Tellus Magazine Autumn Winter 2022

Helen Tandy, Found Director.

Eco Communities came from a passion for the environment and a desire to support others following a sustainable lifestyle and businesses doing what they can for the environment I am still amazed at the fantastic businesses we have in the region and those that we work with to help them I recently met two businesses a stones throw from each other in Upton, Chester The Cheshire Sports Club, a venue I used to take my son as a child for football What I didn't know is that they are a not for profit business, they don’t have share holders they don’t have a huge funding programme and so they need the local community to use the fantastic facilities I met with Debbie Ratcliffe, Deputy Manager recently after she contacted us about hosting one of our litter pick hubs (see below) She wants to do what they can to reduce their environmental footprint.

At the moment they use around 1,000 single use glasses each week and 1,000 single use coffee cups a week. They are really keen to work with us to move away from single use. This is fantastic timing as we have just secured funding for our reusable coffee cup scheme which we will trail in Chester, then Nantwich also want to link in and use our Sustainable Cheshire Cup. We will be full steam ahead planning this from 1st October We have achieved so much already this year, distributing the first batch of our litter pick hubs, including various locations supported by Vivocare Supporting the stalls at The Green Expo and West Cheshire Museums Festival for the Future.

Eco Communities

Eco Communities is a not for profit Community Interest Company

Our aim is to support sustainable living, reducing our carbon footprint and promote plastic free communities. We are also supporting businesses moving towards sustainability through our Plastic Free Cheshire project, Carbon Footprint Support and our Sustainable Cheshire Map

Supporting the first Plastic Free business in Neston and Ellesmere Port, plus getting support to help Tattenhall go plastic free

The second businesses was started by Lisa, Cheshire Market Gardens. Using the no dig process Owner Lisa has taken a overgrown piece of land to a fantastic landscape of polytunnels and areas growing lots of vegetables and more types of squash than I have seen. We are setting her up as a Plastic Free Chester business and hope to do more projects with Lisa going forward

Why 'Tellus'?

The magazine name was the idea of Debbie from Just Footprints Coming from Chester a Roman City Tellus being the Latin word meaning "Earth" it seemed fitting We are producing a print magazine to ensure that we can be more inclusive, reaching out to a larger network and hopefully informing more people about things they can get involved in within their community

Left Helen & Poppy Festival for the Future, Top right Helen C and Morag, Countess of Chester Park, Both Helens and Vivocare, Water Tower Gardens.

What’s Inside...

Sustainable Living

Get Energy Savvy

Litter Picks

Tackling Plastic Pollution

Apps to Make Sustainable Living Easy

Reducing our Environmental Community Footprint

Saving Carbon and Cash on Seasonal events

A Trip to the Supermarket with Impact Score

The Greenway Grocer

Sustainable Fashion

Food for the Planet

Tackling Food Waste Incredible Edible Live below Water

It Shouldn't be in the Dee Chester National Park City

Sustainable Food Nature and Sustainability Sustainable Business Directory

The Importance of Fair trade Zero Waste Shopping

How to become a Plastic free champion

What’s on

Sustainable living is achieved by making choices that aim to reduce our individual and collective environmental impact by making positive changes that offset climate change and reduce environmental damage

Westminster Park Incredible Edible and it's busy sharing shed Refill

More simply, sustainable living is a method of reducing one's “carbon footprint”

There are lots of ways to keep track of our sustainability updates, events and projects:

Use the (top) QR code or visit the 'what's on' section on the sustanablecheshire uk website

Follow Eco Communities on social media

Subscribe to our newsletter with (bottom) QR code or visit http://sustainablecheshire uk

Send us an email at office@sustainablecheshire uk

EcoCommunities_

Our mobile litter pick hub

Sustainable Living Get Energy Savvy

you one of the many people needing help to work out how to take control of your energy use to better understand the right choices for your current circumstances?

you like easy to access independent information around home energy

in plain English and an extremely practical way We believe this is a necessity and retired energy expert Mark Thompson has created this site to provide this

creating this website

The vast majority of existing information online, regarding home energy efficiency, is very generic and not presented in a way that is either relevant enough or practical enough for people to really cater to their own needs. There is a significant amount of misinformed opinion on the subject due to confusing or even incorrect information. This is particularly true on social media, in addition to poorly researched articles, factual errors that have persisted and been re used, and even mistakes by organisations that present themselves as experts in the subject

The depth of understanding of energy across the general public is low and given the pressures of energy costs this winter, this can make navigating this area both hard to understand and highly stressful, often leading to making decisions that don't have the desired result

Litter Pick Hubs

Helen Tandy, Founding Director Eco Communities

We have been litter picking in the region as part of Plastic Free Chester for the last few years We are now expanding through supporting Plastic Free Cheshire. Of course lockdown stopped group picks, but it was fantastic to see lots of Womble Groups starting or growing during this period At the moment you need to purchase your own equipment or loan it from Street Scene who will travel to deliver litter pickers to residents. While convenient, it does seem to go against the aims of reducing our Carbon Footprint, so we applied for funding from Cheshire West and Cheshire Council to create Litter Pick Hubs

You can now now borrow equipment from one of the dedicated hubs being rolled out in the region You can also join one of our group litter picks today

Want a hub near you? Register as a user, get others in your community to do the same. Locations for new hubs are determined based on demand.

Hubs so far are in some Chester Parks, Sykes, Exsqueeze Me Handbridge, Just Footprints Chester, Frodsham, Fish & Chips @Weston Grove Upton, Vivocare Water Tower Gardens, and Winsford, Friends of Countess of Chester Park

Neston and Ellesmere Port will be getting a hub by the end of September

To loan the equipment, you just need to register once. This will give you access to a hub near you

You can now recycle soft plastics at Co-op Stores

The Co op are making things fairer for the planet by setting out an ambitious 10 point climate change plan, taking action on our plastic packaging and going further with our commitments on responsible sourcing. The Co op has launched a new in store collection scheme for soft plastics. Members and customers are now able to recycle ‘scrunchable’ plastic film quickly and easily. The Co op is doing there bit to tackle plastic pollution, giving customers an easy way to dispose of soft plastics that aren’t currently collected by all UK councils. In store collection points will accept all types of clean, ‘scrunchy’ plastic film from any brand or retailer including plastic carrier bags, lids from ready meals and yoghurt pots, wine box inners, chocolate, cake, and biscuit wrappers, fruit and vegetable flow wrap, and toilet roll wrappers. To help customers understand the recycling scheme, The Co op will be asking them to Clean it, Scrunch it, Co op it. This messaging will feature on in store signage and other marketing in and around Co op stores. You can find your nearest scheme here. https://www.coop.co.uk/environment/soft plastics

So don’t forget…

Clean it, Scrunch it, Co-op it!

