Events and Webinars

To watch the recording of the panel Q&A click below..

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The Levels Climate Forum invites your parish to join us again to draw up an action plan for Somerset that meets the challenges ahead.

We will focus on energy security, food security and protecting our communities from extreme weather events.

Please join us at this free event to share ideas, network with other parishes and draw up a blueprint of hope to safeguard future generations...

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To book your place, contact SCOP II
organiser Mo Fletcher.

If you would be interested in finding out more about the Green Flag Award scheme, we will be hosting an introductory webinar for any interested parishes, towns or communities that have parks or spaces which they may like to enter for an award.

We will explain the system, provide information on the judging criteria, as well as a brief overview of how it all works behind the scenes.

Please email ssdcenvironment@southsomerset.gov.uk to reserve a space.

The Zoom link to join the webinar can be accessed here, but don’t worry we’ll send out reminders nearer the time.

Join businesses from across Somerset to learn, share and be inspired about reducing the climate impact of our companies – working together using small steps to deliver collective big wins!

Hear local firms share impactful case studies as we come together to raise awareness of the opportunities and challenges for businesses as we shift toward a low carbon economy.

Network in our EXPO area with exhibitors from a range of organisations and business support services offering advice and sharing best practice ideas.

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The Somerset Food Trail Festival is a farm-to-fork showcase of the farms, landscapes, people, and places behind Somerset’s most flavourful and nature-friendly food.

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Modelled on the 'open studios' model of arts trails, the 10-day Food Trail Festival sees farmers, growers and food producers open their doors to the public at set times between Friday 15 and Sunday 24 July. 

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From vineyards to community-funded food forests; aquaponic market gardens to milk-based vodka distillers: you name it, it’s here. ​

This is the second in a series of Somerset Green Open homes events. In this live webinar on 7 July at 7 pm, we will be meeting two households in the Mendip area. They will be sharing experiences so far on their retrofitting journey. 

- Serena, Glastonbury

- Henry, Frome

Measures that will be discussed include cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, secondary glazing, air-to-air source heat pumps, wood burning stoves, solar photovoltaic panels, along with creating a wildlife friendly garden!

The Energy Transition conference, co-organised with Bristol Energy Network, will take place on Saturday 18 June at Engineer's House in Bristol and it will be Community Energy England's first in-person event since 2020.

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The FREE event will build on their track record of successful summer conferences and will be introducing a new format with a range of informative, engaging workshops, talks and networking opportunities.

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Join Somerset Wildlife Trust for a special Somerset wide event. Come along to find out how your local community can utilise community mapping and get involved.

Community wildlife mapping enables people to take note of the wildlife in their local area and use this information to the inform the actions they take locally for natures recovery. Join this informative evening to find out more about how community mapping can contribute to the nature recovery network and how communities are already putting this important tool to use.

If you’re looking to understand and adopt environmentally friendly practices for your small business then join this 3-hour webinar offered by the Somerset & Devon BIP. 

In this free workshop, you can find out what becoming Net Zero means for your business and how to take steps to start reducing your carbon footprint. Acting now on cutting carbon can have many advantages for your business.

Read a review of our recent tour of Wyke Farms' sustainable energy visitor centre and find out how they have transitioned to becoming a low carbon business. The tour saw a mix of our Parish Environment Champions, as well as representatives from local agricultural, manufacturing and processing businesses join us to find out about sustainability and carbon reduction. A great visit!

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Somerset Rivers Authority and Somerset Film present "Down by the River", a new documentary film exploring flood risk in Somerset and celebrating local community resilience. Plus catch related old film of Yeovil and Somerset from the archives!

The event is free to attend.

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Watch Somerset Climate Action Network's recent webinar with Climate Author, George Marshall, who discusses the subject of bringing the climate conversation to a wider audience. George is a leading expert on the psychology of climate communications, having written "Why our brains are wired to ignore climate change" which was described by George Monbiot in the Guardian as "the most important book published on climate change in recent years"!

The construction industry is a key contributor of waste. Re-watch the presentations from Bradford Building Company's 'Sustainability in the construction industry' event. Listen to a selection of speakers who addressed the topics of both retrofit to existing properties, as well as the challenges and opportunities regarding incorporating low carbon into new builds. Click the link below to watch the presentations.

To support the global effort on Climate Change, the Levels Climate Forum invited more than 400 Somerset parishes to the SCOP26+ Climate Conference at the Edgar Hall in Somerton on Saturday 6 November from 1pm-6pm. Watch the speakers & seminars on the YouTube Channel Read a full review of the event, including feedback from the conference and workshops.

Come and find out more about how you can improve the energy efficiency of your home including:

• Low cost measures to reduce your bills this winter

• Whole-house energy efficiency retrofit

• How to optimise your new extension or self-build for energy efficiency

Join Bradfords at Somerset’s County Cricket ground to speak to subject experts from local
support organisations as well as key suppliers of energy efficiency materials and measures.

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To book click link below:

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Tinkers Bubble FREE visit: Off-grid community living  

Join us and our Environment Champions for our autumn trip to Tinkers Bubble to see this special zero carbon, fossil fuel free community!

