Clive introduces us to the concept of managing our gardens in such a way as to substantially increase the part that they can play in reducing our carbon footprints.
Last updated
Clive encourages gardeners to adjust their gardening practices, to help mitigate the impact of climate change, and explains how his organisation is having an impact, mostly in East Anglia
00:00 – 28:26 Presentation 28:26 – 53:12 (end) Q & A
Mar 12, 2025 11:56 AM London ID: 834 5460 8536
Graham introduced Clive, a trustee of the charity Climate Change Gardening, who discussed the organization's origins, aims, and activities in engaging with Britain's gardeners to help mitigate climate change and biodiversity crises. Clive also highlighted the potential of gardeners to contribute to reducing carbon dioxide emissions and preparing for the impacts of climate change, and discussed the role of gardeners in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The meeting also covered various topics such as the impact of gardening on the environment, the importance of sustainable practices, and the potential of gardeners to make a significant difference in addressing climate change.
Actions:
Climate Change Gardening charity to continue expanding their geographical reach beyond East Anglia.
Madeline to contact Climate Change Gardening through their website regarding potential participation in an eco event in Cambridge in June.
Climate Change Gardening to consider developing stickers or display items for gardens participating in local nature reserve initiatives.
Climate Change Gardening to continue refining their approach on addressing pesticide use in gardens.
Gardeners to consider implementing sand planting techniques to improve drought resilience and create habitats for solitary bees and other species.
Climate Change Gardening to incorporate information about the effects of artificial lighting and fertilizers on biodiversity in their outreach efforts.
Hazel to add tape around the top of her water butt lids to prevent slugs from entering.
Climate Change Gardening Charity Overview
Graham introduces Clive as the speaker, noting that gardening is a popular topic with high attendance expected. Clive, a trustee of the charity Climate Change Gardening, begins his presentation by explaining the organization's origins and development. He describes how it started from a local gardening club discussion, grew into a larger event with multiple organizations, and eventually became a registered charity. Clive outlines the charity's aims to raise awareness about climate change's impact on gardens and encourage gardeners to take action to mitigate climate change.
UK Residential Garden Land Use
Clive discussed the significant land use of residential gardens in the UK, which amounts to 4,000 square kilometers, more than all the national nature reserves combined. He noted that while agriculture, forestry, and open land are being handled by government agencies, there isn't a central organization helping gardeners achieve net zero targets. Clive also shared statistics on the number of households with private gardens, garden sizes, and the demographics of gardeners. He highlighted that the gardening community is green-focused, with 80% of adults wanting to see more wildlife in their gardens.
Gardeners' Role in Climate Change
Clive discussed the potential of gardeners to contribute to reducing carbon dioxide emissions and preparing for the impacts of climate change. He highlighted the importance of collecting rainwater, shading, and supporting insects through the choice of flowers. He also emphasized the role of ponds in providing water for various animals and the importance of green corridors in enabling wildlife to disperse. Clive encouraged gardeners to think of their efforts as part of a larger patchwork of habitats that can make a significant difference.
Actions:
Gardeners' Role in Reducing Emissions
Clive discussed the role of gardeners in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. He highlighted the importance of switching away from peat and using electric or manual garden equipment. He also mentioned the trend of no-dig gardening, which helps keep carbon in the soil. Clive emphasized the need for gardeners to increase greenery through growing climbing plants and creating their own compost. He concluded by mentioning the charity's website address.
Gardener Engagement for Climate Change
Clive discussed the activities of his organization, which aims to engage with Britain's 25 million gardeners to help mitigate climate change and biodiversity crises. The organization runs a website, gives talks to community groups, and participates in Actions:events to encourage gardeners to adopt sustainable practices. They also conduct surveys to understand gardeners' behavior and choices better. Clive mentioned that their geographical coverage is currently limited to East Anglia, but they plan to expand their reach in the future.
Nature Reserve Garden Participation Discussion
Madeline expressed interest in using stickers and display items to illustrate where gardens are participating in becoming part of a nature reserve. Clive confirmed that he hadn't heard of a sticker arrangement for individual households, but suggested that villages could organize this through their Parish Council or nature group. Madeline planned to contact Clive for further assistance. Graham mentioned a banter session hosted by Andrew Clegg to discuss how to put gardens and people working together into Parish Online. Merte discussed the issue of drought and the importance of choosing the right planting, retaining moisture in the soil, and using sand planting and street gardens. Merte also highlighted the importance of considering artificial light and the effects of artificial fertilizers in climate resilient gardens.
Actions:
Environmental Impact in Gardening Practices
In the meeting, Merte suggested that people should be aware of the impact of their actions on the environment and take it into account. Clive agreed and highlighted the potential impact of a small percentage of people making changes in their gardens. Graham emphasized the importance of sharing links and resources in the knowledge base for future reference. Garry discussed the issue of chemical use in gardening and the need to reduce it for biodiversity and climate change. Clive agreed with Garry's points and mentioned that their organization takes a positive approach to encouraging gardeners rather than actively campaigning against pesticide use.
Nature Recovery Strategy and Dark Skies
Actions:Graham led the meeting, with various participants contributing. Clive discussed his organization's involvement with the local nature recovery strategy, including their role as a stakeholder and their contributions to the strategy. Allan emphasized the importance of linkages and shared information about restoring roadside verges in Shropshire. Amanda suggested that climate change might increase the likelihood of spider bites, but also highlighted the importance of dark skies policies in protected landscapes. Helen shared a poster she made and mentioned a local council's initiative to grow wildflowers to feed bees.
Slug Prevention in Water Butts
Actions:In the meeting, Helen expressed her concern about slugs getting into her water butts and asked for a solution. Clive suggested that a tight-fitting lid could prevent slugs from entering the water butts. Jane Carr then shared her gardening resources, recommending Charles Dowding's website and YouTube channel for no-dig gardening tips, and the website "We Are the Ark" for regenerative gardening practices. Graham thanked Clive for his contribution and announced that the next meeting will feature Becky Lovegrove from Frome discussing green and healthy fruit partnerships.
00:19:09 David Morgan-Jones: https://www.climatechangegarden.uk/ The Charities website
00:20:08 Amanda Davis: Joining you from bed, leg raised on doctor's orders. How is this relevant? Spider bite. After gardening, had come back indoors, bitten 10mins later. Is this climate change induced spider behaviour? House spiders and garden spiders rarely bite, but is my risk of spider bite increasing with gardening through climate change? 🤷🤔
00:23:10 Helen Capstick: Unfortunately I have come in late and probably can't stay. Would you be able to email this recording at all please?
00:24:28 Sheila Churchward - Exminster Parish Council: I'm a second requesting a copy of the presentation as I need to go at 1230.
00:24:33 Madeline Fraser Buckden PC (Cambs): Is there any scheme to help people buy water butts? Hunts District Council have one for compost bins but I can't find anything for water
00:24:56 Sheila Churchward - Exminster Parish Council: Replying to "Is there any scheme ..."
Try your water authority
00:25:19 Amanda Davis: Planning condition in Cotswolds that water butts to be provided for all new homes
00:26:41 frank deas, Killearn: Replying to "I'm a second request..."
https://wiki.greatcollaboration.uk/knowledgebase/events/banter-sessions-inc-table-of-all-sessions todays session should be posted up within a few days
00:27:36 Joanne Stone, Shiplake PC, Oxon: Replying to "Planning condition i..."
Thants a good idea. Don’t think we have that in South Oxfordshire.
00:28:12 Amanda Davis: Replying to "Is there any scheme ..."
Try your flood authority (poss county, unitary or district) as butts in numbers can help reduce flooding in summer flash floods, when butts have capacity
00:28:43 Andrew Clegg. Martock, Somerset: Replying to "Planning condition i..."
Its the kind of thing that can go into a neighbourhood plan
00:29:02 Jacky Lawrence, Napton, Warwickshire: Replying to "Planning condition i..."
Water butts | Save water | Wonderful on Tap | Severn Trent Water
00:29:42 Amanda Davis: Replying to "Planning condition i..."
Joanne, its the enforcement or lack of. Developers ignored it until I got on the case as a parish councillor
00:31:01 Joanne Stone, Shiplake PC, Oxon: Replying to "Planning condition i..."
Thanks, I will look at this too then.
00:34:03 Andrew Clegg. Martock, Somerset: Replying to "Planning condition i..."
