Author: The Editor

Wotton Area CAN

WOTTON AREA CLIMATE ACTION NETWORK – A little more about us…

Want to help protect & replenish our environment?…We are here to help.

Wotton Area Climate Action Network ( Wotton Area CAN) is a community-led group aiming to support residents & businesses in the Wotton area to reduce their carbon emissions. Our goal is to help our area become carbon neutral by 2030.

We like to keep people informed by interesting monthly on-line newsletters, Zoom meetings with expert speakers and Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages. We also have articles about our activities in the various local press outlets, from time to time.

We will restart our public events as soon as Covid-19 official guidance allows.

We do not discriminate against anyone for any reason and welcome involvement from all. We are under the ‘Transition Stroud‘ umbrella and network with other CAN groups in the district.

Our Focus

Our Focus areas, based on priorities from our local residents survey

Land Use
Reducing single use plastics
Reducing waste
Transport – reducing carbon emissions through alternative transport choices.
Home energy use- using and sourcing efficiently
Biodiversity – ensuring healthy ecosystems.

Other Groups

Other groups with whom we are closely involved within Stroud district:

Rory’s Well
Surfers against Sewage
Action on Plastic
The Great Wotton Tidy-up
Wotton-Charfield-Kingswood Greenway group
Slow Ways

The last two aimed at encouraging safe walking and/or cycling routes between settlements. We also have strong connections with the Woodland Trust who have generously provided trees for our various tree planting projects.

Our Ethos

The challenge of global warming and its threat to our environment is a vitally important issue for us all, which transcends politics. We are a peaceful, non-political group who care deeply about our community & environment , we collaborate with’ and help broaden the understanding of those living and working in our area & support them to reduce carbon emissions and protect and replenish our environment .

AS EVER, ALL ARE WELCOME.

Website:- www.wottonareacan.org

Email:- Wottonareacan@gmail.com

Litter Picking

A Litter picking challenge

For my “Kirby Challenge” at Wycliffe school, the aim is to do something that is a challenge to yourself personally. Amongst many other things, I decided to litter pick around the Village and country lanes surrounding my house.

I chose to do litter picking as I feel it contributes to the local community and makes it a cleaner space. Sadly, while taking walks days after doing the litter pick, I come across more rubbish that has been thrown from car windows. What was a clean space after my litter pick is now full of rubbish again.

The amount of litter currently on the roads and at the side of the road is just shocking. Not what I expected at all. I came back with more than double what I expected.

After litter picking the roads have looked cleaner and made me feel proud to have taken on something like this.

Rebecca

Thank you SO much Rebecca for sharing this story with the website. It is always good when members of the community contribute to the newsletter and well done on filling 11 black bin back by yourself. Richard

Woodland Walk Clean-up

A big thank you to all who participated in the Annual Litter Pick. If you missed the opportunity or simply wish to do some more, we shall be cleaning up one of the woodland areas beyond the Village Hall, * next Sunday 18th April, at the slightly earlier time of 10am, meeting up at the Village Hall.

The woodland in question had trunk protection placed around the saplings when planted. This has become an unsightly nuisance that needs removing as it is in some cases damaging the trees. We need a couple of agile, dextrous people who can get access to the trunks to remove the plastic and pile it where it can be accessed from proper paths. We also need people to bag up these piles – The springy plastic can be brittle and sharp – sharp enough to go through bin bags if not careful and there is a lot of plastic! We will then need to take the bags to the woodland gate.

Please respect social distancing when you arrive, once in the woodland things should be easier. Please bring your own gloves and wear shoes with good ankle support (the ground involved is very uneven).

Any questions , please ask.
Ian
07711567754

(if one were to be in the carpark at the village hall looking West the, woods beyond the ‘playing fields’ are the ones I’m on about. Behind the hedge between the two FP stiles (and two badger sets).)

Stinchcombe Together leaflet

Stinchcombe Together

The Start

On January 31, 2020 the first two cases of COVID-19 in the UK were confirmed. By early March 2020 things were quickly accelerating when Beth at Townsend Cottage and I met on the Street on a sunny Spring Day. We talked about the growing number of coronavirus cases in the UK and what would happen when the country went into the first “Lockdown”.

Stinchombe Together was started on 16th March 2020 and by the time the Prime Minister announced the lockdown on 23rd March, Beth had designed a “Stinchcombe Together” leaflet, Street Leaders of Beth Taylor, Caroline Marshall, Mandy Delafield, Naomi Heming, Steve and Caroll Ponting and Tracey Legg were in place and we had it distributed the leaflet to all houses in the village.

In all, a total of 41 “Stinchcombe Saints” quickly stepped forward and offered their services to help others. Remember, during that first lockdown, no-one knew how bad COVID-19 would be, how infectious it really was, or really how to live with it. There was also no effective treatments and no-one knew if a vaccine would or could be produced.

That First Lockdown was very strict and the “Street Leaders” were busy collecting prescriptions, shopping and such for residents. Not only that, there were quickly shortages of Flour and essentials like TOILET ROLLS!

