If you are thinking of applying to be Forest green coordinator, this is the stuff you need to know about:
Recycling
This is currently one of the main things. We have been recycling for a long time, and it is one of the main ways in which we can claim to be environmentally responsible (more so than other cafes, perhaps).
The recycling needs to get done regularly. Maire and Arianne are two of the people who help to do this. It generally gets done. The main consideration with recycling is trying to make sure people know what to do with the different types of waste, and making sure the recycling area stays reasonably clean and organised.
Composting
The composting is being put on hold for the summer as we don't want to have to deal with vast amounts of fruit flies like last year. Jonathan generally looks after compost. Main consideration is making sure that we do not infringe any health & safety laws. Long term, we should try to find a good way of using/distributing our compost as we are unlikely to ever need it all ourselves.
Efficiency
We have very high energy bills. Cutting them down is a major challenge. We are currently applying to Good Energy to try and get a supply of clean, green energy instead of fossil fuel stuff. It would be good if we could be more economical with water as well.
Efficiency is perhaps the most serious area of Forest green-ness. I think in the long term we really need improvement in this area.
Garden
The garden is something we've never figured out what to do with. Obviously, we would like to grow stuff, but it is fairly unrealistic to hope that we can produce anything genuinely useful.
Garden strategy will probably now have to wait until after we have had our new fire exit staircase installed at the back of the building. When this is done, we can think about how to make best use of our garden. This would possibly mean a small area for growing - wherever the sunlight falls, possibly using glass - and other functional things such as water collection, compost and possibly even a sheltered place for Forest people to sit outside and chill together.
Information
This is the area of Forest environmentalism that I would like to keep for myself. I have updated the green info on our website and established the enviromation board downstairs for paper stuff. I will continue to devise ways of spreding the green message and trying to increase involvement in the wondrous joys of protecting and caring for our beautiful planet.
Committee
Forest environment coordinator is a committee position. The person doing it will not have to attend committeee meetings, but should do so when there is serious stuff to consider. All major developments in the Forest need to be discussed at committee level, obviously.
I will still be around to offer help/guidance if it is needed.
If you are interested in taking up this post, please email me:
the_beev@yahoo.com
cheers,
Neil