World Vegan Month is celebrated during November and is a good opportunity to consider the impact your diet has on the planet.

Animal-based products don’t have to be completely off the menu to make a difference. Introducing more plant-based meals into your weekly diet can help to lower your carbon footprint and your impact on the planet. And choosing to buy the meat you do purchase from a local farmer can significantly reduce any linked emissions.

Below is a list of some great free resources with plant-based recipe ideas.

• BBC Foods Autumn vegan recipes
• Money Magpie – five affordable vegan recipes
• Veganuary website – recipes from around the world
• Jamie Oliver – easy vegan recipes

There are lots of changes we can make to help make our diets more sustainable and, in turn, help to play our part to address the climate crisis. Here are some ideas to try this month.

• Choose sustainable foods – the best way to know if your ingredients are sustainable is to get to know the people who produce them. Try shopping with local suppliers or look for certifications and stamps of approval, such as Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), Fairtrade products, LEAF Marque, Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), Soil Association, Organic Farmers and Growers UK
• Eat healthily and minimise processed foods – the more processed a food is, the greater its environmental impact – because of emissions created through the process and because it often loses nutritional quality, meaning more food has to be produced overall, just to deliver minimum nutritional requirements.
• Ensure balance and variety – our bodies need a variety of nutrients and a good, balanced diet can include many things, such as wholegrains, fruit and vegetables, and less sugar, oils and fat. Try to eat different grains, vegetables and animals to achieve as much balance as possible. The planet will also benefit from a variety of food being cultivated.
• Eat seasonal produce – by eating produce that is in season you’ll be eating fresher, tastier and better value food. Visit the Eat Seasonably website to find out more. Where possible grow your own produce.
• Shop locally – use local suppliers of produce to help cut down the miles your food has travelled from field to plate. Try shopping in one of our local markets for a wide selection of local produce.
• Cut down on your food waste – make sure you store your food correctly and use it before it goes off. The Love Food Hate Waste website has lots of tips and recipes to help you use up your leftovers.
  
  

The Council’s Land Action Plan has a focus on producing sustainable food and encouraging dietary change, in line with national recommendations to free up land for habitat creation and other uses by reducing intake of carbon intensive foods such as beef, lamb and dairy. Encourage locally sourced (or British), seasonal agricultural produce, including meat and dairy, including through public procurement.

Following on from last year's success, North West in Bloom judges have awarded even more top accolades for locations and projects in Cheshire West and Chester.

The Council's whole borough entry including Chester in the Large City category scooped a Silver Gilt, as well as the 2022 Award for Commercial Effort.

The Local Authority Large Parks Gold Medal was awarded to Marbury Park and in the Small Park category Alexandra Park in Chester, also received a Gold. A first-time entry for Rivacre County Park also secured a Silver Gilt in the Small Park category.

This is the result of the hard work of many 'Friends of' groups and volunteers across the borough being recognised by the North West in Bloom judges who visited the area during the summer.

Other award winners included towns, villages, schools, farms, a food hub, a station and a cemetery. Hadlow Station received both a Level 5 Outstanding Award and a 2022 Heritage Award.

The Council's Director of Environment and Communities, Maria Byrne said:

"I'm delighted the Council was able to support so many wonderful entries for this year's North West in Bloom competition and I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks and warmest congratulations to all the volunteers and groups involved in improving their community and bringing people together to make a positive change to the place they live, work or spend their leisure time.

We were very proud of what we were able to show the judges and the results reflect the hard work of everyone involved in this year’s entries. This is a wonderful way to recognise the achievements of organisations and community groups across west Cheshire. Together, we can ensure our borough continues to thrive, long into the future and the results can be built upon to further improve our natural environment."

The results

• Large City - Silver Gilt and 2022 Award for Commercial Effort (Chester city centre)
• North West in Bloom with the RHS Chester City Centre / Cheshire West and Chester Council
• Local Authority Parks large - Gold Medal Award
• North West in Bloom with the RHS - Marbury Park
• Local Authority Parks small - Gold Medal Award
• North West in Bloom with the RHS - Alexandra Park, Hoole
• Local Authority Park Small - Silver Gilt Medal Award
• North West in Bloom with the RHS - Alexandra Park, Chester
• Local Authority Park Small - Silver Medal Awards
• North West in Bloom with the RHS - Grosvenor Park, Chester
• The following entries were also supported by the Council:
• Capenhurst and Ledsham Villages in Bloom (Gold Award) Village Category Cambridge Road Primary School (2022 Award Schools Category)
• Cambridge Road Primary School (Community champions and Young Champions Award 2022)
• Friends of Hadlow Road Station (In Your Neighbourhood, Level 5 Outstanding)
• Friends of Hadlow Road Station (2022 Heritage Award)
• Ellesmere Port in Bloom, Silver Award (Large Town Category)
• Friends of Mount Farm Way Pond (In Your Neighbourhood, Level 4 Thriving)
• Overleigh Cemetery, Chester (In Your Neighbourhood, Level 4 Thriving)
• Acton Bridge Community Association (In Your Neighbourhood, Level 4 Thriving)
• Cheshire Food Hub Garden, Northwich (In Your Neighbourhood, Level 5 Outstanding)

A colony of bees has been saved when their oak tree home was blown down in strong winds blocking a path through Hillside Wood in Rivacre Valley Country Park.