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Tinkers Bubble is a sustainable off-grid community living within the woodlands near Ham Hill. We will ask those attending to arrive and park at Ham Hill Visitor Centre for 10am, to then gather and walk to Tinkers Bubble for the tour, starting at 10.30am. Wear suitable walking footwear and outdoor clothing. 

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Lunch will be provided from Tinkers Bubble's seasonal produce. 

SPACES ARE LIMITED AND OFFERED ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS 

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If you would like to join us, please register your interest by emailing us directly at: ssdcenvironment@southsomerset.gov.uk 

Join Somerset Wildlife Trust's Yeovil & District local group for a bat walk at Frogmary Green Farm, South Petherton.

We will meet and talk about bats, have a bat related activity and then go and find some bats. 

Waterproof footwear is advisable, as well as torches.

Booking is essential, please email hawkehelen@gmail.com to reserve your spot.

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SSDC are hosting a series of family-friendly events this summer, including a ‘Taste of the Wild’ at Ham Hill, Explore night time at Ninesprings, and ‘Bug Bonanza’ at Chard Reservoir LNR.

Visit the site page for each venue at the link below to find out more!

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This FREE to attend all-day event will bring together a range of speakers, activities and local producers at the Holy Trinity Church in Yeovil.

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This event aims to inspire individuals and help them work towards a more sustainable lifestyle, whilst also supporting environmentally conscious businesses.

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In addition, Fixy the repair van will be there along with Somerset Waste Partnership to help you reduce what goes to landfill and repair your broken items!

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Join Somerset CAN for their free webinar on July 5th at 7.30pm to provide support to all those parishes which have either declared or formally recognised the Climate Emergency and to those that are thinking of taking this step.

It will be a chance to share your experiences and learn what works and what doesn't as well as to understand how best to engage with your community on this topic. Please feel free to share this with your parish council and/or other parishioners who may be interested to get involved in Climate Action in your area. Click below to register.

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Thinking of improving the energy efficiency of your home? Do you want to reduce your fuel costs? Watch Somerset Green Open Homes' first virtual events looking at retrofitting. In this live webinar, we met 2 households in S. Somerset to share their experiences.

In addition, local residents have been telling their retrofit stories in a series of Youtube videos, and include first hand experience on everything from insulation to heat pumps. Other measures that will be discussed include cavity wall & loft insulation, air source heat pumps, solar hot water and solar PV panels.

Join us for an in-person (leisurely!) walk at Dodham Brook, Yeovil Country Park to hear from our Yeovil Rivers Community Trust (YRCT) representative about the work they have been doing. We will also have a number of other guest speakers from the River Fly monitoring group and our SSDC Rangers team (TBC). 

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Interested in joining? Please click the link below to contact us. We would like to keep a register of attendees so that we can gauge numbers!

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Insulating our homes better is not only key to managing rising fuel prices and temperature changes, it is also crucial to helping us reach net-zero carbon emissions. Getting a retrofit assessment done by a qualified assessor will ensure that when you make the necessary changes, you can do them with the confidence that you will not be causing any other issues, such as damp and mould, which can occur if the measures aren't done to the correct standards. Find out more.

Watch our recent webinar with David Ramsden MBE, who spoke about the: 'Climate and Ecological Crisis? What's all the fuss about?'. There's been quite a lot in the news recently about extreme weather, and a lot of fuss is being made about 'climate change'. There are also people talking about an 'ecological crisis' which, they say, might even become a problem for us here in Britain. The talk provides an easy-to-follow introduction to the whole subject followed by a Q&A. Click below to watch!

Watch an exciting panel question time on the 2021 Environment Act; what it means where you live, and its implementation in the South West. The panel includes Rebecca Pow MP, Minister for Environment; Georgia Stokes, CEO of Somerset Wildlife Trust, and Sir Tim Smit, Co-Founder Eden Project. Topics include:

-How the Environment Act 2021 will be implemented at the local level?

- How does it fit within the Government's wider strategy for the domestic environment?

Our Environment Team was joined by Adrian Moore from our Locality service to inform how SSDC Community Grants can benefit local environment projects, including criteria, how to apply and examples of previous projects funded. Examples included West Coker Parish Council who installed energy-saving insulation on their village hall, Curry Rivel who bought and planted a new woodland, Milborne Port who installed a water re-fill point and Barrington Football club who installed solar panels. 

Catch up on CPRE's hugely successful event in November 2021 exploring how we can all make Somerset a wilder, greener place where wildlife and communities can thrive. Re-watch all the presentations, including from SSDC, where we discussed our recent conservation verge trials, our parish wildflower giveaway and lots more. Other speakers included Somerset Wildlife Trust and Rewilding Britain.

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The FSB hosted a FREE online conference to explore the significant role small businesses can play in the transition to Net Zero. What does net zero mean, why new targets apply to you, as well as hearing inspiring case studies from other small businesses. Read a summary at the link below.

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Wondering how you can help protect your community space from extreme weather events?

