Banter 22: Energy and Low Carbon activities, 05Jun24, Adam Birchweaver
Adam summarises the many ongoing projects within Essex sponsored by the Energy and Low Carbon team
Video Timeline (min:sec):
00:00 - 03.35 Adam introduces himself
03:35 - 17:03 Adam's presentation
17:03 - 50:10 (end) Q&A session
Presentation:
Chat Text:
00:06:17 Mike E - Hay Resilience Model: Hay Resilience Initiative is a Rural Community Model currently supported by the Commissioner for Future Generations in Wales and in collaboration with Agencies across Wales we are organising through the UN Template ‘Race to Zero’. It is intended that this Model be rolled out across Rural Wales supported by Public Libraries.
00:10:32 wendy thomson: Reacted to "Hay Resilience Initi..." with 👍
00:11:56 Joolz Thompson: Thanks @Mike E - Hay Resilience Model - would love to learn more from what you're doing (&race to zero): joolz@communityclimateaction.uk
00:15:15 Bonny Williams: There's also Manningtree PACE Community Solar Project...
00:15:56 Andrew Maliphant: Thanks Bonny - could you add a link in the chat please?
00:15:59 Joolz Thompson: Reacted to "Thanks Bonny - could..." with ❤️
00:18:26 Virginia, Tenterden Town Council, Kent: is it possible to share the powerpoint slides with us all? As lots of great info on it! thanks, Virginia
00:19:48 John Payne: We have a Welsh Gov grant for Resilince Hubs ( ilive 20m inside Wales) for our village hall. Rainfall last month was 173% greater tha avaerage last month, I went to the Hay Festival 10 days ago, the rain was so torrential that no one could dash across open ground to the bar! My daughter rang during this rain to say that the ttemperature was 29C at the Artic Circle where she was wortking. The A40 from the Midlands to Newport has been partially closed by a rockfall linked to Climate Degradation.
00:20:05 Andrew Maliphant: Reacted to "is it possible to sh..." with 👍
00:23:12 Mike E - Hay Resilience Model: Replying to "We have a Welsh Gov ..."
Hi John - can we hook up? Would like to talk with you on what you are doing where you are…mike.eccles@haypubliclibrary.org
00:23:48 Andrew Maliphant: www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/barriers-to-community-energy-projects
00:24:44 John Payne: Yes, in our area infrastructure is threatened. I will email you after the Zoom/.
00:25:05 Joolz Thompson: Reacted to "We have a Welsh Gov ..." with 👍
00:25:30 Mike E - Hay Resilience Model: Our Powys Library Service have sorted out all our DBS requirements - so we all have clearance to work with young people and vulnerable adults.
00:27:12 Mike E - Hay Resilience Model: Reacted to "Yes, in our area inf..." with 👍
00:30:26 Amanda Davis: Mike, I wanted to thank you for contacting and sharing with me some very interesting work you are doing
00:32:11 Mike E - Hay Resilience Model: Replying to "Mike, I wanted to th..."
Happy to Amanda - we all need to know more about how to run Community Assemblies to ensure they actually take Action and have follow-through.
00:33:22 Mike E - Hay Resilience Model: Replying to "Mike, I wanted to th..."
We have to innovate, and we are all learning as we go along.
00:34:34 Mike E - Hay Resilience Model: Reacted to "Hay Resilience Initi..." with 👍
00:35:10 Mike E - Hay Resilience Model: It only rains in Wales John !
00:36:58 wendy thomson: I heard recently that Gloucester Rugby club ground would be flooded with changes to our climate! That should create a bit of a stir to residents/supporters.
00:39:11 Virginia, Tenterden Town Council, Kent: the pothole scenario is very good, as one of our most common queries from residents.
00:41:04 Mike E - Hay Resilience Model: We re-framed to a Rural Market Town by talking about Resilience. We were self-sufficient in local Food Production in the’50s and ‘60s.. It was EASY - we now know that over 10% of our Community want to take Climate Action. Our Farmers are fully on Board too.
00:41:21 Amanda Davis: I train others in suicide awareness and prevention as in a rural area and this is very real
00:43:02 Amanda Davis: And lambing was affected by very wet winter and spring.
00:43:59 Joolz Thompson: Reacted to "I train others in su..." with 🙏
00:44:05 Joolz Thompson: Reacted to "And lambing was affe..." with 👍
00:44:40 John Payne: Being part of a Community village shop, I see this as acrucial element of not just Resilence but dietary and lifestyle change.
00:45:05 Joolz Thompson: Yes @Amanda Davis -we are a community right here is the banter sessions 🙏
00:45:38 Joolz Thompson: Peer to peer learning & support.
00:45:55 Jacky Lawrence, Napton PC climate and environment working party: At Napton we have a thermal imaging camera and volunteers survey houses.
00:46:47 Joolz Thompson: Reacted to "Being part of a Comm..." with ❤️
00:46:55 Joolz Thompson: Reacted to "We re-framed to a Ru..." with ❤️
00:48:14 John Fagan: Thanks!
00:48:57 Mike E - Hay Resilience Model: All this is really helpful - Thanks everyone…
00:49:15 Jacky Lawrence, Napton PC climate and environment working party: We're starting craft, cake and climate conversation sessions.
00:49:43 Joolz Thompson: Reacted to "We're starting craft..." with ❤️
00:50:24 Mike E - Hay Resilience Model: Don’t forget to SAVE the CHAt!
AI Text for Search engine - 1: (text from the Introductions video)
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Andrew Maliphant: so we've got, I think maybe about 20 people joining us today, so we'll see where we go. Those don't know my lovely face. My name is Andrew Malfun and the chairman of the great collaboration. We normally have our good colleague, Graham, still at stones during these sessions, but he he is on tour in Somerset. He may join us quietly, but that's where we are.
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Andrew Maliphant: I'll I'll ask. Adam, I'll ask you to introduce yourself when you get to to your beginning your speeches. John, do you wanna say something about who you are?
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John Payne: Yep, I I live in the Lower Wye valley near Monmouth and
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John Payne: I'm involved with the Forest of Dean District Council over issues, and I've recently completed a survey with a friend on the A. 40, which, as you may know, is the
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John Payne: most important economic route which has been partially blocked by a rockfall for 5 months.
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John Payne: Alright, indeed! Yeah.
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Andrew Maliphant: Great joy. Mike, from hay, resilience.
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Mike E- Hay Resilience Initiative: Hi! I'm from Hay. I run I I'm a director of Hey public library.org
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Mike E- Hay Resilience Initiative: we sold division to Powys County Council in order to keep our library open and set up a Cic to do that, and the vision was to look for the future of of the use of libraries in Powys as such.
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Mike E- Hay Resilience Initiative: So one of the things we wanted to do was to start community assemblies.
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Mike E- Hay Resilience Initiative: and we've set up the Hay Resilience initiative, which is a 3 pillar initiative run by community assemblies. The 1st is to see whether our community can become self sufficient in food
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Mike E- Hay Resilience Initiative: the second one is to look after the mental wellbeing of our local people. And the 3rd is to set up a Community Energy Company and see if we can come self sufficient in energy.
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Andrew Maliphant: Right. Thank you. And so we'll be very interested to see what Adam has to say about community energy in this presentation today.
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Andrew Maliphant: Stuart. Second.
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Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Great Dunmow TC: Hi! I'm Stuart Whittington. I'm
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Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Great Dunmow TC: retired NHS consultant and a town councillor in Great Dunmow TC,
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Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Great Dunmow TC: near Stansted in Essex.
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Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Great Dunmow TC: I am chair of the Council's Climate Action group.
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Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Great Dunmow TC: Currently
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Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Great Dunmow TC: as well as many other things I'm trying to get
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Cllr Dr Stuart Withington Great Dunmow TC: solar Pv. And batteries on most of our buildings.
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Andrew Maliphant: Alright tremendous! Yeah, I'm doing trying to do the same with our community library. But that's taking a while for different reasons, which I won’t bore everybody with. Virginia from Tenterden.