Tackling Plastic Pollution

The Surfers Against Sewage report reveals the top 12 companies that are responsible for over 70% of branded pollution across the UK: Coca Cola, PepsiCo, McDonalds, Anheuser Busch InBev, Mondelez International, Nestlé, Tesco, Red Bull GmbH, Suntory, Carlsberg Group, Heineken Holding, and Mars

The annual Citizen Science Brand Audit released August 2022 identifies the same offenders every year, making a mockery of their supposedly ambitious sustainability pledges. Brands are failing to adequately reduce packaging, switch to reuse models and enable recycling As the top three polluters, Coca Cola, PepsiCo and McDonalds are responsible for a staggering 39% of all branded pollution found.

For the third year, Coca Cola has taken the top spot This follows growing public pressure for systems change and their recent announcement of a new reusable packaging target, aiming for at least 25% of all beverages worldwide to be sold in refillable or returnable glass or plastic bottles and containers by 2030

Tobacco products accounted for over 15% of all pollution recorded, with over a quarter of this being cigarette butts. Cigarette pollution is extremely detrimental to the soil and beaches, with the vast majority of butts made from single use plastic and containing hundreds of toxic chemicals once smoked.. Surfers Against Sewage are calling on companies to take responsibility for their harmful pollution and the entire lifecycle of their products, reduce their packaging and adopt circular business models.

Almost 4,000 citizen science volunteers across the UK collected branded items over 13,000 miles over the last 12 months to expose the top 12 polluting companies.

Coca Cola, PepsiCo and McDonalds are revealed to be the top three companies fuelling the UK packaging pollution crisis.

Almost 50% of the reported pollution would be covered under an ‘all-in’ Deposit Return Scheme.

As part of our work with Surfers Against Sewage we are calling for a’ Deposit Return Scheme'. Of the items monitored from this year’s Dirty Dozen, it is estimated that a massive 55% could be captured through an ‘all in’ deposit return scheme.

Our own Dr Christian Dunn provided this for the SAS press release Christian, a Senior Lecturer in Natural Sciences at Bangor University, added: "This research shows the environmental disaster of plastic pollution shows no sign of slowing down, as yet again the same companies are responsible for the bulk of the waste being found on our beaches and streets.

It's rather depressing that despite all the evidence over the years being provided by SAS and its fantastic team of citizen scientists these companies still aren't getting a grip on the issue There needs to be a shared responsibility between everyone; the government, producers and consumers if we're to seriously tackle the problem "

We Support a Deposit Return Scheme to Tackle Plastic Pollution

In the UK, we are using 38 5 million plastic bottles every single day and we struggle to recycle even half of those

In 2017, over 300,000 of you signed a petition calling the Prime Minister to introduce a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) The government listened, and in 2018 made a commitment to put in place a DRS for England and to work with the Devolved Administrations to introduce schemes across the UK to tackle the plastic pollution crisis. It's now been over a year since the government’s second consultation on DRS, something which should happen within 12 weeks

Every year since the government’s commitment, 8 billion containers including plastic bottles, metal cans, and drink cartons have ended up polluting the environment, that’s 32 Billion containers. By 2024 that will a mean a massive 56 Billion containers choking the planet This can be prevented though if the government deliver on their promise of an effective all in Deposit Return Scheme

The Scottish Government are leading the way with a scheme set to be introduced in 2023, the rest of the UK must step up before they are left behind Email your MP today to call for an ‘all in’ DRS to stop plastic pollution: https://www.sas.org.uk/depositreturnscheme/

Can our Schools Become Plastic Free?

In 2019 we supported Grosvenor Academy in becoming the first plastic free school in Chester Plastic Free Schools are a system shaking, change making pupil led education programme. This ground breaking programme equips and empowers young activists with the tools to create positive, lasting environmental change and teaches pupils that they should never underestimate the power of their own voice

Plastic Free Schools teaches pupils how to run their own campaign in the fight against single use plastic; from challenging government and industry to creating tangible change in their schools and forming sustainable habits that will continue into adulthood

The programme also equips pupils with the relevant skills to be able to run future campaigns on any issue they feel is important and to understand the strength they have in driving change. So, what are you waiting for? Get involved today and help to inspire the next generation of ocean activists! Learn more: https://plasticfreeschools org uk/

Easy Sustainable Living

Top Apps to Help us Live a More Sustainable Lifestyle

Giki Earth Carbon Footprint Calculator

Search for Giki in the app store

Giki have been around for a while but recently launched a handy 'on the go' mobile app to choose and tick off steps on the road Helping to reduce your impact while out and about

Search for Palm Oil Scan in the app store

Chester Zoo - Palm Oil

The latest initiative from Chester Zoo. It aims to transform the palm oil industry by empowering shoppers to demand change from major manufacturers which are failing wildlife, and support those that are leading the way!

Ecosia - Search Engine

Ecosia is not for profit and uses 80% of its revenue to plant trees. One of its goals is to fight climate change. For every 45 searches that you do Ecosia will plant a treeSearch for Ecosia in the app store

Refill

Access to a global network of places to reduce, reuse and refill From a coffee on your commute to drinking water on the go, or even shopping with less plastic Search for Refill in the app store

Bikemap

Bikemap was created by passionate cyclists with the goal of sharing awesome routes with cyclists around the world Today you can find cycle routes in nearly every placeSearch for Bikemap in the app store

Impact Score

Helps people to understand the impact their purchases have on people and the planet

See the article below on how one family used the app.Search for Impact Score in the app store

OLIO

Connects neighbours with each other and with local businesses so surplus food can be shared, not thrown away

Search for OLIO in the app store

AllTrails

Search for AllTrails in the app store

A guide to the best hiking, running, and biking trails around the world With 300,000+ hand curated trail maps plus reviews and photos Also 1% for the Planet partners

Reducing our Environmental Footprint as a Community

Eco Communities have been working with Giki for over a year. Giki helps people to live more sustainably They do this by calculating an individuals carbon footprint using their science based tools, before providing personalised steps for all lifestyles and budgets to help you to reduce your impact on the environment

As the climate crisis is one that we can't take on alone, we wanted to use the Giki platform to bring individuals in the community together to motivate and share our savings, challenges, and successes!

We now have over 100 members in our Giki community, and by taking over 200 steps together we have saved:

More than 30 tonnes of Carbon (that is more than 3 peoples annual carbon footprint!)

1,500 items of single use plastic from landfill More than 1million litres of water!

We also have some great healthy competition between the teams and members

Want to know how to take steps to reduce your environmental impact?

Eco Communities have teamed up with Giki to help you understand, track, and reduce your individual carbon footprint.

