Kendal Pollinator Project (2019)
The results of this fantastic project are now available. Having been SLACC’s main project over the last 3 years we are delighted to share the results.
The Kendal Pollinator Project (KPP) was set up as a three year “Citizen Science “project in the community. The main objectives foresaw the creation of improved pollinator habitats within Kendal (along the canal path); subsequent monitoring and recording of the six plots; collaboration with national science projects and, through the involvement of young people, demonstration of the importance of community-based practical work to improve habitats for pollinator species within urban areas.
Zero Waste Kendal
Zero Waste Kendal is an informal network of individuals based in and around Kendal, Cumbria.
Our name aligns us with an international movement that seeks to eliminate waste rather than manage it. Waste is not inevitable- it is the result of overconsumption of our planet’s natural resources. Humans are currently using double what our Earth can provide. This is driving wildlife to extinction, and if current trends continue, we risk leaving an uninhabitable planet for future generations.
We support each other to reduce our own waste footprint, and work together to make positive changes within our local community, so everyone can waste less more easily. Any small effort to waste less- refusing what we don’t need, reusing and repairing what we have, investing in items that last, and disposing of them thoughtfully- can have a huge impact on the environment, and make you feel good too!
Flash Mob 2015
2015 saw the People’s Climate March in Kendal. Watch the video below.
Book club
The book club met approx. every month to six weeks, looking at various aspects of how to live, from the personal to the communal and the global. The group met at the Unitarian Chapel, Branthwaite Brow, Kendal. For more information contact Hazel Clarke 015395 68284.
Titles read included: Yellow Birds, by Kevin Powers; Religion for Atheists by Alain De Botton; Sum: tales from the afterlives by David Eagleman ; Cancel the Apocalypse by Andrew Simms; ‘Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: our year of seasonal eating‘ by Barbara Kingsolver; ‘Soil and Soul, people versus corporate power‘ by Alastair McIntosh; ‘The Selfish Society: how we all forgot to love one another and made money instead‘ and D Schumacher’s, ‘Small is Beautiful, in the 21st century‘, an update on the classic ‘Small is Beautiful: economics as if people mattered’ by EF Schumacher published in the 1960s.
SLACCtt against fracking campaign
SLACC TT is actively campaigning against fracking. We organise talks, film screenings and other events, and also do lots of grass roots activism – whether that’s joining protests, lobbying decision-makers or writing to the press. We had set up an email discussion group – Frack Free Cumbria – so people can share information and plan actions.
Fracking – is the technique used to extract natural gas from rocks such as shale. It has caused a wide range of environmental, social and human health problems in the USA, where the practice has become widespread. Furthermore, the continued extraction and burning of fossil fuels is threatening our chances of preventing runaway climate change.
The fossil fuel industry and the Coalition government are determined to push ahead with it here in the UK, despite massive public opposition and increasingly strong evidence of its harmful, and potentially irreversible, impacts. Large areas of the country, including parts of Cumbria, have been earmarked as being potentially suitable. Grass-roots campaigns have been amazingly successful in keeping fracking at bay so far, but it’s going to need all hands on deck if we’re to keep it that way.
Energy Saving Fair
In order to help the Kendal community both stay warm and save on their energy bills, South Lakes Action on Climate Change – Towards Transition (SLACC-TT), supported by Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS), held an Energy Saving Fair in Kendal town centre on Saturday 2 February, 11.00-16.30. The Fair was in Unit 5, (next to Nat West Bank) Elephant’s Yard and will be opened by the Mayor.
The Fair brought together a range of stalls, demonstrations and presentations to provide advice for the public about how to save energy by insulating their homes, efficient use of woodfuel, options for improving the energy efficiency of windows, low energy lighting, solar panels, income generation from renewables, information about the government’s new Green Deal and more.
Click here for more information
Dr Bike at Kendal Schools & Bike maintenance workshops for parents (2013)
During 2013 SLACC offered free Dr Bike sessions to schools and youth groups in Kendal, alongside running subsidised bike maintenance workshops for parents, thanks to funding from the Kendal Local Area Partnership.
Pupils could bring their bikes for a free safety check, advice, basic repairs and maintenance. SLACC volunteers mended bikes at Kendal Family Drop in Centre, Staveley School, Stramongate School and Ghyllside Primary.
Run by experienced, professional trainers from Freewheelers Bicycle Workshop in Lancaster – hands-on workshops were held in the Pavilion, Staveley. Courses were run by Kendal Transition Town charity South Lakes Action on Climate Change, funded by the Kendal LAP to encourage young people to cycle – so those who will apply their skills to help mend and maintain young people’s bicycles are eligible to attend. Two workshops were run for ‘M-check and Mending a Puncture’ and ‘Adjusting Brakes’.
SLACCtt Divestment Group
This group started after a SLACC-TT Film Night watching the 350.org film ‘Do The Math‘. We felt that we needed to start campaigning at a local level here in South Lakeland. We met monthly, share good news stories and relevant articles, and carry out localised actions.
Our aim is to
- encourage local organisations to divest from fossil fuels;
- encourage residents of South Lakeland to ensure their pensions and personal banking/investments are not supporting the fossil fuel industry; and to
- participate in national and international divestment campaigns.
Sustainable Gardens Award 2012
We helped the Town Council develop this new category for the Kendal in Bloom competition 2012. The winner was Jane Willis whose garden best met the criteria.
