Sustainable Warwickshire

The £1m Green Shoots Community Climate Change Fund is allocated by Warwickshire County Council and supports a wide range of small, community-powered initiatives across Warwickshire in addressing the climate change emergency.

The Weddington Allotments Association has been awarded £3,665 in Green Shoots funding in order to launch a project that will:

• Capture and store rainwater for use on allotment plots, instead of plot-holder using mains water
• Increase biodiversity by creating a new pond habitat in an unused area, which will be re-wilded with native plants; and
• Increase use of the covered area at the site in the evenings using solar power to charge batteries for lighting and water pumps.

Overall, this project aims to dramatically reduce the site’s reliance upon utilities such as mains water and electricity, which will minimise the impact on the environment whilst also cutting the running costs. The rainwater will be stored in 1,000 litre containers which are being repurposed from the food industry, where they would otherwise have been discarded into landfill.

The idea to create a pond habitat is a response to the widespread loss of such habitats in the Weddington area related to housing developments.  By creatiing a pond in an overgrown area and rewilding the site with native plants will give a boost to the site’s biodiversity, attracting pollinating insects, plants and predators such as frogs, which will help to keep the slug population at bay for plot holders.  

Cllr Heather Timms, Portfolio Holder for Environment, Climate and Culture, said: “The Weddington Allotments Association Project is another fantastic example of that fact that only a small investment of funding can make a big difference to our environments and changing climate.

“We are fortunate in Warwickshire to have a large number of allotment sites in all our towns as well as many of our smaller communities. The Weddington project is so simple and effective that there is no reason other sites couldn’t adopt some of the elements, particularly around rainwater storage.

“It is also of note that these impressive upgrades will be completed using volunteers, engaging plot-holders and the local community in the works and becoming a true demonstration of a community powered Warwickshire.”

Bernard Peffers, Committee Member from the Weddington Allotments Association, said “We are acutely aware of climate change and see the impact through the produce grown on the allotments. These funds will help us with supporting plot holders to reduce our carbon footprint not just in growing produce locally but in replacing the use of mains supplied water with rainwater.

“Wellbeing, in its broadest sense, is also really important to the members of the allotments so enhancing the environment for the benefit of the community around us as well for members with the biodiversity a new pond will bring is a great opportunity which we couldn’t do without the help of the Green Shoots funding.”

More information about the Weddington Allotment Association can be found online: https://www.facebook.com/weddingtonallotments/?locale=en_GB

A full list of projects that will receive Green Shoots Community Climate Change funding can be found here: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/regeneration-projects/green-shoots-community-climate-change-fund-2022/5

For more information about the Fund, visit: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/greenshootsfund 

For more information about how Warwickshire is facing the challenges of the climate change emergency, visit: https://www.warwickshireclimateemergency.org.uk/

Get the latest news about how Warwickshire County Council and partners are facing the challenge of the climate emergency and how you can get involved: http://eepurl.com/hrk-zf