Mission statement

The Route Map – what we actually do

Educating ourselves and disseminating that information are key to all that we do and underpin many of the ideas listed below. We are also aware of the need to work closely with our Parish, District and County Councils as well as with other groups similar to ourselves, including PeCAN, ACAN, HartingCAN and Midhurst U3A Environment Group. We benefit from being an affiliated member of the South East Climate Alliance.

1.   Products and Packing – including reducing plastic use; recycling more plastic; considering the environmental provenance of what we buy

1.1  Packaging 

• Disseminate information on alternatives to plastic

• Promote use of refilling shops, such as Down to Earth in Midhurst, and in Petersfield Refill & Replenish, and Juniper

• Liaise with local supermarket managers to monitor what actions they are taking or are planning to take to reduce their plastic use, maintaining a high profile for this issue and developing meaningful relationships through which we can try to influence policy

• Improve understanding of what can, and cannot, be recycled in our local authority burgundy bins

• Promote doorstep delivery of milk (in glass bottles) – such as from Southern Dairies or Milk and More

1.2  Products (for Food, please see Homes and Gardens section below)

• Buy less, use less, waste less

• Repair, reuse, repurpose, recycle

• Buy better quality; items made to last longer

• Buy second-hand (including refurbished), pass on your own unwanted items

• Promote shopping locally, especially from local producers

• Avoid fast fashion

• Disseminate information about making one’s own cleaning products

• Choose products made from durable, sustainable materials

• When buying electric items, look for the most energy efficient

• Consider the environmental provenance of what you buy 

2.    Homes and Gardens – including energy and insulation. Led by Steering Group members Susi Batty, Sure Hoar and Andrea Linell

2.1 Energy

• To encourage local residents in their efforts to improve the insulation of their homes and in their search for appropriate alternative and sustainable energy use:

  • introduce anyone interested to PeCAN’s Retrofit project which offers professional surveys on local properties where owners would welcome advice on improving/greening their energy efficiency

  • promote the Energy Saving Trust website which provides excellent advice on alternative energy sources

  • compile a series of tips on how to find the best provider or installer for solar panels, windmills or heat pumps

  • compile a list of simple and inexpensive home tips on greening your heating and cooking

  • promote the practice of checking your home’s carbon footprint regularly

  • hold workshops on alternative energy for home owners

  • promote ‘renewables only’ energy tariffs

• To work with local parish councils in looking at community energy plans:

  • hold workshops and talks on the subject of sustainable energy for parish councillors

  • introduce to experts when requested

  • in the longer term, investigate creating our own energy, for example a River Rother micro-hydro project

2.2 Food

• Promote a more plant based diet, providing information on imported meat and lower animal welfare standards and awareness of air miles of certain foods

• Encourage the sharing of vegetarian and vegan recipes and the practice of slow cooking, planned meals and the use of leftovers

• Promote local producers and retailers (see Gardens section for support to vegetable and fruit growing)

• Promote bulk purchasing in the community

• Encourage the reduction in food waste and look at alternatives to refrigeration

2.3 Household

• Disseminate information about using or making chemical free cleaning products and paints

• Provide information on acquiring second hand household goods, equipment, furnishings

• Identify local options such as repair cafes for repairing items

• Investigate community share schemes, eg do each and every one of us need to own a hedge trimmer?

2.4 Gardens

• Water

  • disseminate information on using water responsibly in gardens, eg install water butts

  • water infrequently but intensively and use a watering can rather than a hosepipe

  • consider installing a ‘grey water’ system

  • mulch borders to reduce water loss

  • choose drought friendly plants whenever possible

• Soil: ‘right plant, right place’

  • encourage soil analysis (kits are very reasonable from garden centres). Not all plants flourish in all settings

• Compost

  • promote use of peat-free compost, circulate information on making your own. If space is tight could you share a neighbour’s compost bins?

• Planting

  • promote buying only native or locally grown plants to reduce the carbon footprint and the risk of importing pests and diseases

  • consider creative planting of fruit and vegetables: they are often decorative and in small spaces can be grown alongside flowering plants or in pots

  • grow flowering plants that will support pollinator diversity and reduce the carbon footprint of imported flowers

  • plant hedges and trees in front gardens to reduce pollution

• Wildlife: disseminate information on wildlife friendly gardening

  • create log piles

  • leave patches of unmown grass

  • plant nectar rich species

  • create ponds (with ramps for frogs and newts)

  • create access for hedgehogs (gaps in fences)

• Chemicals

  • provide information about the good and the bad, and effective natural alternatives

