(Please note, this article is adapted from notes of a ‘greening group’ meeting held in the Village Hall on 11th July 2022)

What’s been achieved so far?

For some years, there have been many activities promoting the need to take action about climate change in the village, such as:

1) Eco-church

Pam Martin reports that St. John’s Church continues to promote the 3 Rs (Reduce, reuse recycle) emphasising reduce as the most important. They continue to run their twice yearly free exchange and recycling for good causes event.

They have kept a close eye on their use of energy and have started to have small meetings in homes rather than the church especially in winter months. The church always buys renewable electricity and gas with the highest possible percentage of renewably generated content.

Their extensive work with children and young families always highlights creation care when possible or relevant. They have run two outdoor events: an environmentally themed picnic party in early September, and a nature watch as part of the citizen’s biodiversity log of churchyards in the UK managed jointly by A Rocha and God’s Green Acre. (The findings are on display in the church at present). They have provided environmentally themed assemblies for Levens CE School and made them available to other schools locally.

The churchyard is managed as organically as possible, allowing patches of wildflowers to grow around graves that are no longer visited. Swift boxes, provided by the National Swift Society, have been installed.

Church members are totally committed to creation care as part of their Christian life and have started working on the C of E pathway to Net Zero. A church member writes extensively on environmental issues for the Lakeland Gardener and other publications.

2) Primary school environment team

The eco-team has been busy this year: the children litter-picked as part of the Great Cumbrian Litter Pick organised by Friends of the Lake District; they have been running a termly secondhand uniform stall where money raised has been sent to their partner school in Kampala, Uganda for school uniforms; they organised a school greening scheme along with a scarecrow to echo the village one – setting challenges to every pupil to reduce their carbon footprints. The response was wonderful so they celebrated success and encouraged ongoing work in this area; they now recycle their plastic pens; they are trying to reduce their electricity use by turning off lights and unneeded devices all over the school.

Throughout the year, all pupils have been focussing on environmental themes and deepening their understanding in the Wednesday assemblies led by all class teachers and planned by Pam Martin. In the Autumn term, the focus was on Zero Heroes about the environment eg. the importance of water, plastic pollution, waste and recycling and the effect this has on our planet, creatures of the world and other people. Pam sponsored a Polar Bear for the school and they keep up-to-date with news.

In the spring term, the weekly Wednesday assemblies have focussed on the principles behind Fair Trade, products like t-shirts, footballs, and foodstuffs. In the summer term, they have been learning about different charities including the Soil Association, the importance of soil, what the soil provides for us and how we should care for it. In September there will be elections for the Eco Team, one per year group, who will take the lead on deciding what events and actions to take next year.

There is more information and are photos on the school website.

3) Allotments

Levens Parish Council provides allotments at Levens Hall, both full and half-size plots for an annual rent of £35, including on-site water. It’s a wonderful place to grow vegetables, fruit and flowers, to learn and share ideas and experiences, to have a chat and make new friends, or just have some peace and quiet.

4) Woodland management plan

Levens Parish Council has an active plan to look after its land and trees, monitored at its monthly meetings.

5) Litter pick

Sheila Watson has been running these for some ten years (the most recent one was the Spring Litter Pick on March 19th 2022), now resumed after covid pandemic. Equipment is supplied by SLDC, stored in the village hall. School children also help. It’s usually carried out on a Saturday morning in spring, largely along the roads into the village. She wonders about having another session in the autumn, perhaps also with families around the village (especially in the Playing Fields).

6) Village shop

Vanessa Riley reports that when they extended the shop last year, they included environmental factors such as sliding doors on the fridges to be more efficient, letting less cold air out. They increased locally sourced products, reducing foodmiles and the carbon footprint of suppliers. They introduced the Miniml range of refillable bottles. They recycle waste cardboard, plastic and packaging, and hope to install separate recycling bins. They are always mindful of environmental issues: eg they painted the Shop sign on the end wall rather than have a sign made. Next they are looking at having solar panels on the roof.

