From economics and eco-homes to soil and ‘Swishing’. Alison Turnbull dropped into a HI Sustainability meeting to find out more about the ethos and activities of this green-focused local group.
Set up seven years ago in 2018 to respond to climate challenges locally, if its recent meeting is anything to go by, the HI Sustainability Group appears to be going from strength to strength. 16 people, all interested in joining the cause, met up in the snug of The Boot pub; eager to find out what the group had planned, offer suggestions, and find out if there were events or projects that they could join in with.
There is currently an active, if small, committee of local residents including, Nicole Barton (chair), Louise Baker, Sue Free and Fran Sutton. Sue explains to me that HI Sustainability’s stated aim is to: “raise local awareness of sustainability and environmental issues including climate change, and to help local individuals, voluntary sector groups and businesses take action on sustainability and environment issues to mitigate their impact on climate change by reducing carbon emissions”.
In simple terms this boils down to running projects to increase the community’s “personal and planetary happiness” in the areas of: recycling, transport, food, nature conservation, political influence, energy, education and the local economy.
Quite the mission in a village the size of Histon and Impington but, in the years it has been active, the group has had a visible presence at every village gathering including, Feast week, the Community Orchard breakfasts, Open Gardens, HI Friends’ Wellbeing Week and many more.
From humble beginnings
HI Sustainability became active in 2018 after some green-minded local folk screened a film Demain, exploring creative solutions around travel, food, education and economics. Around 185 people came along and then another 30 joined a subsequent planning meeting to match up their skills and interests with new initiatives that might help the H&I community live more sustainably.
A sold-out banquet-style vegan feast followed, then the Village’s first Swish (swapping and sharing used clothing) and a green spaces trail for Wellbeing Week. COVID saw the group take a forced hiatus, only to come back stronger in 2023 with the Eco Fest at the Baptist Church and a popular screening of the film Six Inches of Soil among many other volunteer-led events. The group also occasionally co-hosts events with Cambridge Carbon Footprint which supports some of their activities.
Sustainable conversations
In addition to the group’s regular members’ meetings, their current programme includes a series, called ‘Conversations About’. Most recently, Dan Mace chair of Histon & Impington Community Orchard (HICOP) gave a talk about planting for increased biodiversity. The conversation was an opportunity for Dan to share experience gained through his involvement in the development of the orchard, and for residents to consider ways of growing their own patch of meadow, or just making their lawn more interesting.
The next ‘Conversation About’ will cover electric vehicles (EVs), and how to charge them amongst other issues. This will be followed in September by a conversation about retrofitting homes. Keep an eye on the HI HUB What’s On pages for details of these and more in due course.
Go say ‘hi’ at the Farmers Market
The group is also running a regular stall at the farmers market, at Histon’s Methodist Church. The stall is currently being funded by Histon and Impington Parish Council until July. It’s proving to be a good way of having conversations in a low-key way and sharing ideas of things people are already doing to reduce their carbon footprint. The next farmers market is from 9 am until 12 noon on Saturday 15 February when the Hedgehog Heroes – the group championing the humble hedgehog’s right to roam through our gardens – will be hosting the stall.
Sue Free explains that they are looking for ways to grow the group, to find ways for people to be more involved without it becoming too onerous. So if that’s something that you think you would like to be a part of, the team would love to hear from you.
To find out more, visit HISustainability or email Histonsustainablity@gmail.com
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