Hi there
We hope you’re enjoying the signs of spring popping up all over Staveley, and the very welcome sunshine, too! We’ve got plenty to share with you this month – grab a cuppa and have a read.
The next SENS meeting will be held in the Bank Room at the Institute on Monday 18th March, 5-6.30pm. All welcome!
If you’ve got something interesting to share with us, or you’d like to get more involved with our work, contact us at senstaveley@gmail.com
The SENS team
News
We’ve received funding from Westmorland & Furness Council
Wonderful news – we’ve received a Climate and Nature Partnership Grant from Westmorland & Furness Council, in partnership with Staveley with Ings Parish Council.
This will allow us to move forward with lots of important plans, from designating and improving green spaces around the Parish, to working with young people and doing a feasibility study on introducing more local transport options.
This is a really exciting time and we’re thrilled to bring more green projects to the local area. As always, if you’d like to get involved, please get in touch!
Upcoming events
Staveley Village litter pick
Saturday 23 March, 10am-12pm
Our beautiful village is a place to be proud of, so let’s keep it tidy! Meet us at Staveley Chippy, where we’ll provide litter pickers and bags, then set off on our street cleaning quest. Join the Facebook event.
Damson orchard clear-up
Monday 15 April
5.30-7.30pm
Come and join us in the evening sunshine (hopefully!) for a spring session up at the Elf Howe damson orchard, where we’ll work to prep the area to get a great haul of fruit this year. Find out more.
Staveley Repair Café
TBC – keep an eye on our Facebook page for details.
Visit our spring repair café to fix your broken items with the help of our amazing volunteer repairers! Electrical items, textiles, soft toys and bikes are all welcome.
Tell us about your green ideas
Is there a ‘green’ project or event you’d like to set up, but you need a little help with funding? Cumbria Acton for Sustainability has opened funding applications for events happening within Great Big Green Week (8-16th June) and there’s up to £300 available for each event. The theme is ‘Let’s swap for good’, though loose interpretations are welcome!
If you’ve got an idea, please get in touch – we’ll assess the submissions we receive and we’re happy to submit an application on your behalf. Everyone is welcome to contact us, from school and community groups, to individuals and groups of friends. There’s an information event happening on 22 April and the deadline for applications is 1 May.
Community Ebikes
With one year of the Staveley Community Ebikes scheme under our belts, we’ve learned a lot and we’re ready to make some changes!
Cumbria Action for Sustainability has awarded the scheme a grant, which will allow us to trial new approaches and hopefully encourage more people to use the bikes more often.
One thing we’ve already done is simplify the booking process, with a one-off £20 registration fee, then three different tariffs depending on how you want to use the bikes. Check out the new tariffs and book yourself an Ebike adventure.
We’re changing some parts to allow for fast pick-up and drop-off, and we’re adding a trailer to our Ebikes fleet, so you can take little ones out with you or carry larger loads, like shopping.
More updates on the scheme here, including info about ‘buddy’ bike sessions with qualified cycling instructor, Jenny Lyons.
Clean River Kent Campaign
A big thank you to everyone who came along to our recent spring planning session. We had a great turnout and it feels like we’re heading in a positive direction for 2024 and beyond.
We’ll use the outcomes from the meeting to create a plan for the next 12 months, and a longer term vision. Come along to our next steering group meeting on Tuesday 19 March (4.30-6.30pm) at the Staveley Institute to be part of the planning!
In other news, we’re excited to say that our research project with the University of Sheffield is now underway. They’re working with us on our water quality monitoring project, investigating a range of issues including Microbial Source Tracking (MST), i.e DNA testing water samples to help us to determine the source of the E. coli that we know is in the river.
We’re planning to test from early May through to September, to coincide with the bathing water season. If you can help us to collect samples and deliver them to the lab in Sheffield, please get in touch.
Finally, thanks to Sam and Jaimie, from Kendal College Arts & Media Campus, for conducting an interview with CRKC as part of a promotional film about Natural Kendal and the resources in the town. You can watch it here.
New green case study
Lots of us think about having our own allotment – space to grow veg and enjoy being out in the fresh air. But what are the pros and cons?
We asked Staveley resident Rebecca Turner about her experience of renting an allotment for the last year, including what she chose to grow and the best bits of growing your own.
Local news & events
Support Coniston Parish Council’s application for bathing status on Coniston Water
Three sites on Coniston Water could be given bathing water status – with your help! Defra is currently running a public consultation on whether these and a further 24 sites across the UK should receive the designation. Complete this survey by Sunday 10 March to have you say, and please share the link far and wide.
Join Cumbria Wildlife Trust for a conservation day
The next conservation day at Staveley Woodlands takes place on Monday 8 April. Book here to take part in practical conservation tasks like coppicing, walling and tree planting. There’s also a Staveley Woodlands botany walk coming up for Cumbria Wildlife Trust members on Friday 26 April – find out more.
Support SENS
We’re a volunteer-led organisation that relies on grants and contributions. Here’s how to support our work.
Know someone who’d like to receive the SENS newsletter? Contact us at senstaveley@gmail.com
Thanks for reading!