Because we are all in this together you can also view how much as a community we have been able to reduce our impact on the planet collectively. Sign up for free! See QR code below

Giki now has an estimated 50,000 users on the platform and are growing, which is great to see so many people wanting to take action

We would love to grow our Giki community further so if you haven't joined already why not give it a go!

How to Save Carbon and Cash on Seasonal Events This Year

Helen Chambers, Director, Eco Communities

There are so many things we are looking forward to this Autumn and Winter My personal favourites are the changing colours of leaves and that feeling of thawing out with a hot drink after getting in from a winter walk.

This year though, with the steep rise in the cost of living, many of us are dreading the events and festivals that we traditionally love to celebrate at this time of year

We’ve taken a look at a few popular events; Halloween, Bonfire night and Christmas through the lens of how to reduce our impacts on our spending and our planet to hopefully give you some top tips.

3 Make use of old clothes Cut a jagged edge off old t shirts/ trousers for an elf/goblin/ zombie outfit

4 Use face paints instead of plastic masks

5. Don’t forget that old childhood favourite of sticking a white sheet over your head and cutting out some eyes!

Something else we all think of at Halloween is Pumpkins

Halloween

With parties, trick or treating, and Pumpkin carving: cheap throwaway outfits, disposable decorations, and plastic sweet wrappers, Halloween has the ability to be quite a wasteful occasion

Research from the Fairyland Trust shows that in the UK we throw away around seven million Halloween costumes each year They've calculated that this equates to 83 million Cola bottles of waste (by weight)

Dressing up is such a large part of the Halloween tradition though, especially for children and more recently pets, so how can we reduce our impacts?

Top tips to reduce your impact:

Organise or attend a Fancy dress clothes swap

Take any old outfits to your local charity shops and while you are there take home a new one

If you need some inspiration on what to do with your leftover pumpkin then see our pumpkin recipe later in the magazine.

Bonfire night

We were surprised to hear recently that bonfires and fireworks from 5th November alone have a worse effect on the UK’s air quality than the annual emissions from all of our waste incinerators! In addition to this there are risks to wildlife, fires, and many fireworks are built inside plastic casings that scatter plastic over a wide area when they go off.

Top 5 tips for minimising your impact on this night:

The best way is by attending a community bonfire or public firework display

If you staying at home set a ‘friendly’ fire, burn only clean, dry, natural materials like untreated wood and garden waste to minimise pollution. Build your bonfire on the day so animals don’t have time to nest in it Always check any piles of logs that's been around for a while for animals, as they love to hibernate in spots like this.

4 Sparklers are a good alternative to fireworks as they have less of an impact on air quality and are easy to clean up.

5 Choosing white colour fireworks over coloured makes a difference, releasing less chemicals into the atmosphere.

Christmas

There is so much going on at Christmas time, so we have simplified it to think about two things; what we buy, and what we throw away as we do a lot of both at this time of year!

Giving

At Christmas statistically 50% of us get a present we don’t want or can’t use I’m sure we can all admit to having a present at the back of the cupboard unused! Plan your present giving using the Giki checklist:

Ask someone what they want before buying a gift, it can still be a surprise if they share a couple of options

Give them the gift receipt so they can exchange if needed

Don't impulse buy and don't buy 2 gifts when 1 will do

Think how often, and for how long, the person will use the gift.

Consider homemade options which will be lower carbon

My personal favourite is Secret Santa, this reduces the amount of presents, and you have more time to plan what they really want

See QR code for more information and ideas on presents:

Wrapping paper also creates a lot of waste We use a lot, and most of it isn’t recyclable It is effectively a single use product and although it doesn’t last hundreds of years like plastic, it does create emissions in manufacture, and then has to be disposed of, often to landfill, which emits methane.

Top tips when wrapping gifts:

For wrapping paper opt for recyclable (so nothing glittery or shiny)

2. 3

Even better use materials that already exist, I have gift bags that have been doing the rounds with friends and family for years. Get creative with fabric, boxes, and other materials I was once given a present with a magazine article from a friend that they knew I would like to read

Eating

Finally food is a big part of what we buy at Christmas Great if we eat it; less good if we don’t

Because we tend to overbuy at Christmas, we also tend to throw a lot out About a quarter of food waste is created because we simply make too much.

If you tend to over buy at Christmas time plan your trip to the shops, have a list and stick to it and don’t go shopping when you’re hungry!

Shopping locally for meat, fruit and veg can mean you buy the exact amount rather what the packet dictates

Try not to be tempted by promotions and offers, if it isn’t on your list you are aren’t saving money you are spending extra

Use your Christmas leftovers and stick them in the freezer if they risk going off.

Share any extras locally if you can. Olio is a great app for this

So, as long we are thinking about what we buy and what we throw away, and considering reducing and reusing; we can have happy, sustainable and cheaper events this season!

Here are some steps from Giki if you wanted to get started now:

Choose gift wrapping that doesn’t end up in landfill

Try shopping locally for your food

Avoid giving unwanted presents

The Scariest Thing About Halloween is How Much Pumpkin is Wasted, Let’s Change That This Year!

Pumpkin and Chickpea Curry

Warm the oil and then add the mustard seeds until they pop Add the chopped garlic, then the onions, saute until brown Reduce the heat and add the chilli, ginger, and turmeric and stir through the onion mix until everything is coated

Add the tin tomatoes, chickpeas, and pumpkin, bring to the boil and reduce the heat Add the coconut milk and simmer for 45 minutes Check regularly and add water if needed. After 45 minutes check the pumpkin, remove the lid, and simmer for a further 15 mins to thicken if needed.

Serve with chopped coriander, rice and naan bread.

If using a slow cooker, follow stage one and fry your onions and spice, add this to the slow cooker with the pumpkin, tomatoes and chickpeas. (don’t add the coconut milk as yet) You could add a little more spice as you will need to add stock to make sure the pumpkin is well covered. I needed around ¼ pint of stock. I cooked it overnight on low, you could also cook for 4 hours on medium. The next day I added the coconut milk and warmed this through before serving.

Ingredients

3tbs olive oil or rapeseed oil teaspoon mustard seeds

4 cloves of garlic chopped

1 onion chopped

4cm cube fresh root ginger chopped

1 fresh red chilli teaspoon turmeric pumpkin (small) , or squash (roughly 900g, chopped into 3cm chunks)

20 curry leaves

2 x 400g tins of chickpeas

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

400g tin of coconut milk

An Eye-Opening Trip to the Supermarket With Impact Score

Holly Nelson & Cathy Henderson

How much do we really think about the items we pop into our shopping baskets? Could a little knowledge help to change our buying habits? And do we all care about the same things when it comes to what we purchase?

