Focus on climate issues at Axminster's annual parish meeting

Climate issues were put to the top of the agenda at Axminster's annual parish meeting on Monday evening. 

Residents gathered in the Guildhall for the annual meeting, which started with a presentation from town councillor Bernie Steadman, who is fronting the new Axminster Climate Action Group (ACAG).

She reported that the group had been launched as a branch of Axminster Town Council in late 2022, by a small group of residents who were keen to take the climate crisis more seriously. 

Cllr Steadman said that the group recognised it was limited on what it could do, but it wanted to take small steps for the benefit of everyone in Axminster, particularly the younger generation. 

She updated the meeting on some of the initiatives that were already underway, which included River Cottage sponsoring seed packets for local schoolchildren, planting trees on land at the cemetery with a view to creating a community woodland or orchard, as well as planting more trees and rewilding at Jubilee Field.

Cllr Steadman also said the action group would be supporting the new Axminster Climate Cafe, the first dates of which will be on Saturday, April 15 and Saturday, June 10 in the John Tweed Room at the Axminster Health and Wellbeing Centre, from 10.30am to 12noon.

You can find out more on Axminster Climate Action Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1389890495181433

Cllr Steadman then introduced a group of students from Axe Valley Academy, who had been accompanied to the meeting by headteacher Laura Jenkins to present their ideas on making the school and Axminster community more sustainable.

The pupils encouraged those attending to reuse, reduce and recycle by supporting local initiatives such as No Toy Left Behind, which refurbishes unwanted toys and sells them for affordable prices at the Pippins Community Centre. 

In their school, they said they hoped to cut down on single-use plastic bottles, install water fountains and collect rain water to use in the gardens. 

They also hoped to reduce energy consumption in the school computer rooms, and consider solar panels and green energy suppliers. 

In the wider community, they said they would like to see more environmental events, including book readings, recycling competitions and litter picks, as well as an increase in wildflower and tree planting and the lowering of car emissions, which they suggested could be achieved through pedestrianisation.

Kay Pike of Plastic Free Axminster then gave an update on the group's activities, as it continues to work hard to encourage residents, businesses and community groups to reduce their use of single-use plastic items. 

She thanked Axminster Town Council for its support in this initiative and said the authority was taking several steps to reduce its own impact on the environment, including giving reusable water bottles to staff and councillors, swapping office supplies such as Sellotape to more environmentally-friendly alternatives and installing drinking fountains in the town.

Updating the meeting on some of Plastic Free Axminster's ongoing projects, Mrs Pike referred to the Boomerang Bags scheme, which sees shoppers borrow reusable bags from partaking shops and return them later, and the Refill scheme which used a mobile phone app to show where you can refill your water bottle or buy a hot drink in your own reusable cup. 

The group also runs regular community litter picks and pop-up talks and events to further spread their message. 

You can find out more at https://www.facebook.com/groups/plasticfreeaxminster/