With the assistance of a local beekeeping expert and the Council’s tree contractor, Mancoed, the colony of bees was successfully encouraged out of their natural nest that was made inside a hollow area of the tree.

An entry gap was cut above the bees' nest to allow the honeycomb containing the eggs, some of the workers bees and most importantly, the queen, to be brought out and placed onto a frame in a temporary-built hive for transit.

Once this part was complete the remaining bees were encouraged into the box by a number of methods. Worker bees then started to fan and produce pheromones at the entrance to the temporary hive, confirming that the queen had been brought out with the honeycomb and was safely inside the temporary hive.

The Council’s Director of Environment and Communities, Maria Byrne said:

"I’m delighted to report it has been confirmed that bees at all stages of their life cycle are now safely re -housed and thriving in a larger hive just outside Chester. After the winter, they will continue their important role of pollination."

Honeybees in the UK do not migrate to find warmer weather like other winged animals, they prefer to stay close to home and rarely leave the hive during the winter months.

The honeybee is the only bee to maintain a colony throughout the winter. The colony reduces its size in autumn and relies on its stores of honey to last it through the winter months when it is too cold for foraging or there is no food source available.

26 October 2022

Cheshire West and Chester Council is supporting the new national 'Take Charge' campaign, which urges consumers to recycle dead batteries and to never throw batteries away alongside general rubbish.

Consumers across the UK are being urged to "join the fight against Zombie batteries" in a bid to tackle the growing number of fires caused by carelessly discarded dead batteries.

Dead batteries thrown away with other waste and recycling, which the campaign refers to as "zombie batteries", are likely to be crushed or punctured once the waste is collected and processed.

Some battery types in particular, like lithium-ion (Li-ion) and nickel-metal Hydride (NiMH), can ignite or even explode when they're damaged. Once this happens, the batteries can quickly set fire to other materials present in the waste, like paper, leading to serious incidents that put lives at risk.

Although safe to use normally, powerful lithium-ion batteries are typically the most dangerous if they are not recycled properly. These batteries are often found in products like laptops, tablets, mobile phones, radio-controlled toys, Bluetooth devices, shavers, electric toothbrushes, power tools, scooters and even e-cigarettes.

Litter pickers are available at a number of different Vivo Care Choices buildings across west Cheshire so people accessing its services, as well as the local community, can all do their bit for the environment.

Vivo, now an in-house service at Cheshire West and Chester Council, provides a range of services for people with learning disabilities and autism, along with older people.

Litter pickers are now available at the following Vivo buildings.

• Water Tower Gardens, Chester
• Meadowbank Lodge, Winsford
• Neston Community Youth Centre

The equipment has been provided by Eco Communities as part its Plastic Free Cheshire project and all people need to do to get involved is follow these instructions.

• Borrow the kit from one of the locations
• Go for a walk and fill the bag
• Recycle what you can
• Leave your bag at the agreed location
• Take a photo and log your findings
• Return the equipment

Since Vivo buildings have been acting as litter picking hubs, people accessing services have regularly been out and about in the community, doing their bit for the environment.

It builds on the work that the Green team has done over the last couple of years, taking part in environmental projects to help develop allotments and green spaces across west Cheshire.

Along with Vivo buildings, litter pickers can be found at the Countess of Chester Country Park, Grosvenor Park and many other locations, adding to the litter pickers that are available in libraries across the borough.

Lynn, who uses Vivo’s services and has helped with the project, added: “When we pick the rubbish up, it’s important because it keeps the park clean and is good for the environment. It was good exercise too.”

The Council’s Climate Emergency Response Plan encourages residents to reduce, reuse and recycle as much as possible to help the borough become carbon neutral by 2045. The Plastic Free Cheshire project is just one way of taking action to help achieve this.

Visit: westcheshireclimateplan.co.uk to find out what action we can all take to tackle the Climate Emergency.

For more information about Vivo and the range of services it provides, visit: vivocarechoices.co.uk.

This winter, residents of all ages across the borough will be welcome to come into the Council’s libraries, to stay warm, and enjoy refreshments as part of a new Warm Welcoming Spaces initiative.
They will receive a friendly welcome from library staff and volunteers in a warm and safe place. While at the library, residents can take part in a range of events and activities that are on offer. They can also join the library for free and take advantage of the wide range of books, eBooks, eAudiobooks and eMagazines. Libraries have Wi-Fi and public computers which can be used free of charge too.

Cheshire West and Chester Council is planning to establish a network of Warm Welcoming Spaces that residents can access, starting with libraries across the borough from Saturday 15 October 2022. Further details about Warm Welcoming Spaces can be found on the Council's website.

A list of libraries in the borough can be found using the Find a Library service on the Council website. Opening hours are available on the library’s webpage; with some sites being open all day and some for shorter periods. Residents can also ask their local Councillor if they’re not sure where their nearest library is.