Certainly, we can access more information about consumables than ever before, and recent innovations have focused on making us far more aware of whether products are good or bad for us Laudable initiatives like the NHS Food Scanner come to mind It gives nutritional guidance and helps shoppers to visualise the amount of sugar contained in various products and brands, which will, no doubt, help to encourage healthier purchases. But what if we want to know whether the items in our trolley are good or bad for the planet, for people, for animals?

Cathy’s daughter Evie is 12 year old, part of a generation that has grown up with a keen awareness of environmentalism, inequality, and animal welfare

These young people really do care about the impact of our behaviours on the world so, it’s important to be able to empower them with the insight they need to live by their values and make a difference

Evie cares about palm oil, plastics and puppies "That’s why I jumped at the chance to arm her with the Impact Score® Shopping app" Cathy tells us. On a recent retail expedition "My hope was that the app would help to educate us both and gain me some Cool Techy Mum points". Cool Techy Mum Cathy, cares about packaging and healthier options. Impact Score® Shopping’s mission is to help people live more sustainably It does this by awarding badges to UK supermarket products based on sustainability, health, and fairness

With 14 badges available in all, you can hone in on the values that really matter to you. So yes, you can find out how a product fares on the nutritional front but, crucially, you can see exactly how evil or virtuous it is in relation to a host of other measurables

For some products, supermarket brands scored more favourably than what we would both view as ‘prestige’ brands across the badge spectrum an eye opener for us both. And it was a definite boon being able to establish which makes of peanut butter steer clear of unsustainable palm oil we eat a lot of peanut butter.

With the cost of a weekly shop accelerating at a worrying pace, price is an issue for us and we expected to pay a premium for the more sustainable products. When we checked the Whole Earth peanut butter, the price did look high compared to our normal brand But when Evie compared the pence per KG price, Whole Earth was actually cheaper so although we needed to buy the bigger jar, it turned out to be both more sustainable and more economical.

Fruit and Veg Comes to you by Tricycle With the Greenway Grocer Via Chester Cycling Campaign

There are also plans for families eligible for Healthy Start vouchers to access fruit and vegetables through the Greenway Grocer It will build on all the work Crossroads Community Hub has done during the COVID 19 pandemic, providing emergency food to around 100 families each month

The organisers are looking for volunteers who might like to be involved either as a one off or long term basis as the project establishes a weekly timetable of visiting communities

The Greenway Grocer is a bike that will use the Greenway cycle path to visit different areas of Chester, taking healthy food to people in their own communities where they are needed most Crossroads Community Hub and Cheshire West Voluntary Action (CWVA) are working together to launch the Greenway Grocer, providing an opportunity for everyone to easily access affordable fruit and vegetables The project will form strong links with local organisations and people so that the Greenway Grocer can pop up in these communities on a regular basis and become a trusted way for people to access affordable fruit and vegetables, which will be provided by Hoole Food Market

Chester Community Energy Ltd.

A registered Community Benefit Society which develops and facilitates renewable energy schemes in Chester and the surrounding area

Our aim is to produce renewable energy generation, reduce the carbon emissions in our area and encourage energy efficiency We raise funds to carry out our work via grants and public share offers. chestercommunityenergy.org.uk/

They are looking for people who might be interested in riding the Greenway Grocer Bike, or being a volunteer to accompany it The roles could include selling fruit and vegetables, talking with local people, bike maintenance, ordering fruit and vegetables from Hoole Food Market, keeping account of daily finances/transactions and being a part of the wider community of the Crossroads Hub

If this interests you, or you’re interesting in finding out more about the project, please email Evie Adams (cchub@hbc org uk) or drop into the ‘Meeting Places’ Café where the Bike is selling

fruit and vegetables every Friday from 10am 12noon at the Crossroads Hub, New Church building, on the corner of Dicksons Drive and Brook Lane.

Sustainable Fashion

Yes to Thrifted, No to Fast Fashion

Grace Marshall & Hannah Swettenham, Friends of the Earth Chester & District

Did you know that the fashion industry accounts for approximately 10% of global carbon emissions?

Given the fact that we all wear clothes, this may not seem so surprising, but what may shock you is that 100 billion new garments are made each year (cleanclothes.org).

Fashion brands encourage people to buy clothes at a much faster rate than ever before, and this results in lower quality garments made in dangerous conditions which are being worn for less time than ever before they are thrown away or donated.

Unfortunately it doesn’t get better once clothing has been worn 70% of unwanted clothing that gets donated to charity shops ends up in developing nations resulting in dumps such as in the Atacama Desert, Chile. Here at Friends of the Earth Chester, we want to help you play your part in changing the system

We need your help with asking our favourite brands to do better with wages and working conditions for garment workers, ensuring they take responsibility for the full life cycle of the garments, and reducing harmful over production We have investigated practices for the three largest and well loved fashion brands in Chester in early 2022 Primark, Next and Marks & Spencer

We found that while they are making some improvements, much more is still needed Help us to take action

Read the full article and links to contact these companies via the QR code:

Friends of the Earth Chester & District meet once a month on the 3rd Wednesday Check the website for more info

Sustainable Food

Food for the Planet

Helen Tandy, Founding Director, Eco Communities

Eco Communities has registered to support the Food for the Planet campaign The project is helping local authorities, businesses, and organisations take simple actions to tackle the climate and nature emergency through food

We are Looking to Encourage Businesses to Act.

Food and the Climate and Nature Emergency

The food system contributes about 30% to global greenhouse gas emissions more than transport or energy and industrial farming is the leading cause of the decline of wildlife in the UK, antibiotic resistance, and zoonotic diseases Additionally, a third of the food we produce goes to waste. Improving the food, farming, and fishing system is therefore one of the most essential and large scale ways to help avert climate change and restore nature.

Meat and dairy represent the biggest share of emissions from food and we need businesses to commit to less and better

Your food business can reduce the climate and nature impact of the food you serve or sell while supporting our local economy and promoting the health of your customers

The Planet Pledge for Business invites you to choose from a menu of commitments to ensure the food you serve or sell is freshly prepared, local and seasonal and contributes to the local economy

You can download the Planet Pledge as a PDF Register to sign the Planet Pledge and commit to serve more plants, better meat, and freshly prepared food from ingredients sourced locally and fairly

To sign up, you are asked to select the two mandatory and four voluntary commitments You are asked to complete the pledge fully by 2025, but take one significant action now, before signing, to get you on track

You might be doing some of this already, for example paying the Living Wage or selling verifiably sustainable fish

If you are a plant based restaurant or setting you already meet the 2 mandatory commitments, all you have to do is select 4 optional commitments.