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Virginia Hodge, Tenterden Town Council, Kent: Hello, yeah, I'm Virginia from Tenterden Town council. I've not been on one of these before, so this is new to me. And I'm the business and tourism officer for the town council. So that's quite a varied role. Encouraging tourist to visit the town and supported businesses.
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Virginia Hodge, Tenterden Town Council, Kent: With any needs they have, and under that banner as well as climate seems to fall climate action, active travel, and also about how to get around the town more sustainably to a tourist locations.
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Andrew Maliphant: Really another, another busy person, very much, very welcome Wendy. We'd like to say a couple we're just introducing ourselves briefly, bit, while people arrive, and then we'll get to the talk with them. Wendy.
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wendy thomson: Yeah, Lindsay Thompson. I'm not currently a counselor, but I may be co-opted. I don't know. There's there's only 3
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wendy thomson: empty places, and I believe there's more than 3 applicants. But no, I'm I'm interested. I was a counselor for 12 months before the elections. And yeah, no, I'm I've always been interested in the in the climate side of it, and I'm just trying to ascertain what is in the art of the possible that councils can do, because
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wendy thomson: don't feel like we're doing enough.
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wendy thomson: But all of what I've seen and heard
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wendy thomson: from the session so far been very inspiring, and it's good to see that there is stuff happening out there. So that's Wendy Thompson. I'm in Gloucestershire, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire.
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Andrew Maliphant: Stonehouse. Great? Yeah, we're very much for the great collaborations about is gathering good practice and sharing it councils and with the community groups so that we can actually get weaving on the ground. Amanda Davis, from the Cotswolds.
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Amanda Davis Cotswolds: Hello! Hello! Is this Andrew? That's presenting this one today.
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Andrew Maliphant: I'm I'm in the chair today. Yes.
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Amanda Davis Cotswolds: That is Terry.
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Andrew Maliphant: Everyone's on tour. Yes.
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Amanda Davis Cotswolds: Okay. So I'm Amanda Davis, counselor in Broughton on the water. A very touristic part of the Cotswold
s
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Amanda Davis Cotswolds: and I've got lots of different roles, including director of Mid County Co-OP
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Amanda Davis Cotswolds: Board, member of Cotswold National landscape, which is one of the AONBs,
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Amanda Davis Cotswolds: and foster moms guide dogs.
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Amanda Davis Cotswolds: 1 of mine's newly pregnant. So puppies on the way.
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Andrew Maliphant: Alright
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Amanda Davis Cotswolds: Oh, and I've got new since last time, which is I've just got my climate. Come on, help me out.
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Andrew Maliphant: Carbon, literacy.
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Amanda Davis Cotswolds: Carbon literacy qualification. There we go.
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Andrew Maliphant: Fantastic. Well done! Great stuff! Oh, there's our hound appearing. Yeah. Jacky. We got 2 or 3 more people to go through them to start and talk. Jacky.
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Jacky Lawrence, Napton PC Climate and Environment Working Party: So for Adam, I was before retiring. I was an energy manager at a County Council for 20 years, either in charge of the energy team or the climate change team.
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Jacky Lawrence, Napton PC Climate and Environment Working Party: I worked with the energy systems catapult on developing net zero, I led the the UK, the local authority, user group testing and validating net zero.
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Jacky Lawrence, Napton PC Climate and Environment Working Party: I'm a member of Napton Parish councils, working party on climate environment. I'm an assessor for Uk climate emergency, on governance and finance. I'm the steering group for Napton environmental action team and local mortgage network and an trustee of an environmental charity.
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Andrew Maliphant: Fantastic. We are all very busy people here today. This is amazing. Bonny Williams, welcome your 1st meeting. I believe.
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Bonny Williams - Community Climate Action. PACE Manningtree: Yes, thank you very much. So I work with Joolz Thompson on community climate action. And I'm also trustee of Pace Manningtree. So, Manningtree being on the border of Suffolk and Essex, and mostly what we doing there is kind of local community based climate action and with community climate action we are doing as it sounds going and kind of working with different communities, helping them to make a climate action plan in their local area.
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Andrew Maliphant: Good job. Great stuff! Welcome Delia from Shropshire?
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Delia Yapp- Shropshire Council: Hello to you all. It's Delia and Otterly.
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Delia Yapp- Shropshire Council: Simply
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Delia Yapp- Shropshire Council: so I'm part of the economic growth team at Shropshire Council, but with a keen interest in climate change, and I work very closely with our climate change team. So part of my day job is working with businesses who are trying to green and bring support in so that they can
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Delia Yapp- Shropshire Council: bring grants perspective. It's about saving money, but we also hit the climate change agenda as well on carbon savings and on a personal level end of in Herefordshire and part of my community environmental group. We are one of the communities that floods quite badly. So the environment is is very prominent in our area. And so we are. I'm really interested to speak to Bonnie about
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Delia Yapp- Shropshire Council: community climate action. So that's an interesting one already. But just to learn really what everybody's doing, what can we bring over? What can we do in Shropshire? What can I do with my local community in heritage.
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Andrew Maliphant: Thank you. But we'll hear lots more about energy shortly. Just a couple of more people Gary from Corsham. Do you want to say quick, couple of words about yourself.
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Garry Ford Corsham Town Council: Afternoon. Everyone. Hi, yeah, I'm Gary from Corsham town Council. I'm the environmental officer here in Corsham my main role is to deliver the Climate Action plan and the biodiversity action plans on behalf of the Council.
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Andrew Maliphant: Thank you very much. Jules. Your name's already been taken in vain by Bonnie.
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Andrew Maliphant: so I'll say quick, couple of words before we go to our speaker.
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Joolz | Community Climate Action: I'm guessing Bonnie's already introduced herself, and yes, she's a co-founder and facilitator of one of our best parts of community climate action. So we write and enact or help communities to write and enact their community climate action plan. I'm based in, and a parish councillor in, Hopton.
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Joolz | Community Climate Action: and a founder of a community benefit society. Good. I farm. We've got 10 acres of land for protection, conservation, limited market garden community supported agriculture and a community pub, which is a great place to have a chat. I reply about the climate.
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Andrew Maliphant: It's.
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Joolz | Community Climate Action: But I'm.
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Andrew Maliphant: Apply to your pub at some suitable but early date.
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Joolz | Community Climate Action: Everyone's invited. Let's have a party.
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Andrew Maliphant: Taped yet.
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Andrew Maliphant: Okay, I'm conscious, Adam. I think we need. We need get your presentation underway just before we start, everybody, and we'll we'll speak with John Fagan in a moment to introduce himself later on in the program.
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Andrew Maliphant: Just to show that if anybody wants to raise there's a button in the bottom of of
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Andrew Maliphant: your screens for raising your hand if you want to speak or ask a question, and that's straightforward enough. We have got a chat icon. If you've got questions you want to put in the chat as we go through the talk and listen to things.
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Andrew Maliphant: please feel able to do that very much. So. So I've got to please to introduce Adam. But we were promising a bit more about himself. He's from the energy and carbon reduction team, a Essex County Council. He'll stop me if I've got that wrong, and he's going to tell us very much. Obviously got it a bit wrong. He's only gonna tell us a lot more about what is happening throughout Essex County. In particular, reference to energy, particular reference to community energy, Adam, the floor is yours.
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Adam Birchweaver: Thank you, Andrew, much appreciated. And thank you all for for coming. I think that these these banter sessions are are awesome, and I think that it's cool, that that that you guys have been doing them.
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Adam Birchweaver: But yeah, you almost got my title right. It's energy and low Carbon Project officer.
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Adam Birchweaver: there are people on my team that have longer titles. But yeah, it. And and that's within the energy and low carbon team
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Adam Birchweaver: at Essex County Council, which is in the environmental department.
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Adam Birchweaver: But yeah, it's it's it's kind of an interesting position to have, because it's a relatively new position like they these.
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Adam Birchweaver: the energy and low carbon team didn't exist.
AI Text for Search engine - 2: (text from the Presentation video)
WEBVTT
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Adam Birchweaver: But yeah, as I was saying the the energy and low carbon team at Essex County Council is is a relatively new new thing which is awesome. Yeah, it could just goes to show that there is you know, interest at the at the local government level to to do, to to support.