“One of the things that seemed to impress the judges was that a lot of the stuff in the garden was not bought from garden centres, but came from propagating / over-wintering / friends’ gardens (i.e. yours!) – so many thanks for all your contributions! They especially liked the community compost idea: I leave a small covered bin outside my house in the square to which the neighbouring households add their compostable waste. I transfer this to my big bin and in spring I give them some made compost for their window boxes. The judges also seemed to appreciate my (very full) slug traps and rain water collection bins, not to mention the small fruit and vege patch (radishes, runner beans, winter greens, salad leaves, rocket, raspberries), the herb patch and the ‘wild-life’ bits… The fact that I couldnt’ remember half the names of my plants and shrubs did not seem to matter, so long as it was bee or butterfly friendly!” Jane Willis
Biked Up, Pedal Powered (2012)
Biked-Up, Pedal-Powered, was a partnership between SLACCTT, The Brewery Arts Centre Kendal, and Kendal Mintfest, the international street arts festival hosted by the town. It was a bike dance performed by local young people (predominantly boys) who are street stunt bikers, choreographed professionally with the Brewery. The performance was powered by bike generators made by the SLACCTT group and pedalled by the audience. The show was part of the Mintfest programme during 2012.
The project was be overseen by a new group of Young Producers and a steering group to guide the technical developments.
Active Travel (2011)
During 2011 the transport group embarked on the Active Travel project. We ran the Cycle Challenge competition with a revamped website: www.southlakes-cyclechallenge.co.uk.
We also produced an Active Travel Guide which was distributed in doctor surgeries, dentists, leisure centres, etc, as well as a new bus map for Kendal (an updated Kendal bus map is now available from Stagecoach) and a Walking & Cycling map for Windermere & Bowness.
The final strand of the project involved working with 5 primary schools to promote cycling and walking. Download a leaflet about cycle safety for parents here and active lifestyles for parents here. Dowload the final project report here.
Sustainable Living Awards (2011)
In partnership with Kendal Town Council, we launched our Sustainable Living Awards, open to all community groups in Kendal. The aim was to challenge community groups to do something different each week and an awards ceremony was held in the summer.
Summer of Cycling (2010)
We continued with CycleFest during 2010 by staging the Summer of Cycling. This was a 6 month cycling promotion project which centres around a workplace cycle challenge, 6 months of events, producing a cycling & walking map for Kendal as well as cycle marketing to every home in Kendal.
To read the project report click here.
Staveley GTi2 (2010)
This was the second year of our Green Travel Initiative project in the nearby village of Staveley. In 2010 we secured funds to continue with another 6 months of events, as well as setting up a car club and marketing sustainable transport to the whole village.
Documents and reports from the project are available here.
We were highly impressed by the success and amazing results coming from the Sustainable Travel Demonstration Towns of Darlington, Peterborough and Worcester, which suggested that getting people to change their travel habits wasn’t so difficult at all.
It seemed to mostly be a case of providing greater travel information to individual households on a one to one basis, giving individualised travel planning and detailing the many positive benefits of sustainable travel (whether financial, health, increased community involvement or other).
We were absolutely amazed to see that these ‘Smarter Travel Choices’ projects lead to significant reductions in car trips (7-25%) and increased journeys by lift-sharing, public transport, cycling and walking (of the order of 10-80%).
To date, all such projects have been funded by the UK Government, and with one exception have always taken place in large urban areas and been run by the Local Authority, so this was the first time that a Smart Travel Project has been run by a community group, and in a rural village with a population of 1,300. As such, we are really excited to see what can be achieved. What happens when the community is given the money and asked to solve the problem themselves?
Peak Oil Report (2010)
Download the report Peak Oil Report.
Home Energy Action Together (HEAT) (2009/2010)
HEAT took place over winter 2009/10 and was aimed at getting up to 150 houses in the Kendal Castle area to sign up to three ‘asks’ – 1) to make the ‘Big Switch’ to a renewable energy supplier, 2) to fill out a home energy check and receive a free report on how to make your house more energy efficient, and 3) to install a free digital smart meter which we provide.
The full project details can be downloaded here.
This project has now been completed (March 2010), and the project report is now available to download: HEAT Final Report.
Other resources used in the project can also be downloaded:
Kendal & Staveley Car Club (2009/2010)
Working in partnership with South Lakes District Council, we worked to promote and set up a car club in Kendal and Staveley. A car, loaned to the project by local residents, is available to rent in Staveley, however after a year of running the car is Kendal has been taken out the scheme. The Go Lakes project is now working with Co-Wheels to expand the scheme around the Lake District, with new cars in Windermere, Coniston and more on the way.
Staveley Green Travel Initiative (2009)
In 2009 we embarked on an exciting and unique transport project in the nearby village of Staveley. The dedicated project website is now offline but you can find out more online, along with all the materials we developed during the project. http://www.sustainablestaveley.org.uk/sens/downloads/
CycleFest – Celebrating all kinds of cycling for all kinds of people (2009)
Kendal’s first ever festival of cycling took place from 30th May to 7th June, organised by SLACC. The project was 100% volunteer driven and was a huge success with thousands of people coming out for the festival day. The festival website has now been updated to run our 2010 cycling project the Summer of Cycling.
To download the final report click here. To view photos from the day click here.
SLACC Eco Fair (2008)
Here is video from the 2008 Eco Fair at the Castle St Centre.