Wessex Water supplies them for £10 https://www.wessexwater.co.uk/order-a-water-butt
00:35:03 Sheila Churchward - Exminster Parish Council: Have to go now. Our Parish Council are moving towards a more sustainable future by reviewing all policies. Our policies are publicly available: https://www.exminsterparishcouncil.gov.uk/ Bye, Sheila
00:35:17 Amanda Davis: Daft question: how do you weed in no-dig?
00:36:13 Jacky Lawrence, Napton, Warwickshire: Replying to "Daft question: how d..."
I've used layers of cardboard then compost on top of it to stop the weeds in the first place.
00:36:28 Jacky Smith - Forest of Dean: Daft answer: with no-dig there's much less weedomg tp do ! What's not to like?
00:36:29 Sarah Watts: Replying to "Daft question: how d..."
Hoe annuals
00:37:32 Amanda Davis: So disturb by digging to get out roots once. Then prevent going forward eg cardboard. ?? and hoe
00:38:29 Jacky Lawrence, Napton, Warwickshire: Replying to "Daft question: how d..."
I didn't bother digging in the first place - year two - and no big weeds coming through yet.
00:39:17 Jacky Smith - Forest of Dean: Replying to "Daft question: how d..."
You don't need to dig out most weeds - just 4 inches of mulch over a continuous layer of cardboard deals with even ground elder & couch grass. You might need to repeat it once every 3 years.
00:40:03 Jane Carr: Replying to "Daft question: how d..."
Check out Charles Dowding's No-Dig Gardening Undug ~ a plethora of no-dig stuff from the No dig guru :)
00:42:42 Jane Carr: Replying to "Daft question: how d..."
No-dig doesn't mean no digging at all but mainly disturb the ground as little as possible ~ some weeds need to be dug out to start with like brambles, nettles, dock and couch ~ after that just add your compost with no digging in and start your beds with cardboard and well matured compost :)
00:45:29 Jane Carr: 'We Are the Ark' is a wonderful site/group as well ~ stands fr 'Acts of Regenerative Kindness' all about letting nature be and working with it rather than against it :)
00:45:42 Sarah Watts: Replying to "Daft question: how d..."
In Scotland you can get signs for greenspaces that are managed for wildlife.
00:45:57 Penny Q - Weymouth: Very interesting and helpful. Will catch up on the recording - regret need to go.
00:46:58 Jo Morris - Frome Town Council: Our Wildlife/Climate Friendly Gardening Group in Frome give away 'Wild About Frome' stickers and garden stakes that we designed ourselves. Also check out Somerset Wildlife Trust's Team Wilder Team Award scheme. You can apply for a plaque that can be displayed
00:47:33 Amanda Davis: Reacted to Check out Charles Do... with "👏"
00:50:10 Jane Wood - Bugbrooke, Northants: The Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs and Northants do a similar Wildlife Gardening award scheme
00:51:22 Sarah Watts: Thank you. I’ve really enjoyed the talk and chat so far…have to go.
00:54:08 Jane Wood - Bugbrooke, Northants: Very informative talk indeed and I'm really pleased to find out about this charity. I need to go now
00:54:53 Joanne Stone, Shiplake PC, Oxon: This has been a really useful talk. Will definitely check out the website.
00:55:12 Madeline Fraser Buckden PC (Cambs): Replying to "The Wildlife Trust f..."
The Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs and Northants do a similar Wildlife Gardening award scheme Unfortunately I think these closed at the end of 2023
00:56:14 Helen Davey: I have used this
00:56:42 Andrew Clegg. Martock, Somerset: Lots of useful ‘How to’ stuff at https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/gardening
00:58:25 Jo Morris - Frome Town Council: This is us in Frome in case anyone is interested: Wild Bunch - Frome Town Council
00:59:28 Jane Carr: No dig gardening un-dug ~ Charles Dowding ~ https://www.charlesdowding.co.uk/resources/faqs and We Are the Ark ~ https://wearetheark.org/ :)
01:02:30 frank deas, Killearn: Reacted to "No dig gardening un-..." with 👍
01:02:35 Madeline Fraser Buckden PC (Cambs): Reacted to "No dig gardening un-..." with 👍
01:03:41 Madeline Fraser Buckden PC (Cambs): Thank you that was very useful
01:03:45 Jacky Smith - Forest of Dean: Thanks!
01:04:04 Helen Davey: Thankyou Clive
01:04:12 Joanne Stone, Shiplake PC, Oxon: oh how to we get on to the friday session? https://wiki.greatcollaboration.uk/knowledgebase/events/banter-sessions-inc-table-of-all-sessions/
01:04:13 Helen Davey: Reacted to "Thankyou Clive" with 👍
WEBVTT
93 00:11:18.770 --> 00:11:34.700 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): Yeah, let's assume that if it isn't fixed it will be shortly, and they can always catch up from the recording afterwards. So Clive, good afternoon. Thank you so much for agreeing to talk to us today. If you'd like to tell us who you are and what you're going to talk about, and then press on the screens. All yours.
94 00:11:35.460 --> 00:11:48.410 Clive Boase: Okay, well, thank you very much. Yes. So yeah, good afternoon, everybody. So I'm Clive, and I am one of the trustees of the charity climate change gardening.
95 00:11:48.730 --> 00:11:54.020 Clive Boase: and so I'll I'll go on to share screen. Just so we can start to
96 00:11:54.130 --> 00:11:56.369 Clive Boase: see some pictures here.
97 00:11:59.410 --> 00:12:00.800 Clive Boase: And we go.
98 00:12:02.820 --> 00:12:05.430 Clive Boase: Let's bring that up onto full screen.
99 00:12:09.630 --> 00:12:15.589 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): We. We can see the Powerpoint screen, but not the the sideshow. Yet.
100 00:12:17.650 --> 00:12:21.020 Clive Boase: Okay, that has that come onto the slideshow now? Yes, you are.
101 00:12:21.020 --> 00:12:21.909 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): You're all set.
102 00:12:22.210 --> 00:12:25.605 Clive Boase: Good thumbs up. I see. Very good. So
103 00:12:26.890 --> 00:12:45.389 Clive Boase: but basically, I'm 1 of the trustees of climate change gardening, the charity climate change gardening, and for the next 20 min or so I suppose I'll tell you a little bit about our organization and a little bit about land use in the Uk. And gardening specifically.
104 00:12:45.600 --> 00:12:50.229 Clive Boase: and and then probably I'll talk a little bit about
105 00:12:50.590 --> 00:13:07.649 Clive Boase: sort of things that gardeners can actually do to help mitigate climate change. And so we'll run through that, and then perhaps I'll just tell you a bit more. I'll finish off by telling a little bit more about what climate change gardening, what our organization actually does. So
106 00:13:08.290 --> 00:13:31.319 Clive Boase: so just to start with a kind of a potted history, I suppose, of climate change gardening, you know where we came from, and it started off at a local gardening club. I'm a member of a local gardening club, and I think we had a speaker. Talk to us about climate change and gardening in a general sort of way, and after the presentation
107 00:13:31.480 --> 00:13:50.719 Clive Boase: we talked amongst ourselves and thought, well, we ought to do something. I think that was the general feeling. We should do something. We can't just sit back and and watch climate change unfold. So we we teamed up with a number of other local gardening clubs with like-minded individuals, and we decided that we ought to hold
108 00:13:50.780 --> 00:14:08.159 Clive Boase: a sort of climate change gardening event of some sort. And so we got some speakers in from the local Wildlife Trust, and a specialist on climate change, and and so on, and so forth, and we all got an event
109 00:14:08.330 --> 00:14:27.360 Clive Boase: about 20 different organizations to bring a standalone, and we had this event. It was a lot of work. It probably took us 6 months of you know. I wouldn't say full time work, but it seemed a lot of a lot of time went into it, but the event went off well, we were kind of pleased with it, and people said, Oh, you know you want to do another one. You should take this seriously
110 00:14:27.660 --> 00:14:47.989 Clive Boase: and get yourself organized properly. So we we thought somebody said we should become a charity. So we followed that idea, and we created a constitution. We had a 1 of the trustees has a friend who's a solicitor who happened to specialize in
111 00:14:48.510 --> 00:15:15.410 Clive Boase: in charity law. So she helped us create a constitution, and we applied for charitable status 20 something, 28 pages of questions from the Charity Commission people said, Oh, you'll be battles and forwards for months and months and months with them. But luckily we just got an email 2 months later saying, You're in and you're now a charity. So we're now a charitable incorporated organization. We have 5 trustees.
