hedghog, there might be other clues! In the meantime, why not check out some of these links: ​ The British Hedgehog Preservation Society's interesting site can be found HERE ​ Another hedgehog site is HERE ​ See HERE for Somerset Wildlife Trust's tips on helping hedgehogs by making small adjustments in your garden ​ Finally, the link to an article in the Western Daily Press, by Ian Liddell-Grainger, Bridgwater MP, can be found HERE ​

Stoke St Gregory Community Plan 2023 New 24th June 2023 - 20 mph? See HERE Over the last months a group of villagers has been very busy conducting a survey and producing a report on the answers given. This has resulted in a new village, or community plan which will inform decisions by local groups and hopefully show outside funding agencies the perceived needs of our village. See all the documents HERE on the Parish Council website. Carbon Footprint This is just one of many topics covered in the survey and plan, but maybe a useful starting point for Stoke Environment Group . One of the survey topics was stated as “What do you think would help you to reduce your own carbon footprint and help restore the area’s natural biodiversity?” An ama zing 348 , out of the 385 people who took part in the survey, responded to this question, showing the level of interest and concern in our village. But, how can we translate these feelings into action? ​ The first step is to let us know who you are. Th e survey was obviously confidential, so whether you have views on how we should proceed, or just want to be kept informed can you please contact us? 120 people ticked the box - Support and guidance on making my home more energy efficient. We held an event on this subject, which was poorly attended, so were we not looking at the right topics for those 120 people, did we not advertise properly, or would you 120 people like information in a different form? Please let us know. envirostoke@yahoo.com ​ Other responses were: 76 - Support and guidance for reducing my use of energy and water 29 -Support and guidance for reducing food waste 190 - Increased opportunities for recycling, reusing and repurposing 115 - Community composting scheme 81 - Provision of more allotments to support local food production 147 - More safe cycle lanes/pedestrian walkways across the village 39 - More electric vehicle charging points 47 - A community car-share scheme 90 - Opportunity to use green community transport Again, if you ticked any of these boxes, please let us know who you are, and why you did so. envirostoke@yahoo.com ​ Stoke Environment Group has been looking at and tackling some of these issues already and will be following up on more of them. But please don’t be shy. All those ticks in boxes mean that you care. We just need to get together to see what we can do. If we don’t, then the good work of the Village Survey Group might be wasted. We have had the following response from one of the members of the Stoke Environment steering group: I can and have been tackling most of these in the Round Robin. The telephone box project will tick the recycling nicely. We can put communal compost heaps in the orchard as discussed. Footpaths already in place with Sarah's wonderful team. The community transport could be trickier for us to undertake. I'm sure there are many other ways we can fulfil these briefs in the future - and are doing so now. The challenge is to make these changes attractive and simple and reach as many people as possible. A lot of people are anxious about changing habits. It's our role, as I see it, to make the transitions look as normal as possible. The Enviro Fair is our biggest advertisement - these categories in the plan can be used as a guide as to who and what we employ next year to put the messages and information across. I also suggest we have an advisory team that people could access on all subjects. Perhaps this could be done on the website? Readers invited to pose questions which are passed onto the relevant expert or practitioner to reply? Sort of enviro agony aunt/uncle!! ​ There were no other responses. Do we just continue doing what we are doing or is there something specific we can contribute to the Village Plan? 20mph 20 mph - Is it a Good Idea for Stoke? - New 24th June 2 023 We've now got used to travelling through Curry at 20 miles per hour. Are we ready for the same thing in Stoke? England is way behind the rest of the UK in terms of slowing down traffic in residential areas, but we don't have to wait for the Westminster government to get its finger out. But, we always have the same issue. Lots of people ticked the box, but who are you? Who will come forward and make a contribution to a safer Stoke? Would you be willing to pledge to travelling at less than 20 mph through the village? If 50 people committed to that it would slow everybody else down. Please get in touch envirostoke@yahoo.com ​ Start by having a look at the 20's Plenty site HERE ​ Surely there is someone around who wants this to happen?

Although this is not a secure page, it does not appear on the menu, so it is unlikely that anyone will 'stumble' on it. I don't think there is anything confidential here, but probably best if the page address was not made public. Project Outlines, Plans & Proposals Composting Workshop - OUTLINE Composting Workshop - PLAN Envirofair22 - PLAN Great Big Green Week - PROPOSAL Photo Competition 2022 - OUTLINE Photo Competition 2022 - PLAN Stoke Food Partnership - PLAN Village Hall Hedge Planting Day - OUTLINE Village Hall Hedge Planting Day - PLAN Village Hall Spinney Management - PLAN

An Amazing Day BACK to EnvirofairHome Page The links to the various things that happened at this year's ENVIROFAIR are still available below. See below for the photo gallery recording some of what was going on, but here is the 'Editor's Favourite' . A medley of uses for old plastic bottles - courtesy of the Arthurs Family of the Wagon House, Meare Green . . . Talks in the Meeting Room - Click HERE Contributors - Click HERE Plant, Seed & Vegetable Swap - Click HERE Family Fun - Click HERE Raffle - Click HERE Last Year's Envirofair - Click HERE With almost 30 exhibitors, there was a distinct emphasis on engaging with the younger members of our community. One of the most popular exhibits was a talk and demonstration of owls by Sharandys Owl Rescue Centre. It was amazing to see these beautiful creatures close up and hear about how they survive in the wild. We also had colourful and informative displays by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Butterfly Trust, Dykes Farm, Chedzoy Fair Share project, to name just a few. If you were not able to join us this year, we will be running another fair in 2023 . ​ In the meantime, click HERE for a few photos of the day.

