Notes from Sheffield FoE Local Group meeting - 16th January 2023 by Zoom
Attendees: Lindy (chair), Liddy G (notes), Richard, Mary B, Shaun
·
November meeting– good attendance (75) for Home
Heating Solutions meeting organised by Shaun which was advertised nationally
through FoE and used Eventbrite. Presentations from the three speakers on
Infrared Heating, Air Source Heat Pumps and Zero Emission Boilers and relevant links are on the website. A
report on the event and relevant links is already on our website and recordings
will hopefully soon follow (when technical difficulties are overcome)
·
December meeting – this was a Christmas social at the Showroom
(Lindy, Shaun, Liddy, Geoff Cox from Climate Alliance).
·
Plastic Free
Central bid - £566 was
awarded from ward funding to trial reusable cups with a deposit schemes but unfortunately
this has not been feasible due to a change on the coffee stall holder.
·
Global Day of
Action in November – a number of
groups were represented at the rally in Barkers Pool and the FoE banners were
there and then taken on the march through Sheffield city centre to Devonshire
Green by a small group of FoE members.
·
Waitrose Funding: We were offered an £800 commitment- free
grant from Waitrose and Lindy and Liddy went to Waitrose to receive the cheque
in December.
·
National Schools’
Climate Conference: Richard reported that the conference in November hosted by King
Edward’s School was well attended by 38 schools from across the UK. After the
conference, a series of demands from the young people were presented to Downing
Street by King Edwards’ students.
·
Update on
supporter numbers - Database stands
at 521 (+11 since Oct) , Twitter 901 (+4) , Facebook 688 (+4).
United for Warm
Homes campaign
The United for Warm
Homes campaign https://unitedforwarmhomes.uk/
is a major ongoing FoE campaign that
we want to contribute to. At our October meeting and subsequently in
December we discussed using some of our funds to buy a thermal imaging camera. Lindy
and Shaun have researched some options. There is a recommended model
which Octopus have given to community groups and is £575 (inc VAT) to buy. If
we use the Waitrose funding to buy one, we could use it before the end of the
winter.
The meeting
agreed that a thermal imaging camera will have a part to play in the United for
Warm Homes campaign by raising awareness
and also providing a practical activity that can galvanise people to take
action on their own homes and more widely.
With the proviso that Lindy does one more check with FoE, the
meeting agreed to the purchase of the FLIR ONE Edge Pro https://www.flir.co.uk/products/flir-one-edge-pro/?vertical=condition+monitoring&segment=solutions
using the bulk of the Waitrose donation for this purpose. FLIR thermal imaging
cameras are well regarded and this model has been selected as a mid-way model
from basic to professional and is used by Octopus Energy to loan out to
customers.
It was agreed that details of how to make the most
appropriate use of the camera will develop in a trial period. The preference was to train a key person for
a community group and let them take the lead.
Reservations were expressed about loaning to individuals. Mary B has
strong links to communities in south Sheffield and is keen to help liaise on this.
Other business:
·
Climate petition: The link to the climate change petition to
the council is in the latest newsletter and is the petition is available online
for signing if you have not already done so.
·
Local Plan: The council’s draft Local Plan for Sheffield
is available for consultation and Sheffield Climate Alliance is holding an
event on 24th January which will be a public meeting to discuss the
plan:
https://www.southyorkshireclimatealliance.org.uk/events/sca-monthly-meeting-the-sheffield-plan
·
Schools Climate Education South Yorkshire – Richard
provided an update on plans for this year’s conference and asked for volunteers
(ideally from 8-4 on the day). It will be a face to face event for both primary
and secondary schools at Victoria Hall on 2 March. Keynote speaker from Dept of
Education lead for Climate Change, Juanita Shepherd. Full programme including speakers
and workshops. A potential drama performance for the event is also in
development.
Next
Meeting:
Monday
February 13th 7:30pm – by
Zoom. We will follow up on previous energy and Warm Homes related topics with a discussion of green
energy and alternatives to fossil fuels [Note this is second Monday in
February]
