Fairford Environmental Society, FES

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Himalyan Balsam

On 8th June 2011 Chairman Mark Wardle and Committee Member Suzanne Jones met with representatives of the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust and The Cotswold Water Park Trust to discuss control of the highly invasive Himalayan Balsam. Only 3 stems were discovered along the Fairford stretch of the Coln, but it is rampant upstream and downstream. This year (2012) the two organisations hope to act to control its spread on the River Coln and we will discuss how FES can help at the AGM.

Trip to Whelford Pools Nature Reserve

The next FES meeting will take place outdoors. Following the inspirational talk by Steve Edmonds at the AGM, the Society is arranging a group visit to the Whelford Pools Nature Reserve on Sunday 28th November at 1.30 pm.

You can make your own way there by car, bicycle (there are a few bike racks) or foot (via the public footpath to the south of Lakes 104 and 105), or contact one of the committee members who will arrange car sharing. Don’t forget to bring binoculars, warm cloths and even a flask of hot drink.

AGM 25th August 2010

The Annual General Meeting was well attended.

We were delighted to have Steve Edmonds as guest speaker who has recently been appointed as a Gloucestershire Wildlife Reserve Manager. Steve talked about his work and in particular, about the vast improvements to the nature reserve at Whelford Pools. Steve offered a glimpse into the night life of the reserve by showing recent video footage of otter, badger, deer, fox and rabbit.

There then followed the main part of the meeting. Members were given updates on the latest developments regarding Lakes 103/104 and Horcott. There was also lively discussion on some amendments to our rules which the Committee had proposed to make admin a little easier. Members voted to agree to moving the year end to 31st October and to set the yearly membership fee to £5 per person.

Mark Wardle was unanimously re-elected as Chair. Quentin Tailford stood down as Treasurer, but Arthur Finney was elected in his place. Sue Trotter remains as Secretary and there are 6 other committee members.

Refreshments were available including Cheese, Wine and Soft drinks and there were a plethora of prizes in yet another of Arthur's highly successful raffles.

Open Meeting on 17th April 2010

Mike Meakin, an electronics engineer, gave an interesting and informative talk entitled On the Ball with Home Energy - Savings for All - How to cut your home energy bills

He outlined simple ways to monitor your home energy consumption and explained how by becoming more aware of our household energy consumption we can reduce it, thus saving money and reducing CO2 emissions.

Part of the 10:10 campaign to reduce your carbon emissions by 10% in 2010.

Earth Hour – Saturday 27 March 8.30pm

Switch everything off for an hour!

Join the global movement to highlight the need to cut down energy consumption by taking part in Earth Hour on 27 March. Click here to find out more.

Open Meeting on 9th January 2010

The Fairford Environmental Society held a successful meeting to launch the 10:10 campaign in the town.

FES was delighted to welcome as a guest speaker Jason Prior, an urban designer, landscape architect and environmental planner. Jason is president of EDAW whose recent projects include design of the London Olympic masterplan and Olympic park.

Despite the snow, 40 people came to hear Jason give an inspirational illustrated talk about how he has converted a decrepit old building into a highly energy-efficient home complete with solar panels and a wind turbine. The importance of re-using materials wherever possible and sourcing other items locally was highlighted.

The aim of the 10:10 campaign is to get as many people as possible to reduce their carbon emissions by 10% in the year 2010, which will not only help to combat climate change but will also save plenty of money! Luckily, this reduction in energy use is very easy to achieve; simple measures like turning the lights off and not leaving appliances on standby can make a big difference.

The meeting finished with refreshments of tea and coffee with homemade mince pies. It was a good opportunity for members and non members to chat and swap energy saving ideas.