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Adam Birchweaver: You know, community energy initiatives.
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Adam Birchweaver: Just quickly on myself. I I'm you probably could tell I'm not. I don't have a very thick English accent.
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Adam Birchweaver: I have. I'm actually from Canada.
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Adam Birchweaver: and I've just recently well, recently, Ish moved to the Uk. My wife is from here
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Adam Birchweaver: and
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Adam Birchweaver: I have a background much like Joolz and a few others in market gardening.
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Adam Birchweaver: So for a long time I was I was promoting, and I'd be I was an advocate for for local food. As a way to take climate action and and that's kind of eventually translated into doing more things around.
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Adam Birchweaver: you know, educating in schools and and teaching students about climate climate change, what it is, what we can do about it, and then
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Adam Birchweaver: fast forward several years. And here I am. So now I'm with Essex County Council on on what I think is quite a pro progressive initiative.
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Adam Birchweaver: So yeah. So I'm here to kind of talk to you all about what
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Adam Birchweaver: what I'm doing.
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Adam Birchweaver: and what our team is doing, and and and a huge part of that is is supporting grassroots.
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Adam Birchweaver: Bottom up
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Adam Birchweaver: initiatives.
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Adam Birchweaver: often oftentimes volunteer led community energy groups that that are sort of springing up all over the country. I think that
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Adam Birchweaver: there's around like 500 plus community energy groups in England or in the Uk
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Adam Birchweaver: and and that number is rising fast. I've only been on this team for 6 or 7 months, and when I 1st started there was like 5 or 6 groups that that the team really knew about now where we were working with. And now there's about 22 or 23 groups.
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Adam Birchweaver: And those groups, you know, they vary in size and and scale. Some of them are are a couple of people meeting down at the pub.
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Adam Birchweaver: You know. Talk, kick around, kick around some ideas and and and that, but but a lot of groups are also, you know, quite established. There's there's there's, you know, there's there's Cbs's Cic's
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Adam Birchweaver: you know, getting funding, doing projects
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Adam Birchweaver: and doing some interesting stuff. So
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Adam Birchweaver: I'm just gonna I'm gonna do a presentation. I it's not gonna be as like fun and interactive as Jules was the other week. But I'll do my best.
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Adam Birchweaver: and let's see if I can get this up here.
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Adam Birchweaver: Okay, can everyone just nod your head if you can, if you can see that, and if the slides are changing when I'm.
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Andrew Maliphant: Yup looking good.
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Adam Birchweaver: Okay, cool. Yeah, so,
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John Fagan: You are you? You are showing your speaker version, not the app, so we can see your notes.
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Adam Birchweaver: Oh!
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John Fagan: So you're sharing the wrong. You're on 2 screens, I think. So. You're sharing the wrong screen.
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Adam Birchweaver: Okay, let's see if I can
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Adam Birchweaver: do.
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John Fagan: Are you on 2 screens?
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Adam Birchweaver: Yeah.
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John Fagan: Hasn't yet.
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Bonny Williams: It's just presenter view. You need to be just the normal
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Bonny Williams: slideshow view.
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Adam Birchweaver: How do I do that.
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John Fagan: Just go. Just try that one from beginning.
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Adam Birchweaver: That.
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Andrew Maliphant: Soon, so.
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John Fagan: Perfect.
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Adam Birchweaver: Better. Okay, thank you. Yeah. So in this picture,
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Adam Birchweaver: there, that's that is a community energy project in Danbury. And and that's an organization called Sustainable Danbury.
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Adam Birchweaver: And we, you know, we we supported them to
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Adam Birchweaver: to
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Adam Birchweaver: to find some funding and to get some solar panels
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Adam Birchweaver: not just on the roof of of this outbuilding at a school, but several
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Adam Birchweaver: buildings and schools in and around Danbury.
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Adam Birchweaver: And this picture, just kind of, you know, illustrates how exciting that can be for for for students. It's a great educational tool. But it's also just a great initiative to get people on board and and sort of proud of of things that are going on in their communities.
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Adam Birchweaver: I'm gonna just kind of skip through some of these. But basically, this is just to say that
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Adam Birchweaver: people are worried about climate change. People want to do something about it, especially here in Essex
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Adam Birchweaver: and
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Adam Birchweaver: yes, 6 County Council is doing quite a lot of different stuff with regards to climate change.
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Adam Birchweaver: and that's all outlined in our in our climate action plan.
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Adam Birchweaver: But yeah, I mean, I I'm I'm assuming that a lot of people here already know what community energy is. But essentially, it's it's it's it's like taking back control of of where energy is coming from.
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Adam Birchweaver: And and it's it's it's not just the generation of energy which is often the case. It, you know. Oftentimes people think community energy projects or solar solar projects that are owned by the communities, but it it can also take the form
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Adam Birchweaver: of different things like you know the reduction of of energy. In the 1st place. So we do have some groups that almost solely focus on
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Adam Birchweaver: you know.
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Adam Birchweaver: energy mid energy use mitigate reduction, I guess.
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Adam Birchweaver: And and sort of educating people in their communities to on. How like giving them tips and tricks and and and ideas on how how they can do that.
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Adam Birchweaver: And then there's there's other things like you know, electric car clubs. There are initiatives that where some of these these groups go into schools and and and talk to students as well.
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Adam Birchweaver: So we have been working with an organization called community Energy South. I'm sure some of you have heard of them. But they've they've kind of helped us get sort of the model going in terms of of how we, how we work with these groups. So it's it's kind of like A, it's called the Pathways program. It's kind of like a mentorship
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Adam Birchweaver: and support group. It's it's now sort of morphed into a community of practice where we meet every 6 weeks. With all of the community energy groups.
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Adam Birchweaver: and and sort of kick around ideas, lessons learned much like what we're doing here today.
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Adam Birchweaver: Except, it's it's people in Essex
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Adam Birchweaver: who are representatives of their community energy projects. And it's like, Oh, I got funding from this. All right, we're we're we're finally going ahead with this project that we've been, you know.
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Adam Birchweaver: in in planning for for a little while. Now we're doing it. And so it's a great way to sort of
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Adam Birchweaver: keep the momentum going. Keep people interested and excited about the projects, and also
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Adam Birchweaver: bring other people in to sort of show. Show them like this is, this is what's going on.
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Adam Birchweaver: And another thing that that we're doing and want to do more of. And and I've met with Jules recently about. This is is community led energy planning?
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Adam Birchweaver: And so my hope is and Andrew, I think you just saw an email that I sent this morning is to work more with the the great collaboration and the the community climate action
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Adam Birchweaver: to to do real sort of locally based community and community led energy plans.
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Adam Birchweaver: You know, we wanna get community own solar arrays when when whatever any kind of renewable energy we can.
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Adam Birchweaver: We want to
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Adam Birchweaver: power down. We want to, you know, educate. We want to get people making their homes more energy efficient.
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Adam Birchweaver: And we want to.
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Adam Birchweaver: We want to do it bottom up. We don't want to just dictate which communities get what or how
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Adam Birchweaver: we want communities to to sort of determine
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Adam Birchweaver: what or how themselves. And then we want to sort of
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Adam Birchweaver: listen to that, and then
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Adam Birchweaver: and then work with them and make that happen in the way in shape that they want.
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Adam Birchweaver: So so yeah, just to kind of run through a few case studies of what's going on around Essex. Tollsbury. Climate partnership is very successful community energy group
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Adam Birchweaver: through a community share, which is basically just like
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Adam Birchweaver: going around the community asking for people to invest in in in this energy project. And and this particular one was to to completely decarbonize the school in their community.
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Adam Birchweaver: and you can invest like 5 pounds. You can. You can invest 10,000 pounds
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Adam Birchweaver: and and then there is a there is a return on investment on that so not only do you get to invest in your own community, you can actually make money.
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Adam Birchweaver: and by doing that as well,
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Adam Birchweaver: And I think the the rate of the the rate of return was like you'd get your money back in 10, and then the 5 years after that you get this sort of surplus
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Adam Birchweaver: and then it's sort of cut off from there you get like you get a certain return. It's it's not so bad. It's not. It's not like you're winning the lottery, either, but it's it's more about sort of the concept of supporting your your neighborhood.