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Climate change is happening now and extreme events are going to occur more frequently. Low lying land and along coastlines make Somerset particularly vulnerable.

Village and community halls offer a unique ability to provide refuge and support for their local communities.

Through a collaboration with both the Sedgemoor District Council and South Somerset District Council Environment Champions, you are invited to come along and learn about how to prepare your community space for the impacts of climate change such as flooding, storms and heat waves.

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With expert advice and a chance to network and learn about how other community spaces have already begun preparing for climate change, it will be an informative and inspiring morning!

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Open to Environment Champions, community hall members, public space volunteers.

Free to attend – booking required 

via the link below..

Enjoy a fabulous sustainable day for all the family with amazing plant based foods, stalls, talks and films.

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All proceeds will go to Devon based international reforestation charity World Forest to plant trees to help combat climate change.  See  there website for more details.

A day for the initiated scyther! A relaxed day in the fresh air working on your rural skills and learning about respectful landcare and getting back to nature with some good old fashioned manual labour.

This is a low key casual learning day whereby you'll be shown the basics and supplied with tools. You'll be scything and raking rough ground. Bring your boots, water, merriment and gloves.

You can stay for the day or come for a few hours.

Book your attendance with Ian on 07880528413.

Lunch provided. 
 

PS Expert Scythers also welcomed to come along and share their expertise!

The Farm Carbon Toolkit, in partnership Somerset Wildlife Trust have been looking at better understanding agricultural emissions and mitigation measures. Join the team for an online event aimed at land owners across the whole of Somerset.​

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The workshop will provide an overview of the carbon calculator, helping land owners to calculate their footprint and understanding the results. It will also discuss carbon management of different types of land, key action planning & managing changes effectively! 

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Sign up for one of the events below:

Weds 13th July 2022 (1-3pm)

Tues 19th July 2022 (9:30-11:30am) 

Monday 25th July 2022 (1-3pm)

Join TWiG (Trees and Wildlife Group, South Petherton) for tea, cake and wildlife talks at this Open Garden event in aid of Somerset Wildlife Trust.

There will be plant sales, teas and cakes, wildlife talks, herbaceous beds, edibles, wildlife areas and kids activities.

Donations of plants are welcome.

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For more details, including location, click below.

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Recent events have highlighted the important role that community growing projects can play in promoting health and wellbeing and protecting our environment.

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Following the last forum in April, this meeting will bring together Somerset-based social enterprises, voluntary organisations and individuals who ‘grow for good’.

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Whether you’re involved with a community allotment, therapeutic garden, or any other initiative which uses growing & gardening to support positive change, come along to network and share ideas with others.

Having talked about the ‘what’ and ‘why’ for Building Sustainably, Bradfords Construction are delighted to present their first event focusing on the ‘how’. Join Bradford's and Trustmark for an evening of understanding how you can go about building sustainably.

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Speakers at the event covered green finance, upcoming legislation and grants, and practical examples of designing sustainability into construction projects.

For architects, planners, trades, contractors and home occupiers. Watch the presentations below.

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The Community Council for Somerset (CCS) are offering free advice to community building committees!

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The support from CCS includes understanding how to make your building more energy-efficient, and the tools to secure funding to make these energy-saving improvements.

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If this sounds like something your community could benefit from, click below to find out more on our community energy page.

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We invited businesses to attend a free SME Workshop: Save Money whilst reducing your Carbon Footprint. SSDC have teamed up with Yeovil College and Employer Links to offer a series of fantastic free workshops to help you understand how to save money, become more efficient and understand the steps that will help you to reduce your carbon footprint. 

Watch the Community Council for Somerset's webinar and find out how to undertake a DIY energy audit of your village hall, and identify practical steps for improving energy efficiency. Key topics covered include:

• Different types of heating including conventional and renewables

• Understanding energy usage

• Heating controls and who has the power, and

• Using the Audit Tool.

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Watch our webinar on the topic, which provides an overview of phosphates and why they are causing an environmental issue in South Somerset and beyond, as well as the associated impact it's having on planning and development across the district. This is followed by a presentation from one of our local Environment Champions on the role of “Citizen Science”, how you can get involved with monitoring phosphates on your local river, and ways to mitigate!

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Somerset Climate Action Network hosted a community renewable energy forum in December 2021 to showcase the various community renewable energy projects currently running in Somerset. This included community lead organisations and their projects, including details of how they came about, their achievements so far and tips for starting a new initiative.  Presentations included Solar Streets Bruton, Avalon Community Energy and Wedmore Community Co-op.

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Friends of the River Frome presented a screening of Rivercide in November, a ground breaking investigative documentary into the state of UK rivers, presented by environmental writer George Mobiot. If you missed it, you can watch it at the link below. 

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Re-watch SSDC's online webinar on wildflowers and hear about our No Mow Conservation Trials. We had talks from Plantlife's Dr Kate Petty (3:56 mins), SSDC's Horticultural lead (41:16 mins), along with local case-studies (1.08:52 mins). Click the link below to watch the recording.

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