“Peas instead of avocados for a version of guacamole. Avocados are not that sustainable right now: air miles, deforestation and drug cartels muscling in on… Read More »Avocado vs peas

“Sidmouth is lumbered with an impressive white elephant that has set back the biodiversity of a locally important site for years.  It would have been far… Read More »The Knowle amphitheatre: a talk, a site visit and an alternative narrative

In the 1950s we spent a third of our income on food shopping – and by 2016 it was 10%. [Which?] . There are a… Read More »How expensive is food really?

“East Devon District Council is calling on you to press the government to find a more positive approach to solving the housing crisis and a… Read More »East Devon’s housing target: seeking a review

“All Reserved Matters have been approved, including details of an access that is most likely to be suitable for Residential use.” “The other site, known… Read More »Selling off the Sidford Business Park site: still on the market one year on

“Golf courses take up more space than solar power in the UK.” [Carbon Brief] “Solar farms cover less than 0.1% of the UK’s land area”… Read More »How much land do solar farms take up?

“Homes in England are less affordable and in worse condition than those in most other developed nations.” [Home Builders Federation] There are only 15 places available… Read More »“England has a dearth of housing”

The Land Use Framework is due out shortly. . There are several areas of ancient woodland in the Sid Valley – but no extant areas… Read More »How do we make use of our land?

“Yes you heard correct. More than halve.” [Jan Rosenow] . Many would consider installing a heat pump as “complicated, especially in rural areas“; the doubts… Read More »‘Halving your heating running costs’ with a heat pump

… and the workings of number 55 Tufton Street. . Perhaps a certain amount of scepticism is due when it comes to ‘net-zero carbon emissions’… Read More »An “honest” debate over the cost of net zero

The Covid pandemic was a reminder that localised networks give our food system resilience during disruption, but also that they pay farmers fairly to produce… Read More »How is local food doing in the Sid Valley?

“Not all milk and meat is the same. Extensive, often mobile, pastoral systems – of the sort commonly seen across the African continent, as well… Read More »A nuanced debate around livestock and greenhouse gases

“But the reasons for the decline are clear and we know conservation actions deliver results for nature. We have never had a better understanding of… Read More »Nature-depletion: State of Nature report 2023

“We will be carrying out a repeat survey next year to assess how the treescape has changed. Would you like to be one of our… Read More »Calling all volunteers: updating the Arboretum’s 2014 Tree Survey

“The power of local economies.” “Rural communities could actually have the ability to make real livelihoods.” [Sir Tim Smit] . The Blue Earth Summit returns… Read More »Muscular localism