Cheshire West and Chester Council is launching another funding round on the Cheshire West Crowd, providing plenty of opportunities for community projects to bring their ideas to life.

The Cheshire West Crowd, run by the Council in partnership with Spacehive, allows everyone to put forward community-led projects and attract funding to make the borough more vibrant, resilient and connected.

Since the Cheshire West Crowd first launched, 94 community projects have collectively raised nearly £1.6 million from almost 5,000 backers, including the Council.

Councillor Louise Gittins, Leader of the Council and Champion for the Cheshire West Crowd, said: “This initiative is such a fantastic way for community projects to raise much-needed funds.

“Not only can projects pitch to the Council to access the funds we set aside, but they can call on the support of their local community so it’s a real collective effort from everyone involved.

“The Cheshire West Crowd is one of the most successful initiatives Spacehive has run and we’re delighted that this will be our fourth funding round.

“If you have an idea, please consider using the Cheshire West Crowd as there’s plenty of support available from the Council and Spacehive, making it easier than running your own crowdfunding campaign.

“We’re looking forward to helping many more community projects on their journeys in this latest funding round.”

Tarporley Community Centre ran a crowdfunding campaign during the last round on the Cheshire West Crowd, attracting funds to make improvements to the inside and outside of the building.

Anita Langford, Business Secretary of Tarporley Community Centre, added: “The pledge from the Council towards our project was vital as it was 75 per cent of our target.

“Installing new double glazing and cavity wall insulation will help us save energy, which is important for the climate and reducing our energy costs.”

Saughall Colts JFC has also successfully raised more than £32,000 to install a new drainage and heating system, benefitting players, parents, coaches, volunteers and the wider local community.

Norman Peers, Fundraising and Sponsorship Officer of Saughall Colts FC, commented: “We’d like to thank all who helped Saughall Colts achieve our goal, particularly the Council and Spacehive.

“The funding we’ve received and the project once it’s completed will mean a lot to our community.”

An online workshop is planned for 3pm to 4pm on Thursday 29 June so you can find out more about the Cheshire West Crowd.

• Register for this workshop

Regular information sessions will also be held by the Council’s Communities team, providing an opportunity for you to have an informal chat about any ideas you have and get advice to take your crowdfunding campaign forward.

• Find out more about these sessions

The deadline to submit projects on the Cheshire West Crowd and pitch to Council funds during this latest round is Wednesday 27 September 2023, with projects needing to hit their crowdfunding targets sometime during December 2023.

• Create your own project

For more information about the Cheshire West Crowd and how you could get involved, visit: spacehive.com/movement/cwc.

Chester’s first Active Travel Festival will take place on Sunday 18 June at the Castle Square car park (CH1 2DN) from 11am to 4pm.

The official 11:30am opening ceremony will be attended by local dignitaries: Council leader, Louise Gittins, Chester MP Samantha Dixon, and Lord Mayor Sheila Little, as well as Simon O’Brien, active travel commissioner for the Liverpool City Region and former Brookside actor.

Entry to ‘ATfest’ is free, family friendly and well-behaved dogs are welcome.

Active travel means walking, cycling or wheeling (scooters, wheelchairs and adapted bikes) so there is something for everyone.

The event aims to encourage all local residents to think about using active travel options to get into and through Chester.

The main festival site will be the lower car park in front of Chester Castle where there will be a range of informative, entertaining and fun attractions.

In the main festival village, visitors can try Ginger eScooters, watch stunt bike displays, get their bike checked by Dr Bike, try eBikes and adapted mobility bikes, and visit exhibitors as diverse as Cheshire Police and Stagecoach. Refreshments will be available from food and drink stalls, with a picnic area and entertainment from local radio station Dee 106.3.

As part of ATfest fringe activities there will be an exclusive preview of the film ‘The Last Rider’ (not on general release until 23 June) with a 6pm screening at Storyhouse. There will also be a schools poster competition at the University of Chester Riverside Innovation Centre, a self-guided interactive Time Travelling treasure hunt along Chester’s historic Rows and walking tours starting at the Town Hall Visitor Information Centre.

