Holy Trinity South Wimbledon

Holy Trinity Green Group

News and information from the Holy Trinity Green Group about activities in Merton

See the Sustainable Merton website

May Asparagus, carrots, new potatoes, radishes and spinach are great seasonal choices for May. Enjoy them while they're at their best.

20's plenty for Merton
See http://20splentyformerton.moonfruit.com

First Saturdays 11am Rag rug making
Come and learn how to use recycled materials to make beautiful bags and rugs. Email ttwimbledon@yahoo.co.uk for more information.

First Tuesday of the month, 9.30 - 11am Green Coffee at the YMCA, 200 The Broadway
A get-together for people interested in environmental and community issues. It’s an opportunity to exchange ideas and plan how to make Wimbledon a healthier, happier and more sustainable place. Meet in the cafe upstairs - with lift so it's fully accessible. All tea and coffee Fairtrade.

Green Drinks See http://www.projectdirt.com/apps/event/3780/
Interested in environmental and community matters? Come for a drink or two and discuss the issues on the third Wednesday of each month.

Fourth Saturdays, 11am-1pm Community market at Dundonald Congregational Church
Visit the market on a Saturday. Home-made cakes, pies and jams as well as local produce and bric-a-brac at this friendly community market on Dundonald Road . Stalls are only £5. Contact pastornigel19@yahoo.co.uk to book a stall.

Every Saturday, 9am-1pm Wimbledon farmers’ market at Wimbledon Park Primary School, Havana Road, SW19 8EJ
A chance to get your groceries direct from local farmers.

Keep campaigning

Green Group ideas and web-links

http://www.dothegreenthing.com/actions/walk_the_walk

 http://www.eta.co.uk/green_driving

Remember to take a bag with you when you go shopping or buy sandwiches for lunch (or even set up a 'bag pool'); 
write a shopping list and stop buying more food than you need;
 buy products from recycled materials; use green cleaning products; and have milk and food delivered.  
Avoid jet-setting, globe-trotting greens. Eating seasonal, field-grown foods can really help to reduce your emissions. 
 As a first step, you could visit our local farmers markets.

If we all stop wasting food that could have been eaten, the CO₂ impact would be the equivalent of taking 1 in 5 cars off the road

Look at http://www.bbc.co.uk/bloom/actions/localseasonalfood.shtml#quickjump 
to understand why it is important to eat local AND seasonal produce.
Look at http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/ to see why it is so important 
not to waste food and for advice on how to make sure you don't buy or cook too much.
See also http://www.soilassociation.org/web/sa/saweb.nsf/home/index.html
You'll be getting your electricity from clean, renewable sources like wind turbines - saving masses of carbon emissions. 
Guidelines on green energy tariffs are changing, so visit http://www.greenelectricity.org/ for up-to-date advice. 
Once you've decided which one suits you best, you can switch to green power at www.uswitch.com . 
Also see http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/
Stop water waste. For example, in your toilets, fill a plastic bottle with water, seal it, and then place it in your cistern.  
The toilet will still flush effectively but will use much less water. Fix any dripping taps. 
As for showers, keep to 5 mins max and also don't leave the tap running while you are brushing your teeth.

LINK:  http://www.thameswater.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/corp/hs.xsl/3784.htm

Make sure you recycle EVERYTHING you can (see if you can get your recycling bins overflowing).

See www.merton.gov.uk/recycling   for more information. 
Also, order a compost bin if you have not already done so on 0845 077 0757. The Council sells them at reduced rates.  

Reduce energy use. For example, turn off mobile phones, televisions and cd players. 
Switch off lights when not in a room or going out. Also avoid overfilling the kettle and wasting energy.

LINKS: www.biggreenswitch.co.uk  and WWF www.wwf.org.uk

www.together.com   lists simple ways to reduce climate change.

Clare Brown