Bridport calls out for climate change action during Big Green Week
By Francesca Evans 21st Jun 2023
The hot and sunny weather throughout Bridport's Big Green Week brought home the need to continue fighting against climate change.
Organised by West Dorset Friends of the Earth, the week started with an opening gathering at the Community Orchard, where local environmental organisations shared information and insight. The event also included a bike ride around the town, with the Mayor of Bridport, Cllr Dave Bolwell, and town crier John Collingwood taking part.
Other highlights includes a talk on the relationship between farming, nature and climate, with Alasdair Moffett explaining the Upper Axe Landscape Partnership, which incorporates 23 farms in an almost completely contiguous land area.
The Brit catchment may well attempt this feat in the upcoming few years, which is part of the government's Environmental Land Management scheme.
On Wednesday afternoon, 15 walkers met to walk the paths near Morecombelake and examine hedges, which were mostly in good health, as part of Dorset Climate Action Network's Big Hedge project.
In the evening, Ian Rees and West Dorset Friends of the Earth described to a large audience the different ways that the public can volunteer to help monitor the health of the Brit catchment, with Ian stole the show with his invertebrate friends.
Many people signed up and the hope is to fill most of the potential sites with monitors over the next year.
On Thursday evening, Sustainable Bridport organised the screening of two films at Bridport Arts Centre – the first by a local group of young filmmakers entitled 'The End is Nigh', with the film crew was on hand to answer questions afterward.
This was followed by 'Kiss the Ground', which explained the positive potential of 'drawdown' by rebuilding soil fertility.
On Friday, the weather was warm enough to draw a good crew of swimmers at West Bay. As well as swimming, they held a beach clean and discussed way to to channel their concern over the continued release of storm overflows of sewage into the sea, and encourage the government and Wessex Water into action.
The week also tied with with Bridport Food Festival's fortnight and included a children's food fayre at St Michael's Primary School on Friday, where pupils were able to show off their edible garden, and the annual food festival on Askers Meadow on Saturday, where West Dorset Friends of the Earth and and Sustainable Bridport shared a stall that focused on wind turbines.
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