Our
current projects
Our current projects listed below, this page will be updated with news on these projects througout 2009. If you would like to find out more about one of the projects or get involved please contact us.
Water Wheel
Tree planting
Ecoteams
Carbon footprint
Community garden
Renewables for Schools
Toilet Block Refurbishment
Water
Wheel project
Using the River Dean to generate power for Bollington
Bollington has networks of old dams, ponds and mill races which were originally constructed to provide power for the town’s mills. In 2008 BCR were awarded funding by The Cheshire & Warrington Economic Alliance to study the feasibility of re-building some of these hydropower schemes, for a 21st Century application – green electricity generation. BCR appointed the Crichton Carbon Centre to carry out the study and Dr Phil Leigh, CCC’s Project Manager, explained in a presentation to Bollington Civic Society in the Autumn how he had assessed the power generating potential of the River Dean and Harrop Brook as both streams flowed over the historic mill races. Dr Leigh advised that Bollington has many sites where it is economically and technically feasible to construct micro-hydropower schemes, but concluded that the sites which offer the power potential are not the old hydro schemes themselves. Rather CCC proposed linking the former mill ponds at Dyers Court and Ingersley Road with the power generating potential of the culverted sections of both streams above the River Dean/Harrop Brook confluence, near Water Street. The potential returns from the scheme have been calculated and construction costs estimated. If the community, the local authority and the Environment Agency react positively to the proposals, our next steps will be to invite specialist contractors to provide outline designs and costs and then identify revenue streams to fund construction. The report is completed and we will make a summary available on this website shortly.
Links:
New Mills Torrs Hydro project (a hydro project in New Mills in the High Peak)
British Hydropower Association
Tree
planting
Plant a tree for Bollington!
The Bollington Carbon Revolution (BCR) and Kerridge Ridge Ingersley Vale Countryside and Heritage Landscape Partnership Scheme (KRIV) project teams have joined forces to provide the local community with a tree-planting scheme. What a great gift for a resident of Bollington to receive, imagine receiving a tree as a gift which you can literally see growing year after year, a legacy which the BCR and KRIV hope will last long after we have gone.
Enhanced local environment
Residents of Bollington, will receive an extra special benefit from this work, as all trees devoted through this scheme will be planted in Bollington, creating not only environmental benefits but also enhancing our visual landscape. All the trees planted will be native species including, Birch, Ash, Oak, Blackthorn and Hawthorn. With approximately 500 trees planned to be planted and 600m of hedgerow.
How much will it cost and what happens to the money?
How much will it cost? The cost for the trees is set at £10 per tree, and all we ask is you print and complete the order form, and send your completed form in the post with a cheque for the total amount. Forms will also be available in the Discovery Centre and the Bollington Library.
All funds are made payable to the Bollington Civic Society, and once your form and payment have been received, a pack will be posted out to you including:
1. A personalised certificate; and
2. Information regarding the tree planting scheme and KRIV; and
3. Information on the BCR and local community work; and
4. A map identifying approximately where your tree will be planted.
All revenue generated through this scheme will be split 50/50 between the BCR and KRIV projects (funds held and officiated by the Bollington Civic Society). The resulting revenue will then be used to further local community and environmental projects. Both the BCR and KRIV are not for profit groups, and all work is completed by volunteers aiming for a better local and global environment.
Your tree
You have the option to either allow the KRIV / BCR team to plant your tree on a rolling basis throughout the year, or actually visit the nominated sites on dedicated tree planting sessions. Places on the open tree planting sessions are strictly limited as the sessions are run by a limited number of volunteers, however, we will try to accommodate as many as possible.
The BCR / KRIV project teams will review the planting demand with the aim of providing additional sessions throughout the year and give you the opportunity to come along.
Carbon Offsetting or just doing the right thing? This scheme does not intend to pave the way for a carbon-offsetting (sequestration) scheme, nor do we endorse this type of scheme as a way of offsetting. The BCR are trying to tackle our energy use and change behavioural aspects of the way we live, not simply absolve ourselves from the impact we have on the environment through a one off payment. That said the BCR does acknowledge the benefit that carbon sinks such as forests can make to our environment, both as an amenity and as a carbon sink. This scheme also benefits from assurance that the trees planted will stay in place without disturbance from development due to the nature of their location, either protected through planning or due to the topography of the land.
Ecoteams
Many of us want to live a little greener but have never found the time,
or don’t quite know how to begin. Ecoteams show you how small, easy
changes can make a difference to your household, your community and
the environment. Past teams have achieved great environmental savings,
and it will only take about two hours of your time each month − it works!
