Sustainable Crediton

Core Group Meeting, by Zoom, Thursday 21st Jan 2021, 7:00pm

Present: Dee Ross, Esther Mann, John Craythorne, Caroline Romijn. Also Helen Tuffin, Abi Hindriks and Jeanette Brown (warmly welcomed to the group)

Apologies: Gill Westcott, Danuta Karpinska, Terry Hadley (Louise Cumberland)

1. Matters arising from previous Core Group meeting (17/12/2020)

a) Seed Share 2021 ( See 5 below)

b) Correspondence with Mel Stride. Open Letter asking for meeting to be published in Courier on 22/1. Copy mailed to MS. NB (John) essential to prepare for meeting. Core Group to coordinate collection & prioritisation of ideas to discuss with MS. Action: Caroline & John to start work on this.

c) Trees: Meeting with Steve Densham (See 7 below)

d) Email management: Outstanding. Action: John to pursue with Sarah Green, our Web Manager

e) Display in a High Street shop window. All enthusiastic to set up a High Street display, or possibly a 'hub' that people could enter. Dee has started exploring empty shops (eg Town & Country) and enquired about CTC display boards. Action: Agreed Dee to pursue preps, but launch of display should probably be deferred until lockdown eases.

2. Zoom(Dee)

Proposal to purchase Zoom was shelved following very generous offer from Jeanette to provide future Zoom links for the group.

3. Pollinator Project Update (Dee)

Dee had met the 2 Steves on Zoom: Steve Densham, MDDC Land Mgr, and Steve Scriven, plantsman. Sus Cred will take on wildflower circle in Newcombes Park. (Beds near Boniface statue will be managed by Bert Jewell not us.) Action: Dee to hold further detailed discussion with Steve Scriven on planting etc. Alison Orchard taking liaison role re St Lawrence Green. No further news on wall at Post Box Corner. Crediton Town Council website lists the Town's land as well as MDDC land.

4. Waste Group Update (Esther)

No update on Waste Group activities, but Esther had attended Zoom with Plymouth Plastics Group, who have won 'Plastic Free Status' for the city. Interesting ideas but Esther felt that the bureaucratic load of obtaining the status probably means not viable for us.

5. Food Group update (Dee)

a) Incredible Edible follow-up: Dee had provided Louise with contacts: Yvonne Crone re Town Square planters; Richard Ward re New Surgery development. However, it appears that Richard is now additionally in charge of the vaccination programme at Lord's Meadow, and too overstretched to respond at the moment. Action Dee to seek another link to surgery development.

b) Seed Share 2021. Evidently cannot go ahead as event; Dee has cancelled bookings for Square and Boniface Centre. Other ideas floated - eg sharing in driveways or garages? sharing c/o a willing shop? Action: Agreed Caroline to find out whether Plantshed at Copplestone would like to host seed-sharing in their marquee.

6. Woodland Management and Tree Planting (John)

a) Activity at Moor Farm now in abeyance.

b) Tree planting: Meeting on 7th January (Steve Densham, Steve Scriven, John, Caroline) Walked through land above QE Drive and Beacon Park. In principle, Steve D would welcome Sus Cred support with clearing, coppicing and new planting. Steve followed up with encouraging Email with list of parcels of land owned by MDDC. Nothing will happen immediately: confirmation needed on MDDC cover for voluntary work; temporary issue with Woodland Trust packages. Steve thought MDDC likely to be able to help with resident survey and supplies (eg stakes) if needed. Action John, Caroline to continue work on sourcing trees; John to pursue cover for management work when lockdown is lifted.

c) Sus Cred has received an Email from Andy Gray of M C Kelly, seeking volunteers to plant 5000 trees in February. Action: John to liaise.

7. Transport Group (John)

Next Co-Cars meeting planned for end of this month or early Feb; looks as if responses were adequate to go ahead. Good news welcomed by all and especially Jeanette who has signed up and is keen, having used Co-Cars previously.

8. Contributions from additional attendees (non-Core Group)

a) Jeanette interested in solar panels. Had unfortunately missed Mid Devon's recent Solar Together initiative, though members recommended her to try MDDC/ Elizabeth Wainwright just in case there were opportunities for late joiners. Dee confirmed that Sus Cred had had an active Energy Group in the past, pursuing both solar and wind power, but that we no longer had anyone leading on this.

b) Helen agreed that an Energy Group would be really useful. Also regarding insulation: to provide info and assist individuals to navigate the system and avoid cowboys.

Dee responded that these ideas would certainly be kept in mind, but the current Core Group had not got capacity to act on this.

9. Annual Plan

a) Objectives for 2021 ( off-the-cuff list to be reviewed at next meeting)

i.Action to raise profile in the town

ii.Plan and launch shop window display

iii.Set a Clothes Swap date for the autumn. Look into including school uniform?

iv.Plan Seed Share for February 2022

v.Plan a Green Fair for Newcombes Meadow. Late summer/ early autumn?

vi.Maximise use of Facebook and Heart of Crediton blog

vii.Prepare presentation for use when visits to interested groups can re-start. Consider video for use in the interim?

b) Meeting dates for year? Agreed 3rd Thursday of month. (18/2; 18/3; 15/4; 20/5; 17/6; 15/7; 19/8; 16/9; 21/10; 18/11; 16/12) Action: diarise, publicise.

10. Collaboration with local groups

a) Linkage with Villages (Caroline) - Copplestone: link with Gardening Group who will hopefully provide extra vols for M C Kelly planting. Morchard Bishop: liaising with Frances Anson. Lapford: school contact not yet pursued; some liaison with Christina Dymond who is involved in village initiatives. Newton St Cyres: according to Steve Densham's list, the one village where MDDC owns a parcel of land. Action: Caroline to take up contacts in Newton St Cyres, Shobrooke and Coleford/Colebrooke; to seek contacts in Yeoford ,Cheriton Fitz and Sandford (possibly via Linda Lever).Gill Westcott is our contact in Cheriton Bishop.

b) Collaboration with MDDC - Dee participating in Climate Conversation but unsure how fast it is moving. Meeting agreed that we should attempt to offer Elizabeth Wainwright more support. Action: John to write to Elizabeth.

c) Devon: The Devon Carbon Plan. All of us intending to do it but only John has done it so far! John proposed that we should make an organisational submission. Action: Caroline and John to collaborate to submit on behalf of Sus Cred.

11. AOB

a) Esther: Email mapping - All members of Core Group need to tidy up their bits

b) Dee: Good news on grants: £500 received from Transition Towns for admin/ running costs; £1000 from Crediton for project work expected in April.

12. Next meeting: Thursday 18th February, 7.00pm. Action: Caroline to liaise with Jeanette to set up Zoom invitations.