Survey in May
The last week of May is your chance to join in with Plantlife's Every Flower Counts survey, counting the wild flowers in a square metre of your lawn (or local park). Please report your finds and let us know too please. If you see any insect pollinators - note and report them too!
To increase biodiversity, we’d like to encourage people in Penrith and Eden District to let their grass grow longer during the summer - lawns, verges and common areas such as village greens.
Action on Plastic
PACT has begun a campaign to reduce single-use plastic in and around Penrith, thanks to funding from Cumbria Council's Waste Prevention Fund.
- We've started a Refill Penrith/Cumbria scheme to let you refill a water bottle wherever you are
- And now we'd like you to make some pledges to reduce your use of plastic
Keep Penrith Tidy - Love where you Live
- All PACT, Repair Cafe and garderning get togethers are cancelled for the immediate future. Stay at home and keep safe.
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Our next virtual get together is on Weds, 17 June.
- Sign up for our newsletter
Climate & Ecological Emergency declared by EDC
Resources
Recycle your inkjet cartridges to help us
- Report on Prof Mike Hambrey's talk on glaciers and climate change
- Fellside Forager recipes
- Plant something in the Garden of Eden
- Why not ask for some asparagus kale seeds or damson tree suckers.
- Or Grow some pea shoots for salad
- Cumbria Organic Gardeners and Farmers
Repair Cafés are running in Eden District in Penrith and Alston - and occasionally in Kirkby Stephen. If you've got a broken toaster, a jumper with a hole in or a bike that needs fixing, please bring it along and hopefully get it fixed for free.
If you are handy with a screwdriver, a spanner, a sewing machine, or anything else and want to share your skills then get in touch with us. Read Chris' account of the first Penrith cafe and watch some films.
PACT and Freegle are keen to encourage people to grow-your-own communally, in your own back garden or on your window sill.
Appleby Edibles
After the completely unexpected closure of the Heritage Centre on going into administration in the middle of March, we had to grab what we could to take home at short notice. This was followed by the current ‘lock down’ against Coronavirus. Communication of AE with EDC, ATC, AS & Oaklea Trust continue... In the meantime, seed swapping, planting, growing, harvesting, recipe and low carbon menu swaps and ( socially distanced ) eating together, apart, continue here, with people cooking & delivering food for each other, with Chef, Matt Jones, entertaining us all online. Watch this space and enjoy the continued sunshine!
Environmental action in Eden District
PACT aims to increase our ability in Penrith & the Eden Valley to cope with the challenges of peak oil, climate change and economic sustainability. PACT is an environmental group started in Cumbria in 2008, and is part of the growing transition town network in the UK and around the world. PACT is made up of a group of like-minded and enthusiastic volunteers, committed to making a real difference in the local community.
Penrith Community Gardeners update
We will start gardening again in March 2020 (when weather permits) in the raised beds and peace garden at the Salvation Army in Hunter Lane on Tuesdays from 10am. We'll be gardening there and around town in our other planters for an hour and then meet back at the SA for group coffee at 11am.
Anyone is welcome to join in and help to make our town look even better. Also a chance to grow fruit and veg and be supported by folks who know how to do it! Find us on Facebook
More info on community gardening in Eden
Look what we've done
Films and reports
- New films: PACT & Freegle at Penrith Show, Grow your own training course, Visiting Edible Gardens, Installing a Chimney Balloon, Zero Carbon Britain, Appleby Edibles, Community Gardening in Penrith and St Andrews Churchyard
- Photo report for Raised Beds for Food bank at Salvation Army in Penrith.
- Penrith wins trophies and accolades at Cumbria in Bloom 2012 due to our Greening and Garden of Eden projects.
- Pride in Penrith - see the Big Spring Clean film.