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

The latest from the Devonshire Dialect Dictionary… and Sidmouthian dialect . The Devonshire Dialect Dictionary is quite a feast of oral heritage – and today… Read More »Devon dialect alive and very well

“The money is there – world leaders must have the courage to call on it.” [Gordon Brown] . Earlier in the year, the government put… Read More »The polluter pays?

From Manchester and the South West to Luxembourg and Germany… . Today we learnt from former Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says it would be‘outside reality’… Read More »How to improve our public transport

“Our commitment to energy efficiency has not changed one iota” [Treasury] . Unfortunately, the debate around insulating homes has become somewhat politicised, with the Sun congratulating… Read More »Why the energy efficiency taskforce is being scrapped

From the last twenty-four hours on Twitter . Here’s a selection from the latest stories around the climate – where we are and what we… Read More »Climate action stories

Calling for people to keep an ‘open mind’ during the trial period [Devon Live] . Demonstrations have been held against the new ‘low-traffic neighbourhoods’ in… Read More »How are we going to decarbonise Exeter’s streets? Cycling and walking?

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” [Facebook comment] . In August 2020, there were complaints about areas of the Sidmouth Cemetery gone wild. This… Read More »Managing wildlife in Sidmouth Cemetery – three years on