Welcome to

MIDDLESBROUGH Environment City

The #BigBikeRevival (organised by Cycling UK and supported by local authorities) is here to encourage cycling, either returning to it or starting your cycling journey, with a number of free activities and services available for everyone to enjoy!

Cycling is a fantastic, sustainable transport option, but it’s understandable that some people might be nervous to start it, or return to cycling. Through the Big Bike Revival, hopefully we’ll encourage people from all walks of life to discover, or rediscover, the joys of cycling!

As part of the Revival, we’re hosting a number of free Guided Bike Rides starting at our offices here on Sandy Flatts Lane in Acklam, starting at the end of the July and running through the beginning of August!

We are operating a gardening service that runs seasonally from April to October, operated by a pair of highly skilled Garden Maintenance Operatives. Costs start from £270, and involve cutting lawns at the front, rear and side of the property, with other tasks carried out on a case-by-case basis. Cuts are carried out every three weeks.

Call 01642 579820 or e-mail info@menvcity.org.uk for more information.

Reducing fire risks in electric blankets

With almost half of all domestic fires – that’s 20,000 each year – caused by electricity, Middlesbrough Environment City are holding a series of Fire Safety Awareness events exchanging old & dangerous single, double and king-size electric blankets for new ones.

The first event is scheduled to take place from 11am on Wednesday 21^st December 2022 at Middlesbrough Green Hub based in Middlesbrough Bus Station

Funded by “Electrical Safety First”, the Awareness Day will offer electric blanket exchanges, please bring along your old or dangerous electric blanket and we will swap it free of charge for a new one.  There will also be information on fire safety in the home and an affordable warmth advisor from Middlesbrough Environment City giving tips on how to stay warm during the cold months.

Electrical Safety First is a campaigning charity dedicated to preventing deaths, injuries and damage caused by electricity. To find out more, go to www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk

ENDS

For further information event, please contact: Brian Simpson, Director Middlesbrough Environment City.

Contact – 01642 579820 or brian.simpson@menvcity.org,uk

Led by The Wildlife Trusts and funded by The National Lottery Community Fund, Our Bright Future was a youth empowerment partnership that covered a number of projects including One Planet Pioneers that ourselves, Actes Employability, Tees Valley Wildlife Trust and Teesside University worked on that helped a number of young people earn useful life skills and experience in environmental sustainability.

Ahead of the closing of Our Bright Future, a video outlining the outcomes and the benefits that this wonderful initiative provided has been released, and can be viewed below.

The full report can be read at www.ourbrightfuture.co.uk/about/our-impact

Some fantastic photos from Community Actions on Friday, where ourselves, Story Contracting and Friends of Linthorpe Cemetery and Nature Reserve joined forces to maintain the paths and the general area of Linthorpe Cemetery: In doing so, we helped to clear pathways, clean up general detritus and maintained the areas to ensure the headstones receive the respect they deserve and are visible to all visitors. A huge thank you to Story and the Friends of Linthorpe Cemetery!

Great Big Green Week was a resounding success for CAM and its partners! The week saw numerous events held across Teesside to celebrate this celebration of the planet.

On Monday, children at Whinney Banks Primary School talked to us about all the things that contribute to climate change. They told us about their hopes for the next generation and buried carbon contributors in a time capsule to be dug up by pupils in 2050 along with their messages.

On Wednesday, we were at Archibald Primary School to deliver a climate change quiz, teach them how to take their own climate action, taught them about the decomposition of plastic waste and even made a climate change time capsule for future pupils to discover in the year 2050!

Over the week, we engaged with youth clubs including at Hemlington & Coulby Newham youth clubs, where they made bird feeder fat balls – learning about why they’re important (especially around this time of year) for conservation, about different types of seeds, and how they can make them again at home with the rest of the family. We also collected acorns for an initiative to help plant more oak trees after an early Autumn meant that many oaks were shedding their acorns early.

On Thursday, we ran a session of Carbon Awareness training at Camphill Village Trust, which also saw a wild food tasting session. Participants looked at the carbon footprint of food and then got to taste some of the lowest carbon food you can eat – foraged! On Friday, we delivered a soap making workshop at School Of Apocalypse, binding natural ingredients and locally grown herbs. We were also at the Green Hub in Middlesbrough Bus Station to deliver information and workshops, where we met our friends at Bridgehill Day Services in Middlesbrough: We helped them make bug hotels, and also discussed which methods of transport are best for our environment. Great to see them!

All in all, a very busy, but successful, week!

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The Good Food Economy – understanding sustainability campaign is an initiative supported by Sustainable Food Places delivered by Food and Drink North East in partnership with Sustainable Food City Members; Food Newcastle, Food Durham and Middlesbrough Food Partnership.

From the farm gate to manufacturers, businesses from across our regional food and drink supply chain are encouraged to complete this 5 minute survey to assist us in building a better picture of our region’s aspirations around sustainability and its relationship to food and drink.

Making Good Food accessible and inclusive is critical to our public health and wellbeing, moreover, it helps create jobs, build sustainable businesses, shared prosperity and a positive future outlook.

In time, this can help us regenerate and repurpose our high streets, city centres and rural food destinations whilst shortening supply chain and retaining wealth within the region.

FADNE Founder and CEO, Chris Jewitt said: “This survey is part of a wider campaign and strategy to add focus to the Good Food produced in our region but at the same time a call to improve productivity, becoming less reliable on imports. Good Food should absolutely be a defining characteristic of our region, inspiring food entrepreneurs, next generation farming and innovative peri urban enterprises that strive to grow the region’s larder making Good Food truly accessible to all.”

The deadline to complete the survey is October 10th, and can be completed at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/wave2GFE.

Please be aware of this updated list of Eco Shops in and around the Middlesbrough area, and be sure to share it with those who you think may benefit from it!