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Eco Column

To contribute to the Elham Going Green column in the Elham Newsletter,
contact Kay Hoar on 840631 or email
kayhoar@talktalk.net



April 09: How to drive economically

The key to fuel efficient driving is to keep your speed consistent, avoiding sharp acceleration and heavy braking. This involves lifting the foot off the accelerator earlier. Coasting to a halt in gear is a big fuel saver.


•  Check your tyre pressure regularly – Under inflated tyres are potentially dangerous, and also increase the rolling resistance between the tyre and the road, causing the engine to work harder and use more fuel.
•  Shut windows and use the air conditioning sparinglyAir conditioning significantly increases fuel consumption.
•  Roof boxes & railsExternal fixings including bike racks increase the aerodynamic drag, which increases consumption. Remember to remove them when not in use.
•  Remove car clutterGolf clubs, pushchairs, or any extra unnecessary weight in the boot, can be removed to lower consumption when not needed.
•  Avoid short journeysWhen the engine is cold it uses more fuel than normal until it reaches the optimum working temperature. The catalytic converter in the exhaust, which reduces harmful emissions, is also less efficient when cold.
•  Avoid idlingIf you’re stuck in a traffic jam, switch the engine off if you expect to be there for more than a minute or two. Cutting the engine will save fuel and reduce emissions.
•  Maintain your carChange your air filter annually and ensure your engine is working effectively.
•  Plan your journeyPlan journeys to avoid congestion, road works and getting lost.

SOURCES: BP and www.climatecare.org

March 09: Eco Fair

The Elham Environment Group is holding an Eco Fair on Saturday 28 March at
Elham Primary School between 10am and 3.30pm.


At the event, we will showcase some of our initiatives, including:

•  Trees for Elham: our tree planting campaign, organised with and sponsored
by the Elham Gardening Society
•  Operation Energy Saver: our campaign to help residents identify household energy losses using a thermal imaging camera
•  Launch of the Elham Valley Fairtrade cotton shopping bag

The Eco Fair will include the planting of a celebration tree at 11:00am in the school playing field. This will be the last of about 60 trees planted around the village. We will also display some results from our Operation Energy Saver exercise, and there will be exhibits of energy saving solutions.
     Everyone is warmly invited to attend, and residents will be able to pick up their (confidential) thermal images. Entry to the Eco Fair is free, and coffee, tea and cakes will be on sale.

EEG volunteers will be visiting homes in Elham between 20 February and 20 March to offer free light bulbs, thermal images, and advice on how to save energy


February 09: Heat Loss Detective UPDATE

     The Elham Environment Group (EEG) has won £4,000 funding from Kent County Council (KCC) for a campaign to encourage energy saving in the home. As part of this campaign, residents will be given the chance to have their homes photographed using a thermal imaging camera to
identify where they are losing heat.
     The campaign, named ‘Operation Energy Saver’, will involve training volunteers to visit homes in the community and offer advice on how to cut energy bills. They can also help residents identify any relevant grants.
     We plan to start the exercise in late February.
     Operation Energy Saver is part of the EEG’s ‘Elham Going Green’ project, aimed at cutting carbon emissions in the Elham area by 20%.

ANY RESIDENTS INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING TO HELP AND GAIN EXPERTISE IN THERMAL IMAGING TECHNOLOGY please contact:
Kay Hoar: 840631, email kayhoar@talktalk.net
Chris Jelly: 862933, email chris@cjelly.plus.com

KCC awarded a total of £10,000 to four communities through its Low Carbon Challenge Fund. Elham and Hadlow each received £4,000, while Eastchurch and St Margaret’s-at-Cliffe received £1,000.
     Hadlow plans to develop a grower group to cultivate fruit and vegetables on land owned by the agricultural college. Eastchurch will put its share towards providing low energy street lights, while St Margaret’s is looking at the feasibility of using renewables.

Diary date
We will hold an event to showcase Operation Energy Saver and celebrate our Tree Planting programme at Elham Primary School on 28 March.

Details to follow in next issue


December 08: Heat Loss Detective/Stopping junk mail and unwanted phone calls

Heat Loss Detective
     No! Not a snooper but a new tool to help you see where your home is losing its warmth. The Elham Environment Group are hoping to use a ‘thermal camera’ to help those in the village who would like to see where they are losing heat, wasting money and, of course, adding to their carbon footprint. The EEG have applied for a grant to help fund this and their other projects during 2009. Come to the Fair on March 28th. in Elham School.