The event will highlight and demonstrate the use of active travel routes that may not be familiar to many people. If you want to find out how to get from A to B in the city, by walking, cycling or wheeling, but don’t know if there is a suitable route, then this is the event for you.

The Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport and Highways, Councillor Karen Shore said: “With our Active Travel England grant the Council is delighted to offer funding to support this wonderful event.

“Monitoring and evaluation from the grant award will be used to determine the impact of such events on long term changes to travel behaviour. Active travel is good for your health, your wallet and the environment.

“Any increase in active travel will help the Council achieve our declared objective to become a carbon neutral borough by 2045.

“To tackle any obstacles and make active travel better, we need to understand the barriers so that we can help to plan towards an active travel network that works better for Chester. Feedback via pre and post festival surveys will be very much appreciated by the event organisers.”

One of the organisers, Stephen Perry of the Chester Cycling Campaign said: “Active Travel Festival will offer local families the opportunity to realise that Chester is far more accessible than many realise for those that wish to walk, cycle or ‘wheel’ into the city.

“We want people to learn how to best access the city on routes that are available, to know how much support and information exists for those that wish to enjoy active travel and most of all to have fun on the day.”

For more information, including how to get there, see the event’s website at: https://atfest.uk/ and to complete a pre and post event survey to enter a free prize draw with a first prize of a £1000 cycle voucher.

Wildflowers are valuable to your garden ecosystem as they provide food and shelter for a huge range of species, including important pollinators.

In the UK, we have lost 97 per cent of our meadows in the last 80 years, so planting garden meadows – a combination of wildflowers and wild grasses – can help to make up for these lost habitats.

Both our Land Action Plan and Wildflower and Grassland Strategy highlight the importance of wildflowers and wildlife friendly gardening practices. Together these actions can help both nature’s recovery and contribute to the borough’s carbon net zero ambitions, set out in our Climate Emergency Response Plan.

Cheshire Wildflower mix

We have consulted with the National Wildflower Centre at the Eden Project to identify the best mix to suit the Cheshire landscape. Boston Seeds has been chosen as the main supplier of seed due to its extensive variety of native pollinators and mixes. More details about the mix and how to order it directly can be found on the Council’s website.

Instructions for planting wildflowers

There are lots of ways you can sow your wildflower seeds. You can create a mini meadow in your lawn, sow wildflowers in gaps in your borders or even grow wildflowers in a pot.

Seeds can be sown any time from mid-March until late October. The ideal time is autumn, but avoid periods of extreme heat during the summer months.

• You need to create a fine top layer of soil to sow the seeds. So clear the ground of any existing vegetation you don’t want to keep, to create areas of bare soil where you can sow.
  
  
• 3g of seed is needed per square metre. Scatter the seeds as you walk across the ground, trying to get an even coverage. Then rake the soil and walk back over the area so that the seeds make contact with the soil.
  
  
• If planting over a large area it is advisable to mix the wildflower seed with a carrier such as dry sand or compost. This will help to distribute it more evenly.
  
  
• Keep the area well-watered until it is established.
  
  
• Beware the birds. Birds will love to eat the wildflower seeds, so some gardeners like to put up netting while the seeds are germinating.

WWF UK has a short video that shows you how to plant wildflowers in your garden.

Share your results

We’d love to see pictures of your wildflowers in bloom across the borough. Share your wildflower story on the ‘Your Stories’ section of the Climate Emergency Inspire Hub.

This summer, there is a brilliant selection of sustainable events taking place across the borough providing you with lots of information and inspiration to help you to live a more sustainable lifestyle.Below you’ll find details of all the events we’re aware of in the borough.

If you are organising a sustainable event and would like it listed here, please email: climatechange@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk

Great Big Green Week
Various locations
10 – 18 June

Great Big Green Week is the UK's biggest celebration of community action to tackle climate change and protect nature. Find out about events taking place near you and get involved by visiting the Great Big Green Week website.:

There will be a range of activities and information sessions available at local libraries throughout the borough. From recyclable children’s crafts to energy advice drop-in sessions, there will be something for everyone.

