2015 Thermal Imaging Survey Results

All  the householders who were involved with the 2015 Thermal Imaging Campaign were given the opportunity to complete an anonymous online questionnaire and we are delighted with the feedback.

To highlight some of the successes of the campaign

• 23.08% increase in awareness and ability to take action 77% either planning or considering taking action
• 62% thought that the pre imaging information was either excellent or very good
• 92% thought that the Greening Chinnor volunteers who carried out the test were either excellent or very good
• 75% reported that the feedback and follow-up report were either excellent or very good.

We were delighted with the comments received which have enabled us to compile a Q&A section that will, besides being published, be sent out to future participants as part of the planning and preparation process.

Click here if you would like to see a copy of the result or go to our Minutes and Governance section on our website at www.greeningchinnor.blogspot.com. 

If you are interesting in participating in our 2016 project, which is totally free, email me at greeningchinnor@gmail.com.

Autumn Litter Pick

Excellent turnout at our Autumn litter pick on Sunday 25 October and as a bonus, the weather was great! A huge thank you to all who came along. 

It was good to see some new faces as well as the usual stalwarts and we are pleased to say that there seemed to be a lot less litter this time. We were particularly pleased about not have to pick up so many used poo bags!

It is still disappointing to find so much litter in the children's playgrounds particularly Conigre. Not only were there lots of plastic bottles, crisp packets and chewing gum, but empty beer cans that had been pulled open before being dumped on the ground so there was a lot of sharp metal for young fingers to cut themselves. This is particularly irksome not only because of the danger to the children, but that there are plenty of litter bins nearby.

Once again a huge thank you to the volunteers who came along.

Look out for details of our next community litter pick which will take place in the Spring.

Autumn Community Litter Pick

Litter Pick this Sunday

Sunday 25 October at 10:00 - Meet at White’s Field Car Park

The Greening Chinnor autumn community litter pick will take place on Sunday 25 October.

We meet at Whites Field car park at 10:00 and split into groups where a walk leader will guide you on some of Chinnor’s most popular footpaths and bridleways. There are varying lengths of footpaths to be cleared so if you can only spare an hour, there will be a walk for you. We plan to finish by 12:30 latest.

Make sure you bring suitable clothing including gardening gloves (or similar) and suitable footwear.

For further information call Alan or Linda Brawn on 01844 352753

Meeting Cancelled

Unfortunately, this evenings meeting has been cancelled.

Greening Chinnor - General Meeting

Our next meeting will be held on Monday 21st September at the Village Centre. We meet from 7:30pm to 9:30pm. Everyone welcome.

Our First Seed and Seedling Swap

We tried something completely new this year and ran a swap stall for seeds and seedlings at the Friends of the Earth Swap Shop. 

Before the event we were anxious about whether this idea would work. We were quickly reassured as we had enough swap items to completely fill two big tables. Linda and Lily were kept fully occupied handing out plants and seeds whilst giving growing tips.
Our thanks to people who gave plants and seeds most generously. It was really appreciated. Our best wishes for success to all of the people who are now trying to grow something new.

We will certainly run this again next spring at the Swap Shop and so all of you gardeners know where to donate your surplus items. We will do our best to make sure that they go to good homes.

Children’s Sunflower Growing Competition

At the Swap Shop held on the 9th May, Greening Chinnor gave out free sunflower plants to the children and invited them to join our sunflower growing competition. The competition is open for all children to take part. There are 2 categories:

Category 1: the tallest sunflower

Category 2: the biggest sunflower head

For entry into the competition, send a photo of your sunflower together with the measurements and your name and age to greeningchinnor@gmail.com by 31 August. 

Judging will take place on 7 September and the winners notified by email.

Seed & Seedling Swap

Come along to our seed & seedling swap stall at the FoE Swap Shop in the Village Hall on Saturday 9th May. You don't have to bring anything to swap you can take a plant or seeds to try. We are also giving away sunflower plants to the first 30 children. I can see a competition coming!

Greening Chinnor AGM

A good turnout for our AGM on Wednesday 29 April when after concluding the business side of the meeting and electing new Chair: Linda Brawn, Treasurer: Alan Brawn and Secretary: Will Teale and going through our achievements of the last year and aspiration for this year. A copy of the minutes and the 2015 Annual Report can be found on our Governance and Minutes page or by clicking on the links.

Spring Community Litter Pick

On Sunday 19th April an enthusiastic group of 20 Chinnor volunteers carried out the 7th Community clear up on some of our most popular village footpaths and byways. Once again, we were fortunate with the weather and it was good to see our ‘regulars’ together with some new faces.