Use the QR Code to Read More

Tackling Food Waste

International School

Students at Chester International School were involved in a project at the end of the last school year Rebecca Graham tells us more about this ‘The Students worked in vertical teams (Years 10 & 12) to create a product to be displayed on the organisers virtual platform. My team created a four page infographic, (a small clip of which is below) The students presented their infographic to a team of employers ’ The infographic looks at food and ocean waste and packaging This is some of the research they found on food waste. Love Food Hate Waste runs an annual survey of people’s habits and knowledge around food waste. This highlighted that 81% of UK citizens are concerned about climate change, but only 32% see a clear link with food waste For the average family with children, the cost of binning food can be more than £700 per year, a key consideration with rising food prices. Eco Communities advocates the use of both Olio and Too Good to Go apps when it comes to food waste.

Food Waste

Wasting food is bad for the environment — including the climate. We waste about a third of all food produced for human consumption. This wasted food has taken loads of fresh water, land and labour to produce.

Incredible Edible

What would it take to create food security for an entire community?

This was the question that Pam Warhurst and Mary Clear sought to answer when conceiving ways in which they could make their hometown of Todmorden in Yorkshire, a self sustaining township

They dreamed up the idea of Incredible Edible Todmorden with which they would make beneficial use of unused or waste areas of public land on which to grow food for all to share. Their goals were big to transform a wasteful and disconnected food culture into one which promotes a healthier relationship between people and food.

Today, you will find edible plants all over Todmorden sometimes in the most unusual places such as the railway station, outside the police station, a home for the elderly, and in parking lots. Fruit trees can be found outside the police and fire stations, and the local high school will even be features an aquaponic fish pond Walk down a street in Todmorden and you’ll find fresh food, there for all to eat

The Incredible Edible Todmorden community group was first established in 2007, and has since grown into world wide networks of Incredible Edible initiatives following the same principles. As they say “If you eat, you’re in!”

Incredible Edible in Chester

In 2013, volunteers from Transition Chester worked with Cheshire West and Chester Council to plan and carry out some planting of donated fruit bushes in two public parks in Hoole, Alexandra Park and the Narrows Park The idea that these, in time, would produce fruit for all to share

With the help of local residents, including elected Councillors, some 150 fruit bushes were planted in two separate sessions with the intention that local residents living adjacent to the parks would then be involved in looking after the planted areas. This way the plants would grow and provide fruit to those who wanted to pick them These fruit shrubs still thrive today, particularly in the Narrows Community Park where there is now a very active community group (Narrows Park Community Group) under the auspices of Transition Chester.

Incredible Edible Handbridge

In January 2019, Friends of the Earth invited us to look at a space behind the Industry Co working Hub at 1 Overleigh Road (former Boys Club) along with owners Andy and Rhys It was the start of an amazing partnership. We wanted to start a community project to bring people together around the wellbeing benefits of growing healthy food With funding support from Sanctuary Community Chest, Friends of the Earth, and the Incredible Edible network we built planters for vegetables and herbs, and bought compost to create a healthier soil environment. In 2020 we received funding from The Welcome Network and Rotary Club of Chester (ROCCA) to support our Handbridge Growing Together project.

We built an upright planter suitable for people with mobility issues which can make gardening activities difficult Funding from Food for Life in 2021 helped us hold further community events in Autumn/Winter 2021

Keeping in Touch Join our Facebook page ‘Incredible Edible Handbridge’ and sign up to receive our events programme and news updates by emailing: ie handbridge1@gmail com

With school children passing daily to get to school, and dog walkers, cyclists, and strollers passing the site it has become a well used and impressive community facility A much valued feature is the ‘sharing table’ which has meant that surplus produce grown by neighbours, or seedlings or plants are left for others to pick up free of charge

Elmwood Avenue Community Planter

Located at the busy entrance to the Millennium Greenway, this planter was built by a group of neighbours in the street during the time of Covid restrictions in 2020 Funding from the players of the People’s Postcode Lottery through Transition Chester enabled for all the materials to be purchased, including the recycled agricultural plastic lumber that forms the basis of the 3x2m planter.

Incredible Edible Westminster Park IE Westminster Park have created their first community food growing space on Castlecroft Road, Westminster Park This includes three large hexagonal planters and two smaller planters which have been planted up with winter, spring then summer vegetables for the community to harvest each season The group wants to build on this initial activity by increasing awareness of the project and usability of the site. This includes increasing interest in the community around food growing and healthy living, raising awareness of sustainable, organic food production, the ‘buy local eat local ethos' and the importance of wildlife in food production. Thanks to funding received via grants, the group has purchased a water butt, and built a shelter for use as a seed library and plant swapping space

The group would also like to increase the ability for people to rest and reflect in this area by building, in the near future, a bench for them to sit on

The beds have become a focal point at the busy local shopping centre and there is a growing band of volunteers who regularly help with planting and looking after the planters, providing food and herbs for all to use The group is thankful for all the help provided and would love to welcome more volunteers for the next growing seasons and projects.

Contact the group via their Facebook Page: Incredible Edible Westminster Park

Narrows Park Community Group

In early 2022 the volunteer group from the Narrows Community Park in Hoole were successful in obtaining a grant from the People’s Postcode Lottery for just over £2000, for the installation & stocking of 2 herb planters as an Incredible Edible initiative. This adds to the fruit bushes and trees in the park which had been planted previously by Transition Chester in 2013

In June, the kits from British Recycled Plastics arrived; a group of volunteers, with ages spanning from 5 years to 70+ set about building the planters and filling them with a range of herbs and veg. A sign was also designed & installed to help explain the purpose of the planters and with links through to the broader Incredible Edibles project via a QR code

Next year we’re looking to further enhance the biodiversity of the park by adding a bigger variety of fruit bushes, for both people and nature to enjoy” Linda Hilton who applied for the grant said “The planters are already being used by local residents; a nearby school has been involved in planting some herbs, and donations of plants are also gratefully received. It’s great to see passers by stop and help themselves to the herbs and members of the community (especially the local dog walker community) are popping by with tap water to help with watering in hot weather!”

For further information on the activities in the Narrow Park, please contact narrowswildlifeconnections@gmail.com

How you can start an Incredible Edible initiative in your community

If your group is in Chester, Transition Chester has developed a helpful framework to enable informal groups of local residents to get together and take practical steps to move forward an idea of creating planted areas in their very own community.

By having a suitable governance structure in place, Transition Chester can provide potential support such as providing a way for groups to raise funds from grant sources to take forward their ideas In addition, Public Liability Insurance can be developed to cover voluntary work in local communities

Gillian McHattie who runs the volunteer group in the park said

“We really wanted the planters to be accessible to all, so they are at a height suitable for wheelchair users. They are also placed next to the other edible bushes & trees so that they enhance the park, rather than being too dominant

Contact info@transitionchester. org uk to set the ball rolling!