The “Stinchcombe Together” WhatsApp group was quickly started to disseminate information from the emergency planning centre at Gloucester and to help in the organisation. However, more and more people wanted to join the WhatsApp Group socially, so we moved to a new WhatsApp group and changed the name of the original group to “Stinchcombe Social”

And that’s how “Stinchcombe Social” was born….

Luckily, after that first Lockdown, we have all, as individuals, families, villages, and as a country come to terms with living with COVID-19. It’s still here, and will be for some years but we feel that the village no longer needs the Stinchcombe Together group as such. Partly because the country is now better prepared but also and more importantly I feel that over the last 12 months the village has in many ways grown closer together. If anyone does need help I feel sure that they will find that their neighbours will help.

The End

So, last week, because of the restrictions being lifted, we decided that this was the time to wind up “Stinchcombe Together”. Therefore, on behalf for the village, THANK YOU to all the “STINCHCOMBE SAINTS” who at a time of community need, stepped forward to help others.

Richard

“We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.”
– Winston Churchill

Skylark

Save our Skylarks

Save our skylarks plea to walkers

Walkers on Stinchcombe Hill can play their part in a campaign to save skylarks and other birds, which are coming under increasing pressure from those seeking out green spaces as an escape during the Covid-19 restrictions.

The threat to skylarks

Conservationists report that the hill is suffering from the unprecedented number of people using it for recreation. Ecologist Dr James Robinson, who lives locally, said: “One of the main problems is that dogs are being allowed off the lead and chase the ground-nesting birds like skylarks. Spring is the time when the larks are forming territories and building nests, a time when they are most vulnerable to disturbance.”

The RSPB estimates that skylark populations have declined by 75% since 1972. They are now on the Red List of species which are considered at risk of extinction.

Keeping Stinchcombe Hill special

The Hill was bought in 1929 by Sir Stanley Tubbs and placed in trust in 1930. Over 200 acres are registered with the Charity Commissioners and administered by the Stinchcombe Hill Trust. The Trust works with local councils to promote public access, and with the Stinchcombe Hill Golf Club.

The wooded slopes and the grassland are environmentally sensitive, with some areas designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Dogs must be kept on a lead in these areas from the end of March to mid-July.

Stinchcombe Hill Trustee Christina Carter said: “It’s really important to maintain the hill as a full access green space for all the people of the area. The irony is that many of the things that make it so attractive to people are currently under threat because of the massive increase in numbers over the past few months, during the pandemic.

“We are considering what measures we can take, including whether we can put up notices reminding people to stick to the designated paths, and to keep their dog on a lead, giving the breeding birds a chance to get on with their lives relatively undisturbed.”

‘The Skylark Path’

Another Stinchcombe Hill Trustee, John Hammill, has christened the path running roughly south west from the road leading to Stinchcombe Hill House as ‘The Skylark Path’ (see map). John plans to erect temporary laminated signs at each end to encourage people to stick to the path and not let their dog run free in this prime nesting area.

A final plea

If we fail to act now, the joy of hearing lark song on Stinchcombe Hill may soon be a thing of the past. Please don’t let that happen.

Christina Carter

PC 2021 Agendas

Stinchcombe Parish Council Agendas

Stinchcombe Parish Council Agendas for 2021

Stinchcombe Calendar Spring Photos

Time for those Spring Photos

Now that the clocks are going forward (Spring Forward!) it’s time to follow up the Winter Photos that you have been sending in with some SPRING PHOTOS!

Stinchcombe Village Calendar 2022

Remember the Stinchcombe Village Calendar 2022 post?

The PCC has proposed this initiative as a fundraiser for St Cyr’s Church. We hope it will give pleasure throughout the year, provide opportunities for your creative skills and raise some much needed funds to keep the church active in our community.

To be ready to sell our calendars for 2022 however, requires organisation a year in advance.

Consider submitting a possible photograph, painting or drawing relating to Stinchcombe for a particular month, which could be selected for the 2022 calendar. There is no age or quantity limit for entries. We encourage all age groups to join in. Entries do not have to come only from local residents, although local knowledge is important.

Entries should be submitted by the beginning of September 2021, ready for the panel of experts to make their selection. We will consider all pictures submitted but the judges’ decision will be final. The calendar will then be prepared for printing.

Guidelines for calendar submissions are as follows:

Anyone of any age with an interest and knowledge of Stinchcombe and its surroundings is encouraged to submit an entry.
There is no entrance charge, but if your work is selected we would expect to be able to print it in the calendar and sell the calendar on behalf of the PCC, royalty free.
There should be a title that identifies the aspect of Stinchcombe in the picture
Each entry should be clearly marked with the month to be represented
There would be some link between the month chosen and the subject of the picture

So help make 2022 a special year that captures some of the best memories of our lovely village during its different seasons, activities and events.

(Any questions should be directed to Pippa Leggate on behalf of the PCC)