112 00:15:15.550 --> 00:15:42.349 Clive Boase: It's called CIO Foundation. CIO. We don't have members. The organization is run entirely by the trustees. So what do we aim to do? Well, we aim, I suppose, initially to raise awareness of the impact that climate change is having on gardens. But, more importantly than that, you know more urgently than that we aim to encourage gardeners to do things with their gardens that will help
113 00:15:42.380 --> 00:15:59.400 Clive Boase: soften the impact of climate change and perhaps even mitigate climate change itself. And we thought we needed some funding. We had a little bit of money left over from our event in the summer of 2023, but we needed a bit more than that, we felt.
114 00:15:59.530 --> 00:16:04.049 Clive Boase: So we applied to the South Cambridgeshire 0 Carbon Communities Fund.
115 00:16:04.130 --> 00:16:25.630 Clive Boase: and so we got a very helpful sum from them which has enabled us to keep going and buy bits and pieces that we need, and so on. So we're very grateful to them. And so we became a charity. Last year we were involved in a number of events and presentations through through last year, but particularly in the second half of it.
116 00:16:25.690 --> 00:16:37.100 Clive Boase: This year. We've got 20 something events and talks that we've been invited to attend and go to and give, and so on. This week. This week, as it happens.
117 00:16:37.110 --> 00:16:38.530 Colin Marsh: We've got 5.
118 00:16:38.530 --> 00:16:44.639 Clive Boase: Talks to give did one on Monday, 2 today, one tomorrow
119 00:16:44.710 --> 00:17:09.959 Clive Boase: and one on Saturday. I think that adds up to 5, anyway. So that's kind of potted history of us, not because it's any sort of big deal, but I thought this might be interested in seeing how charities happen to start off as a, you know, bunch of like minded people having a kind of idea. And then one thing leads to another, and suddenly, there you are, with a charitable status and some funding from the local authority.
120 00:17:10.359 --> 00:17:28.329 Clive Boase: But anyway, let's move on to gardens, and perhaps we'll have a quick look at land use itself, and some of you may be very familiar with this. If you go on to the Department for leveling up website, they have statistics on how land is used in the Uk. And
121 00:17:28.750 --> 00:17:57.309 Clive Boase: not surprisingly, agriculture is far and away the biggest land use of 63%. Next comes forestry, open land and water. So that's national Parks and Forestry Commission, and so on and so forth. Another 20%. And then I think this surprised us when we looked into it and sort of empowered us really to keep going forward. Was that the 3rd biggest land use category in the Uk are residential gardens, 5%.
122 00:17:57.490 --> 00:18:08.900 Clive Boase: Now, you might think. Oh, 5% is not a very big slice, and of course it's not a massive slice compared to agriculture, but it still adds up to 4,000 odd square kilometres
123 00:18:08.940 --> 00:18:33.590 Clive Boase: more than all, the national nature reserves put together and and about, or slightly less than it's almost twice the area of Suffolk. I have to live in Suffolk, which is why I chose Suffolk, but you can do the maths relative to your county, should you want to. So gardens do add up to a significant chunk, and whereas, you know, when it comes to climate change, which is what we're
124 00:18:33.670 --> 00:18:37.289 Clive Boase: concerned about, you know, agriculture is.
125 00:18:37.430 --> 00:19:05.500 Clive Boase: we hope being well handled by defra in terms of what to do about climate change, and the forestry and open land and water is again presumably being handled by the appropriate government agency residential gardens. You know, there isn't a kind of central organization helping gardeners achieve net 0 or whatever the particular target is. So that's that's the kind of almost like the vacuum we found ourselves stepping into.
126 00:19:05.500 --> 00:19:28.039 Clive Boase: So let's have a look at Uk Gardens, and and and indeed the people doing the gardens. About 87% of Uk households have access to private gardens. Have a private garden, which means that you know one household innate. Doesn't that proportion will vary enormously from place to place in rural areas. The proportion will be higher
127 00:19:28.070 --> 00:19:35.619 Clive Boase: if we take some, you know, inner city boroughs, then, of course the proportion with access to private gardens will be a lot less
128 00:19:36.170 --> 00:20:03.699 Clive Boase: so. How big are those gardens? Well, the Uk average is something close to 200 square metres. But again, lots of variation. If we looked at inner city gardens, people have them at all. It's about 60 square metres. It might be 2 and a half times that in the suburbs, and if we go to rural areas, a figure of 400 500 square metres would be quite typical. The office for national statistics has an interactive page
129 00:20:03.700 --> 00:20:27.449 Clive Boase: where you can select any area you want in the country and see the average garden size in that area of the country. So that's been quite useful for us. So how many people are actually involved in gardening? Well, there's about 20 odd 1 million people claim to be gardeners. So that's a lot of folk the most the age band that does most gardening is the sort of 55 to 70 year olds.
130 00:20:28.080 --> 00:20:30.860 Clive Boase: but lots of gardening goes on in other groups as well.
131 00:20:30.970 --> 00:20:56.630 Clive Boase: So so it's quite a busy area now, coming down to. It's easy to think of gardeners as being like a stripey lawn and pruned rose bushes. But actually, the kind of the green you know, the green outdoors is a significant part of gardening for a lot of people, 80% of adults. And this is a study carried out by, or a survey carried out by, Yougov
132 00:20:56.630 --> 00:21:02.810 Clive Boase: on behalf of, the Horticultural Trade Association. 80% of adults want to see more wildlife in their garden.
133 00:21:02.830 --> 00:21:15.300 Clive Boase: And for over a 3rd of people they say that wildlife is the best bit of their garden, which again I was surprised by, but kind of comforted. So the gardening community is quite a green focused community
134 00:21:15.350 --> 00:21:16.760 Clive Boase: overall.
135 00:21:17.670 --> 00:21:32.870 Clive Boase: So I've said that there isn't an official body that looks after private domestic gardens. But, you know. What? What do we know about it? Well, maybe the closest thing we've got is the Royal Horticultural Society
136 00:21:33.150 --> 00:21:33.790 Clive Boase: and
137 00:21:34.680 --> 00:21:56.969 Clive Boase: They published a report back in 2017, so 8 years ago, now called Gardening in a changing climate, where they tried to assess the impact of climate change on gardens and so on. It was only 2017 which to me doesn't sound a long time ago. But actually, when you read the report, it feels very dated. Now.
138 00:21:56.970 --> 00:22:24.260 Clive Boase: you know, you will know that back in summer of 2022, the temperature hit 40 degrees in various places in the east of England. Now, when you read this report, you know 40 degrees seems like a distant prospect, not something that was just around the corner. But anyway, it's a useful document. But it's not really aimed at gardeners. It's quite a scientific document, really. So it's interesting. But anyway, the point is, what do they say about gardeners and climate change?
139 00:22:24.620 --> 00:22:47.999 Clive Boase: And I've just got this sort of quote here, and I'll read this out to you with over half of Uk adults engaged in gardening. There's great potential for this group to help with biodiversity and make a major contribution to reducing carbon dioxide emissions and prepare for the impacts of climate change.
140 00:22:48.090 --> 00:23:17.240 Clive Boase: This little quote out of that publication. Again, we found very empowering. And others do, too. You know the RHS is saying that these 20 odd 1 million gardeners who together look after well, it's almost 2.5,000 square miles of land have a lot of potential to to help make a difference. So what are the sorts of things that gardeners can do to soften the impact of climate change, and I'm just going to skate through some of those
141 00:23:17.280 --> 00:23:23.040 Clive Boase: quite rapidly. Now. I'm not going to go into lots of detail, because it's not that sort of talk.
142 00:23:23.700 --> 00:23:36.039 Clive Boase: But but if we looked at the sort of utility areas first, st well, you know, collecting rainwater would be something that many gardeners are doing already to some extent and.
143 00:23:36.040 --> 00:23:36.460 Colin Marsh: Thing.
144 00:23:36.460 --> 00:24:01.979 Clive Boase: Indeed, gardeners could do a lot more of this, and you know, why is this important? Well, you know, water supply mains. Water supply is, is already precious, and it will be increasingly precious, as climate change, you know, continues and accelerates, and it's not just reducing the pressure on on the mains water itself.
145 00:24:01.990 --> 00:24:11.320 Clive Boase: It's reducing the pressure on aquifers. Certainly here in the in Suffolk, Cambridge. Here in the east of England, and probably other areas of South East England, too.