Outside Chester you can contact the Incredible Edible Network.

incredible edible todmorden co uk

Nature and Sustainability

Helen Tandy, Founding Director Eco Communities

Life on Land is the UN Sustainable Development goal 15, but nature and the natural environment, which also covers the items below are also a huge benefit to our health and wellbeing. Now coined as The Natural Health Service, within the UK one of the huge benefits is access to healthcare for all no matter what your financial situation is. The Natural Health Service costs less and saves our NHS money Yet as a society we are spending less time in nature and losing much of our green spaces.

The changes in 2020 at least made us much more aware during lock down of why the outdoors and green spaces are so important. Wetlands and Woodlands are not only great for climate change but also good spaces for us and great projects to get involved in.

Why not support a community green project near you, get growing pollinator friendly plants, edibles or look for projects where you can join groups planting trees.

Check out how Merseyforest is supporting Cheshire's Natural Health Service naturalhealthservice.org.uk/wordpress/cheshires natural health service/

If everyone in England were sufficiently active, nearly 37,000 deaths a year could be prevented. Not doing enough exercise is becoming a major killer – a public health problem comparable to smoking, responsible for 17% of premature deaths in the UK, 10.5% of heart disease cases, 13% of type 2 diabetes cases and around 18% of cases of colon and breast cancer.

How Nature can Reduce the Impact of Climate Change

We are lucky to have Dr Christian Dunn, a Wetland Scientist at Bangor University, as a fellow Director in Eco Communities So are fortunate to have some expertise here We managed to catch Christian between his wild camping and welly wearing week days to ask him more about the planned Chester Wetland

'The project will turn an area of Chester parkland into a rare wet meadow habitat. Biodiversity will be increased, flooding and pollution in the area will be minimised, it will act as a carbon store and visitors will be able to learn about, and experience this once iconic part of the British landscape Being adjacent to a hospital and large housing estates it will give a wide section of the community the opportunity to benefit from being in a natural environment in a peri urban setting'

The Chester Wetland Centre project aims to create a wet meadow in an underused area of the park Around eight acres in size, this wetland will provide a habitat that is becoming increasingly rare in the UK. Once completed the site will increase biodiversity, clean a polluted river, help store storm water, thus helping prevent the flooding which often occurs downstream, and even has the potential to act as a carbon sink, preventing the release of harmful greenhouse gases It will be used as an educational and research resource for the local community; hospital patients, staff and users; schools; youth groups and visitors It will act as a focal point in bringing local conservation and environmental groups together.

'Wetlands: the superheroes of the natural world' 'Swamps, bogs, marshes, and fens are responsible for the creation of civilisations and cultures They are home to countless species of wildlife, protect our coastlines, prevent our homes and cities from being flooded, give us food and medicines, clean our water and even control our climate ' Why not watch his TEDx talk Wetlands: the superheroes of the natural world

The Woodland Trust have planted 50 million trees since 1972

‘Native woods and trees are one of the best ways to tackle the climate crisis. And we're pledging to get 50 million trees in the ground over the next five years, helping to put the UK on track to meet its carbon net-zero target.,’

The Woodland Trust needs more members to support us to continue our work to tackle the critical issues of the climate and nature crises The Trust is currently doing this through working both practically, with a huge programme of tree planting and new woodland creation, and politically, by campaigning and badgering those in power to take urgent action woodlandtrust.org.uk/

Life Below Water

We are now looking at UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 Life Below Water, over 3 billion people depend on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihood We have been working locally as representatives of Surfers Against Sewage for the last 5 years. Oceans provide key natural resources including food, medicines, biofuels and other products They help with the breakdown and removal of waste and pollution, and their coastal ecosystems act as buffers to reduce damage from storms, maintaining healthy oceans supports climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts.

Wewereall taken abackby the Blue Planet Effect, but since the lockdowns came to an end it seems that we have forgotten.If only we could bottle the enthusiasm of our youth and give it to all of us grown ups

Not only do we still have the scourge of the cigarette butt to try to pick up with the litter pickers and the usual plastic bottles, we have also had single use masks to content with

Our waters around the coast of the UK used to be extremely biodiverse, but over fishing and a lack of protected areas has pillaged marine resources instead of protecting them. This has then further increased the impacts of climate change. The number of seabird numbers have decreased by 70% and only 20% of UK salt marshes remain

Salt Marshes

WWF tells us ‘Carbon is captured by plants growing in the saltmarsh through photosynthesis and is stored both in the plant and the sediment beneath, which can extend several metres deep A hectare of saltmarsh can capture two tonnes of carbon a year and lock it into sediments for centuries Ifthe saltmarsh remains undisturbed the carbon in the soil can be stored for millennia!

Marine Permaculture

Chester cinema, Storyhouse showed Film 2020 as part of Great Big Green Week last year Filmed mainly in Australia, this highlighted the huge benefit of marine permaculture. This term is the ocean farming of kelp and seaweeds Kelp and seaweed are another of nature’s climate warriors and cultivating them at scale could counteract ocean acidification, climate change and loss of biodiversity

It Shouldn’t be in the Dee Progress so far

The Welsh Dee Trust

It Shouldn’t Be In The Dee is the Welsh Dee Trust’s community engagement programme, centred on identifying and eliminating a variety of pollution sources in the River Dee catchment Our work targets pollution such as plastics and litter, sewage and misconnections, and urban runoff and road drains and is complemented by our Water Wise Farming programme which works directly with farmers to reduce agricultural pollution. The programme began delivering events in earnest in March of this year, and in its first six months has already engaged with many individuals to tackle pollution, as well as partnering with other organisations working towards the same goals, such as Eco Communities, Keep Wales Tidy, Our Dee Estuary, and Welly Wednesdays (University of Chester) Below is a brief overview of our recent volunteer activities, citizen science initiatives and educational outreach.

Volunteer litter picks

We have led and partnered on 17 litter picks, with 144 people attending them, together collecting an astonishing 188 bags of litter Our litter picks have taken us from Thurstaston Beach on the Dee Estuary, to stand up paddleboarding on the River Dee in Farndon, as well as numerous litter picks on the river and it’s tributaries in Chester city centre.