Stopping junk mail
     The average home receives 224 items of junk mail a year, most of which ends up in landfill. Preventing them could save about 4kg of carbon dioxide per household per year. (It might also improve your mood and make your hallway look tidier).
     The BBC provides information about how to stop junk mail at this web address:
www.bbc.co.uk/bloom/actions/junkmail.shtml
     For junk mail, the BBC recommends using the FREE Mail Preference Service: www.mpsonline.org.uk/mpsr/.  Or phone 0845 703 4599.


For unaddressed Royal Mail door-to-door, email optout@royalmail.com.
Or write to

FREEPOST RRBT-ZBXB-TTTS

Royal Mail Door to Door Opt Outs
Kingsmead House
Oxpens Road
Oxford OX1 1RX

Stopping unwanted phone calls
    
To stop unsolicited sales & marketing telephone calls, use the FREE Telephone Preference Service: www.tpsonline.org.uk/tps/. Or phone 0845 070 0707.

Other things you can do to stop unwanted mail and phone calls include:
•  When you register to vote, make sure you tick the ‘opt-out’ box on your registration form to stop your address being used for marketing
•  Whenever you fill in your details on a paper or online form, check for small boxes at the bottom to ensure you are not added to a mailing list, or your details passed to third parties.


November 08: Trees for Elham

Trees for Elham is an Elham Going Green initiative aimed at helping reduce the carbon footprint of the Elham Parish.
     In co-operation with the Elham Gardening Society, an extensive survey and review has been carried out to choose possible sites. Fourteen sites have been identified and tree species chosen.
     We approached the charity Kent Men of the Trees, and the chairman, Dr Alun Griffiths, has agreed the sites and species selection. The charity will provide over 100 trees and some hedgerows at no cost to us and help plant them in December.  We will be seeking volunteers, and then form working parties from Elham and Dr Griffiths' group. A launch ceremony is planned for later this year – details will be given in a later Newsletter.
     Great care was taken in selection. A typical example is the Cricket Ground, where there will be 12 field maples along the approach drive, with two tall maples and five walnut trees and some Birch, Hornbeams and Whitebeams in the actual ground area. Other sites include the Canterbury Road (Elham Triangle end), Large Leaved Red Oak and North of Bereforstal Farm, 6 Wych Elms and 6 Walnut trees. In the churchyard, there will be Dark Purple and White Lilac.
     All the trees will need careful staking and some will need cattle guards. Permissions from landowners, the KCC and Parish Council are being sought.
     To help fund the project, the Gardening Society has donated £300, and Susan Carey of Kent Count Council has committed a £500 grant to help towards the cattle guards. The Elham Primary School, which will have 15 trees, and is also showing great interest in the project.
     The Elham Environment Group, which is implementing Elham Going Green, and Gardening Society expect to extend the programme in 2009.

Elham Fuel Club - Update
     Thankyou to all those who have responded so far. We currently have over 30 members and so far have secured a 2-3p reduction in the market price per litre. We will be in touch to arrange deliveries.
     If you would like to join the club, please hand in your details - name address, email and/or telephone number, the size of your tank, the type of fuel you use, and any access restrictions - to the village shop.
     By clubbing together we not only get a better price, but we can cut down the number of delivery tankers coming into the village. If you have a neighbour or friend in the village who would like to join, please tell them to get in touch - our target is 100 members!


October 08: Jumping Downs nature reserve

Do you know about the Jumping Downs nature reserve? Located south-west of Barham, adjacent to Covert Wood, it comprises 14 acres of south-facing Chalk Downland.
     Lightly wooded along the top of the slopes and the hillside, Jumping Downs provides an ideal position for a wide variety of plants, herbs and grasses to thrive, with a swathe of good pasture running along the bottom of the slopes.
     Surveys in 2001 showed 70 different species of herbs and 3 orchids – the bee, the pryamidal and the lady. Other common plants to look out for include common cantaury, marjoram, salad burnet, yellow wort and wild strawberry.
     Wildlife also includes a healthy lizard population, adders and badgers. Kestrels are seen regularly and merlins have been spotted occasionally.
     Between the 1920s and 2000 this area of land was used for motor-bike scrambling, before it was purchased from the farmer by a consortium of local residents and put into trust. It is managed jointly by the trustees and the Kentish Stour Countryside Project.
     The site is an ideal learning environment for children, and education packs are available for school groups. Jumping Downs welcomes volunteers, and organises practical tasks, wildlife surveys and events throughout the year.

To find out more, contact Tony Seymour, Jumping Downs Trust on 01303 862142.