Find out more and what activities are taking place at your local library.

Storyhouse in Chester also have several events taking place on Saturday, 10 June to celebrate Great Big Green Week. Join them for a range of free events (including a paper recycling workshop, a treasure hunt, and colouring-in sheets) from 1pm.

🌳 The Great Big Green Week Activities
🌳 Paper Recycling Workshop

Chester Green Expo
Castle Drive, Chester
15 - 17 June

Join the second Green Expo in Chester to see what has been achieved in the region on progress to net zero and climate change, and how it will impact how we live, work and play. Learn how energy use and sustainable options for the home, office, communities, towns and cities are changing. Find out how alternative sources and renewable solutions for energy, transport, waste and water can help and meet the organisations driving this forward, including charities and artisan producers.

This year’s Green Expo will be comprised of two parts:

🌳 A Youth Conference, free for school and college students on Friday, 16 June, led by the young leaders of ChesterYouthCAN (Chester Youth Climate Action Network) with the support of the University of Chester.

🌳 The Green Expo Exposition organised in conjunction with Chester-based Eco Communities UK. It’s free for anyone to attend and will run alongside the River Dee in Chester, on Castle Drive, from Thursday, 15 June to Saturday, 17 June.

People, Planet, Pastry
At the Green Huts talk area, Castle Drive
15 June, 1pm

As part of Green Expo 2023, this People, Planet, Pastry event will enable you to meet others interested in sustainability in your community, share local stories and ideas, and accelerate local climate action. It’s free, but make sure to reserve yourself a spot on Eventbrite.

People, Planet, Pint
At the Green Huts talk area, Castle Drive
16 June, 6pm

An alternative to the People, Planet, Pastry event, this People, Planet, Pint event will take place at the Green Huts Talks area of the Green Expo, Castle Drive, from 6pm until 8pm. There’s no agenda, workshops or webinars; just chat over a drink. Come and meet others working and interested in the net zero, Bcorp and environmental space. This event is free but please reserve a spot on Eventbrite

Active Travel Festival Chester
Castle Square, Lower Car Park, Chester, CH1 2DN (opposite Abode Hotel).
18 June, from 11am

ATfest is an active travel festival taking place in the historic city of Chester and will be a fun-filled day, jam-packed with activities for all the family to enjoy.

The aim is to inspire local residents of all ages and abilities to make cleaner, greener, healthier and sustainable transport choices in their everyday lives.

Visit the ATfest website to see a schedule of all the activities taking place throughout the day.

Sustainability Festival - Chester Grosvenor Museum
8 July, 10.30am – 5pm

Festival for the Future is back for a second year running. Fun for all the family, and a great way to learn tips and tricks for living a greener lifestyle. All activities are free and drop-in.

Kicking things off on Saturday, 8 July, Grosvenor Museum will be exploring how the world has changed through time and what a sustainable future might look like.

There is an opportunity to see real fossils from the museum’s amazing Natural History collection up close, meet dinosaur experts who’ll answer all your burning questions, and try your hand at foraging for fossils to take home in our onsite dig.

There will also be a clothes swap on the day and specialists talks in the lecture theatre.

Find out more on the West Cheshire Museums website

Climate Crafts - Chester Grosvenor Museum
8, 9 and 10 August

During this week of August, the focus will be all things climate. Join the group at Grosvenor Museum for some climate crafts inspired by their collections and latest exhibitions. More details can be found on the museum's website.


Sustainability Festival – Stretton Water Mill
15 July, 10.30am - 5.00pm

Festival for the Future travels to beautiful Stretton Watermill on Saturday, 15 July. Between 10.30am and 5pm, join us for a peaceful day in the Great Outdoors, mucking about with water and exploring how hydropower was used to mill flour. There will be a cash charge for mill tours, but all other activities are free and drop-in.

