Autumn – my favourite season

As part of his Year of the Environment celebrations, the Archbishop of York today has invited people to view online the Autumn update from Bishopthorpe Gardens.  You can read the update here.

This is the third seasonal update about the flora and fauna habitats within the grounds at Bishopthorpe Palace.

Written by Garry O’Reagan, the Head Gardener, it features the introduction of spring bulbs in preparation for next year, the tree chosen to celebrate the Year of the Environment planted by the Archbishop, clutches of eggs hatched from the bird boxes and the squirrels busy burying conkers in the lawn.

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu said: “Autumn is a wonderful season, a time of harvest and a time of thanksgiving for what nature gives us”.


Eleanor Course

Food recycling in Easingwold

As part of the Year of the Environment, Easingwold Deanery’s Green Deans Margaret Price and Helen Kitchen organised a Food recycling project. For 3 weeks a total of 23 households and 2 shops collected all their food waste into Grott Food Residue to Energy Sacks, and this was collected and disposed of to a Combined Heat and Power process, a way to produce renewable energy from food pre prep and leftovers.
 
Over 250 kgs of food residues were collected, saving Hambleton District Council money in diverting this resource from landfill. Food waste in landfill creates methane gases that are more harmful to the environment than CO2.  It is costly to dispose of to landfill and these costs are rising every year.

It has been a revealing process, many people surprised by how much they do throw away, and what they throw away.   Overall, 60% of the weight of our rubbish is food.  Composting at home can reduce this by half.
The photo shows Georgina Bingham, Director of AH&I, the company behind the Grott Range of Products which are aimed at resource recovery and who are helping to create a solution to the problem of food waste collection and disposal, and Margaret Price, at the Stillington Collection point.

On Friday, 7th and Saturday, 8th October, a stall with leaflets, more results of the project, and a number of freebies, will be outside Towlers in Easingwold, with a craft activity on the Saturday.


Helen Kitchen, Easingwold Deanery Green Dean