Author Archives: TTL

Letchworth, the UKs first garden city, is the first town in Hertfordshire to be awarded ‘Plastic Free Communities’ Status as it takes action on single-use plastic.

Posted on by June 12, 2019

Letchworth Garden City has joined a network of communities across the UK who are leading the way on tackling throw away plastic. The town has been awarded Plastic Free Community Approved status by Marine Conservation charity, Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), in recognition of the work it has done to start reducing the impact of single-use plastic on the environment. Transition Town Letchworth, a charity whose aim is to tackle climate change locally,started the campaign in January 2018 with a lively public meeting which was fortuitously aligned with the final episode of Blue Planet II. Registering with the SAS Plastic Free … more

How will Climate Change Affect Letchworth?

Posted on by June 5, 2019

For our May 2019 Transition Tuesday we set ourselves the ambitious challenge of trying to determine how Letchworth might be affected by climate change. The evening used risk management techniques to guide us through the complexities of how climate change might play out locally. The risk management exercise first considered a scenario which could keep global warming to no more than 1.5 degree and asked was there any risk that key elements of Letchworth society would fail to function. There was general agreement that changing weather could increase the risk around access to water and food. The audience felt population movements from countries where 1.5 … more

Tackling Climate Change One Milk Carton At A Time

Posted on by June 5, 2019

Recently we have seen high profile public campaigns seeking to persuade those in office to take action to address climate change. As individuals we regularly feel disempowered. But sometimes there are some politically difficult problems that individuals can get on with solving, leading by example. As part of the Plastic Free Letchworth team we have been talking to local schools about switching from milk in cartons with straws to bottles of milk and reusable beakers. Cool Milk, our local school milk provider, are implementing solutions that will reduce the overall volume of plastic waste associated with school milk. Some schools … more

Re-Imagining Letchworth Garden City Design Competition

Posted on by April 30, 2019

Transition Town Letchworth (TTL) have welcomed the opportunity to view the entries to your design competition. We were pleased to see a range of ideas across the entries for tackling the problem of moving to a more sustainable way of living. TTL still have concerns about the site chosen for this development, in particular the difficulties this creates for a successful shift to sustainable transport when the site is a significant distance from key services and the train station. With four high quality entries, and so much information in the design sheets and supporting documents, comparing the entries was a challenge! … more

Letchworth’s and districts Organic Gardening Group Spring Event

Posted on by April 30, 2019

On Saturday April 27th, LOG ( formerly GIYO) held its 4th annual fundraising Spring event at the Free Church Hall in Letchworth. As on previous occasions the cafe kitchen did a spendid job and our Growers market plant stall had a huge array of edible plants for sale. The Hitchin branch of Friends of the Earth had a stall explaining what they are currently doing . This year we missed the LDGA stall which is always a great display, as they were busy doing other things. Our speaker was Geoff Hodge, broadcaster and author, speaking about pests and diseases. He … more

Letchworth’s Big Spring Clean

Posted on by April 10, 2019

On Sunday morning members of the Plastic Free Letchworth Team held a litter pick at the Jackman’s Play Area in Letchworth as their contribution to the ‘Surfers Against Sewage Big Spring Beach Clean’. Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) had asked their Plastic Free Community Groups across the country to join them in their truly ‘epic community response to plastic pollution on our beaches, rivers, streets and mountains’. Teams were provided with reusable bags and gloves to help ensure that this event did not contribute any more single-use plastic to the planet. In just over an hour and a half a team of six … more

The Future of Transport In Letchworth

Posted on by February 27, 2019

Following an engaging Transition Tuesday in January, where we had a presentation on LTP4 from Herts County Council transport team, Transition Town Letchworth (TTL) have shared the following thoughts with the HCC Transport Team on what they would like to see addressed in LTP4 Supporting Documents TTL believe that Letchworth should embrace the Transport User Hierarchy that is the centre piece of LTP4 putting in place a plan to become a Sustainable Travel Town. We are also keen to have good sustainable transport links to adjacent towns and to see high utilisation of public transport options. This note details our … more

GIYO – NEXT STEPS

Posted on by November 29, 2018

The GIYO group began due to people coming to the Growers’ Market stall to ask for advice about starting a veg plot. Having helped several people to get started by visiting their plots/gardens, it was decided that a support group would help. That is the GIYO group we now have. Spreading the word is a key element of the work of both Garden Organic and Transition Town Letchworth of which GIYO are a sub group. A review of the 2018 GIYO programme revealed that the most attended meetings were at the beginning and end of the year and one roughly in … more

Is hot weather evidence of Climate Change?

Posted on by September 14, 2018

I’ve been having conversations with all sorts of people, starting with the question “Are your friends linking the hot weather to Climate Change?” Responses are mostly either “Not really” or “Yes a bit” I’ve followed up “Not really” with “What do you think would have happened if you had asked them that question?” Answers varied from “I wouldn’t” to “I don’t know” and the conversation developed from there. I continued “Yes, a bit” with “Did those folk express any interest in doing anything about it?” Mostly “No” to which I said “What do you think would have happened if you … more

Books to Schools to Tackle Plastic Problem

Posted on by July 19, 2018

A mother of four has written a series of books to help educate children about the impact of plastics on ocean ecosystems and a grant from North Herts District Council’s Letchworth Area Committee has been given to the Plastic Free Letchworth Project to provide a copy of these books to all the primary schools in Letchworth.Ellie Jackson, who lives by the sea in Looe, Cornwall, wrote her first book while living in Australia. It was inspired by a year spent on a tropical island, during which she and her family saw a turtle being released back into the ocean after a year of … more