Milverton Residents Win Support for Climate Challenge Initiative

Milverton Parish Council is supporting a group of Milverton residents who want to reduce the amount of carbon the village uses.  "Climate Change is such a daunting issue; it's easy to feel hopeless.  However, just as much as we are all part of the problem. so we can all be part of the solution."  explained Callie Gauntlett, one of the group's founder members.  "We know CO₂ is contributing to climate change and to prevent it reaching dangerous levels we need to reduce the energy we consume now. Each home in Britain creates about six tonnes a year, but by taking some easy steps, we can cut that amount by approximately a third. "

One of the groups' first tasks will be to conduct a carbon survey of the village in conjunction with Richard Huish College and The University of Chester. "We feel privileged to be involved in such an important scheme.  This baseline survey will be useful in terms of working out how much work is needed to ultimately carbon neutralise the village and to show Milverton's future improvements in carbon output in quantitative terms. The carbon survey is currently being written and representatives of the college will be helping to conduct the survey in the coming months," said Nikki Lewis, Head of Geography at the College.

The Group will be encouraging their fellow villagers to reduce their carbon use.  "Each and every one of us can make a real difference by making small changes in our daily lives", explained Callie, "by simply not leaving your TV on standby but switching it off, you can save 20kg of carbon pollution this year.  UK-wide, that is nearly half a million tonnes of carbon.  The average homeowner could save up to £80.00 a year and over 500kg of carbon just by switching off all their appliances.  It really is that easy."

'"The Parish Council fully supports this important and innovative initiative and hopes that Milverton can show the way for other small communities to make a lasting impact on the way we all live our lives and how we use our natural inheritance." said Gwilym Wren,
Clerk to Milverton Parish Council.

To kick off their initiative the group is organising a Climate Challenge Weekend on 23/24^th March when they will be showing Al Gore's award winning film, An Inconvenient Truth on Thursday 22nd March at 7.30 pm in the Victoria Rooms. This will be followed by an exhibition at Milverton Primary School, Somerset's first eco school, where there will be displays, information and people to talk to about climate change and what we can all do about it. 

"We are hoping lots of people from the village and surrounding community will come up to visit the school that day and find out how they can really make a difference in what is the biggest challenge facing us in the world today," said head teacher Mr Bish. "The children at Milverton School have halved our weekly waste production, reduced our water consumption by a third, made our grounds more wildlife friendly and reduced our energy usage, as well as generating green electricity using photo-voltaic cells. Each journey starts with one small step."

The group is calling for everyone in Milverton and the surrounding area to get involved NOW. You do not need any special knowledge or lots of money - in fact, you might even save some!

CONTACT:     Callie Gauntlett, 01823 400054, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Background Info

The recent government Stern report warns that average global temperatures could rise by between 2C and 5C over the next 50 years if no action is taken to combat global warming. This could mean hundreds of millions of people may be forced to migrate because of floods and famine and 40 per cent of species could face extinction. It could also trigger the worst economic depression in living history.

23/24 March Milverton Climate Challenge Initiative Weekend

22 March         7.30                Victoria Rooms                                Free Showing of Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth

24 March         2.00 - 5.00       Milverton County Primary School        Milverton Climate Action Event

24 March         8.00 - 11.00     Victoria Rooms                                Milverton Climate Challenge Benefit Gig

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