SmartRivers volunteers

SmartRivers is a volunteer scheme analysing, to species level, samples of aquatic invertebrates collected in the River Dee catchment. The data from this analysis is then interpreted by experts who are able to determine the pressures impacting rivers Volunteers have been working with us this year to analyse samples from the River Alyn, and in September we will be training 25 more volunteers in the River Ceiriog and Aldford Brook catchments

Citizen science pollution monitoring

In May, we launched our citizen science scheme, training people to take water samples in their local tributaries and test the phosphate levels there

Through this initiative we aim to identify sources of pollution such as road drains, outfalls or failing septic tanks and support the citizen scientists to report regulatory failures or implement other solutions We currently have 12 citizen scientists regularly undertaking surveys on 10 tributaries of the River Dee, already amassing 188 records and even identifying two sources of pollution!

Education events

As well as popping up with an educational stand at many public events around Chester this summer, we have also organised a guided and self guided nature walk for the Chester Heritage Festival and held several successful online webinars, including one on sewage pollution.

All of the above volunteer opportunities, events and our citizen science scheme are set to grow and continue over the coming months and years, so if you would like to be involved head to our website www welshdeetrust com and sign up to join our volunteer mailing list

Chester National Park City

Chester National Park City (CNPC) is a youth led nature campaign aiming to make Chester a greener, healthier, and better place for people and wildlife. Our organisation is run by young eco warriors all under the age of 30, as we think it is vital to engage more young voices in today's climate conversations. We aim to do our bit to offset the underrepresentation of younger people in environmental discussion. We feel that increasing youth interest in the issue will bring new perspectives to the matter, help to reach wider audiences, and utilise some of the more “up to date” ideas that are now taught to those in education Our larger aims include improving human wellbeing, habitat health, cultural engagement, sustainability, relationships with nature and our sense of community We hope to use the National Park City status as a way of bringing communities together to give Chester a brighter and greener future

Keep in touch with the group as the project develops in the region and follows London's lead. Use the QR code to link to the Instagram account

Wildlife Champions

Chester Zoo WILDLIFE CHAMPIONS

are taking action across Chester, creating safe spaces for wildlife in our communities!

To sign up to their FREE WILDLIFE CHAMPIONS course all you need is a green space and a group to engage.

Use the QR code for more info and to sign up

Sustainable Business Directory

We love to support and promote businesses who are consciously working to become more sustainable. We've included a directory of businesses we work with and some more information about how we work with them to support the small business community of Cheshire.

One of the ways we want to support businesses going forward is by creating our Sustainable Cheshire map, which is close to launch and will be an easy way for people to find organisations they want to purchase from based on their sustainable credentials If you are an organisation and you have, or are working to, one of the following accreditations then you can apply to be included on the map on the QR code or by emails us at :

Plastic Free Champion with Surfers Against Sewage

Sustainable Palm Oil with Chester Zoo

Fairtrade accredited

We have taken the Food for the Planet Pledge

If you would like to apply to be please email us directly for information on office@sustainablecheshire uk

Sustainable Business Directory

Hoole Food Market

An environmentally conscious Fruit and Veg shop located in Hoole, Chester, also stocking plants, flowers, and dried goods. Offering emission free deliveries of Veg Boxes with their electric cycle deliveries Another Urban Tricycles master piece They have collaborated with lots of local producers to put together a special weekend box Amazing sourdough baked by Bear Bakery, fresh eggs produced by Lloyds of Leadgate in Huxley, creamy and nutritious milk from Peckforton Dairy Farm in Tarporley, and a pad of locally churned butter. You’ll also find two types of nuts and honey and crisped dried banana chips, perfect for adding add to porridge oats included Delicious locally roasted coffee beans and Hoole tea, both produced by Zealots Tea and Coffee in North Wales What's not to like

Urban Tricycles

An award winning British Manufacturer of Tricycles, Carts and Branded Bicycles based in Chester and London. They have made tricycles for some huge organisations but locally in Chester you will see their handy work in Hoole, via Hoole Food Markets delivery tricycle (see above) Look out for Eco Communities litter pick bike trailer from Urban Tricycles (see page 3)

Sustainable Business Directory

Little Yellow Pig Bear Bakery

Exsqueeze Me

One of our first plastic free Chester businesses. Little Yellow Pig are based in Nantwich and Chester. Specialist coffee, baked goods, breakfast & brunch. With a great Vegan and Vegetarian range.

A family run bakery just outside Chester city centre. 'Our ethics have always been to have a business where we can create as close to 100% of everything in house, sourdough being the at the heart of what we do. We strive to be a small business that makes eco friendly choices'

Jaunty Goat

Situated in two Chester locations on Bridge Street and now Northgate Street, their fully plant-based venue. Providing truly great coffee, and a variety of locally sourced and freshly made food r. Combining this with a passion for sustainability and continued analysis of our footprint.

Groobox

Fika

Greengrocer and Juice bar in Handbridge, with a focus on being as 'Green' as possible in everything they do. From their electric delivery vans for their veg boxes to sources local produce.

A litter pick hub and a Plastic Free Business.

Grace Tea Room

We are a vegetable farm and do veg box deliveries. We grow and deliver to all of Cheshire, Manchester & Liverpool We have a low carbon footprint in comparison to a super market as the veg is planted, picked and packed on our farm.

The only plant-based café you will find on Chester’s historic city walls!

We hope you’ll enjoy your visit and come back time after time – “we exist to help make the world a kinder place, one bake at a time”

Cheshire Market Garden

This Dog friendly Café in Ellesmere Port serves breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea. All cakes made by them using natural ingredients and with plenty of Vegan options.

Fish & Chips @ Weston Grove

Providing high quality, nutritious produce for the local community. Their aim is to be zero carbon and low food miles.

Growing a wider range of vegetables and lesser known varieties. Selling veg plug plants of the more exotic and interesting varieties.

An award winning Fish and Chip shop, for their sustainable credentials, based in Upton Chester. Responsibly sourced produce and palm oil accredited from Chester Zoo. A litter pick hub, plastic free business.

These Businesses are all Plastic Free Champions or Going Through Accreditation at the Moment

Sustainable Business Directory

Zero Waste Shopping

Just Footprints Chester and Frodsham

Debbie started Just Footprints as she was passionate about saving our planet! She opened the first Zero Waste Shop in Chester and has also opened a second shop in Frodsham spreading the zero waste message wider in our region We asked Debbie to tell us her story.