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Adam Birchweaver: But yeah, that's that's a big one. So they're like, basically not fully decarbonized. But 92 production, 92 reduction in Co. 2 at this school. And and you know, these old schools
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Adam Birchweaver: really, can be like, you know, heavy emitters of of Co. 2,
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Adam Birchweaver: so when you can get them off of oil, or whatever the heating source they have. And and and in this case it's a ground source. Heat pump.
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Adam Birchweaver: then, that greatly reduces their their annual, their their monthly annual bills.
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Adam Birchweaver: and yeah. So the hope is with Essex County Council, and and I'm sure, like some of you mentioned. You're you're in councils as well is to decarbon, like the long term plan, is to decarbonize
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Adam Birchweaver: all of the schools that are are within sort of Ecc
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Adam Birchweaver: is estate.
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Adam Birchweaver: It's not gonna happen overnight, though. And it is expensive upfront, obviously. But it is. It is one of our goals
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Adam Birchweaver: and powering down community energy. Colchester is a fantastic example of this.
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Adam Birchweaver: They have been offering energy advice to homes
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Adam Birchweaver: in and around Colchester. They have, you know, gone into schools. And they.
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Adam Birchweaver: they've, you know, installed. There's like, not super expensive fixes, but real basic things like radiator reflectors.
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Adam Birchweaver: or even just like showing people how to put cocking like in their windows if they've got leaky windows.
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Adam Birchweaver: So that's that's something we wanted to see more of and and also, there's a lot of stuff going up near Saffron Walden
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Adam Birchweaver: autos for district.
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Adam Birchweaver: There's been kind of an explosion of community energy groups in the area where
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Adam Birchweaver: there's like become. There's like 6 or 7 now.
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Adam Birchweaver: And it's really exciting to see. And it all all kind of was inspired by
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Adam Birchweaver: Saffron Walden and doing these, these fun and engaging community like community events.
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Adam Birchweaver: and and just as an example of one thing that they do to make make it kind of engaging is they? They would have this, this, this stall where they have like a thermal imaging camera. And you can actually kind of look around and and see where the hotspots are and the cold spots are. So it's it's just kinda gets that gets people thinking about it a little bit.
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Adam Birchweaver: So I know some of you aren't from Essex, but there is a lot of stuff going on like I mentioned. There's about 21 different groups a varying size.
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Adam Birchweaver: And
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Adam Birchweaver: and yeah, so we're working with all of them
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Adam Birchweaver: and supporting them and and linking them up and facilitating
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Adam Birchweaver: them with, you know, partners and
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Adam Birchweaver: and and other opportunities. And I kind of mentioned community led entry planning something we haven't done
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Adam Birchweaver: a ton of. But we want to do a lot more of. And I'm hoping we can collaborate with with great collaboration in order to do that.
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Adam Birchweaver: So yeah, so there's a lot of different stuff going on. But we want to sort of broaden our scope. Because, yes, we've been working with community energy groups.
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Adam Birchweaver: We've been working with parish councils.
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Adam Birchweaver: But we also want to start working. And and we have recently started working with like anch anchor groups like the Nhs.
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Adam Birchweaver: had a really positive meeting with like Eco churches recently. So churches in the area. The diocese like, why not? Why not get like? Get those churches super energy efficient.
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Adam Birchweaver: And if we can get around the sort of planning issues around getting solars on solar on the roof, let's do that.
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Adam Birchweaver: Let's talk to. Let's talk to farmers. Let's talk to the commercial sector. Let's get like solar arrays more solar arrays on you know, industrial estates.
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Adam Birchweaver: and then all of the surplus energy that isn't being used. Let's feed that into the local communities.
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Adam Birchweaver: Yeah. And we want to make these community energy groups more self sustaining. There's there's there's a really good example. I'm sure some of you have heard of of Vesco
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Adam Birchweaver: Cbs, which is in Lewis.
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Adam Birchweaver: Down in the South.
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Delia Yapp: And.
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Adam Birchweaver: And they are. They're like, I don't know. I think they have. Like 20 paid employees. They're doing all kinds of great stuff in their area. They're making money off of their their, their energy. Production.
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Adam Birchweaver: which helps to sustain their their projects.
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Adam Birchweaver: And it's really inspiring. So we want to get all of our groups to that level.
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Adam Birchweaver: And
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Adam Birchweaver: and because there's so many different groups now popping up, we need to sort of
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Adam Birchweaver: now do it like district by district.
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Adam Birchweaver: and then continue having those communities of practice at a district level
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Adam Birchweaver: and kind of keeping that that community practice going in each of those districts.
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Adam Birchweaver: and then the last last thing, not last, but not least, is we're we're training up
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Adam Birchweaver: upwards of 25 energy champions
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Adam Birchweaver: to that will be going out into communities across Essex to offer, you know, energy savings advice.
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Adam Birchweaver: We've got energy hubs now, in a couple of different districts like in tendering.
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Adam Birchweaver: so there's a lot going on, basically and it's really exciting. And I think that community energy is
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Adam Birchweaver: definitely the way forward.
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Adam Birchweaver: any questions.
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Andrew Maliphant: Very thanks, Adam. Yeah, that's always a joy to have enthusiasm coming across the airways, because, it's it's pouring out of you. And it's great to hear what things that are going on. Stuart. You've got your hand up after Stuart. It'll be Wendy and Amanda Stewart.
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Stuart Withington: Thank you. I I was just wondering, how this relates to the local Electricity Bill
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Stuart Withington: and what what's happened to that bill.
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Adam Birchweaver: Yeah. So actually, I went to a a thing of Parliament back in February.
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Adam Birchweaver: And yeah, there was a it, was it basically it. Long story short, it's been shelved until after the general election.
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Adam Birchweaver: But that will be a game changer. That will make it. That will make it a lot more feasible for people to get solar and then to sell
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Adam Birchweaver: their other energy back
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Adam Birchweaver: and to the grid. So
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Adam Birchweaver: it's it's been on hold for like
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Adam Birchweaver: a year or 2 it's been because
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Adam Birchweaver: well, I don't know if the the current government really wanted to to even look at it. But I think it's been shelved and and and it's gonna be sort of reopened
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Adam Birchweaver: and hopefully passed very swiftly
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Adam Birchweaver: in the new government.
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Adam Birchweaver: Yeah.
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Andrew Maliphant: Jules and I are also at that event. I mean, it's about allowing people to sell energy directly rather than having to go through some medium through the national grid.
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Andrew Maliphant: The government we're stalling on having a consultation about it. There is now, I believe, until the later this month. There's a live consultation on barriers to community energy.
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Andrew Maliphant: Now, whether how, how, which government is gonna pick up the results of that consultation I don't know. As far as I'm aware, you can still make some comments in as it's an online thing. If we like, I'll I'll try and dig out the the link to that if I put it in the chat.
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Andrew Maliphant: Wendy, thank you for that.
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Andrew Maliphant: Stuart Wendy.
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wendy thomson: Yep.
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wendy thomson: I'm interested in. Have you come across any pockets of resistance to what you're what you're trying to achieve? And if so, how have you overcome them?
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Adam Birchweaver: And pockets of resistance.
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Adam Birchweaver: no, not really, not not a whole lot to be honest, because
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Adam Birchweaver: it's it's it's well, it's kind of different in this. I mean, if it's if it's a big solar array in a farm, there's always going to be some resistance to that right?
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Adam Birchweaver: and especially if it's not like owned by the community. You know, it's like, if all the benefits are kind of going elsewhere.
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Adam Birchweaver: then it's hard. It's it can be kind of. There's going to be more resistance. But
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Adam Birchweaver: You know we haven't for us, anyway. At this point we haven't done any like huge
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Adam Birchweaver: solar ground ground mounted like solar arrays.
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Adam Birchweaver: Yet. But I think that if we did, and we sort of worked with the community ground up.
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Adam Birchweaver: and we emphasize that this is going to be benefiting the community directly, because they could be owners of it.
