Welcome to the first issue of “Sustainable Shores”! A newsletter brought to you by Exmouth Town Council, with regular updates on what we’re all doing locally to tackle the climate and ecological emergency. In this first issue, our Climate and Ecological Emergency Resilience Officer (Zoey Cooper) talks us through her first year in this new role – the highs, lows and everything in between!
Hi – I’m Zoey. I joined Exmouth Town Council (ETC) in November 2022 and have just completed a year in the role. And what an interesting and busy year it has been! Wanting to build on the great climate work already started in Exmouth, I spent the first few months getting to know the town (I moved from London in January), our Town Councillors and Staff, as well as Transition Exmouth, Plastic Free Exmouth and some of the other wonderful environmental groups in and around East Devon. I met with the Visit Exmouth team, EDDC’s and DCC’s Climate Officers, local businesses, organisations, schools and charities. Below are some of the bigger things I’ve started with the Climate and Ecological Emergency Working Party (and sometimes even finished!) in this first year:
Getting our own house in order – in January this year, ETC staff measured our carbon footprints and discussed ways to reduce them both at home and in the office. We regularly review our actions, from reducing waste to refilling, reusing & rethinking.
Climate Action Plan – in February, I drafted an Exmouth Climate Action Plan for the Climate and Ecological Working Party to review. It was approved at Full Council in April 2023 and you can find an up-to-date version on our website.
The Eco Hub – in March, with Transition Exmouth, we continued investigating the option of converting the Imperial Recreation Ground toilet block into an Eco Hub.
Hedgehog Highways – in April, we bought x50 hedgehog highway surrounds and launched a successful social media campaign to encourage people to make gaps in their fences to allow hedgehogs to roam, find food and make friends. I also passed my Carbon Literacy Training and can now teach others how to be carbon literate
No Mow May – as the name suggests, in May we didn’t mow the areas of grass that ETC is responsible for in Exmouth, to allow wildlife to thrive.
The Exmouth Cup – in June, with Sideshore, we started planning a reusable cup scheme for Exmouth. The Exmouth Cup is now available to borrow from more than 25 cafes in Exmouth – and the list is growing. See here for more details about the cup.
The Exmouth Festival – we worked hard this year to make the festival as eco-friendly as we could. As a result, we’ve received funding to measure our festival footprint, go further with next year’s initiatives and create guidelines for other East Devon festivals and events to follow. We’re excited that Exmouth is leading the way for Devon!
Samudra the Sea Serpent – supported by Sideshore, with the creative genius of Little Lost Robot and some of our primary schools, we co-created a sea monster to “eat” empty plastic bottles. On a windy Saturday morning in July, we unveiled “Samudra”. Look out for her at Sideshore when she comes back in the New Year.
New team member! In August, Roshni (an Exeter Uni second year student, passionate about the environment and studying English and Communication) joined our team and has been a huge help in launching and maintaining momentum for the Exmouth Cup.
Exmouth Chamber of Commerce Business Awards – ETC was proud to support the Environmental Impact award and we offered free sustainability workshops in September to Visit Exmouth and other local businesses, to help them measure and reduce their carbon footprints. There was a shortlist of not three but four strong candidates for this prize – deservedly won by the Bumble and Bee, Sea and Tee cafes.
“The Age of Stupid” – a highlight for us in November, was a screening of this climate film in the Town Hall, starring the late Pete Postlethwaite and followed by an inspiring Q&A with the director Franny Armstrong. A big thank you to Pip and Debbie Piper from OSBD Media Charity for organising this independent film festival for Exmouth, and accommodating our climate film choice. On November 11th, I joined a brilliant CAG Skillshare in Cullompton to talk about the Exmouth Cup. Watch this short video round-up of the inspiring and informative day or check out their newsletter.
Energy saving workshops – we’ve teamed up with Devon Communities Together to offer free energy saving workshops and 121s for Exmouth residents to stay warm and save money on fuel bills this winter. Look out for more information in January.
A sustainable Christmas – we finished up 2023 with a tree in All Saints that sums up the year for us and looks ahead to more rewarding work in 2024. Check out “Twiggy Tread Lightly” (now back in the ETC Reception area in the Town Hall) and read some of the green pledges we’ve been making at Exmouth Town Council.
What’s your green promise for 2024?
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