146 00:24:11.390 --> 00:24:19.210 Clive Boase: there is significant abstraction and and depletion of the water stored in the aquifers under the ground
147 00:24:19.390 --> 00:24:48.019 Clive Boase: due to, you know, abstraction for water supply, and as a result of that, chalk streams, for example, are drying up, and you know the fauna and flora associated with chalk streams is being depleted by this high level of abstraction, and and even in, you know, the East of England is quite a low rainfall area. Well, it's the lowest rainfall area of the Uk. But even here in the east of England, a modest size shed, you know, will
148 00:24:48.100 --> 00:25:00.150 Clive Boase: collects a lot of water over the course of the year, I mean, where I live in Suffolk we get about 600 millimetres of rain a year, which equates to 600 litres of rain per square metre.
149 00:25:00.290 --> 00:25:28.959 Clive Boase: So if you had a 10 square metre shed roof, which isn't particularly big, you know. 3 and a bit meters by 3 and a bit meters, you're going to collect 6,000 litres of water over the course of the year. So it's not so much about the shortage of rain for gardeners. It's about the ability to store it in this picture. Here, of course, is an Ibc that holds a thousand litres. That's not for everybody, but it certainly is possible to collect really significant quantities of rain water
150 00:25:28.960 --> 00:25:38.280 Clive Boase: from shed roofs, garden greenhouse roofs, and so on, and use them on the garden instead of using main water and staying with the kind of utility area.
151 00:25:38.630 --> 00:25:47.480 Clive Boase: And what else is it that gardeners can do? Well? Shading is important, and everybody knows shades important. My dog knows that shades important in hot weather.
152 00:25:47.630 --> 00:25:51.959 Clive Boase: but the importance of shade, particularly in urban areas.
153 00:25:52.680 --> 00:26:13.909 Clive Boase: you know, 80% of Britain's population live in urban areas, and shade is really important at keeping urban temperatures down during heat waves, and the the effect of shade prevents the asphalt and the tarmac and the concrete and and paving, and so on from heating up. So helps keep those urban areas cool.
154 00:26:14.080 --> 00:26:31.610 Clive Boase: and and the transpiration from the foliage as well in itself will help cool the surrounding area. So if you have a tree lined street in an urban area, and you have the next street across which doesn't have trees lining it. That tree, Lined Street will be
155 00:26:31.900 --> 00:27:00.739 Clive Boase: measurably cooler, 4, 5, 6, 7 degrees cooler during hot weather than this than the similar street without trees. And I mean, you remember, back in 2022, when folk were advised to stay indoors and pull the curtains during hot weather, and it was exactly those times when shading, you know, from foliage and pergolas and trees, and so on, was important. And it's worth remembering as well during those that 2022 heat wave when it hit 40 degrees.
156 00:27:01.020 --> 00:27:12.589 Clive Boase: Human excess excess deaths in the Uk were just a shade under 3,000. So you know, we're not just talking about keeping ourselves comfortable. You know, we're talking about an impact on
157 00:27:12.900 --> 00:27:37.450 Clive Boase: human survival during these heat waves, and the heat waves, of course, are predicted to become longer and more intense. So gardening can have an impact on these sort of utility functions. Wildlife, of course, is another key area, and many people, when we talk about climate change gardening, they say. Oh, it's all about wildlife, isn't it? And we've got a bird box and a
158 00:27:37.450 --> 00:27:46.000 Clive Boase: bee hotel, and of course that's great, but you know there's more to it than that, you know, in supporting insects. Gardeners can help.
159 00:27:46.480 --> 00:28:01.300 Clive Boase: you know, have a provision of nectar through their choice of flowers that lasts from well, now, you know, from February March, you know, right through to early autumn, and that will help support a broad range of insects, and you'll know people talk about
160 00:28:02.115 --> 00:28:21.509 Clive Boase: you know how insect numbers have plummeted in the Uk, and indeed elsewhere as well, and you know the more we can do to support insects pollinators, then the better that is, climate change is part of that. It's not the only factor responsible for the decline, but it's certainly part of that.
161 00:28:21.720 --> 00:28:42.819 Clive Boase: And and there's a study came out towards the end of last year, showing that even in rural areas where we might think there's lots of greenery, and there's lots of good stuff for insects. Gardens were really really important for pollinating insects, because they had flowers and nectar and pollen throughout the year, whereas the fields, you know, agricultural fields.
162 00:28:42.820 --> 00:28:58.790 Clive Boase: if they had any nectar available at all, it was only, you know, you know, perhaps a 2 week period when the oilseed rate was in bloom or the field beans were in bloom, whereas gardens provide that supply right through the year. But so it's nectar. You will have heard of no Mo. May.
163 00:28:59.430 --> 00:29:23.449 Clive Boase: and and this sort of movement to encourage gardeners to leave some of their lawn long, anyway, and that long lawn will, you know, greatly improve biodiversity, and larger plants will have deeper roots which will push more carbon into the soil as well. So it's not just biodiversity, but that's a good part of it. The butterflies and the wildflowers, and so on. That will become
164 00:29:23.490 --> 00:29:33.179 Clive Boase: attracted and grow in long lawns. A pond, of course, again, is a another way of greatly improving local diversity. There's been a
165 00:29:33.310 --> 00:29:44.250 Clive Boase: a big reduction in the number of ponds across the landscape as a result of agricultural intensification or just changes in agricultural practice. You know, ponds used to be
166 00:29:44.330 --> 00:29:57.629 Clive Boase: in the corner of most fields, or many fields in order to water, livestock, and livestock. Certainly here in the east of England is gone now from large areas, ponds are not needed, so they're filled in, or they just dry up
167 00:29:57.700 --> 00:30:04.340 Clive Boase: and ponds. It's not just about aquatic wildlife. It's not just about the damselflies and frogs, and so on.
168 00:30:04.350 --> 00:30:33.919 Clive Boase: But every other animal, or you know, certainly the larger animals need to drink just like we do. So hedgehogs, just, for example. But you could think of any other mammal as well. They need to drink. So, having ponds providing water animals, saves them, having to roam around the suburbs, looking for water and crossing roads in the process, and, as you know, calling foul of the traffic while they're trying to cross the road. So ponds are important, you know. Large numbers of ponds have been lost
169 00:30:33.930 --> 00:30:41.749 Clive Boase: since, let's say the Second World War, and even jumping back to the lawns, you will have seen this figure that 90 97%
170 00:30:41.890 --> 00:30:55.930 Clive Boase: of Britain's wildflower meadows have been lost since the Second World War again, due to agricultural intensification. So even a small part of a garden left to lawn and wildflowers is a is an improvement, and it's important.
171 00:30:56.230 --> 00:31:19.380 Clive Boase: So think of these measures not just as something that individual gardeners do in their little Mini oasis of their whatever it is, 100 square metres at the back of their house. But to think of it as a patchwork of habitats joined up across urban areas or suburban areas, or whatever it is, and we talk increasingly about green corridors.
172 00:31:19.680 --> 00:31:22.995 Clive Boase: And of course we can't force people to
173 00:31:24.060 --> 00:31:49.280 Clive Boase: you know, get on board with this kind of greening movement, but certainly sort of community measures. You know. We will encourage communities to work together to create a joined up patchwork which enables wildlife, whether it's hedgehogs, or dragonflies, or butterflies, to disperse from one green patch to the next green patch to the next one, and and so become more resilient in the process.
174 00:31:49.680 --> 00:31:56.600 Clive Boase: So so what else can gardeners do? What else do we talk about? Well, we've we talked about these sort of utility stuff we talked about wildlife
175 00:31:56.650 --> 00:32:26.280 Clive Boase: gardeners can actually actively reduce greenhouse gas emissions and and switching away from peat would be a big part of that. You'll know that peat is a massive carbon store. And yet, when it's dug up and sold through garden centers, much of that carbon that's in the peat oxidises off into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. We're now seeing, as that bottom photograph shows you a very significant move now
176 00:32:26.370 --> 00:32:43.000 Clive Boase: through garden centers and supermarkets, and so on, to only offer heat, free compost, which which it, of course, is a good thing. What else can we do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions? Well, obviously switch away from petrol powered garden machinery.
177 00:32:43.600 --> 00:33:02.850 Clive Boase: you know. There's there's plenty of, you know, electrical equip powered equipment out there, and the portable batteries. You know the sort of the the not wireless, the you know. The the battery powered garden equipment is now very good. The battery is a lot lighter than they used to be.