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Adam Birchweaver: And and the whole idea of community energy is that it would be sort of
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Adam Birchweaver: benefiting the local community.
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Adam Birchweaver: It doesn't seem to me like there would be as much the the there has been some.
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Adam Birchweaver: It's I. I go to a lot of like community meetings and stuff, and and I have had some people say, like, Well.
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Adam Birchweaver: why do I pay taxes for an energy and low carbon team, you know, like
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Adam Birchweaver: I want them to fill my potholes. I don't need. I don't need people.
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Adam Birchweaver: you know. So that's the only sort of resistance I think we've had. But it's like, well, you know, like 86% of people are concerned about climate change. And you know we
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Adam Birchweaver: we we want to to do it what we can at at the local government level. So it's important that we do have
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Adam Birchweaver: teams like ours. So I don't know. There hasn't been a lot.
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wendy thomson: Just confirm then, so you would say, the best route is as much consultation and discussions with
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wendy thomson: the public as much as possible to.
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Adam Birchweaver: Yeah.
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wendy thomson: Get them on board. Yeah, yeah.
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Adam Birchweaver: Yeah, it's it's yeah. And that's kind of like, I I don't know if that's like a new thing. But
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Adam Birchweaver: it's it's like the approach that local government should and have to be taking. It's it has to stop being top down, because that always is met with backlash
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Adam Birchweaver: it has to be led with with the community. And I. And I think that that is got to be the way for going forward.
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Adam Birchweaver: Yeah.
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wendy thomson: Thank you.
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Andrew Maliphant: Well said, thank you. Amanda.
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Amanda Davis: Hello! There! I'm gonna try and do this without coughing if I can.
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Amanda Davis: I don't thank you for your talk. It's really
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Amanda Davis: lots of things that are in there that are really helpful, and and chime with us.
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Amanda Davis: So we have.
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Amanda Davis: we're we're in a conservation area. We're in a aonbottle national landscape. So there's all sorts of things that are kind of you know.
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Amanda Davis: How did you do it? But how then, would we do it?
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Amanda Davis: So restrictions and so on. But actually, I'd like to come back to
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Amanda Davis: just a personal thing which is useful volunteers, and very much the ground up, and what individual parish and town councils can do, especially if they're small parishes. And
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Amanda Davis: having volunteers going into people's homes advising.
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Amanda Davis: I appreciate that they are
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Amanda Davis: So it invited in, and hence welcome guests and not phone calling, etc. But I just wondered if you were involved in the kind of enabling side of, you know. Presume Dbs checks and all the safeguarding issues and safeguarding the volunteers about. You know, if they had any accusations against them, and so on. I'm just thinking individual parish and town councils may be too small to achieve this.
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Amanda Davis: but with the support of an overarching umbrella organization to help them out with some of the things I mean. That was just one thought that came to mind. But there are things like that where I would love to have a larger umbrella organization, almost enabling my local small parish or town council to be able to plug in.
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Adam Birchweaver: Okay. Well.
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Amanda Davis: Still keeping the ground up.
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Adam Birchweaver: Yeah. Well, there's quite a lot in there, Amanda. I don't know like where to start, but I I think that
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Adam Birchweaver: as far as the Dbs stuff goes.
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Delia Yapp: On, the.
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Adam Birchweaver: The energy champions that we sort of deploy out into the county are given adequate training.
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Adam Birchweaver: They're they are
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Adam Birchweaver: at this point kind of. They're they're they're employed through community energy South. And I I can't speak to what kind of like insurance they have or anything on that front. But they do get good training. They get trained on how to sort of deal with, you know. Particular situations.
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Amanda Davis: Did you say they're employed? So they're not volunteers.
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Adam Birchweaver: Sorry. Yeah, the energy champions are
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Adam Birchweaver: well, we do have energy champion volunteers. And in the case of community energy, Colchester.
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Adam Birchweaver: They do? Have they volunteered to do that, although they they've been getting some funding to go out and do that as well. But we've just started an initiative called community power, where we we deployed like 25
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Adam Birchweaver: people to go out across Essex
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Adam Birchweaver: to to do give energy advice. And they're they're employed through community energy south kind of in partnerships with us, but they they do sort of the add mini
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Adam Birchweaver: stuff as well. So we don't. Yeah.
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Amanda Davis: So I think what I'm getting at here and is. It would be really helpful if all of these potential hurdles the big hurdles to us.
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Amanda Davis: but you've overcome them, and how we can learn.
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Delia Yapp: Wow!
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Amanda Davis: From that.
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Amanda Davis: Those are the things that if we could. You know the reproducible.
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Amanda Davis: the the oh, yeah, we have this issue. That's likely to be an issue all around the country. And you know we overcame it by our county or our District Council doing something that, or or a local Cic, or, as you say, you know, the community benefits society, or what have you? It's it's kind of, do we need to form a model ourselves, to hold the insurance, to do the training to be registered, etc? Or is this somebody we can plug in under that could enable us to save a whole lot of grief.
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Adam Birchweaver: Yeah, no, that's a good point. And and actually, because, like, like, I mentioned, like, there's a whole bunch popping up in autos for district, right? And a lot of them are like 2 or 3 people like you. Some small parish councils.
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Adam Birchweaver: Really passionate. Want to do something right, but it can be a real headache to
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Adam Birchweaver: to apply for grants to do all these.
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Adam Birchweaver: the the admin stuff.
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Adam Birchweaver: so that's why we're actually exploring and and and we're piloting it for it. We're gonna be doing sort of like a district wide community energy group umbrella organization.
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Adam Birchweaver: That might have directors from some of these smaller ones
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Adam Birchweaver: representing their their, their group, their smaller groups, but at sort of
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Adam Birchweaver: being the umbrella level they can tap into potentially more funding. They can represent all of the smaller groups. If a smaller group has an idea they would pitch it to the umbrella group, they'd be like, we wanna do this.
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Adam Birchweaver: that hopefully, that umbrella group would be like, that's great. We have some funding that we've managed to get through this thing so we can, we can do that. So that's that's kind of the idea. And that.
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Adam Birchweaver: And I think that might be kind of addressing what you're you're asking there. But
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Adam Birchweaver: yeah, it can be overwhelming for very small groups, and for us it's hard to work with like
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Adam Birchweaver: a ballooning amount of these small groups. It's it'd be a lot easier if there was
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Adam Birchweaver: representatives kind of umbrellaing, entire districts or or regions, or whatever. So
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Adam Birchweaver: yeah, it's it's something that can be replicated. It's it's a matter of figuring out what your your sort of geographical boundaries are. And now, and how how big or small you you're comfortable with going, I guess.
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Amanda Davis: Thank you very much.
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Andrew Maliphant: Thanks that. Yes, I think that the idea of district district wide groups, something to to to explore further. Absolutely Jules. And then John Jules.
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Joolz Thompson: Thanks, Andrew. And 1st of all say, thanks to Adam as well, really really interesting and great work.
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Joolz Thompson: Lovely. See this kind of activity. Actually, you know, coming from our our elected representatives and our councils. So how exciting! Just touch on a few things. A few. There are a few comments mentioned. One was
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Joolz Thompson: about sort of selling your energy for larger projects to the grid, for instance. You can actually do direct supply. You can have a power purchase agreement with the like. For instance, if it was on the church the church when the church is open, that we're using the electricity or an industrial estate would be really good or anywhere that's using it during the day.
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Joolz Thompson: And we've got a very elegant example where I am in West Suffolk is actually convened by West Suffolk District Council
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Joolz Thompson: and it's 1 of the few one of the Uk's 1st smart energy micro grids. So actually transfers power direct on the same substation to organizations. Yeah, and building communities really important to avoid that kind of resistance. Because I can tell you there is resistance, certainly, where I am. Get the kind of classic trope. So if you want to talk about climate, Jules, go and knock on the end. The Chinese Embassy, you know. We don't want to win turba and all of all of that, all of that kind of stuff.
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Joolz Thompson: So really, to talk about cheaper energy and warmer homes. You know. What's about? What are the benefits? And the polls? Questions really interesting cause I've been doing a lot with a lot of work with Suffolk highways.