Bring a picnic and enjoy a day of woodland activities, seed planting, and wet play. We’ll also be running ‘Sketch and Explore’ nature journalling workshops, where visitors can relax with a sketch pad and have a go at drawing and documenting the wildlife around them. This workshop is perfect for all ages and skill levels, and no previous experience in art or nature journalling is required. So, grab your pencils and join us for a day of creativity, education, and connection to nature. Full details can be found on the museum's website.


Sustainability Festival – Lion Salt Works
22 July, 10.30am – 5pm

For our final Festival of the Future weekend, we’ll be at the Lion Salt Works in Northwich from 10.30am – 5pm on Saturday, 22 July. Barnton Circus are back with more incredible, gravity-defying performances throughout the day, and there’ll be drop-in workshops for visitors to have a go at perfecting their circus skills. Join eco-storyteller, Creeping Toad, in hunting for stories around the site, and create your own puppet characters to bring to life. Visitors of all ages can enjoy forest school activities, face painting, and spending time with nature in our onsite butterfly garden and play area.

Eco Communities will be onsite with another spectacular craft fair, so you can shop for sustainable products and learn about local sustainability projects, and Transition Northwich will be joining us with workshops and activities.

For those interested in exploring sustainable living and its role in shaping a better future, get creative with our all-ages art workshops led by illustrator India Hackett.

Find out more on the West Cheshire Museum website

Sustainable Cheshire Festival
23 September, 10.30am – 7pm

The annual Sustainable Cheshire Festival, organised by Eco Communities, will be taking place later this year on 23 September. Join us in Grosvenor Park for an exciting community event hoping to build a greener and more sustainable future.

🌳 Get your free tickets for the event on their eventbrite link.

Today is World Environment Day, a global event led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to highlight that the protection and health of the environment is a major issue, affecting the wellbeing of people and economic development throughout the world.

Since this year’s theme is ‘solutions to plastic pollution’, we’ve put together some top tips and ideas for being more sustainable. With plastic-free July coming up, now is the perfect time to start gradually making the change to using less plastic.

Swap out non-reusable items

While you’re out and about this summer, why not exchange your non-reusable plastic materials for a sustainable alternative which can be reused in the future?

In England, it’s estimated we use approximately 1.1 billion single-use plates and more than four billion pieces of plastic cutlery per year.¹ Whether it’s carrying a reusable coffee cup or flask, buying picnic items which can used again in the future, or eating in a coffee shop instead of getting food to-go, your actions could make a difference.

Buy loose fruit and vegetables or grow your own

Buying loose vegetables can be a great way of cutting down on plastic packaging while also allowing you more choice when it comes to ensuring your produce is high quality.

Fruit can also make a great snack rather than having something such as crisps or sweets which might come in extra plastic packaging.

Recycling your plastic

When you do use plastic, make sure to always reuse and recycle. To find out more about recycling in your local area, including what can be recycled in your household’s recycling bins or boxes, visit the Council’s website.

Make the switch from shower gel to soap bars

To reduce plastic waste from items like shower gel and shampoo bottles, make the switch to soap bars. There are many reasons to switch to bars, including that they usually last longer than shower gels. A study also found that the carbon footprint of liquid soap is 25% larger than bars of soap on a per-wash basis.

Help collect litter in your local area

Many residents across the borough do their bit collecting litter in their local area. Eco Communities, a local community enterprise supporting the whole of Cheshire to live more sustainably, has set up some litter pick hubs across the borough to encourage more people to get out picking.

Details about where the Litter Pick Hubs are located can be found on Eco Communities website. To take part you simply need to register on their website, take a bag and litter picker from one of the hubs, go for a walk and fill the bag. You are then encouraged to recycle what you can, leave your bag at the agreed location and take a photo and log your findings. Remember to return your equipment to the hub location at the end so it’s available for more people to use.