178 00:33:02.860 --> 00:33:24.470 Clive Boase: and of course there's still the manual stuff I've switched back to manual clipping of my hedge, and there is a move in some garden clubs to share equipment, so to minimize purchase of garden equipment and share it between them, which, of course, is good for the planet as well, and you might well have heard of no dig gardening.
179 00:33:27.070 --> 00:33:55.750 Clive Boase: keeping carbon in the soil, because every time we dig the soil just like extracting peat every time we dig soil. We expose the carbon in this soil to the atmosphere, and that oxidizes the weight and degrees as carbon dioxide. So no dig gardening has moved from being a kind of fringe activity to to a mainstream event. Now, I'd say there are lots and lots of gardeners we talk to that don't dig now, but use surface mulch instead.
180 00:33:55.750 --> 00:34:10.109 Clive Boase: So various things and more that gardeners can do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But already, as you know, the reason we're seeing climate change unfolding is because there's already now too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
181 00:34:10.630 --> 00:34:30.010 Clive Boase: and indeed other greenhouse gases as well too much in the atmosphere, so that, you know. As a result, climate change is underway. So what can gardeners do to actually reduce the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere? You know the classic things that communities encouraged to do like. Put solar panels on the roof.
182 00:34:30.010 --> 00:34:45.040 Clive Boase: get an electric car, perhaps put in a heat pump, and all those kinds of measures are all absolutely great, and we totally encourage them. But none of those pull carbon dioxide out of the air, whereas, you know every bit of green leaf grass, and the rest of it
183 00:34:45.040 --> 00:34:54.320 Clive Boase: is pulling carbon dioxide out of the air as a result of photosynthesis. So you know, we would encourage gardeners to green as much
184 00:34:54.320 --> 00:35:20.259 Clive Boase: of their part of the landscape as they can, and you know trees and shrubs and perennials are much better than annual plants, because annual plants require planting and digging and replanting, and lots of disturbance of the soil, whereas gardens, beds that are comprised largely of perennials require much much less digging, and you'll end up with carbon being fixed by all that foliage.
185 00:35:20.330 --> 00:35:48.130 Clive Boase: and either remaining within the wood of the plant itself, or falling to the ground and being pulled back into the soil by earthworms, and so on. So carbon capture is very much something that can do and can increase the amount of greenery, through growing climbing plants, up otherwise bare walls or bare fences, and so on. So we have a greater area of greenery that's involved in photosynthesis
186 00:35:48.820 --> 00:36:14.909 Clive Boase: and as well as that gardeners can create their own compost and use this as a surface mulch, you know. Up until recently the tradition amongst the gardening community has been to dig compost into the garden, into the soil, whereas now we've moved more in the direction of using surface mulch is done. The digging put the mulch on the top and let the earthworms and other soil invertebrates do that job for you.
187 00:36:15.250 --> 00:36:17.910 Clive Boase: So carbon capture is very much something
188 00:36:18.470 --> 00:36:44.220 Clive Boase: gardeners can get involved with. So just to finish off last slide? Almost, I think, probably. So what do we as a charity actually do? So I just like to run through some of those things quickly. We've got a website, and I'll give you the address in a minute. We've got a website which is currently donated by a digital company who saw what we're doing and said they loved that and really wanted to help. They gave us a website which we populated and constructed.
189 00:36:44.320 --> 00:37:00.340 Clive Boase: Our website gives us lots or provides lots and lots of information, lots and lots of detail about what gardeners can do to make a difference to their garden and help soften the impact or help mitigate climate change. So we run a website.
190 00:37:00.500 --> 00:37:06.509 Clive Boase: We go and give a lot of talks to community groups. The kind of face to face version of what we're doing now.
191 00:37:07.190 --> 00:37:25.690 Clive Boase: So we've got lots of those lined up in this coming year. As I said, we've got 4. Well, yeah, 4 face-to-face ones this week, and one digital one, which is almost finished now. So it talks to community groups and so on. We've got a stand that we take to events. That's us in the green T-shirts.
192 00:37:25.690 --> 00:37:46.679 Clive Boase: And so we go to gardening fairs, or Eco fairs or village fates, and so on, and we engage with the public about what they do in their garden, and what they could change, and so on. So that's always good fun. It's always great, you know, talking with the public about what they're doing and hearing their concerns and hearing their experiences. We learn so much from that.
193 00:37:46.690 --> 00:37:49.312 Clive Boase: We also get involved with projects.
194 00:37:49.800 --> 00:37:58.199 Clive Boase: yesterday we're at a large housing development on the edge of Cambridge here, close to where I live, and we're working with a sort of
195 00:37:58.340 --> 00:38:21.290 Clive Boase: community liaison officer having workshops there for the residents in this big, big new development to sort of encourage sustainable practice in their garden, you know. That's part of the kind of mission really of the of the local authority, and they've got us on board to help with that. And so we're running some workshops there for the residents.
196 00:38:21.730 --> 00:38:38.300 Clive Boase: and as well as going out and doing all this stuff. You know, we want to understand gardeners better and discover or understand their behavior and their choices better. So we we do surveys and so on. When we talk to a gardening club. We also
197 00:38:38.360 --> 00:39:02.759 Clive Boase: have questionnaires that they fill in about what they do and what they'd like to do, and what works for them, and what doesn't. So, and that helps us fine tune. Our message to the community. So it's very, very finely. So this is Us. Climate change gardening. You know. Our aim is to sort of engage with Britain's 20 odd 1 million gardeners, 25 million depending on who you believe, and and encourage them to do stuff with their garden. That's going to
198 00:39:02.830 --> 00:39:10.959 Clive Boase: help, you know, with the climate and by biodiversity crises. And and the nice thing about the measures that we talked about talk about
199 00:39:11.040 --> 00:39:28.709 Clive Boase: is, most of them are pretty easy to do. They don't cost much, you know. It's great if you can get an electric car, but they take some investment, whereas, leaving some of your lawn to grow long, or doing something with your compost or planting another tree by comparison, is something you can just do next weekend.
200 00:39:28.710 --> 00:39:42.200 Clive Boase: and and and it will have a very positive effect on climate change and biodiversity. So anyway, there's our, there's our web address and website worth a look if you're interested in this stuff.
201 00:39:42.250 --> 00:39:52.280 Clive Boase: And basically, I think that's the end of what I want to say. So, Graham, I'm going to stop sharing now and go back to the group as a whole, and hand it back to you.
202 00:39:53.310 --> 00:40:00.829 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): Oh, very kind! And, Kai, thank you so much for a very fascinating
203 00:40:01.080 --> 00:40:10.770 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): bunch of things. I see the 1st hand has already go up for questions. But also, if you get a spare moment, 5, there's a whole bunch of questions and comments in the chat for the zoom.
204 00:40:10.770 --> 00:40:11.540 Clive Boase: Okay.
205 00:40:11.770 --> 00:40:16.880 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): And let me pass on to Gary Ford for the 1st question. Please.
206 00:40:19.180 --> 00:40:24.516 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: Hi! Thanks for that, Clive, that's really good. I've got actually quite a few questions. But
207 00:40:26.060 --> 00:40:46.169 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: so just a couple 1st of all, you said, like you attend events and goes to shows and stuff. What's your geographical spread? How far away you kind of planning on going with these, what kind of areas are coming? So I'm guessing you're not national organization quite yet. And another thing I just wanted to ask about was.
208 00:40:46.170 --> 00:40:49.969 Clive Boase: I deal with, I'll deal with that one, because otherwise I'll forget it.
209 00:40:49.970 --> 00:40:50.570 Clive Boase: So
210 00:40:50.570 --> 00:41:12.560 Clive Boase: I'll deal with that 1st and then and then your second point geographically. So I live in Suffolk with 5 trustees. They're all based in Suffolk or Cambridge here. So we tend to cover that area, basically not because we're not interested in the rest of the Uk. But we only became a charity last year, and you know we absolutely
211 00:41:12.590 --> 00:41:41.989 Clive Boase: are in the process of, I would say, recruiting, but attracting more members, and perhaps even potential trust trustees in the future, so that we can extend our message further. But so East Anglia is what we cover at the moment. We did have one trip out to Shropshire for a special event we were invited to last year. But but yeah, we're sort of East Anglia based. But yeah, that's not to say that we couldn't go elsewhere. Our website, of course, is national. Well, international, really?
212 00:41:42.360 --> 00:41:45.110 Clive Boase: So, Gary, what was your second point?