‘Inspired by our youngest daughter, Millie, we decided to reduce the amount of single use plastic we used This proved to be difficult, our nearest refill shop was 20 miles away

So three months later we opened Just Footprints in Chester city centre and in Frodsham in 2021

The last 4 years have been a steep learning curve, but it’s definitely been worthwhile Just Footprints has become a hub for the community, somewhere to learn new skills, ask questions and most importantly, make a difference

We’re moving to the new market in October and are excited, not only to be able to continue that service, but to bring the zero waste movement to even more people ‘

‘Our mission is to make this as simple as possible for the people of Chester and beyond. Making one small change can have a lasting effect, so come and visit us to start your journey to a more sustainable future.’ justfootprintsltd co uk

Refill Shed

Sisters Philippa and Caroline own and run Refill Shed, which began life in September 2020 in Caroline's garden shed 'By early 2021 we had outgrown our shed & decided to open a shop in Davenham Our late Dad was a massive inspiration He was a dedicated Northwich Councillor & passionate about the environment, so we opened on 5th June 2021, which would have been his birthday'

In February 2022 we bought another zero waste shop on Altrincham Market

One Small Step We hope Zero Waste shopping will become the norm: saving people money, reducing waste and promoting ethical and green values

Facebook: refillshed Instagram: @refillshed

Weigh of the World

Weigh of the World is an independent business in Northwich, Cheshire We are a zero waste shop this means we provide customers with the ability to refill food and cleaning products into their own containers, buying as little or as much as they want and reducing packaging. We also sell toiletries and other everyday items that can be reused, helping people move away from single use, throwaway items www weighoftheworld co uk

Sustainable Business Directory

Sharks and Crafts

Sophia's illustrations

Reins Clothing

Sharks and Crafts started in 2021 and have been making a range of reusable products including wipes, wax wraps, produce bags and kitchen roll.

Mersey Wax Wraps

A freelance illustrator working from her off-grid shed. Printed work is outsourced as locally as possible, card-stocks are always recycled and greeting cards are sold plastic-free. Sophia also uses her fundraising skills for local wildlife.

Pips Vegan Cheese

A small team of artists, skaters and independent women, is on a mission to bring to you a brand that is not only environmentally conscious, but actively impacts our Mother Earth in a positive way!

Bijou by Tamzyn

Organic Cotton wax wrap products. 'We want to help people to make small changes in their everyday life, so that together we can live in a more sustainable way and reduce our plastic consumption.'

Scapadoo

Makers of small batch artisan produce, cashew based cheeses, and butter Hand cut, and hand hand wrapped in vegan waxed paper and fully compostable no plastic film. Keeping the environmental impact low, and palm oil free

The Tipsy Badger

Bijou by Tamzyn creates totally unique nature-inspired copper jewellery. Every piece of my jewellery is designed & created by hand using a no-heat method of jewellery making called wire wrapping which originates from Egypt.

Muala

Upcyling in Northwich. running sewing workshops using upcyled fabrics for beginners and improvers.

Zero Waste Llama

A tiny business run from a narrowboat. Corinne is a sewist and uses upcycled materials and natural fibres to make quirky and fun animal themed bags and eco slipper boots. Fosta is an artist producing pet portraits and animal pictures printed on recycled card.

Using exclusively beautiful upcycled fabrics, Helen design and makes a range of bags, upcycled denim and other clothes and hats for both children and adults. I also make interior homewares.

Lief Mimes Reusables

I make a range of unique items from upcycled / recycled / deadstock materials, including tote bags, origami bags, hair-scrunchies, dog bandanas, keyrings, face-cleansing bags

Each item is personally handmade in Anna’s Conwy workshop. Beautifully handmade, reclaimed cashmere, leather, wool (and more) accessories for luxury but thoughtfully sustainable style.

A sustainable brand selling stainless steel reusable water bottles. All products are made with food grade stainless steel that is BPA free and come in sustainable packaging.

The Importance of Fairtrade

Heather Swainston, Chester Fairtrade LTD

Chester Fairtrading Ltd based at Wesley Centre on St John Street is Chester’s only totally Fairtrade shop It is a member of the BAFTS Fair Trade Network UK which is a network of independent shops and suppliers dedicated to promoting Fair Trade retail in the UK

Chester celebrated 20 years as a Fairtrade City in 2022)and our shop has been at the heart of Fairtrade activity in the City Never has it been more important to choose Fairtrade in order to support climate justice and show solidarity with farmers, producers, and artisans across the world who are members of Fairtrade cooperatives.

We are a shop run entirely by volunteers and we are always looking for more people to get involved so do get in touch We attend a number of events throughout the year and in the Autumn and run up to Christmas we will be busy at various events promoting and selling our food, household and lovely gift items

Increasingly we are providing boxes of stock to people running their own stalls and events, for example at the Big Green Day in Frodsham and to Richmond Villages a retirement scheme in Nantwich who are running a stall for the residents The Manager Jane says “ It has been a wonderful experience setting up a Fairtrade stall, the residents who have been unable to go out or still feel a little unsure have enjoyed shopping in their own familiar surroundings.”

Note:Cheshire West and Chester is a Fairtrade Borough having first been awarded status in 2011

More Fairtrade Businesses

Carpe LDiem una Tree

Luna Tree is an ethical Chester based business. Selling handmade, Fair Trade, silver jewellery and quirky art prints Luna Tree is a zero waste company and totally plastic free They use recycled silver and give back to charity with the sale of their art prints.

Carpe Diem is a family run business with over 20 years experience in Fair trade 'Amongst other ,we stock beautiful home furnishings, bamboo socks, mango wood chests, organic candles, colourful jute bags ,cheerful rainbow pottery and more.

How one business became a Plastic Free Champion The End of the Avenue

The End of the Avenue was the first business in Neston to become a Plastic Free Champion and not only that they have since achieved the Silver Award and are going for Gold already Owner and maker Angharad tells us about how she found out about the award:

’Back in June I was invited to take part at The Green Expo in the City of Chester. The Expo was a three day event and focused upon issues already very close to our hearts, such as low carbon production, eating local healthily and local provenance. It was at this event that I was invited to attend a Plastic Free Cheshire meeting by Eco Communities, where volunteers from around Cheshire encouraged business to examine their practices, especially reducing their single use plastics, to see if they could do more It was during this meeting that we heard about the Plastic Free Champions award and decided to take up the plastic free challenge’

’From the beginning, we had already decided to produce our product range conscientiously and make sustainable choices We wanted to know where the ingredients came from and ensure they had a low carbon footprint, we also wanted them to have a short end of life process and ensure our packaging was minimal and recyclable We set out to create products that were kind to you, as well as being kind to the environment and were already largely plastic free.

However, the Plastic Free Champions award encouraged us to look at the smaller parts of our packaging, such as stickers, packaging tape and how our raw ingredients arrived and we set about addressing these first. Although we were already trying our best, the Plastic Free Champions challenge really helped us focus upon eliminating all plastic from our produce and that was a good thing Are you up for the challenge?’

Why not join Angharad and become a plastic free business?

You need to give up/switch three items of single use plastic for the bronze award. Become part of our Plastic Free Cheshire community. The awards programme is by Surfers Against Sewage, with Eco Communities coordinating activities in Cheshire.

See QR code on the next page to read more.