SustainAbleYou students are connecting with local residents, businesses and councils to find inspiring approaches where everyone is ABLE (including YOU) to take personal steps for a more fulfilling, greener and all-round SUSTAINABLE future.

 

We are working with Imperial College London, the Beaminster Earth Alliance, Action for Conservation and other organisations around Dorset to help us solve Beaminster’s biggest problems.

 

We recognise that individuals are stretched to their physical and mental limit with lockdown life, businesses are suffering, and the pandemic is generating huge volumes of single-use rubbish.

 

In the face of this adversity though, people have come together to help their friends and neighbours, businesses are reinventing themselves, carbon dioxide emissions have plummeted and appreciation of nature from our daily walks is at an all-time high. As restrictions lift, we are at a crossroads and are provided with a unique opportunity to capture those positive elements that people have cherished about a slower-paced, more connected, greener life—so called #CovidKeepers.

 

In doing so, we will build on our satisfaction from life, elevate thriving local livelihoods and nurture our enjoyment of and care for the environment. Our local government is taking steps in this direction, but to bring about meaningful, long lasting change, a people-powered approach is also necessary.

 

We plan to ignite a revolution in Beaminster and need people from all ages and walks of life to be informed, excited and equipped to be heard and to realise their visions for change.

 

So far we have:

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• Heard from Dr Poppy Lakeman Fraser who invited us to take part - and 50 students have signed up! 

• Formed a Youth Management Panel to shape plans for the project

• Mind-mapped ideas about a sustainable future for Beaminster (see poster)

• Talked with residents and businesses at the Big Green Day to find out what they thought Beaminster most needed [see Big Green Day output below]

• Shared our thoughts about climate change with world leaders at COP26

• Contributed to Beaminster Earth Alliance and Beaminster Area Eco Group Meetings

• Started a campaign to reduce food waste with the organisation Plastic Free Beaminster. As part of this exciting initiative, we will be sharing recipes for Christmas dinner leftovers here.