213 00:41:51.200 --> 00:41:51.860 Clive Boase: Right.
214 00:41:52.270 --> 00:41:53.860 Liz Reason: Think Gary's on mute.
215 00:41:54.810 --> 00:41:56.350 Clive Boase: Gary's on mute now. Okay.
216 00:41:56.350 --> 00:41:56.920 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): List of.
217 00:41:56.920 --> 00:41:57.830 Clive Boase: To you, Graham.
218 00:41:57.830 --> 00:42:00.467 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): No, he is not on mute. He's lost his
219 00:42:01.250 --> 00:42:02.780 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): He's lost his sound.
220 00:42:03.170 --> 00:42:08.779 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): Let's come back to Gary when he gets your sound back. In the meantime Madeleine Fraser's got a hand up.
221 00:42:12.410 --> 00:42:13.800 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): and Madeline is.
222 00:42:13.800 --> 00:42:16.000 Madeline Fraser Buckden PC (Cambs): Yeah. Just unmuted.
223 00:42:16.000 --> 00:42:16.340 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): Yeah.
224 00:42:16.770 --> 00:42:29.313 Madeline Fraser Buckden PC (Cambs): And the well. Yes, I'm very keen on on this idea. Do you have things like
225 00:42:30.310 --> 00:42:34.718 Madeline Fraser Buckden PC (Cambs): stickers and display items for
226 00:42:35.940 --> 00:42:58.490 Madeline Fraser Buckden PC (Cambs): illustrating where gardens are taking part in becoming part of and a nature reserve. I only ask because what I'm trying to do at the moment in in Buckdon, which is in Cambridge here is to get people to sign up, to become part of Buckton's local nature reserve using their garden.
227 00:42:58.720 --> 00:43:18.379 Madeline Fraser Buckden PC (Cambs): and I want to put a map up and put stickers on where people are taking part. And I've also heard that apparently people get get bin stickers and things like that, and I'm just wondering whether, rather than me, trying to source things, whether as a charity, you've done that sort of thing already.
228 00:43:19.490 --> 00:43:30.640 Clive Boase: Yeah. Good, good question. I hadn't heard of a kind of sticker arrangement for individual households to say, I'm part of the you know the village
229 00:43:30.910 --> 00:43:56.110 Clive Boase: the village nature reserve thing. I've certainly. I'm aware of villages that have organized this through their not stickers, but organized a kind of coming together of individual households through their parish council, or through their nature group, or whatever it is. And and I've seen villages that have got a map. What's that called is it parish online, I think, is it?
230 00:43:56.990 --> 00:44:13.450 Clive Boase: Yeah. So using parish online to map participating gardens. But I'm not aware of a sort of off the shelf sticker thing, Madeline, that you can stick on your wheelie bin, or put in your front window to say I'm on board with it, but it's a great idea.
231 00:44:15.130 --> 00:44:24.450 Madeline Fraser Buckden PC (Cambs): Yeah, I'll have to contact you because I didn't know you existed. And as we're Cambridge here and we're going to have an eco event in June. I'll have to see if your what your availability is so.
232 00:44:24.450 --> 00:44:28.949 Clive Boase: You're on, I will be and contact me through that website.
233 00:44:28.950 --> 00:44:29.320 Madeline Fraser Buckden PC (Cambs): Yes.
234 00:44:29.320 --> 00:44:33.329 Clive Boase: Www, dot website thing. So there's a contact. Us button. There.
235 00:44:33.330 --> 00:44:34.340 Madeline Fraser Buckden PC (Cambs): Thank you very much.
236 00:44:34.830 --> 00:44:48.889 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): I see Gary is back online with us. But before we go back to him with questions, let me just follow on that comment about parish online. Andrew Clegg, in Martok, is hosting a banter session this coming Friday.
237 00:44:48.900 --> 00:45:11.319 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): which is going to discuss specifically, how do you put gardens and people working together into parish online. So I just mentioned that for people who would like to join the conversation, and I'm not seeing any violent signs yet from Andrew, that this is not going to happen, so I take it it is so. I'll put the details in the chat. But in the meantime
238 00:45:12.900 --> 00:45:17.870 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): we'll go back to Garrett if we couldn't just deal with murder 1st before she loses her sound again.
239 00:45:18.990 --> 00:45:21.320 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): And you're you need to. There you go. Yeah.
240 00:45:21.320 --> 00:45:30.650 mirte greve: Hi, thank you so much. It's very interesting. I have a few things that might be interesting to add.
241 00:45:30.680 --> 00:46:00.319 mirte greve: So one of the issues with climate change is with drought. Plants hold on to nectar, which makes them not available for the pollinators that are around. So sometimes the flowers seem to be in flower, but they're actually not available to the pollinators you want them to be available to. And so that is always a bit of an issue during drought. So one way to conquer this is, of course, choosing your planting right?
242 00:46:00.857 --> 00:46:14.819 mirte greve: And for that it's it's all keeping moisture in the soil, as you pointed out before or being able to water with your cold water.
243 00:46:14.820 --> 00:46:28.279 mirte greve: What I think is quite an exciting idea is the sand planting and the street gardens. Peter Korn from Sweden. He's very strong on that.
244 00:46:28.280 --> 00:46:47.439 mirte greve: and Beth Chatto Gardens. They are trying to see how it can be implemented in the south of England. What you get is that if you go to a beach the top is dry, and if you dig down underneath it's quite wet.
245 00:46:47.440 --> 00:46:52.970 mirte greve: and that is, the sand can actually retain quite a lot of moisture.
246 00:46:52.970 --> 00:47:22.529 mirte greve: and as such you have to water less. So. These are gardens that are built up with a lot of big layer of sand and crushed concrete can be recycled concrete, and they retain a lot of moisture actually, and the plants that grow in there they grow longer roots, and as such they are more resistant, resilient to climate change, and also they are able to let go of that
247 00:47:22.560 --> 00:47:25.230 mirte greve: nectar once there is a drought.
248 00:47:25.270 --> 00:47:53.949 mirte greve: So I think that is something that that can be. Yeah. Also advised to people, not only because of of this, but also the more pioneer stage habitats are quite in demand. For example, for the solitary bees, the mining bees. So there's there's quite a restriction on populations for nesting habitats for the more pioneer
249 00:47:53.950 --> 00:48:12.859 mirte greve: species. And I think, with sand planting and discrete gardens. Actually, you would add this this habitat to the gardens, and even if just 5% of the gardens have a patch of this that could already make quite a difference to local populations of.
250 00:48:12.860 --> 00:48:24.329 mirte greve: for example, the solitary bees. But there's also other solitary wasps and all kinds of ground critters that would be much appreciative of this.
251 00:48:26.200 --> 00:48:32.659 mirte greve: Something else that I think is quite important, is taking account. If you're advising about
252 00:48:33.210 --> 00:48:36.550 mirte greve: biodiversity, friendly gardens is artificial light.
253 00:48:36.800 --> 00:48:52.417 mirte greve: because the more people start enjoying gardens, the more they think that should be enjoyable at all times of the day. But there are downsides to introducing artificial lights in gardens, and at the moment the
254 00:48:53.070 --> 00:49:12.139 mirte greve: People think they're going very green with the solar panel lights in the gardens. They are very cheap. They can be put into your garden, and every night turn themselves on, but they can have quite an effect on moths, for example, but also other species.
255 00:49:12.814 --> 00:49:17.250 mirte greve: And last thing, the effect of artificial fertilizers.
256 00:49:17.490 --> 00:49:18.090 Jane Carr: Yeah.
257 00:49:18.090 --> 00:49:20.970 mirte greve: Which I think is also something to
258 00:49:22.530 --> 00:49:25.547 mirte greve: to name when we're talking about
259 00:49:26.080 --> 00:49:54.780 mirte greve: climate, resilient gardens, because the addition of the artificial fertilizers can affect the carbon storage potential of, for example, grasslands, which is, I think, also just something to people. Don't think about that. And I think if people know about it, they can take it into account, and they are quite, quite open to that. But they need to know what kind of effects those situations can have. So
260 00:49:55.990 --> 00:49:57.183 mirte greve: just my.
261 00:49:57.780 --> 00:49:58.270 Clive Boase: Brilliant.
262 00:49:58.680 --> 00:49:59.280 Clive Boase: Yeah.
263 00:49:59.280 --> 00:50:10.260 Clive Boase: thank you very much. Loads of good ideas there. So that's terrific. And and just to pick on one little point there, you said about. If only 5% of people do something.