  • hoe your weeds rather than chemically killing them

  • encourage awareness of natural insect predators and companion planting

• Plastic

  • promote biodegradable alternatives such as coir, bamboo, metal mesh, natural twine, wood, paper and cardboard

  • wash out your old plastic pots and reuse them

  • encourage garden centres to take back pots for reuse and check local recycling

• Wood

  • promote awareness of products stamped with the Forestry Stewardship Council mark (FSC)

• General

  • encourage the use of garden tools powered by green energy rather than fossil fuel and suggest tool sharing within communities

  • encourage garden sharing: older and less able neighbours might welcome some help in exchange for sharing produce

  • encourage seed sharing: harvest seeds from your garden and split packets of seeds to share on a local Seed Sunday

3. Transport and Travel - led by Steering Group member Barry Cooper

3.1 Car travel

• Research electricity as an alternative energy for road transport; disseminate this information:

  • the environmental advantages and disadvantages of electric vehicles when compared to fossil and hydrogen fuelled vehicles

• Look into the issues around creating an infrastructure of local electric car charging points, especially for those using on road parking

• Research the costs and benefits of hydrogen generation and its use in road vehicles

• Research the environmental issues regarding manufacturing and distributing hydrogen

• Promote car sharing between members when attending ERA events

• Car clubs: how can ERA cooperate with local organisations to facilitate this in a rural area?

• Research the legal implications and the financing of such car-sharing schemes

• Promote the reduction of your carbon footprint, save money, and extend vehicle range when driving by:

  • turning off the engine when stopped at lights or railway crossings etc

  • avoid excessive hard acceleration and braking, and travelling at speeds with the accelerator fully depressed

  • making your car more aerodynamic by removing any unused roof rack or roof boxes and removing any unnecessary luggage

  • service your car regularly so that it runs more smoothly

  • maintain the correct vehicle tyre pressures

  • don’t use the air con or heating more than you need to

  • use cruise control

  • can you share the trip with a friend or neighbour?

3.2. Air travel

• Fly less often (or not at all!) - could the journey be done by train, or in some other way?

• Fly shorter distances, eg holiday in Europe as opposed to the other side of the world

• Pay carbon offsets

• When you do fly, stay at your destination longer to make your less frequent flying all the more worthwhile

3.3. Public transport

• Liaise with the local scheduled and community buses operators and consider how to improve the utilisation of their services. Support CDC efforts to do likewise

• Encourage the use of all forms of public transport where practical as an alternative to travelling by cars or flying

3.4. Active travel

• Liaise with local authorities and cycling and walking organisations to promote cycling and walking - more cycleways, and footpaths where it is currently dangerous to walk

• Promote use of electric bikes

3.5. General

• Ensure the START project includes appropriate consideration of transport issues, including provision of charging points for cars and bike storage when planning housing developments

4.    The Environment - Led by Steering Group member Veronica Carter 

4.1 Water 

• Increase use of water butts

• Investigate and be aware of the health of our river

• Promote water saving actions such as showering not taking baths, using the short flush option etc

 4.2 Biodiversity - including our Bee Positive project

• Contribute to the development of the Chairman’s Wildflower Meadow and Community Orchard in Dumpford - a joint project with Trotton with Chithurst Parish Council

• Tree planting – identify areas where multiple trees could be planted, encourage individuals to plant-a-tree. Liaise with local schools and garden centres/nurseries

• Promote the planting of flowerbeds for pollinators

• Promote Plantlife’s No Mow May. Encourage no mow until September in suitable areas

• Investigate inappropriate mowing of road verges and promote verges for biodiversity

• Monitor local hedgerows – promote reinstatement of any that have been lost

• Liaise with local farmers to better understand how environmental considerations are influencing practice

4.3 Litter

• Support local litter-picks and investigate ways to reduce the amount of litter being dropped

• Encourage residents to take a bag on every walk to collect litter

• Promote the District Council Adopt an Area scheme for individual litter picking

• Explore options for working with local schools to promote less littering, eg by leading assemblies on this topic

• Beyond the Burgundy Bin project – recycling plastics that cannot go into our normal recycling bins (overlaps with 1.1 above), eg Terracycling

• Promote recycling of inkjet cartridges, eg the Ink Trader scheme

• Campaign against the selling of Chinese lanterns and the deliberate release of balloons into the environment

• Promote reuse of plastic items, eg host competitions for most inventive ways to reuse plastic items

This Route Map is a working document which will be regularly updated.

ERA members try to BUY LESS, USE LESS, WASTE LESS - making frugality fashionable; creating a climate for change at a time of climate change