Actions/minutes - January 2010

(Thanks Simon)

Seeing as this was our review of 2009 and planning meeting for 2010, this will be a bit more minutey than the list of actions I normally do.

Attending: Viv, Simon (scribe), Helen, Ed, Steve L (chair), Sarah, Robert, Dave, Gerry, Steve C

Apologies: Deb S, Andy

Just passing through: Adrian


1) Finance. We currently have £900 of Transition Swindon?s money (because they don?t have their own bank account) and £1500 of SCAN money

2) Update on the SSP Climate Change Action Plan (Ed / Steve you might want to provide a more coherent update than I managed to minute)

The plan runs from 2006 to 2010 and has produced quite a weighty document but this has not been updated nor has progress against it tracked in any meaningful way.

For after 2010 the plan seems to be to shift away from the strategic partnership (i.e. council plus interested public bodies; primary care trust, police, SCAN etc) towards a more council-focussed sustainability directors group with a sustainability managers group working underneath them, with 4 key visions ? zero carbon, zero waste, transport and local food

There's a One Planet conference planned for March as a follow up to the one held last year by Kevin McCloud. We want to offer input into the planning of this conference. Action for Ed to draft something to feed into this planning.

 3) Web site

Jez has been hard at work developing a new layout and has produced some prototype pages for us to look at. Take a look at them here: http://www.swindonclimate.org.uk/HomeNew (I think it looks really good). Feedback, suggestions etc to Jez please, or you could post them as comments on the prototype pages if you?re registered.

 4) Review of 2009.

            Age of Stupid film show, very successful

            Yes Men film show, not as well attended but still went well

            The talk by Antarctic visitor Duncan Robinson

            We?ve been good at raising public awareness

            Also good at building networks

            Schools work has been very difficult since the collapse of the eco-schools programme

            Transition Swindon network going well

            Good mobilisation for the Wave march ? we took a full coach to London

            Swindon Civic Trust also doing well

 At this point Steve L suggested that SCAN might want to join Green Communities, a project run by the Energy Saving Trust offering advice, training and more in support of projects to reduce communities? carbon footprint. Check them out at http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/cafe. Any objections?

 5) Strategy for 2010.

General election ? this will obviously be a big one for the first few months of the year, especially with WWF targeting South Swindon as a marginal constituency and wanting to link up with local campaigners to ensure lots of lobbying of the candidates on climate change. They want a hardcore letter-writing group, and also a wider awareness-raising group. There?ll be a follow-up meeting with the WWF rep in January.

We?d like to prepare a list of pertinent questions to send to all the parliamentary candidates, and then publicise their answers to raise the profile of their positions on climate change

Should we also do the same for council candidates?

Action on Dave to ask cllr Brian Mattock how climate change fits into the connecting people connecting places agenda

Ed suggested holding a few public meetings or talks to get to grips with some big subjects. Co-op have expressed an interest in holding a joint event, an event with the Civic Trust was also suggested.

Action on All to suggest ideas for events we could hold. There?s a page for this purpose at http://www.swindonclimate.org.uk/eventsuggestions (although it?s a bit out of date ? oops). It?s a private page so you need to be signed in to see it. Or if you?re not registered to edit our web site you could send me suggestions to put up there.

Another film show?

6) Media and marketing for small organisations course. SCAN will be paying for Steve L to attend this course. Adrian is also going but has offered to pay his own fee.

 7) Social events / fundraising events/stalls

A joint social with the WWF election campaign rep and the various groups joining their lobbying campaign was suggested

Action on Helen to identify potential events for holding a stall, at the Wiltshire Worldchangers upcoming get-together

 8) Next meeting. Actually we forgot to talk about this, but I?m assuming it?ll be 10th February, 7:30pm, back to our normal venue of the Savoy?

 Does anyone know Steve Chadfield?s email address? He?s a bit of a regular at Green Drinks but I think this was the first time he?s come to a SCAN meeting.


Any errors or omissions, please shout, and if I?ve missed anyone off the d-list, please shout.