Environment matters

More action from VERG
The March textiles collection in Old Buckenham amounted to 1.126 tonnes. This resulted in £275.76 being raised for the Old Buckenham 2000 Trust from payment and recycling credits. The provisional date for the next collection of textiles is towards the end of June. Any income will be passed to Old Buckenham Cubs who are in desperate need of funds. More details will be given in next month’s newsletter.
The Village Hall Management Committee has agreed to the siting of a new bank on the village hall car park that will be for drinks cartons and tetrapaks (this all depends on an agreement between Breckland Council and Pearsons materialising).
The toy bank made a slow start but it was emptied not long after it was installed. Plastic and cuddly toys are generally very light so the 39 kilos of toys earned 98 pence.
On Saturday 5 June there will be another chance to find out more about reducing our carbon footprints and saving money while saving energy. Breckland Council is helping the Village Environment and Recycling Group organise an event in the village hall at which it will be possible to find out how to get our homes energy rated, the availability of grants to increase energy efficiency, how to drive to ensure you are getting the most from increasingly expensive petrol, how to turn your garden and kitchen waste into compost (there may also be the chance to buy some that was made earlier…) and how to avoid wasting food.
There will be games and competitions with a recycling theme for children and it is hoped that the High School will be there to tell everyone how they are going to be marking Low Carbon Day on Thursday 24 June. There may also be collection points for postcards and stamps. There will be stalls for Fairtrade goods, used-but-still-useful items, collectables and books. The Energy Savings Trust, the County Council and Breckland Council staff will be able to answer any questions or point people in the right direction for finding out.
Drop in any time on the day between 10am and 1pm and enjoy a coffee or tea while you learn more. No entry charge, all this advice is free.
Whilst there will be no day-long book sale this year, secondhand books will be on sale at both the Environment Day and at the fete in September. That is if folk are kind enough to donate them again. A box for contributions will be outside the village shop from the beginning of May or you can ring 452716 if you need to have them collected. All unsold stock was donated to charity shops and the National Trust bookshop at Blickling last year so all stock will be entirely new again this year. It is hoped to have some new but damaged items again. The income from both sales will be given to the fund for urgent repairs to the stained glass windows in the parish church. The church is a building to which an ever decreasing number of us may 'belong' but a place that we all expect to be there in good condition when we need it. One cannot expect a few to bear the responsibility for both the church and the burial ground for all to use and few of us will want to be in the generation that failed to take care of the gift to us from so many previous generations. So get de-cluttering and make room for more good reads at bargain prices.