June 2020

Despite lockdown, there's plenty going on to challenge and enable us to live more sustainably, during lockdown and after:

Creative competition for Under-18s - closing date 5th June
So good they showed it twice! Did you miss "The Story of Plastic" when we showed it in May? We're showing it again on 1 July.
Find out more about about solutions to the plastic pollution crisis, and how you play your part.
Our Planet Our Future returns on Zoom: Sustainable living - learnings from lockdown.
We still need more people to get involved!
Read some guest #lockdown blogs by concerned local activists.
We say a sad goodbye to The Green Kitchen.
Got questions about growing food? Join an online Food Garden Question Time.
Read about the proposed new Sopwell Community Garden.
Rebuilding our world - An opportunity to hear Siân Berry (co-leader, The Green Party).
Some national news items you may have missed.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR: We'd love to see how you and your family are living more sustainably during lockdown. Perhaps you are riding your bikes more, growing fruit and veg, cooking with left-overs, or listening to the extra bird song? We want to hear about it!

HOW TO ENTER:

You must be under 18
Click here to enter.
Attach your photo & description, artwork, poem, or creative writing
Include your name and age, and confirmation that you have your parent’s permission to enter.

DEADLINE: 5 pm on Friday 5 June.

PRIZES: Everyone who enters will be entered in a prize draw. 5 entries will be chosen at random and win a £15 gift voucher. A sample of entries will be printed in the Herts Advertiser.

Virtual screening of "The Story of Plastic"

Wednesday 1 July, 7 pm

with post-film panel discussion at 8.30 pm

The Story of Plastic takes a distinctive approach and looks deeply at the power of Big Oil and Big Tobacco whose stake in the development of single-use plastic is often ignored.

Our first screening of the film showed to around sixty people, who joined Daisy Cooper, MP for St Albans, and other panellists for an interesting discussion after the film.

If you haven't seen this challenging film yet, come and join us on 1 July. Limited tickets available so please get your FREE tickets now: Click here to book and for further details.

For the post-film panel discussion we are delighted to welcome:

Jen Gale - author of Sustainable(ish) blog and book (see below)
Catherine Ross - Sustainable St Albans
Amanda Yorwerth - St Albans Friends of the Earth

We are especially delighted to be joined by Jen Gale, author of the inspiring Sustainable(ish) blog 'the home of easy, every day sustainability for the #imperfectlygreen helping everyday people manage everyday solutions about sustainability'.

Did you see our first showing of "The Story of Plastic"?

Would you like to learn more about the push for lasting solutions to the plastic pollution crisis?

Would you like to reduce your plastic waste?

Visit #breakfreefromplastic.org, a global movement envisioning a future free from plastic pollution. Since its launch in 2016, more than 8,000 organizations and individual supporters from across the world have joined the movement to demand massive reductions in single-use plastics and to push for lasting solutions to the plastic pollution crisis.

Join millions of people reducing their plastic waste. Plastic Free July is a global movement that helps millions of people be part of the solution to plastic pollution – so we can have cleaner streets, oceans, and beautiful communities. Will you be part of Plastic Free July by choosing to refuse single-use plastics?

Four companies - Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestlé and Unilever - create more than half a million tonnes of plastic pollution every year in six poorer countries. Read a report about this here. Charity Tearfund asked these companies to make commitments to tackle plastic pollution and have produced a league table to show how each company is doing.

Sustainable living - learnings from lockdown

Monday 13 July, 7.30-9.00 pm, via Zoom

A series of short talks and discussion about sustainable living and what we have learnt from the coronavirus lockdown.

Book here; for further information click here.

Would you like to ...

Sustainable St Albans information sessions

Join in an informal "How to get involved" session online, aimed at anyone who wants to hear a little more about the work of Sustainable St Albans and find out how they could take part. A couple of trustees will be available to chat as follows:

Wednesday 10 June, 10-11 am: click here to join
Wednesday 10 June, 8-9 pm: click here to join

(These meetings use Zoom but you don't need to install it on your device.)

Have you read some of our latest blogs?

We're showcasing a series of guest #lockdown blogs by concerned local activists on our blog page.

Embracing Slow Fashion

This blog is all about clothes, the fashion industry and environmental concerns.

Learning with nature under lockdown – a father’s story

This inspiring blog, the story of one father discovering how to use nature as an education for his young daughter, includes some stunning photographs.

Partners and other news

Saying goodbye to

We're so sad to hear that local vegan pioneer Heather Foster has taken the difficult decision to close The Green Kitchen, after 5 years in the lead of a wave of interest in vegan food in the area.

Heather has said, 'To my lovely customers and friends, during the last 2 months I have had time to reflect on the business and how the future looks. At the start of the lockdown we continued trading by selling stock items and fresh fruit and veg. ... [but] the likelihood of new regulations for cafes means the green kitchen isn't going to be a viable option any more. So I'm sad to say it's not good news. I've made the tough decision to permanently close the green kitchen from June 1st. and cease trading.'

Heather set up St Albans' first ever vegan café five years ago and it became a much loved venue for local people, showing that vegan food was delicious as well as good for the planet. Heather was a strong supporter of the Sustainability Festival, and could often be found cooking behind the scenes for Sustainable St Albans events.

Thank-you Heather, for all your support for Sustainable St Albans and the Sustainability Festival - and for bringing vegan food and interests to St Albans. Good luck in your future ventures!

An online event from Grow Community - Sopwell

Thursday 18 June 8 pm

Join this special Food Garden chat with our panel of experienced local gardeners!

See more and book NOW for this online event here.

Panellists:

Ian Langford is currently chair of FoodSmiles St Albans, a local food growing co-op that he has been involved with for 5 years. He took on an allotment at the Nunnery site 16 years ago and is still going!
Michelle Mackenzie is an experienced gardener and Sopwell allotment holder for many years, and has led guided tours around the allotments.
Amanda Yorwerth is an RHS qualified professional gardener & has been growing her own fruit and veg for over 30 years.

And more from

New Community Garden for Sopwell ward

Grow Community Sopwell are planning to create a community garden in Sopwell ward, with the support of the council. The first step is to consult with local residents to decide where it should go.

Look out on the community notice boards and on social media later in June for details for the council’s residents' engagement. You’ll have the opportunity to express your views on this exciting new project in Sopwell.

Siân is also a London Assembly member and was twice a London Mayoral candidate. This event was originally due to be a live event as part of the St Albans Sustainability Festival.

Click here to book your ticket.

And some national news items you may have missed ...