264 00:50:10.410 --> 00:50:17.730 Clive Boase: I think that's the point of this gardening. This 20 odd 1 million gardeners in the Uk. 5% is still a million.
265 00:50:17.870 --> 00:50:29.689 Clive Boase: And, as you say, if a million people put a sand garden in their garden or a sand patch sand bed in their garden. And suddenly, that's a great big difference. And I think that's the point of what we're trying to do
266 00:50:29.840 --> 00:50:39.650 Clive Boase: is that with 20 odd 1 million gardeners, you know, even if only one person in 20, or even one person in a hundred does some of these things that still adds up to quite a lot
267 00:50:39.830 --> 00:50:42.309 Clive Boase: anyway. So great points. Thank you. Myrta. Yeah.
268 00:50:42.930 --> 00:50:56.059 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): Gary, I haven't forgotten you just coming to you in a second. I just wanted to follow on from Murta's comments that the recordings and everything that we're doing today go into the great collaborations knowledge base.
269 00:50:56.060 --> 00:51:15.929 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): And the more people can put actual links into the chat about what they've been speaking, then those links go into the knowledge base which makes it very much easier to find them in the future. So if you happen to have any links, Murta, to the topics that you were talking about, please. We'd love to see them in the chat
270 00:51:16.110 --> 00:51:27.609 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): and go from there. And now I do need to go back to Gary Jane, if you could bear with us, because the poor guy has been sitting there waiting to get his 14 1,400 more questions in.
271 00:51:28.105 --> 00:51:28.600 Jane Carr: Yeah.
272 00:51:28.600 --> 00:51:30.570 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: That's not quite that. Many. Can you hear me, though?
273 00:51:30.570 --> 00:51:31.270 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): Yes.
274 00:51:31.630 --> 00:51:38.090 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: Well, it's actually it's good job that I've been on mute because I've just had a pond delivered. So there was a quiet racket going on here.
275 00:51:39.690 --> 00:51:50.800 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: So it's kind of just falling on a bit from Murta's Point. Actually, it was a question about like, Are you highlighting chemical use generally, you know, pesticides herbicides all that kind of thing in terms of like
276 00:51:51.010 --> 00:52:05.780 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: reducing those help. Biodiversity, of course, and of course help with climate change impact because the the chemicals come with a carbon footprint, so those highlighted and I just wanted to make another point, if I may, about Pete.
277 00:52:06.422 --> 00:52:09.869 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: It's worth highlighting as well that although
278 00:52:10.050 --> 00:52:22.900 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: peat compost in bags is being phased out, a lot of peat is still being used for all the pot plants that people are buying from garden senses and stuff. So it's quite good to kind of highlight that as an issue, and look for
279 00:52:23.050 --> 00:52:27.489 Garry Ford - Corsham Town Council: the kind of Pete free versions of those as well.
280 00:52:29.110 --> 00:52:33.840 Clive Boase: Yeah, both both good points. Yeah. To be honest, at the moment.
281 00:52:34.230 --> 00:52:42.720 Clive Boase: you know, absolutely we're not in favor of pesticide use, you know, herbicides, insecticides and fungicides, and so on in gardens
282 00:52:43.420 --> 00:52:57.520 Clive Boase: we kind of much prefer, and I don't know if this is the right thing. Yet there's so much to talk about in our little organization with our 5 trustees, you know, every time we get together we we totally overrun in terms of time on the agenda we've got.
283 00:52:57.930 --> 00:53:22.460 Clive Boase: We're trying to give positive encouragement and support in positive directions rather than telling people to stop using stuff. I mean, I know we do talk about peat, and but even then, you know, there's a very clear alternative. You know, we encourage people to go peat free rather than say, Don't go near peat, but it amounts to the same thing. But yeah, we don't actively campaign against pesticide use.
284 00:53:22.600 --> 00:53:40.979 Clive Boase: And there are other organizations that do that. And you know more power to their elbow. But you know we try to take a positive nudge approach with everyday gardeners, you know, rather than saying, Don't do this. Don't do that don't do the other, but I totally get it. You know
285 00:53:40.980 --> 00:54:06.770 Clive Boase: gardeners shouldn't be using this stuff in their gardens, and and there's a lot, you know, there's a lot that supermarkets and so on can do should do, must do really in terms of restricting the sales of that stuff. I was in a supermarket at the weekend, was it? Or was it even on, anyway? Yes, at the weekend I took a photograph of the display of pesticides on sale in the supermarket, so we can use it in our
286 00:54:07.360 --> 00:54:28.040 Clive Boase: talks and outreach, and so on. Really. But yeah, it's we're still developing. We are fine tuning and polishing the nature of our activities, you know, but at the moment we are supporting and encouraging rather than banning and prohibiting and sort of criticizing, but hopefully that all ends up in the same place.
287 00:54:31.190 --> 00:54:33.369 Clive Boase: So that's it on that. Yes.
288 00:54:33.910 --> 00:54:43.400 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): Let me just take a pause to check with Jane Carr, did you? You had your hand up, and then I chopped you off. If you lost interest in talking to us, Jane, or would you like to ask a question?
289 00:54:44.740 --> 00:54:48.988 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): No, she's frozen. Okay. So she's lost contact. Briefly,
290 00:54:49.640 --> 00:54:53.360 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): Gary, did you have more, or would you like to give Alan Wilson a go?
291 00:54:55.920 --> 00:54:59.449 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): We lost Gary as well? So, Alan is your chance by default.
292 00:54:59.450 --> 00:55:12.890 Allan Wilson Edgmond Shropshire: I'm going to jump in straight away. Then, Clive, have you contacted your local nature? Recovery strategy officer at the County Council where you live and made your organization known to them.
293 00:55:14.250 --> 00:55:15.739 Clive Boase: Yes, we have.
294 00:55:15.740 --> 00:55:16.250 Allan Wilson Edgmond Shropshire: Brilliant.
295 00:55:16.250 --> 00:55:36.750 Clive Boase: We are. I think we're down as a stakeholder for that. For the Cambridge here. One. Yeah, that they contacted us. We we were talking at an event, and they made themselves known to us. We had a good chat, and so we've contributed to the feedback about, you know, priorities, and so on. You know, in in. I was in Cambridge here. Actually, yeah.
296 00:55:37.200 --> 00:55:52.629 Allan Wilson Edgmond Shropshire: Brilliant. No, everybody around the country needs to be aware that there is something like this going on. And it's that linkages those linkages that are needed to actually make this work even better for the county and nature as a whole. Thank you.
297 00:55:53.120 --> 00:55:58.950 Clive Boase: Great. And, Alan, I see you're from Shropshire. We came to the Whitchurch Blackberry Fair
298 00:55:59.930 --> 00:56:05.399 Clive Boase: in the autumn. Great event. Yeah. So well done, Whitchurch. Well done. Shropshire.
299 00:56:05.660 --> 00:56:19.070 Allan Wilson Edgmond Shropshire: Yeah, we got a load of stuff going on. If you want to have a look at other stuff. Look at Rsvp, which is restoring roadside verges in Shropshire. So that's that's another one just to throw in.
300 00:56:19.486 --> 00:56:22.440 Allan Wilson Edgmond Shropshire: Anyway, I'm gonna bail out and let other people talk. Okay, bye.
301 00:56:22.440 --> 00:56:24.050 Clive Boase: Hmm, bye.
302 00:56:24.810 --> 00:56:33.779 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): Amanda. It's wonderful to see you here. I was getting worried that we were going to go through a session without a question from you, but now's your opportunity. Would you like to pitch in, please.
303 00:56:33.990 --> 00:56:40.170 Amanda Davis: Oh, now, having said what I said in the chat about my leg and the spider bite from the gardening.
304 00:56:40.290 --> 00:57:00.102 Amanda Davis: my question in the chat was whether whether climate change meant I was more likely to get more spider bites in the future. But anyway, that is the joke, because that is what makes the banter sessions banter? My my pointer, that I put my hand up for was just to say, if you're in a
305 00:57:00.670 --> 00:57:15.390 Amanda Davis: protected landscape, one of the national landscapes as was Aonbs or national parks. You may well have dark skies, policies, and other policies that will really help a group or a council or a
306 00:57:15.440 --> 00:57:37.510 Amanda Davis: organization that's trying to make this happen in an even bigger context than the local nature recovery strategy alone. So I know we've just voted on and approved an update on our dark skies policy. And that doesn't just include what big organizations can do, such as highways, lighting, etc.