Click HERE for ENVIROFAIR Home Page Plant, Seed and Vegetable Swap! A swap means just that! Bring along plants, seeds or veg that you don’t want and swap for something that you do! A great fun, free way to reuse, reduce and recycle! Start collecting plants and seeds now – ready for the big day! Plants etc can be taken to the village hall early on the day or to Birch House, Woodhill or Stoke House, The Square , Stoke St Gregory in the weeks before. The more plants, seeds and veg, the more swapping fun can be had by everyone!

Click HERE for ENVIROFAIR Home Page Raffle Prizes - Tickets only available on the day at the Envirofair Prize: 1 Year's Membership to the Trust SWT looks after a wide range of habitats from wetlands to woodlands, grasslands and meadows, and provides secure environments for a range of wildlife such as dormice, otters, hedgehogs, barn owls and many other species. Visit their web site HERE Prize: £25 to spend at Coates English Willow Shop A place to see the willow industry, from the Withy Bed to the Basket. You will find a warm welcome and are invited to learn about the history and art of willow growing and basket making. Dogs on leads are welcome to all areas. Visit their web site HERE Prize: Mint Bundle – toothpaste x 2, mouthwash x 2, metal winder and mouthwash cup Welcome to the wonderful world of Waken. We were born in 2019 in the UK and ever since we’ve been on a mission to change the world of mouthcare. We do this by creating effective, more sustainable products that look beautiful in your bathroom Visit their web site HERE Prize: Clothes Washing sheets and pack of 3 soaps For every pack of Serious Soaps laundry detergent or bar soaps they sell, they recover 1kg of ocean-bound plastic. That’s the equivalent of fifty 500ml plastic bottles or 500 crisp packets. Visit their web site HERE Prize: A Water Butt " By 2030, we aim to achieve net zero operational carbon emissions. These are our annual emissions linked to our energy use and transport, plus other greenhouse gases that are emitted from sewage and sludge treatment processes." See their web site HERE Prize: A Compost Converter Compost converters are made from recycled plastic, UV-stabilised to prevent degradation, require no assembly, and are guaranteed for seven years. See their web site HERE Prize: £10 Gift Voucher Monkton Elm is an award winning family owned garden centre. Apart from plants & seeds there is a Farm Shop, gift cards, home decor, garden furniture and BBQ’s, pet centre, greenhouses and garden buildings. Visit their web site HERE

BACK to Themes MOBILITY & TRANSPORT Stoke Environment Group will be: > Mapping paths, tracks and permissive routes etc. > Helping to improve signage and guides > Identifying improvements to access whilst respecting coexisting natural habitats > Encouraging responsible use of motor transport > Helping to provide improved facilities and encouraging healthy exercise See also: FOOTPATHS & FOOTWAYS - HERE and FOOTPATH MAINTENANCE - HERE The 51 Bus Route provides an excellent service in and out of Taunton. Its future, however, is always in doubt at each review. It's so easy to get the car out and travel whenever and wherever we want, but if more people don't use the bus we will eventually lose the service. ‘Mobility’ is a basic freedom; it is the possibility to access work, education, services, society and everything else that is part of a person’s life. In other words, mobility is one of the vital enablers of any community, especially of rural communities where many essential things are located some distance away.

LITTER BACK to Projects We've all done it. The tissue that blew away an a windy day. The empty can we didn't notice when we cleared up after the picnic. But hopefully anyone reading this is not a 'litterer'. There have been litter picking days around the village, and a few dedicated individuals have picked away quietly over the years. We are now aiming to get the whole village covered on a regular basis. Apart from 'Keeping Stoke Tidy' , the theory is that the less litter lying around - the less likely people are to drop more. If you can help, please get in touch envirostoke@yahoo.com It doesn't matter how small an area you can deal with, but it would useful to know exactly where. To date (August 2021), people have volunteered to litter pick regularly in the following areas: ​ Woodhill Playing Field Pincombe Drove Pound Drove North Drove Slough Lane Willey Road Huntham Close Huntham Lane Church Close The activity is already making a difference, but areas still looking for volunteers include Meare Green, Griggs Hill, Dark Lane, Polkes Field, Churley, Curload and Windmill. If you can take on any or part of these (or indeed parts of those roads already covered), do please get in touch envirostoke@yahoo.com No, it couldn't happen here? Animals may get trapped or poisoned with litter in their habitats. Cigarette butts are a threat to wildlife and have been found in the stomachs of fish and birds, who have mistaken them for food. Also animals can get trapped in the rubbish and be in serious discomfort. For example, the plastic used to hold beverage cans together can get wrapped around animals' necks and cause them to suffocate as they grow. Other instances where animals could be harmed by litter include broken glass lacerating the paws of dogs, cats, and other small mammals. Lets do what we can to help them.