As climate change is increasingly becoming of concern to more and more people we in CPCA have been thinking about what changes we can each make in our day to day lives to help bring about the changes we urgently need. 
Big changes or small, we can all make a difference!
If you are interested to know more about climage change and the changes we can make in our lives then come along to ...
Hadleigh Old Fire Station, 20 High Street, Hadleigh, SS7 2PB 11 am - 4 pm o
                                               Sunday September 25th

Update on plans for the community allotment:
A plot has been allocated on the allotment site near Vic House Corner roundabout in Hadleigh and the first initial planning meeting has been chaired by Tracy Bliss from Active Essex.  Tracy is very keen to get the allotment up and running so she is looking out for people to join the leading group.
Whether you are an expert gardener or just keen to get stuck in and learn you will be very welcome. We simply need your enthusiasm for the project and some time to give.
Because the allotment will be for all the community the Council won’t allow it to come under the umbrella of any particular group  but, as we all know, growing food close to home helps to reduce the carbon emissions involved in transporting food over long distances..
‘Localisation’ – doing as much as we can close to home – is seen by many (see https://www.localfutures.org/) as the solution to the multiple global crises we face so Castle Point Climate Action Group is very keen to support the project.
If you’d like to be in at the beginning please get in touch with Tracy on - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1112035099652350/?multi_permalinks=1120575285464998&notif_id=1649165916363945&notif_t=group_activity&ref=notif

The first community allotment meeting will be held on Friday 1st April at 3.30 pm at - 
The Farmhouse
Canvey Road
Canvey Island
Essex
SS8 0QU.
 
Please let us know if you are able to come and we look forward to meeting with you, if not then, some time soon.

Our next group meeting is planned for next Saturday 19th March from 10.30 - 12.30 at the Trust Links room behind Castle Point Council Offices and Runnymede Swimming pool (Post code SS7 1TF).  For parking take the turning on the Hadleigh side of the council offices and turn second right (swimming pool turn left). Go right down to the bottom before going through the gates.  The entrance to the meeting is on the left.  We've lots to catch up and look forward to hearing your ideas.

1.  Protect wildlife - many animals and invertebrates get trapped in litter.  It's important to protect our local eco-systems from the little slugs to the badgers, for their survival and ours.
 
2.  Education - when you litter pick you learn so much about the natural environment but also the impact of human activity.  Just litter picking once will open your eyes to the way our society lives - waste and throwaway single use plastic.  In turn it will help you understand other environmental issues our planet faces locally, nationally and globally.
 
3.  Community - looking after your local area and working with others to make Castle Point a caring, welcoming place.  Litter picking is by no way a means to an end but a way to find solutions to our problems and that means working together.
 
4.  Exercise and mental wellbeing - all that fresh air is great for your physical and mental health.
 
5.  Socialising - you get to meet likeminded people and hopefully make some new friends.  What better way to spend your time than with others who are caring and have a sense of empathy.
​
Written by Emma Powell, Keep Britain Tidy Litter Hero Ambassador and Founder of the Castle Point Clean Up Crew
#litter
 #litterpicking
#waste
#climatechange

The Castle Point Council has expressed an interest in allocating us a community allotment but it will no doubt take quite a lot of work in setting it up and then maintaining it.
So, before we go ahead to try to make it happen would you please let us know if you are interested in being part of this project?  It will be fun and will produce (we hope!) some nice food which will cut down on carbon emissions.  Also, of course, we won't be using chemicals so our produce will be organic.  A win-win really but it will also need a few of us willing to put in the work! 
Please respond here if you want to be part of the team.

The sap is rising, the temperature is going up and many of us are beginning to think about growing our own fruit and veggies.  Taking on an allotment single-handed might seem like a pretty big task for many of us, so we've been turning out attention to getting together and setting up a community allotment.
There's quite a lot to think about so we really need to get together to discuss how we can bring the idea into reality.  Lots of issues have already come to mind ...
1)   With a long waiting list for allotments how long will we have to wait to find a suitable plot?
2)   We'll need public liability insurance - how much will that cost?
3)   Talking of cost we obviously need tools which could set us back a bit although we might find people have tools surplus to their requirements which they would donate
4)    What facilities will we need?  Toilets? A shed? etc .  etc.
We really need a few energetic and enthusiastic people to steer us through the early stages as well as gardeners who know what they are doing and novices who are keen to learn!
If you are interested in being involved at the beginning of this exciting new Castle Point project please get in touch through - cpclimatecrisis@gmail.com ,
            By growing food in a community allotment we can share the work,
                                     share the produce and share the fun!

by Emma Powell

I have been meaning to write a blog for quite some time but time is something I’m often short of. Some might say litter is a passion of mine and after years of litter picking and reading research, I consider myself to be knowledgeable of the psychology and behaviour behind littering.
I founded the Castle Point Clean Up Crew in August 2019, shortly after my appointment as a Litter Hero Ambassador for Keep Britain Tidy. Since then the group has grown in a way I never could have anticipated with volunteers across Castle Point litter picking their streets and local areas, as well as taking part in organised group picks when Covid-19 restrictions.
Whilst types of litter and behaviours can vary from place to place, the common trend is always the littering of particular items. Keep Britain Tidy conducted a survey in 2020 which found that 75% of items littered in the UK are single use drinking receptacles whether that be aluminium cans, plastic bottles or Costa Coffee cups. Castle Point is no exception to this rule. But why is this? I can’t help that feel that our culture, our economy and even our society is driven by an underlying ethos that nothing has value – items are cheaply mass produced, usually from plastic and then discarded just as quickly as they are ‘used’. Hence the single use item is so easily litter  don the ground.
What those who litter and consume in this manner, fail to comprehend or even consider is the resources that have been used to create that item (embodied resources) or the greenhouse gases produced from the factory (embodied CO2e) that are part of the climate crisis we currently face. Then when that item is discarded, where does it go? Chances are it’ll most likely go to landfill or swept into our ocean or even get buried in the ground. I’ve found crisp packets and aluminium cans dating to the 1980s and 1990s in some cases. Rarely will they get recycled or reused. It’s awful to think that all of those resources were used for one item to be discarded so easily without a thought.
Our litter epidemic we currently face as a borough and indeed a country is not just thoughtlessness but a consequence of how we use the earth’s resources. We need to change that mindset on how our society and our economy is shaped. Litter and waste is just the tip of the iceberg.

For more information, or to join, please check out the Castle Point Clean-up Crew facebook page