The Council’s library service has also teamed up with StreetCare colleagues to provide free litter picking kits for residents to borrow from all libraries across the borough. The kit contains a litter picker (adult or junior size), high visibility vest (adult or junior size) and litter bags. For more information ask at your local library.

Sources:

¹ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64205460

Every effort has been made to ensure the information used in this article is accurate. All information used to inform the article has been taken from reputable sources, and those sources are given at the end of each article.

We are aware, however, that data will change over time and that some information across the internet and printed matter can be contradictory.

Cheshire West and Chester Council is urging people get on two wheels for Bike Week 2023 – to save money, boost their health and the environment.

The annual campaign, which runs from Monday 5 to Sunday 11 June this year, is all about encouraging as many workplaces as possible to help their staff to cycle during the week.

Councillor Karen Shore, the Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport and Highways said: “Cycling is not only good for our physical and mental health but also has other benefits.

“If your journey to work is around five miles or less then it is worth considering travelling by cycle. Cycling to work can improve your health, save money and help the environment.

“We as a Council support cycling and more active travel, for all the benefits it brings to people and their communities. Many Council officers have taken the challenge for Bike Week and have included some bike travel in their working week. We have also organised a staff bike ride, led by the Chester Cycling Campaign, later this week.”

Bike Week is organised by the charity Cycling UK and it suggests several ways you can help support this year’s campaign, such as:

• Organise a ride with your workplace
• Take on a Bike Week 100 challenge– with options available for new, returning and experienced riders, there's a challenge for everyone.
• Organise a cyclists' event– put on a cyclists' breakfast to encourage commuters to switch the car for the saddle.

Cycling UK is encouraging riders to share photos on social media using the hashtag #BikeWeek100

For more information about Bike Week, visit the Cycling UK website.

If you’ve been meaning to give cycling to work a try but lack confidence, a Chester Cycle Buddy could help. Chester Cycle Buddies is a scheme run by the Chester Cycling Campaign, experienced volunteer cyclists offer help with planning cycle-friendly routes, and ride with you to test out the routes and answer any queries.

For more information see their website: Chester Cycle Buddies Scheme – Chester Cycling Campaign (chestercyclecity.org)

AtFest, the very first Active Travel festival in Chester city centre, takes place on Sunday 18 June between 11am and 4pm at Castle Square car park, Chester CH1 2DN. This fun filled day will be jam packed with free walking, wheeling and cycling activities for all the family. This follows a successful crowdfunding campaign and support from Cheshire West and Chester Council.

The aim of the event is to inspire local residents of all ages and abilities to make cleaner, greener, healthier and sustainable transport choices in their everyday lives.

The organisers would like everyone to complete the pre-event survey before, or on, arrival, which can be found on their website www.atfest.uk and then to fill in the post-event survey as soon as possible after the Festival.

Anyone who completes both surveys will be entered into a free draw with the opportunity to win a £1000 bike voucher and other prizes.

New bins that will compact an impressive 1,000 plus litres of rubbish inside are to be installed across Chester city centre.

During June, Cheshire West and Chester Council teams will install 57 of the new bins, which use innovative solar technology so energy can be collected, even without direct sunlight, ensuring optimum performance all year round.

The new bins will also include a foot pedal, so you don’t have to use your hands to open the bin and they even have the option to thank people for depositing their rubbish with a cheery voice message. It is hoped this facility will be activated soon after installation.

The Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport and Highways, Councillor Karen Shore said: “These smart bins are ideal for use in very busy areas with high footfall, like the city centre.

“They store over 1,000 litres of rubbish and use smart technology to let us know when they’re ready to be emptied, ensuring our street stay litter free while making efficiency savings and cutting C0₂ emissions, by reducing the number of vehicle journeys to empty them.

“We made a commitment in our Waste Management Strategy to provide good quality and appropriate bins that make it easy for residents and visitors to dispose of their waste in the right way.”

The Council will ensure minimum disruption while the new bins are being installed, but there may be missing or duplicate bins in some areas for a very short time.

Following installation of all bins, QR codes will also be applied to the bins, so any damage to the bin can be reported.