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Joolz Thompson: and actually how we solve that is farming related in terms of soil carbon secret sequestration to stop the the runoff and flow that causes the potholes, and actually connecting that in people's minds the reason we are potholes is because of extreme precipitation due to climate change. So it might be counter intuitive. But by installing community renewable energy will help fix the polls.
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Joolz Thompson: Yes.
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Joolz Thompson: and
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Joolz Thompson: I'm actually, we're actually part of community energy South Pathways program. We're one of the As a Cbs we, one of the organizations that will be delivering that kind of energy champion program. The funding actually comes from our district network operator, which is Uk power networks.
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Joolz Thompson: and it is a little onerous and scary in terms of the service level agreement in terms of the Dbs checks. And and we're collaborating with Adam and a team in Colchester. That done it before and learning from them Colchester community energy, and also another team in Hertfordches. We're actually coming together to coordinate and collaborate. Precisely so. We don't have to reinvent the wheel.
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Joolz Thompson: And that is really what the great collaboration is all about in terms of publishing that information.
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Joolz Thompson: to have a have a handbook, have a go to have a resource, have an advisor.
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Joolz Thompson: And this kind of thing. So we can actually replicate. So you know, we don't have to rewrite policy documents. As I farm, we've already written our, you know, dealing vulnerable adults and and vulnerable children, policies and Dbs's, and this kind of things. So
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Joolz Thompson: happy to provide training. And also, that's kind of a bit what green she kind of action is about. So again, I just ran up with saying, thanks to Adam, and my question is wh, which area should we start with
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Joolz Thompson: in Essex for community kind of action? And and how would we choose that? And you know, based on maybe an I'm dB index. Multiple deprivation, you know. Where's where? What's the hardest nut to crack? Where can we get in? The people are really suffering, you know, with cold.
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Adam Birchweaver: Vote.
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Joolz Thompson: He's.
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Adam Birchweaver: Maybe some of you would know that that that area
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Adam Birchweaver: would probably be Clacton Jaywick.
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Adam Birchweaver: But we've actually already been doing some of that's 1 of the only places we've been doing some work so far in that regard.
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Adam Birchweaver: Maybe not exactly in in the way, because we actually went in with the intention of doing a community led energy plan and found that people
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Adam Birchweaver: weren't
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Adam Birchweaver: interested in that. They're more interested in like learning how to keep their homes warm in the winter without like paying crazy amounts of money to keep them warm.
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Adam Birchweaver: So it's turned into this thing where we we're going to be now developing an energy hub where there's they could. People can go to to get an energy advice.
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Adam Birchweaver: It's it's it's it's less. I mean, it's not less. It's just. It's not exactly
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Adam Birchweaver: what the what what some of us had in mind for what the clep could sort of sort of shape into it, kind of turned into something else. But to answer your question, I think that there's a number of places, I think auto spurred like I mentioned. There's just so much and the other thing is people really want.
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Adam Birchweaver: it's kind of like a chicken and egg thing. It's like people.
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Adam Birchweaver: There has to be some interest there.
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Adam Birchweaver: first, st you know. So maybe go to the places where there is interest already.
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Adam Birchweaver: So autos for a district we can sort of pick and choose a place out of there.
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Adam Birchweaver: yeah, that's what I would probably start with. But
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Adam Birchweaver: we can look at. There's quite a few places in tendering bonnie
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Adam Birchweaver: working, you know, doing stuff and with pace I'd love I I still haven't really connected with pace, and I'd love to
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Adam Birchweaver: dumb.
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Bonny Williams: Yeah, let's let's do that afterwards. Adam will just kind of hook us all up, because I think we're kind of doing similar things in parallel. And we've got our community Solar Project, which obviously should be hooked in with yours. I think it kind of just preceded the current. The current.
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Bonny Williams: thing. I think we we went in with a bit of outgoing funding from the EU. So I think that's sort of we were just a little bit ahead of your time.
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Adam Birchweaver: Yeah, yeah, I think so.
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Joolz Thompson: Thanks for the answer, Adam. I'll start looking at maps. Start doing some research.
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Adam Birchweaver: Yeah.
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Joolz Thompson: No.
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Stuart Withington: Did I just say that I'm in Uttlesford?
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Adam Birchweaver: Yeah, yeah, exactly. So we should. We start with you, Stewart.
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Joolz Thompson: Yeah, but.
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Stuart Withington: Yeah.
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Joolz Thompson: Oh, let's do it! Let's do it on the team.
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Bonny Williams: Yeah, do you think there's.
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Adam Birchweaver: Yeah. Sir.
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Adam Birchweaver: Stewart.
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Andrew Maliphant: Let's do.
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Stuart Withington: I have been working with Carol Randall.
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Adam Birchweaver: Okay. Yeah. Nice.
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Adam Birchweaver: Good.
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Andrew Maliphant: Good, great stuff, John. You've been very patient. Your your question, sir.
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John Payne: Thanks. Yeah. I've got 2 questions ready, one with us in the west of the Uk. Our problem really is with infrastructure, you know tree falls flooding, and particularly now that this major road trunk road, which is being compromised by heavy rainfall.
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John Payne: The 1st question is, is that the is that. Do you see that as another way to people's minds and hearts, does this happen in your area?
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John Payne: The second question is, how
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John Payne: are we going to relate to right-wing Populists when it comes to climate change. And I'm thinking of Nigel and Donald's here.
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John Payne: Do I have to go any further?
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John Payne: Our council is
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John Payne: in the Forest of Dean is
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John Payne: luckily dominated by the Greens.
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John Payne: How, with a new election, with new characters coming in, how are we going to move from a
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John Payne: well organized level like yours to a national
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John Payne: policy which includes all of us. So 1st of all, it is.
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John Payne: do you see your community threatened by climate change. And, secondly, how are we going to relate to this new tranche of politicians.
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Adam Birchweaver: Yeah. So a answering the 1st question, Jwick, is a good case in point.
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Adam Birchweaver: It's going to be underwater and like
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Adam Birchweaver: 50 years, because of of sea level rise.
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Adam Birchweaver: and and it's already created a whole
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Adam Birchweaver: can of worms with regards to who's gonna who's gonna do what? And
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Adam Birchweaver: speaking of pottles. You never seen potholes like you seen there?
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Adam Birchweaver: yeah. And and yeah, I don't know how to like, really finish that thought. But with regards to the right wing. So we are thinking about climate change in our area. For sure. It's a big issue, for sure.
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Adam Birchweaver: But with the the right wing thing. I think that
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Adam Birchweaver: it's a reframing. It's a reframing that might need to be done. It's kinda like it's it's less about
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Adam Birchweaver: we're forcing people to do this. It's like they're all against like net 0.
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Delia Yapp: They think it's.
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Adam Birchweaver: A bit of a scam, or whatever
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Adam Birchweaver: but if if you can kind of reframe it, and it's like actually you'd be saving
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Adam Birchweaver: you'd be saving yourself some money, and it's gonna be like all kinds of like work opportunities. And Yada Yada Yada, I think it's a re a great reframing that needs to
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Adam Birchweaver: to occur.
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Adam Birchweaver: But
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Delia Yapp: Yeah, you're right?
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Adam Birchweaver: Does anyone else have thoughts on that.
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Andrew Maliphant: Yeah, I think I think it is. This is something that.
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Delia Yapp: Legislation.
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Delia Yapp: Yeah, I'm alright. I'm on another call. That was all.
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Andrew Maliphant: Okay, I'll just keep thinking of Nigel for our standing in Clacton. Of course.
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Delia Yapp: It's alright. I'm only in the background I'm only listening in, so I'm alright for a minute.
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Adam Birchweaver: Haley, I think. Yeah, if you could just mute, that'd be great.
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Stuart Withington: I I just say that there's quite a good article in the the Guardian today. Debunking reforms, views on climate change.
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John Fagan: Andrew, as as I think you're the zoom host. Whenever you're a zoom host, you can click on participants and mute them.
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Andrew Maliphant: I've just. I've just tried to do that and hasn't worked out graham's the host at the minute. If you could have a.