We are finding that some of the areas we regularly clear seem to be less littered now and hopefully this is showing that the hard work is paying off. However, we are still finding the problem of anti-social dog owners who either don’t clear up after their dog/s or bag their waste and throw it into the hedge or edge of the path.  I would like to point out that there are NO ‘DOG POO FAIRIES’, but it is cleared up by your neighbour!

We would like to thank everyone who turned out on Sunday and did a tremendous job and the Parish Office for supplying the litter picking kit.

General Meeting and AGM

Our AGM will be held on Wednesday 29 April at the Village Centre 7:30 to 9:30pm. The short meeting will be followed by a talk by Andrew Simm, Commercial Manager, Agrivert on what happens to the food waste that is collected and how anaerobic digestion turns the waste into renewable energy and biofertilizer. All welcome and entrance is free.

Spring Community Litter Pick

Takes place this Sunday (19th).  Meet at White's Field at 10:00 am. Walks of different lengths so if you only have half an hour to spare there will be something for you. The clean up will finish by 12:30 latest.

Thermal Imaging Feedback Evening

We had a great turn out for our Thermal Imaging Open Evening on Wednesday 25th March at The Village Centre, Chinnor.

Householders were given personal 1:1 feedback of their report by our imagers Alan and Will. After the feedback session, each householder was emailed a copy of their report for future reference and we will be following up to see if they have been able to make any changes and enjoy the benefits.

Thanks to Becky James from Green Homes Together and Kylie Shortreed from the National Energy Foundation for coming along and supporting this event. They were at hand to give free impartial advice. If you would like to find out more about what you can do to make your home more energy efficient and what possible grants are available to you, please click on the above links.   

Our Thermal Imaging list for 2016 is now open and we already have a few names on the list. Places are limited and if you are interested in having your property imaged for free in January please contact me.

Linda

Thermal Imaging Open Evening

A quick reminder that we are holding our Thermal Imaging Open Evening on Wednesday 25th March. 7:00-9:00pm at The Village Centre, Chinnor.

The evening is also open to all interested parties who would like to see what benefits thermal imaging could be for them.

There will also be experts on hand from Affordable Warmth – National Energy Foundation and Green Homes Together to enable people to get free and impartial advice.

The Thermal Imaging list for 2016 is now open so if you are interested in having your property imaged for free in January, come along to find out all about it and sign up.

Solar Energy

If you are thinking about pursuing this excellent idea then you may find this roadshow interesting.

Wednesday 25th March Thermal Imaging Open Evening – Village Centre 7pm to 9pm

Greening Chinnor have just finished conducting a second year of thermal imaging of both private houses and public buildings to see where heat is being lost in the property. We are holding an open evening for those properties imaged where a report will be given on a one-to-one basis with one of our thermal imagers.

Whilst this evening is primarily intended to inform households who participated in this year’s Thermal Imaging survey, it is also open to all interested parties who would like to see what benefits thermal imaging could be for them. To enable people to get some useful and relevant advice we are pleased to let you know that there will be experts on hand including Affordable Warmth National Energy Foundation and Green Homes Together. We will also be opening our Thermal Imaging list for 2016 which as for 2015, places will be limited and be booked on a first come, first served basis.

Latest Minutes

Our latest minutes have now been published and can be found by clicking on the Governance and Minutes link to the right of our website.

www.greeningchinnor.blogspot.co.uk

A Thermal Image of Your Home - Free

Does your house look like this?                                        Or does it look like this?

Low cost, well insulated

High cost, poorly insulated

 












Would you like to have your house thermal imaged to find out where you could be losing heat?

How it works: Thermal images have to be taken after dark and when the heating is on.  The images show where heat is escaping from your home (shown in red and yellow) and where energy saving home improvement like insulation could save you both energy and money.

We will arrange to take an image of your house one evening in February. In March we are holding an open meeting where you will be given a report of your home on a one-to-one basis with one of our thermal imagers.

We'll provide you with advice and information on how to save energy and reduce your energy bills.

Who is doing the survey? South Oxfordshire District Council have provided a thermal imaging camera for the use of community groups.  Greening Chinnor volunteers will be taking the photos. 

What to do next? If you would like a thermal image of your house, please call Maureen on 01844352816 or email her at mdyroff@tiscali.co.uk by 23rd January. Places are limited and will be booked on a first come, first served basis.