Biodiversity in Kent – key facts

•  Kent is internationally important for its chalk grassland and for three of its estuaries. It has 43% of the UK’s shingle habitat
•  Kent’s varied geology and long coastline has resulted in a diverse range of habitats, and its more continental climate means that several species of plant and animal which occur in Kent are found nowhere else in the UK
•  Kent is the UK stronghold for species such as dormouse and nightingale
•  Some 30% of Kent’s deciduous and mixed woodland have been lost in the last 30 years

SOURCE: Kent County Council


September 08: Club together to combat rising oil prices and cut your carbon footprint

Worried about the rising cost of heating? If you want to cut your fuel bills this winter, we have a solution. The Elham Environment Group plans to organise a fuel club which would pool deliveries of heating oil to homes in the Elham valley.
     Currently over six companies deliver oil to the Elham area, averaging a minimum of 10 trips every week by tankers, large and small. By clubbing together, Elham residents can combine their purchasing power to obtain significant discounts and cut the number of tankers driving into the village, helping to reduce our carbon footprint and congestion.
     We aim to arrange regular deliveries and negotiate a discount of at least a 3p per litre on your behalf. We will try to source oil as locally as possible.
     If you want to find out more, fill out the questionnaire and hand it in to the Valley Stores by 1st October. We will send further information and details for joining the Fuel Club. Any information will remain confidential.


July 08: Elham Parish home energy survey

Last year the Elham Environment Group asked each household in the Elham Parish to complete a home energy survey. About 25% responded, and the results show that our running costs and carbon footprint are high compared with other communities surveyed in Kent. With soaring fuel costs, the benefits of cutting our energy use are becoming even greater.
     As a community we have a greater problem than average because of older housing (77% were built before 1965). But as most houses in the Parish are owner-occupied (91%), we have a powerful opportunity as owner-occupiers to act now.
     Steps we can take include installing loft insulation and switching to energy saving light bulbs. Over 90% of all households in Elham do not have the required standard of roof insulation. That is much higher than the average of all surveys in Kent. And while most households in Elham have some energy saving light bulbs, only 12% have all such bulbs.
     Without mains gas, 71% of households in Elham are dependent on oil for their main heating systems. It may be worth considering alternative technologies, such as solar panels to heat our water or generate electricity. About 4% of households have installed a renewable technology and 5% use a green electricity tariff.
     Nearly all of us have a car and 54% of households have two or more. Anyone interested in cutting down on car journeys through a car share scheme should contact the Elham Environment Group (EEG).
 

June 08: Green electricity

Elham resident Marilyn Milton tells how she cut her electricity supplied by 69% by installing solar electricity panels on her house in Water Farm (This is a longer version of the article that appears in the June issue of the Elham Newsletter.)
     Our photo-voltaic panels, for generating electricity, were installed on our roof in August 2007.  Our installers were contractors approved by Kent Energy Centre.
     We were first contacted a year earlier, after filling in one of the home energy efficiency questionnaires and expressing interest in a greener approach to energy production.  
     We received a grant of £2500, about 14.5% of our cost, through the Low Carbon Buildings programme administered by the Energy Savings Trust.
     To qualify for the grant, you have to have done the usual things: thermostatic control valves on radiators, 10” loft insulation, cavity wall insulation. You also need details of proposed equipment, approved installer and planning permission if required.  
     Shepway Planning Department advised us to apply for planning permission because of implications in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, although we are outside the Conservation Area. The process went quite smoothly, with the added expense of photographs, Ordnance Survey maps and details and pictures of the equipment.
     The installers were responsible for obtaining permission from distributor to connect the output (converted to AC) to the house electric supply so that we could use what we make and export the excess to the grid. They also provided the completion certificate and wiring diagrams etc so that the grant process could be completed.
     We then investigated electricity suppliers to see which would give us the best price for our exported units. We found it difficult to get the right person either through the websites or by phone. Some companies only pay as much as they charge and some charge to install an export meter.  Most will undertake the bureaucratic chore of applying for ROCs (Renewable Obligation Certificates) and incorporate the money from the scheme into the payment they make to the householder for the green electricity.
     The best rate we found was 18p per exported unit, charging 12p for imported units. Costs are difficult to compare because of different tariff structures, standing charges etc. One electricity supplier estimates that most private generating systems export half their production and will pay for half the generated units rather than installing an export meter.
     Between 1 January and 1 April 2008 we generated 501 units and used 725 units, so theoretically we cut our electricity by 69%.
     Until our export meter is installed on 20 May, we will not know how much will be exported and paid for by our new supplier. We shall have to remain aware of the price paid for ROCs and current electricity prices in case we have to switch suppliers.
     We have also now installed solar water panels, but it is too early to know the benefits.

For information on grants for solar electricity or hot water panels, call the Kent Energy Centre helpline on 020 8683 6683.