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John Fagan: Graham? Yeah, yeah, you could just mute anybody.
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Delia Yapp: Which I think but.
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John Fagan: You have the power.
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Delia Yapp: I sort of like.
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Andrew Maliphant: Thanks. John.
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Andrew Maliphant: Quick any more thoughts around the world around the world table about right wing populace, which I think is a very polite way of putting it.
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Andrew Maliphant: I think we do have to. We do have to represent ourselves in different ways, and I think we have to find the right words for the right audience. It's as they might. Our Irish commune used to say. It's the way you tell them. Yeah,
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Amanda Davis: I had it. My my hand was up in response to that.
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Delia Yapp: She's.
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Andrew Maliphant: Go, and then go for it.
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Amanda Davis: Yeah. It's just thinking about the the qualification that I've just done the carbon literacy qualification
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Amanda Davis: and the emphasis in there about the co- benefits.
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Amanda Davis: So instead of focusing on the the climate, related benefits just like you demonstrated beautifully earlier there, where Jules, I think, was it Jules? Or was it Adam who mentioned about the potholes?
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Amanda Davis: You know the this idea that you know we can talk about the farmers and the run off as part of fixing the potholes. We're not actually mentioning the web climate at all, and I think it's that thing of rather than going heads on locking horns and then using all that energy.
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Delia Yapp: Obviously fingers crossed.
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Amanda Davis: What I was doing there, the pump using all that energy.
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Delia Yapp: Through.
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Amanda Davis: That's a lot calls. Go ahead on. We just go, random. So I would. I would be talking about all these other connections, you know, did you know that
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Amanda Davis: a lot of the potholes is because of the water and the way that it gets in there? And and if we can prevent the water getting onto the roads and pooling. And you know it's it's it's maybe around.
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Delia Yapp: Gosh!
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Amanda Davis: 5 step and working out the Co. Benefits.
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Delia Yapp: Maybe a case to explore it.
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Delia Yapp: I don't. That's a sad. I don't think I can do what we don't do.
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Delia Yapp: And speaking to Emma.
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Andrew Maliphant: And I know, Jules, I'm still struggling with a meeting here.
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Delia Yapp: Do.
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Mike E - Hay Resilience Model: Julia, can you hear us.
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Mike E - Hay Resilience Model: Celia.
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Andrew Maliphant: David, can you hear us?
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Joolz Thompson: Delia, commend Delia, Urdelia.
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Andrew Maliphant: Could you.
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Adam Birchweaver: Yeah, yeah.
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Joolz Thompson: Celia. Thank you.
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Joolz Thompson: Right.
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Andrew Maliphant: Well done!
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Joolz Thompson: So yeah, it's all about storytelling.
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Joolz Thompson: Cause.
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Adam Birchweaver: Hmm.
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Joolz Thompson: We need a new story here, cause a set of facts, no matter how well attested, will never change somebody's mind.
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Joolz Thompson: and only a good story can dislodge another story. So those who tell the stories rule the world.
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Joolz Thompson: So we've got to reframe this in terms of you know. Fe. Not a hair set. Future future of abundance, a future of healthier environments, of clean air, of a green transition, and and and secure well paid jobs and cheaper bills in the cost of living crisis, warmer homes and less
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Joolz Thompson: less deaths from excess heat, you know, and less people suffering from fuel, poverty what's not to like. And yes, in terms of farmers, farmers is a really interesting one in terms of the right wing, because they're incredibly reactionary cause they're angry
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Joolz Thompson: right now. They're really angry. They're the squeezed middle between Big Ag and the supermarkets. They are number one suicide risk.
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Joolz Thompson: We have a yana program in the we're rural area Yana program. You are not alone because it's very lonely. Job driving a tractor
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Joolz Thompson: 12 HA day. I want to talk to. And also then you have climate activists or people like us pointing finger going. You're doing a terrible thing. And
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Joolz Thompson: the result of that we've seen in Spain, in France, in the Netherlands, where they've been asked not to use nitrogen, fertilizer and pesticides and herbicides
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Joolz Thompson: reduces their income and makes their job harder. So we've got to tell a different story about how we can make their lives better and more profitable
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Joolz Thompson: because otherwise we get this really really reactionary, semi fascist.
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Joolz Thompson: direct action
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Joolz Thompson: W, the outcome of which was been the relaxation of laws with regards to the use of nitrogen fertilizer, which is a massive pollutant ploughing is responsible for 20% of
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Joolz Thompson: atmospheric Co 2, you can watch the NASA maps where, when we power fields the Co. 2 plows, you know, plumes. Rather.
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Joolz Thompson: So yeah, we've got. We've got to engage with our communities
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Joolz Thompson: like farmers as very important people. We need them 3 times a day. If you're lucky you might need to solicit your dentist once a year.
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Joolz Thompson: and actually help them support them, hold their hands, and also be a market for them. Buy from them.
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Joolz Thompson: This kind of thing. To prevent that anger being appropriated by the right wing rhetoric, which it absolutely is right now.
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Joolz Thompson: and you might have seen no farmers, no food posters or campaign sounds great.
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Joolz Thompson: but it's actually very right. Wing rhetoric. From Ukip. And you know, reform, Uk, kind of angle and anti climate action, which is really worrying and scary. So a lot of the work I do in our farming community, preferably over a pint. Alright, Bill, how's it going? You know. How's how's the flooding? How's the harvest? Because we're literally seeing a harvest fail before our eyes? We, you know they can't. We can't harvest our food. We don't need too many years of that. And it's a real problem.
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Joolz Thompson: So again, we talk about resilience, you know. Let's think about where our food comes from, and food is a brilliant place to start conversations.
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Joolz Thompson: Because growing, cooking
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Joolz Thompson: and eating food together. It's a lovely activity that everybody shares.
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Joolz Thompson: Yeah, let's let's tell. Let's tell the right stories.
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Joolz Thompson: Yep.
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Andrew Maliphant: Well, very well said, and and this is something that you're particularly good at, Jill. So we'll we'll keep doing this
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Andrew Maliphant: well. Lots of things happening in the farming world as well. Of course, I mean, we import something over 50% of our food at the moment. Imagine what it's going to be like when it gets any worse. And I think we had a huge shortage of salad crops last year because of heat waves in Morocco and Spain. But but there we go.
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Andrew Maliphant: Well, Amanda, you've got your hand up.
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Amanda Davis: Yeah, I just wanted to say, we've got a great arrange of things going on in chat which is always helpful to see, and just to say Thank you to everybody for all the different elements. And it just goes to show that climate doesn't operate in isolation, doesn't it?
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Amanda Davis: I mean, you know, whether we're talking about farming, whether we're talking about suicides, whether we're talking about travel or
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Amanda Davis: roads and potholes. It's it's a circular economy, isn't it? Everything impacts everything else and all the ideas that we've got between us. We've got so much that we could get on and and be doing and knowing that we're not alone. I love this group for knowing that I don't have to deal with a problem. I just need to know who to go ask about the problem.
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Amanda Davis: And so, you know, we don't have to keep bashing heads like we used to. That's what I love about this, and 3 or 4 things I wanted to very, very quickly mention, if I may be so cheeky. The 1st is since we parish and town councils, our local count.
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Amanda Davis: So that is the local it was Gloucestershire Association of Parish and town councils as part of now.
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Amanda Davis: One of our members of staff successfully bid for a grant, and as a result, we've got one of those heat measurement gun things. You know, that you can go around your house and work out why the heat loss is going.
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Amanda Davis: and that's available for all of our parish and town councils to use. You know, there's 1 simple little idea that maybe could be about parish and town councils working together create some interest. You know. How do we use it? I've got counselors who want that what it isn't that they're not interested, or that they don't believe they can make a difference. It's more that they're just busy doing everything else.
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Amanda Davis: But they want to get their hands on this gun.
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Amanda Davis: you know. So even something as simple as that could be really helpful. The other is as I mentioned in the intro. I'm a director with Mick County's co-OP, and we've got the joint venture with octopus called Unity.
