15 January 2023
Pesticide-Free Cambridge very much enjoyed attending the Re-Imagining Our Future event at Whittlesford Village Hall, organised by Eco Whittlesford, Haslingfield & Harlton Eco and 2G3S (Green groups in the Shelfords, Stapleford and Sawston). We shared a stall with On the Verge Cambridge.
Many who came to the stall were interested in our 'Alternatives to Synthetic Pesticides: A Guide for Schools, Businesses and Residents (Dec 2022)' and took copies away (this can be downloaded as a PDF from our main website under 'Resources' ).
We had conversations with members of Eco Whittlesford, Haslingfield & Harlton Eco, 2G3S, Duxford Parish Council, Wild Burwell, Green Granchester, and Friends of Duxford Green Spaces. Group discussion led to a suggestion that more such gatherings should be held and that as like-minded groups we should work towards improving the ways that we share resources. In particular, we were asked to share our 'Pesticide-Free Guide for Schools, Businesses and Residents' which we have done so by email further to the event.
There is already a monthly Climate Leaders Group meeting which we have asked to join. Much of the discussion concerned how best to enable community-based action for greener streets, villages, schools, and cities, and it was agreed that this must include ending pesticide-use.
We asked attendees what their experience was in their parish and it still seems to be the norm that herbicides are being applied routinely around villages on what is Cambridgeshire County Council land (pavements, road verges, road channels), despite having been told that it is the County's wish that this should not happen (at least within the City of Cambridge) (see entry for 9 June 2021 on our meetings blog here).