7) Plants on the Green

Liz Hearden has now been running this for 3 years and raised about £4,500 for the Kendal foodbank. She feels this has brought the local community (residents and visitors) together with a common goal. It provides somewhere for people to donate and purchase plants and surplus produce, and reusing plastic pots etc. It now includes books and seeds.

8) Greening Levens

The Parish Council responded to the invitation to participate in Phase One of the Greening Campaign last year, aimed at raising awareness about climate change and encouraging as many people as possible to participate, by choosing ‘small action challenges’, promoted by making scarecrows on climate change themes, with a coffee morning to launch it. About 50 households actively participated, resulting in an additional 26.37 tonnes of carbon being saved, and potentially a total of £13,800.

Find out more about the Greening Levens Campaign

Plans being worked on

1) Playing Fields community garden

Alice Sharples shared plans for creating a community garden just inside the entrance to the Playing Fields where the horse has been moved, refurbished and reinstalled in the main playground area. There are still some large swings there which are much-loved by some children but now in a poor condition. The plans are to plant small fruit trees and, in conjunction with the school, build some raised vegetable beds by the school entrance.

2) Methodist church community garden

Pam Capstick reported that they have now completed the first phase of their garden behind the chapel. They have pruned the trees (using wood for hedgehog houses etc and keeping the chippings for ground cover under the wall), cleared the ivy, and laid fabric membrane to reduce weed growth. A paved area has been laid for seating. Angela Bell explained that for the second phase (restoration), they are taking advice on plants from RHS with biodiversity as a key principle. They will be carefully assessing what is there to help plan for the longer-term.

Both community gardens will be looking for help with the work, both to get them established and maintain them.

3) Levens Lane footpath

The Parish Council is working on getting a safe route for pedestrians, especially those catching and returning from the buses on the main road (A6/A590). There are a number of problems to resolve.

4) Village Hall

Part of the Levens Community Project. The issue that we’re monitoring is how sustainable and “green” the building will be. We’ve been assured that high insulation, use of renewable energy etc is being designed into it and planned for.

An architect's impression of the new Levens Village Hall, part of the Levens Community Project

Other ideas

1) Energy efficiency: Mapping the village for PV solar panels

At the last meeting when CAfS talked with us about “tackling energy efficiency in Levens”, they invited us to participate, along with some other villages, in a small scheme to map the village to identify those roofs most suitable for solar PV panels. There is interest in this and it will be reported to the PC. There would be no charge but the possibility of being included in an installation scheme organised through CAfS. Janet Battye and Steve Bavin are attending an online briefing with CAfS later this week and will report back.

2) Domestic energy audits and retrofit advice

These are paid-for services offered by CAfS alongside the Cold to Cosy Homes project which improves insulation for people who qualify.

3) Identifying cold areas in houses

This is an idea being explored by Steve Bavin: the purchase and use of a tool (like a camera) to help people work out where they need to improved their insulation.

4) Active travel: improving the bus service

There is continuing interest and concern about the lack of a regular, frequent bus service through the village.

5) Electric vehicle charging points

SLDC have a scheme to install them in their car parks and the County Council on-street where residents do not have access to private (in-garden) parking. Levens does not appear to qualify for either of these at present and given the relatively low uptake at present of electric cars in the village this is not the highest priority.

6) Increasing waste recycling

There is interest in looking into whether a scheme being run in Brigsteer could be introduced in Levens (perhaps at the village shop).

7) Community compost

There is also interest in taking up the offer of learning more about this through the Organic and Master Compost scheme. JB to investigate organising a session on this. Also whether we could have a site for community composting (in which Liz H is offering help).

8) Awareness-raising and information-sharing

Pam Martin suggested that we could provide regular information on a noticeboard in the middle of Levens, with a monthly challenge, and an environmental library (perhaps in the Methodist church or on Plants on the Green).

9) Climate Change Champions

Both Janet and Shelley Savasi (Brigsteer) are going onto this programme. After Carbon Literacy training, they will be expected to provide sessions for the public, starting in the autumn.

10) Great Big Green Week: Sat 24th Sept to 2 October

We agreed that we would participate in this. The Methodist Church has been booked for a coffee morning and, with support, JB will work up ideas for activities.