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Amanda Davis: and that does provide some funding. And so well, some pump priming, some bridging loans, and so on. If people are in community energy at that level
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Amanda Davis: on a personal level, I've managed to personally reduce my energy bills down to just 45 pound a month. That's dual fuel. I'm in a 3 bedroom semi.
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Amanda Davis: and I don't put my fuel on at all, which the Fire Brigade, when the fire service came around to do a fire assessment in my house, and they were saying things like you know, but your radiator is too close to the so the radiator is never on. It's just a shelf.
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Amanda Davis: And you know things like this jumper that I virtually live in, and the allotments, and that, you know it's a whole lifestyle thing. But I love the idea that if you have community champions on this sort of thing that you can go talk to people. So I pop into the food bank quite regularly. And you know there are people there that just chat to, and then say, how on earth do you get it down that low? I'm like.
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Amanda Davis: we just chat and chat over a cuppa or chat like Jules says, down the path over a beer is a really good way of doing things in a way that you're not doing 2 people. You're enjoying time with people and listening to their ideas. They may come up with something really simple that you never thought of.
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Amanda Davis: And finally, I'm going to Unison Conference National Conference in end of next week and in parallel to the Local Government Conference. We've got the National Energy Conference, and so I'm gonna be dipping in and out of that as well, because our trade unions want to help our workers not to lose their jobs in the old traditional sector. But to come over to you know green jobs and
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Amanda Davis: keep a job going forward. And people who work are also our communities, aren't they?
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Amanda Davis: So you know, I think working with our unions is another one that we should look at, too. So that's a range of all of my things. And I'm thank you so much to everybody who's put loads in the chat.
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Amanda Davis: and of course, to present it today, Adam, it's great to hear what's going on at the County Council Level.
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Andrew Maliphant: It's indeed. Yes, indeed. Obviously, that we we can save the information from the chat. the we've got to come up to W. One o'clock just now. We can go a bit later if people want to. But this very appropriate yes results. Say, thank you very much, Adam, for coming and sharing that with you.
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John Payne: It's good, it's great.
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Andrew Maliphant: Obviously to see the great, the interest, and the conversations that develop. And of course one thing does lead to another, because it is all, it is all very much joined up.
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Andrew Maliphant: So thank you again for that. Is there anybody else any more points to raise any more questions, people to ask them before we we call it a day. Jules.
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Joolz Thompson: I just wanna say how awesome this is like. Amanda says we are a community right here.
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Joolz Thompson: I put in the chat peer to peer learning support networks. We're not alone.
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Joolz Thompson: The I saw some focus group evidence based on that. This, I think the statistic that Adam said. You know 86 people don't think the government's doing enough, and about 60 people want to take action, but don't know what to do. But the majority of those individuals are scared to talk to their friends, colleagues at work or neighbors, because they think people will think they're mad, so that we've we've as communities really isolated even in sharing our concerns.
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Joolz Thompson: So that's that was the most important steps to take is just creating safe spaces for people to talk about it. So. This group is fantastic, Adam. Thank you so much for coming
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Joolz Thompson: and showing about the the awesome work you're doing in Essex, and I think one of the most remarkable things out of this conversation is between community climax and the great collaboration Essex County Council and Stuart. In Uttlesford as a parish Councillor we've we've kind of just said, well, let's start there.
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Adam Birchweaver: Let's do it.
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Joolz Thompson: Let's start where we are. So that's just so cool. Wow, thank you. Thank you so much, Adam, to do it.
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Andrew Maliphant: Very good stuff. Yes, Graham, if you're still on the call, can you remind us what the next next week's talk might be about cause I haven't got a handle on it straight away.
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Andrew Maliphant: But obviously this, these sessions happen every every week at this time.
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Andrew Maliphant: And we've had some great talks and look for some more. Graham, you're you're on. You're on there.
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Andrew Maliphant: His company's gone again. But anyway, there, there is information available on what the next topics are going to be
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Andrew Maliphant: we will keep in touch. We have all everybody's contact details. So we keep in touch after this event. Thank you again. Of course, to those people have come for the 1st time we will keep you and involved.
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Andrew Maliphant: Graham, are you back again?
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: I am.
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Andrew Maliphant: Can you remind us what's happening next week.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Not off my head. Oops!
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Andrew Maliphant: We'll we'll circulate it by email. That's the answer that
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Andrew Maliphant: thank you very much for coming we're in touch with what's going on, and with a great collaboration, particularly with things happening with our regional pilot in East Anglia.
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Andrew Maliphant: Thank you. Again. Heather.
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Adam Birchweaver: Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.
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Joolz Thompson: Thanks. Adam.
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Adam Birchweaver: See you next week.
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Joolz Thompson: Thanks, everyone. See you soon. Bye, bye.
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Adam Birchweaver: Bye.
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Bonny Williams: Thank you, everybody. Bye, bye.
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Andrew Maliphant: Right.
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Andrew Maliphant: You're right there, Graham.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: I am. I'm in the middle of Dorset. They sell.
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Andrew Maliphant: Are you in Dorset now? Are you.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Very, very very query
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: but thank you very much for taking over, and I'm sorry I hadn't been host earlier.
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Andrew Maliphant: No, no, it's alright. We we got there in the end, dealing that sadly, just decided to just disappear. But she had a grandchild on a lap, which was the problem.
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Andrew Maliphant: Yes.
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Andrew Maliphant: she says she works at the church of Shropshire Council and lives in in Herefordshire, so I'll look out for it another time.
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Andrew Maliphant: okay, I haven't managed to catch up Jills for one to one yet, but I may give him a quick bill. Now.
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Andrew Maliphant: have a
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Andrew Maliphant: to see how we get on with that
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Andrew Maliphant: survey, because I really get get that out. I'd sort of
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Andrew Maliphant: investigate plans. You know. I've I've got this whole sequence of things to do with the pilot contacts based around getting the pilot together, the survey together that some really keen that we can get that out there and asap
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Andrew Maliphant: this is all being recorded automatically, as you said. I've saved the chat onto my machine. Do you? Do you save it automatically as well.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Yeah, the system automatically saves chat.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: And then I always put content to the chat. Of course, once it's recorded.
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Andrew Maliphant: Already we get the chat saved automatically, don't we? That's right.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: He goes out to another key as well, so everybody can see.
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Andrew Maliphant: Okay.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: I'm hoping to be.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: The AI seems picking up
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: links techniques. So that.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: And someone types in
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: what do I do about advertising either? Fine right?
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Andrew Maliphant: Okay, well, the May. Maybe we would get to the editing, maybe the the I mean. I was on for a while waiting for Adam, so the spit to come off the front as usual, but
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Andrew Maliphant: we might to lock lock the bit off the back when the chairman to be
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Andrew Maliphant: to it. Yours truly didn't know what the next session was going to be, so I hadn't occurred to me until too late to look it up. I don't know why we how we kicked out about, you know, 2 min in that something something.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: I have a nasty suspicion. That is my!
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: I've talked to the god.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: It might come back to everyone from so.
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Andrew Maliphant: Oh, I see, because you became chairman, and then you dropped out. Oh, I see. Oh, that makes sense.
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Andrew Maliphant: Okay. Are you back? Being host now? Or am I still host?
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: I made you a co-host, so you can terminate the opposition. I think.
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Andrew Maliphant: Okay? Well, we'll see what turns up. Who turns up from Jules's team at 4 o'clock, and then from the rest of the crew as well. Peter Bates from Cambridgeshire is quite likely. Gonna come along as well
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Andrew Maliphant: better to have that energy inside the tent.
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Andrew Maliphant: and we'll see where that goes. But I think because of the delay in the
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Andrew Maliphant: survey going out, my initial draft email will have to be changed rather radically. But anyway, there we go.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Shucks is.
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Andrew Maliphant: Well, as I say.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Lovely!
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Andrew Maliphant: Yeah. Well, Cessla popsy, Cesslo, Cessna. V. Yes, indeed.
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Andrew Maliphant: Okay. Enjoy Dorset then, and
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Thanks everyone, not the other way.
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Andrew Maliphant: Okay.
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Andrew Maliphant: They care.
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Graham Stoddart-Stones: Yeah. Bye, bye, thank you.
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