You will also have fun and make new friends. Ecoteams are free to join.
What is an Ecoteam? A group of people who get together to learn how to reduce their environmental impact and save money. Ecoteams of six to eight people meet once a month for four months. At each meeting, Ecoteam members share experiences, ideas and achievements on the environmental actions that they have taken. Over the course of the four months they measure the reduction in their environmental impact, and as an extra incentive the household who makes the biggest reduction in waste, water or energy wins a prize.
An Ecoteam is not just another meeting – it’s a place to translate ideas into action. It’s something for all ages, and groups with children and their parents can be arranged. Past Ecoteams have made great environmental savings, such as Sonia, a Bollington resident who reduced her waste by 55% and electricity by 18% by being part of an Ecoteam.
“I thought that there wasn't much else that I could do to easily change my lifestyle and reduce my CO2 impact. I felt I had already hit the easy, big issues. However, I did learn that I was becoming complacent and that actually there are many, many small actions that I can take in my life choices. This I absorbed from our fun, convivial meetings and I made new local friends as an added bonus.” Sonia, Bollington resident.
4 households completed the Global Action Plan Ecoteam pilot programme in 2008, achieving a 42% reduction in electricity, 11% reduction in waste and 9% reduction in gas.
If you would like to join or set up an ecoteam please email ecoteam@bollingtoncarbonrevolution.org.uk
Learn more about ecoteams on the global action plan website
Carbon
footprint
On 12th of November an intrepid group of second year students from Leeds University hit the streets of Bollington to gather data on the town's carbon footprint. The students were volunteers from the school's environment programmes, Students and staff participants managed to collect carbon footprint data from 287 households in Bollington in just three hours - this is a great result and represents about a 10% sample of the town.
The students were invited to Bollington by the BCR group to develop a baseline footprint to inform the group’s future work.
Work has been carried out by the students to extrapolate the data into a figure for the whole town. The outline results received recently by the group indicate that Bollington’s Carbon footprint is 38,494 tonnes per year. This was based on 14.5 tonnes of co2 per surveyed household. More information and analysis will be available shortly on the BCR website.
The project was featured in Macclesfield Express & local radio station Silk FM. It is planned that the survey will be repeated in the next few years to measure our progress.
Once Leeds University complete their analysis a more detailed report will be published on this site.
Community Garden
The Community Garden is a Bollington Civic Society project. A Community Garden is a plot of land which is looked after by the community - a group of people who like gardening and are eager to put their free time and effort into the development and upkeep of a garden for the wider public to enjoy. This need not be just a flower garden; where there is room vegetables can be grown a distributed locally, either by selling them or by donating them to worthy recipients as well as the gardeners. The size of a community garden is entirely dependent on the availability of land, a small plot for a selection of flowering plants and some annuals, right up to flower borders, vegetable patch and an orchard.
Local action
A number of those wishing to develop a community garden got together to organise themselves and to find a suitable plot of land, and everyone with a similar interest is invited to join the group. The first meeting was held on 20th August 2008 with 11 people attending and a further meeting was held on 17th September. If you are not yet known to the group and would like to attend, please email Rob Palmer for details. The group has been set up at this time because there are various grants available to establish new community gardens and the group wishes to take advantage of these before their time limits run out. The organiser of the Community Gardens Group is Rob Palmer. Next meeting: Tuesday 17th February 2009, Church House inn, upstairs room, 8pm. Notes of meetings: 17th November 2008 Inaugural meeting, 20th August 2008.
Read the introductory document
Renewables for Schools
In 2007 we helped Tytherington High School submit a successful application to The Co-operatives 100% renewables funding scheme, SolarCentury called Solar Panels for Schools. The school were awarded £20,000 and have installed the state of the art renewable energy technology, educating pupils on low carbon energy generation. We are now working with Dean Valley Primary School to help them identify suitable methods of renewable energy generation at their school and submit funding applications for its installation.
Toilet Block refurbishment
We are starting on a major project this year (2009) where we will convert the old toilet block at the end of Shrigley Road into a Low Carbon Advice Centre. The toilet block will be retrofitted as a flagship demonstration project, with high levels of insulation, use of renewable energy systems, and materials with a low environmental impact such as timber sourced from sustainable forests and organic paints. We will use the Centre to run our activities from. We are currently in the process of researching what the new Centre might look like and sourcing funding for the retrofit.
