Transition Chandlers Ford

Transition Chandlers Ford

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TransitionCF

I have the sad news that I will be leaving Transition Chandlers Ford at the end of May. I have decided to concentrate my efforts on Transition Southampton since I live in Southampton. Eastleigh Transition Network continues to exist and will be continuing its activities, so if you would like to continue receiving updates, please join up to the mailing list at: http://eepurl.com/e2ZQM. Many thanks for all of you who turned up to events, helped the group and supported me along the way. It's been great fun. I may see you sometime in the future.

Simple Actions


Energy
  • Turn off all appliances on standby
  • Keep the oven door shut as much as possible; every time you open it, nearly a quarter of the heat escapes
  • Don’t leave your phone on charge all night. It only needs three hours
  • Be a friend to your freezer. Defrost it regularly to help it run more efficiently
  • Catch ‘em young. Encourage your children to switch off electric toys and lights that they’re not using. They’ll soon get the hang of saving energy.
  • Dodge the draught! Fit draught-excluders to your front door, letter box and keyhole, and draw your curtains at dusk to keep the heat in.
  • When boiling water, only fill the kettle with as much as you’ll actually use (but make sure you cover the metal element at the base)
  • Dimmer is smarter. Use your dimmer switches to reduce the amount of energy used to light your room
  • Wait until you have a full load before putting on a wash. Two half-loads use more energy (and water) than one full load
  • Sleep tight. Make sure all the lights are turned off when you go to bed, or use a low-wattage night light if you do need to leave one on.
  • Turn your heating down by 1 degree. You’ll hardly notice the change in temperature, but it’ll make a big difference to your heating bill.
  • Close the curtains at dusk
  • Put lids on pans and keep the energy in – it’ll save you time as well!
  • Wash at 30 degrees, rather than at 40
  • Make sure your home is well insulated - Get cavity wall and loft insulation for your house
  • Change your electricity supplier to one that generates its electricity from renewable sources
  • Use a consumption meter to measure the energy you use in your house
  • Join the Energy Saving Trust
Ethical Buying
  • Green shopping: just needs a change in habits, and a bit of thought about what you buy and where you buy it. Support your local independent businesses.
  • Where you can, buy organic or fair trade items
  • Where you can, buy eco or recycled items
  • Buy natural cleaners: don’t fill your house with toxic chemicals, when you can use natural alternatives for a similar, but non-toxic result
Money
  • Help change the balance of power in a tiny way by moving your money from giant banks to credit unions, mutual societies or the co-op
Local Food
  • Have a go at growing a bit of fruit, veg or herbs in your garden (or in pots on your patio? in a window-box?)
  • Shop locally and organically at farmers markets or farm shops. Look for Hampshire Fare.
  • Join Highbridge Community Farm Project
Waste and Recycling
  • Compost your organic waste
  • Try not to waste food
  • Make use of local recycling facilities -  Reduce/Reuse/Recycle. Recycle batteries and plastic bags
  • Learn to turn old items into new ones
  • Get companies to show their employees just how much paper or waste they go through
Transport
  • There are healthier, more eco and cheaper ways of getting about than driving and flying – think about public transport, working from home, car sharing, moving closer to work
  • We make our surroundings ugly with supermarkets and ring roads, then fly to beautiful places to end up making them ugly as well, while there are great holidays to be had closer to home.
  • Learn to fix your own bike/car and save money. They will also last longer meaning you don’t have to resort to buying new.
  • Ditch the Ride - www.stepup.org.uk
  • Join a cycling training programme
  • Try to promote a car-free day with your company
  • Try to promote walking buses in schools
Biodiversity/Conservation

  • Take part in volunteering programmes such as BTCV/Friends of the Parks/Friends of Hocombe Mead/Hampshire & IOW Wildlife Trust

1 comment:

  1. I believe in reusing and recycling items you no longer need or want and try to transform them into something more useful. For example, I make little poster collages out of old magazines I've finished reading. I am constantly scowering charity shops and car boot sales to find bargains rather than just buying new things all the time. There's no need when there are so many perfectly good second hand items out there! So reusing, recycling, and being a bit inventive and creative with items you have, transforming them into something new or selling them on ebay, car boots etc, or giving things to charity shops are other ways that we can all reduce wastage and our carbon footprint. It's fun too :)

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