MEETINGS IN MAY TO NOVEMBER 2010

PLANNING MEETING: TUESDAY 23 NOVEMBER

The meeting first considered a number of on-going matters before moving on to planning the programme for 2011. 

• An update on 'pylon' issues was provided - the main point being the delay in a decision while studies were undertaken on behalf of National Grid to establish the relative costs of the options including undergrounding.
• The discussion on Broadband speeds in the Allertons was considered.  The article in Allerton News was considered to be helpful but there is still a group in Stone Allerton with poor connections - further investigations will be undertaken by those concerned.
• Reports on the Green Deal and a new hedgerow intiative were provided.

It was agreed that next year meetings would be held on the third Thursday of the month to avoid clashes with other activities.

The provisional programme for 2011 is:

January: Apple Pruning
February: AGM with an illustrated talk on the Crane Project
March: Presentation of outcomes of a survey of heat loss from houses (Infra-red Survey)
May: Discussion Meeting
June: Outing to Knightshayes Court for a visit and talk on Organic Gardening
September: Discussion Meeting
October: Visit to Butcombe Brewery
November: Planning Meeting

Note - all meetings/visits are subject to confirmation



DOMESTIC SOLAR ENERGY: TUESDAY 26 OCTOBER

The main focus of the meeting was domestic solar power – both generating electricity with photovoltaic panels and water heating systems. The first speakers from Solarsense (who have installed some panel for some homeowners in the village) explained photovoltaic systems and told us what to look out for when selecting a supplier. They explained in layman’s terms how it works, what is involved and the benefits both for homeowners and the environment.  The second speaker who runs a local B&B described how he had sucessfuly installed solar hot water panels himself.

WEBSITE AND PYLONS: TUESDAY 28 SEPTEMBER

Cherry and Isobel (from the Village Website) described the village website outlined how the AEG could use their pages to share information and promote their group. They explained that the whole website was being updated so that groups would be better able to manage their own pages.  The Environmental Group is in the vanguard with its new arrangements which allow it to post information and carry out discussions.

During the Q&A session, the discussion turned to the very poor bandwidth available in Allerton and the detrimental effects this has.  It was agreed that the group would look further into how we might persuade BT to unbundle the relevant exchange if sufficient people were experiencing problems.

The second part of the meeting related mainly to the issue of pylons.  Fiona explained some alternatives for undergrounding.  Frances said that she would represent the group on National Grid's local Community Forum.  It will be important to have a mechanism for feeding back information from the forum and to seek views to input to it.  The new discussion area will be used for this but a sub-group might need to meet too.

WETLAND BIRD WALK: TUESDAY 22 JUNE
Greg Glendall lead an evening bird walk at the Ham Wall reserve on Tuesday 22 June. Before setting out on the walk, he provided an update on the Crane Project for which he is a volunteer. The eggs arrived safely and have hatched - all is going well at present. The walk was enjoyed by those taking part and we had plenty of opportunities to see and hear the birds as they settled down for the night though for some people the midges were a bit of an issue.


ENCOURAGING WILDLIFE IN THE GARDEN: TUESDAY 25 MAY

The meeting was held at Ashton House. The meeting started with a tour round the garden to look to see some of the wildlife friendly features including the pond and the partly established wildflower meadow.  Because there were nearly 40 people, two tours were run with people able to purchase plants from the bring and buy stall.

Nigel Phillips of the Somerset Wildlife Trust then gave a talk about wildlife gardening illustrated with a number of beautiful slides.  He then answered our questions. Nigel was the Head of Nature Reserves for the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust for 30 years until he retired recently. He has an extensive knowledge of wildlife matters and is continuing his work as a volunteer on the SWT’s wildlife gardening programme.

MEETINGS 2010

Meeting on 23 March 2010


This meeting was concerned with honey bees. The DVD ‘Vanishing Bees’ was shown at Sleepy Hollow. It provided an overview of the problems facing bees particularly in the USA but the difficulties in the UK, France and Germany were also covered. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is causing major loss of bees in the USA particularly but the cause is unknown. Various changes including pesticides, feeding on sugar solutions, transporting the bees over long distances to pollinate crops, monocultures and the verroa mite were thought to contribute to the problems. However, more research is needed if the drastic reduction in bees is to be overcome.

Following the viewing of the DVD, those attending the meeting discussed the issues and considered what might be down particularly in the local area.



AGM on 23 February 2010

The Officers elected were:



■Chairman: Frances Good

■Secretary: Fiona Torrens-Spence

■Treasurer: Chris Pike

The financial position of the group is satisfactory with a balance of £158. Voluntary donations at meetings have exceeded costs. It was felt that this method of raising funds was satisfactory and that it would not be necessary to introduce an annual subscription. There are currently 26 members of the group.

The activities of the group during 2009 were summarised. These have included speaker meetings, visits, projects and initiatives, responding to consultations and general discussion meetings.

Speaker Meetings

These have included a meeting on the Severn Barrage, one on vegetable gardening, a joint meeting with Cheddar at Wills Barn on the Yeo Valley farms, and a talk on the Challenges to Allerton Moor. All these meetings were well attended and led to considerable discussion.

Visits

As well as the visit to Wills Barn, which involved the use of the Wedmore community bus, the group went on an interesting visit to the Carymoor landfill site to learn about how waste is being managed.

Projects and Initiatives

The initial project was to set up pages on the website which has been maintained as a valuable source of information. Most of the others projects have been carried out in conjunction with the Wedmore Green Group. These include the Isle of Wedmore Tidy Up which is now undertaken regularly ensuring that the verges around the Allertons are kept tidy; the use of ecometers to test electricity use; and access to the Warm Front scheme to encourage energy saving measures in homes. The Allerton group also had a stall promoting composting at the Wedmore Green Fair. The main local initiative has been the bulk purchasing of oil which has proved to be very popular and provided considerable savings for those who have joined the scheme.

Responding to Consultations

There have been two main consultations during the year: the Severn Barrage and the Route for Pylons. After general discussion, sub groups of around 6 members were set up to consider the issues, with particular emphasis on environmental matters, in more detail and to draft responses on behalf of the environmental group. Agreed responses were submitted to both consultations.

General Meeting

These meetings were normally held in the Wheatsheaf. As well as considering future plans and various projects, a wide range of topics have been covered. These include various energy saving topics, the post office, rescuing battery hens, and cycle paths.

Following the formal AGM, there was a discussion of meetings for 2010 over a glass of wine. Details of future meetings are available under ‘Events and Meetings’.



Meeting on 26 January 2010

Following the closure of The Wheatsheaf, the meeting was held at The George in Wedmore. This venue was not considered to be ideal because of there is no door to provide a degree of privacy. The continuing concerns about the planned route for pylons gave rise to much discussion at this meeting with Fiona Torrens- Spence providing an update from the No Moor Pylons group. The next Isle of Wedmore Tidy Up will take place on 28 March.

Ideas for meetings in 2010 were discussed with suggestions on Encouraging Wildlife in the Garden; Low Food Miles Supper; Apple Tree Pruning; Bee Film; and Plant Sale all being considered suitable. There was less enthusiasm for a trip to Rosemoor Gardens.

The arrangements for the AGM were discussed and nominations for officers considered. The need to discuss a subscription was discussed and those at the meeting were generally in favour of introducing a £5 subscription.