SENS Newsletter: February 2023
If there’s anything you’d like added to the website, have items for the next newsletter, or you’d like to get involved, we’d love to hear from you!
Important Dates
– Repair café: Wednesday 15th February, 5 – 7 pm at the Institute
– SENS AGM: Thursday 23rd February, 7 – 8.30 pm at the Institute
– CRKC Open Event: Tuesday 7th March at the Institute, 4.30 – 5.30 pm – drop-in with stands and volunteer sign-up, 5.30 – 6.30pm 2023 programme presentation
– Apple grafting workshop: Saturday 18th March, 9.30 am – 12 pm at the Pavilion
– More CRKC dates can be found below under item 6.
– To keep up-to-date, there is now a calendar on the website homepage.
Contents
1. SENS AGM
2. Repair café
3. Donate to our cause – support SENS!
4. Diane’s ebike experience
5. Apple grafting workshop
6. Clean River Kent Campaign
7. Damson orchard work party
8. Partner news and other items
1. SENS AGM
Come along to the AGM (Thursday 23rd February 7 – 8.30pm) at the Institute to hear about what we got up to in 2022 and share your thoughts about the 2023 programme. Further details / agenda here. After a short, formal agenda, there’ll be refreshments and a chat about what SENS should focus on in 2023, and which projects SENS can support locally. All welcome. Please come along with your ideas!
2. Repair café
Wednesday 15th February 2023, 5 to 7 pm at the Institute in Staveley
We’re excited to be hosting another pop-up repair café! If you have any fabric fixes, broken zips, teddy & toy repairs, holey down jackets, base layers in need of stitching , bring them along to our machine and hand sewing repairers. Small electricals are welcome too.
While you wait you are welcome to enjoy the warmth of The Institute, use the Wi-Fi for the kids’ homework or even catch up on your own work. We encourage you to stay, chat and even learn some repair skills from our amazing, friendly menders.
Enjoy a hot meal on us from 6.15pm and a hot drink.
Are you handy with fabrics or confident with mending small electricals? Could you spare some time to help our team of volunteer menders? We are looking for others to join our friendly team, please contact senstaveley@gmail.com
3. SENS membership – donations welcome
We’re a volunteer-led organisation, relying on income from grants and contributions. While there is no obligation for anyone to make a contribution to SENS, any additional funds raised will help to pay for our core services such as annual website hosting fee, room bookings, printing and photocopying etc. as well as taking forward our key actions for the year. Any donation, however small, would be very well received. SENS’ bank details are below. Please add your name as a reference.
– SENS
– The Co-operative Bank
– Account no: 65279669
– Sort Code: 08-92-99
4. Community Ebikes – Diane’s experience
Diane Gilmore shared her experience of using the Community Ebikes. If you’ve been curious about how it works, then have a read and you might be inspired to give it a go.
Don’t forget, you could utilise Staveley’s own cycling buddy, Daniel, if you’d like a confidence boost or refresher. Volunteer buddies welcome too!
To book a session with Daniel or if you’d like to become a volunteer yourself, contact us: hello@communityebikes.org.
For more information about the Community bikes / to register: www.communityebikes.org
5. Apple grafting workshop
Saturday 18th March 2023, 9:30 am – 12 pm at Staveley Pavilion.
SENS is organising a workshop teaching you how to graft your own apple trees onto rootstocks. South Lakeland Orchard Group (SLOG) will be running the session for us.
You need to reserve a place(s) so we know how many people to expect. Adults only. Bring gloves and a bag to take your rootstock away in to pot up. All other equipment will be provided.
There is a £2 – £5 suggested donation to SENS to cover costs of room hire, tea/coffee & rootstocks.
To book or for more information, email: senstaveley@gmail.com
6. Clean River Kent Campaign
January has been a busy month preparing the 2023 programme and for the open event on Tuesday 7th March.
We had a very positive meeting with Levens councillor, Janet, last week and have agreed to present to Levens Parish Council in April to update them about the campaign, and strengthen links/contacts in the area.
Fundraising for our 2023 programme has begun and we’ve written to previous funders with a progress report. So far, we’ve raised:
– £500 from British Canoeing for conservation work in 2023.
– £500 from Cllr Hazel Hodgson from her SLDC Localities budget.
– £500 from Staveley Parish Council
– £1,300 from Together for the Planet Lottery Funding awarded to SENS towards the cost of the Earthwatch citizen science water monitoring kits.
We have also submitted a bid to Patagonia for genetic testing of faecal bacteria to ascertain what proportion is human and what is from animals. The University of Lancaster has offered their scientific advice should we be successful.
We have spoken to Wildfish (used to be Salmon and Trout Conservation) about how we can work collaboratively – some positive suggestions for shared campaigns and information exchange to support each other.
We have a series of other meetings / presentations in the diary:
– Grange councillor – Thursday 9th February
– Wenning River Group – Wednesday 22nd February
– Inner Circle Rotarians, Kendal – Wednesday 1st March
– Kendal Town Council – Monday 13th March
– Sedgwick Parish Council AGM – Wednesday 15th March
Upcoming events – all welcome:
– Tuesday 21 February, 5 – 7 pm: CRKC planning meeting at the Institute, Staveley. United Utilities will be attending for an hour to answer our questions.
– Tuesday 7 March, 4.30 – 6.30 pm: CRKC Open Day event at the Institute Room in Staveley (displays/chat/volunteer sign-up 4.30 – 5.30 pm, presentations on 2023 plans and guest speakers 5.30 – 6.30 pm). All are welcome. Refreshments provided.
– Sunday 2nd April is the river Kent clean-up, timings are still TBC.
7. Damson orchard work party
Anne, Sheila, Dave and Mike had a great day preparing the damson orchard for another fruitful year.
The next work party will be Saturday 20th May (10am – 12pm) – to sign up email: senstaveley@gmail.com
7. Partner news and other items
– Warm spaces at The Institute, Staveley. Every Tuesday and Thursday from 11 am until 3 pm. Free hot drink and lunch available. Stay warm, chat with friends, meet new people, discover what’s going on, and maybe use one of the Community iPads. Feel free to share ideas about how the space could be used going forward.
– Climate solutions for Cumbrian landscapes webinar on hedgerows, 8th March. Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS) are holding this free online webinar as part of a series. Find out more here.
– Find out what’s happening now with the Cumbria coal mine.
– Read previous newsletters.
Got something for the newsletter or website? Email us: senstaveley@gmail.com.