Working with Cheshire West Voluntary Action and Cheshire Community Action, and the wider voluntary and community sector, the Council is exploring opportunities to expand the network, and provide services to support people using the Warm Welcoming Spaces. The Council also recognises that not all residents will be able to attend a library or other community setting, and is working to ensure that residents can be safe, well and warm in their homes throughout the winter period.

Residents who are worried about the cost of living and rise of energy bills can find useful information from the Council and other local organisations on the Council's website.

• Cost of living support

Community energy coach, Mark Thompson, joins the Council's energy sector specialist to discuss some of the myths that are currently being shared about saving energy in the home.

They discuss some of the suggestions they've heard recently that may not save you as much energy as you think, and talk about the small changes you could do to help you to reduce energy use at home and save you money.

Find out more about other organisations that are sharing useful energy saving tips.

If you have your own energy saving tips add them to the 'your stories' section of the Climate Emergency Inspire hub.

Plans have been revealed aiming to make Cheshire and Warrington the fairest and greenest place in the country.

The Cheshire and Warrington Sustainable and Inclusive Growth Commission was set up with the aim of moving further and faster towards achieving the sub-region’s ambition of becoming the most sustainable and inclusive place in the UK, helping to address inequalities and climate change in the process.

Recent months have seen the need for progress highlighted, with the country experiencing the impacts of climate change in recent heatwaves and the need for inclusive growth being shown through the Cost of Living Crisis.

The commission has now made a number of ambitious recommendations around an inclusive economy, sustainable transport, sustainable land use and Net Zero in its report ‘Towards a Sustainable and Inclusive Cheshire and Warrington’.

These include:

1. A fair employment charter for Cheshire and Warrington
2. The decarbonisation of dairy
3. The full decarbonisation of all transport by 2035
4. Building the UK’s First Net Zero industrial cluster around the area’s large hydrogen and net zero projects
5. Access to digital for all
6. Making current land use net zero

The commission will now work with partners and stakeholders, including the local authorities, to plan for the implementation of the key priorities.

Sam Corcoran, Leader of Cheshire East Council, and co-chair of the Sustainable and Inclusive Growth Commission said: “We have set out a number of ambitious recommendations that we believe will accelerate progress towards our goals of encouraging sustainable economic growth to increase prosperity and create greater equality and opportunities for all, as well as accelerating our progress towards Net Zero.

“We will do this by creating an inclusive economy, making our land use sustainable, making transport sustainable and achieving our Net Zero goals.

“So much great work is already going on to achieve these aims but this is about us accelerating that progress and we will be working together to make that happen. We need everyone – residents, businesses and stakeholders engaged to do so.”

The commission will now also be promoting the plan to stakeholders, residents and businesses to ensure proper collaboration on achieving its aims.

Other recommendations made by the commission include:

1. Public investment to address disadvantage and target opportunities
2. Improve active travel and public transport
3. Provide new infrastructure/ support for electric cars and zero-emission vehicles to make them cost effective and accessible
4. Work with businesses, public sector and agriculture to speed up the transition to a circular economy
5. Retrofitting insulation and clean energy to housing, particularly for social housing and disadvantaged households.

Robert Davis, CEO of EA Technology, and co-chair of the Sustainable and Inclusive Growth Commission, said: “Businesses are at the heart of our recommendations and are key to us making Cheshire a greener place but also a fairer one, where there are opportunities for everyone.

“A key part of these plans is encouraging growth that will increase prosperity, providing even greater opportunities for businesses. To make this happen though, we need businesses to work with us, to make them a reality.

“We will now set out to promote the plan across Cheshire and Warrington and speak with and engage with businesses – not just on what we need from them, but what we can offer to help them grow and achieve their aims.

“Alongside our public sector partners these businesses will be key to leading the revolution to a sustainable and inclusive economy here in Cheshire and Warrington.”

You can find out more and read the commission’s report here: Sustainable and Inclusive Growth Commission - Cheshire and Warrington

Cheshire West and Chester Council is encouraging pupils across the borough to cycle to school during this year’s national Bike to School Week (3 to 7 October).

The national event, organised by Sustrans and supported by the Bikeability Trust, celebrates cycling to school and the positive impact an active lifestyle can have on pupils’ health and wellbeing.

Choosing a more active form of travel to get to school, such as walking, cycling or scooting, will also help cut air pollution near the school gates and will help towards the borough’s target of becoming carbon neutral by 2045 as part of the Council’s commitment to tackle the Climate Emergency.

This year, the Trust is asking children and their families across the UK to choose one of the four pledges:

• Cycle to school everyday
• Swap at least one car journey for cycling
• Cycle with your family
• Discover somewhere new on a cycle ride

The Council’s Road Safety team organises free Bikeability courses at both primary and secondary schools across the borough, providing pupils with important road safety knowledge and the bike skills to confidently ride their bike to school. Free courses for families are also available.

To find out more, visit: bikeability.org.uk/cycletoschoolweek.