307 00:57:37.510 --> 00:57:52.220 Amanda Davis: But it also gives guidance on what might happen at a very local level, and including what parish councils can be encouraged to do, to put in their neighborhood plans, and so on. So it's just just another pointer there, and thank you so much for the presentation.
308 00:57:53.090 --> 00:57:57.490 Clive Boase: My pleasure. No? And good point. Yeah, about a. And obs, yeah, thank you.
309 00:57:58.830 --> 00:58:03.160 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): See you, Amanda, or not to see you depending on how it was. Hazel, you're up next
310 00:58:03.520 --> 00:58:04.979 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): good morning to you.
311 00:58:07.600 --> 00:58:09.819 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): You need to unmute Hazel.
312 00:58:11.230 --> 00:58:15.557 Helen Davey: One I had posted. A little poster I made.
313 00:58:16.940 --> 00:58:23.910 Helen Davey: and also our local councils. I can't remember the lady's name. I'm sorry, but was asking about what you can put
314 00:58:24.180 --> 00:58:27.090 Helen Davey: up as a post or note.
315 00:58:27.610 --> 00:58:42.259 Helen Davey: We had our council had some little signs that were on little round signs on a post on the sides of the roads and in areas where we were growing wildflowers, which said, pardon the weeds. We're feeding the bees.
316 00:58:42.670 --> 00:58:50.260 Helen Davey: And there was another one which I can't remember right just now, and also I have a question.
317 00:58:51.820 --> 00:58:57.700 Helen Davey: I've got 2 lovely water butts, but every year
318 00:58:58.660 --> 00:59:11.000 Helen Davey: we have to empty them because slugs get in them, and that smells putrid, and I don't like to use the water, so is there a way I can stop slugs, I mean, how are they getting in?
319 00:59:12.000 --> 00:59:12.960 Helen Davey: Please.
320 00:59:13.150 --> 00:59:35.659 Clive Boase: Okay? Well, we've had a lot of questions on our standard gardening events since we've been doing this. We haven't had one yet about slugs in water butts, so I guess the question for me would would throw it back to you is, how do you think they're getting into the water butt, you know they won't be getting in through the tap, because presumably the taps turned off. It is the lid.
321 00:59:36.230 --> 01:00:06.139 Clive Boase: Is the lid ill? Has it got a lid on it, and if it hasn't, then, you know, then it should do really, from the point of view of child safety, and so on, and and even birds, you know, birds will sometimes fall into a water butt and can't get out, and squirrels even one of my water butts before we put lids on ours, we found a squirrel that had fallen in couldn't get out so tight fitting lid. I'd say, if that's not kind of an obvious answer. But that's what I'd say, you know. Fit a lid, and hopefully the slugs will stay out of it.
322 01:00:06.380 --> 01:00:10.219 Helen Davey: Thank you. I will endeavour to put some tape around the top of the lid.
323 01:00:10.780 --> 01:00:13.229 Clive Boase: Okay, okay, that sounds good. Yes.
324 01:00:13.855 --> 01:00:15.730 Helen Davey: But thank you.
325 01:00:16.760 --> 01:00:20.110 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): Welcome back, Jane. I hope your sound is now back with you.
326 01:00:21.300 --> 01:00:23.408 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): and you're on mute at the moment.
327 01:00:24.730 --> 01:00:31.360 Jane Carr: It was the whole computer froze. I'm afraid it tends to do that. From time to time I had to go out and come back in again.
328 01:00:32.084 --> 01:00:49.630 Jane Carr: I just wanted to. I put it in the in the chat, but I wanted to just bring people's attentions to 2 very useful places. My, no dig gardening. Guru is Charles Dowding.
329 01:00:50.119 --> 01:00:53.709 Jane Carr: and you can find him. He has a website.
330 01:00:54.444 --> 01:01:02.515 Jane Carr: And he does a lot of stuff on Youtube creating new beds. And he runs a
331 01:01:03.140 --> 01:01:22.119 Jane Carr: a. Oh, what you call it. He grows veg for people, you know. He runs a market garden or no dig, and he tells you all about it all the time, and gives you all sorts of tips at different times of the year. It's he's my absolute guru for no dig gardening, and the other one is, we are the Ark
332 01:01:23.710 --> 01:01:37.519 Jane Carr: I got sepsis about 6 years ago, and round about this time of year, and as I was recovering, I was sitting in my house, not being able to do anything, and looking at my garden just becoming
333 01:01:37.990 --> 01:01:56.710 Jane Carr: a wilderness. And then I found we are the ark who are basically advocating. Don't fight with nature. But leave your garden not completely wild because it's not wild, and therefore management is important.
334 01:01:57.263 --> 01:02:12.519 Jane Carr: But go and look at we are the ark, because it's just fascinating, and that's the sign that I intend to put on my garden is that the ark stands for acts of regenerative kindness.
335 01:02:12.650 --> 01:02:16.107 Jane Carr: And it's to do, basically with
336 01:02:17.380 --> 01:02:25.289 Jane Carr: being regenerative in your garden, and being kind to all the non-human life that wants to use your garden as well.
337 01:02:26.070 --> 01:02:30.270 Jane Carr: So I've put them both in the chat so that people can link to them.
338 01:02:30.520 --> 01:02:31.120 Jane Carr: Thank you.
339 01:02:31.120 --> 01:02:34.180 Clive Boase: Brilliant. Thank you. Jane. Yeah, very helpful.
340 01:02:35.610 --> 01:02:42.320 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): I'm delighted to tell you. We entered the Space Age. Someone somewhere has got a beep going on. That sounds like the Apollo missions to the moon.
341 01:02:42.320 --> 01:02:45.416 Jane Carr: It's mine. It's the answer phone saying, you've got.
342 01:02:46.178 --> 01:02:49.940 Jane Carr: Oh, I thought we'd got new technology with us.
343 01:02:49.940 --> 01:02:50.530 Jane Carr: Okay.
344 01:02:51.180 --> 01:02:57.889 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): Okay. Well, anybody else got any questions that I can't see people's head nodding or frantic hand waving.
345 01:02:58.950 --> 01:03:07.859 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): May I say that? Thank you, Clive for generating so much interest and getting us going. And you've obviously really
346 01:03:08.450 --> 01:03:22.600 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): turn people towards putting some wonderful heads into the chat. Thank you very much for everyone's contributions. They're looking tremendous, and they will go up in the the knowledge base at some point in the next few days.
347 01:03:22.850 --> 01:03:26.669 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): and I guess we're going to have to call that a day.
348 01:03:26.880 --> 01:03:39.819 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): I've got people knocking on my door telling me it's time to go away on this, whatever this holiday thing is, so we'll see you all next time, and thank you all very much for coming today, and thank you, Clive, for taking the time to talk to us.
349 01:03:39.820 --> 01:03:41.470 Cllr Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow-TC, Essex: Yeah, thanks a lot.
350 01:03:41.470 --> 01:03:43.800 Clive Boase: Pleasure. Yeah, thank you. Great to see you all. Yeah.
351 01:03:43.800 --> 01:03:49.000 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): Now I should this actually take a second to let everybody know what's coming up next week.
352 01:03:49.460 --> 01:03:53.169 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): and I can even manage to tell you that which is a whole new.
353 01:03:53.170 --> 01:03:53.820 Cllr Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow-TC, Essex: Hmm.
354 01:03:53.820 --> 01:03:55.410 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): Step forward for me.
355 01:03:55.750 --> 01:04:08.200 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): So on the 19th of March we're going to be talking or getting presented by Becky Lovegrove from Froome about the green and healthy froome, which is a partnership
356 01:04:08.200 --> 01:04:28.329 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): with all sorts of people in the froome area where to get funding from what to do with it, and that sort of thing so hopefully, you'll be very helpful to everybody who's trying to work out how their parish council or their community organization or their Town Council can get things rolling on this, and next week we should be able to do just that.
357 01:04:28.460 --> 01:04:33.480 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): So I hope you'll join us again, and thank you very much for making today such a success.
358 01:04:33.600 --> 01:04:35.790 Graham Stoddart-Stones - Great Collaboration (Bembridge): Have a great time. Bye-bye.
359 01:04:36.040 --> 01:04:37.090 Cllr Stuart Withington, Gt Dunmow-TC, Essex: Thanks, bye.
360 01:04:37.510 --> 01:04:38.200 Clive Boase: Fine.
