Articles

Christmas is a magical time, but it often comes with unnecessary waste - from plastic decorations and over-bought gifts to leftover food. The good news is that it’s easier than you might think to celebrate thoughtfully, support your local community, and reduce your environmental impact. With so many independent shops, makers, and food producers in our towns and villages, a sustainable and festive season is well within reach. Here’s our guide: 1. Shop Smart and Local Our local

Over the years, our newsletter has shared plenty of book reviews - stories that have inspired, challenged and warmed the hearts of the Wotton Area CAN team. From moving environmental memoirs to eye-opening guides and tales that celebrate the wonders of the natural world, these are the books that have stayed with us. If you’re looking for inspiration for your next read, or even a thoughtful gift, we hope this collection can be your guide. And if you decide to try one of these

The following insightful article has been written by a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) student from a local school who set out to...

With public pressure to go plastic-free stronger than ever, many of us are reaching for “green” alternatives like biodegradable bags or...

Soft plastic is one of the trickiest types of household waste to recycle, but many UK supermarkets now claim to have a solution. Tesco ,...

About eight years ago, our family decided to try and cut plastic out of our food shop. Not completely, we weren’t aiming for perfection,...

There is an old proverb that goes ‘The best time to plant a tree was 30 years ago.  The next best time is today’. So it was that five...

Over the past year, the Wotton-under-Edge community and its surrounding villages have shown what’s possible when people come together...

Scan of a report about the 1766 Wotton food riots. (ref. D2930-1) Did you know that in 1766, several poor harvests and soaring food...

Hear from Rebecca Charley, Stroud District Council’s Strategic Lead for Nature Recovery and Biodiversity. With over 20 years of...

Over the past 12 months, Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust has been running a joint study with Forestry England to determine the feasibility of

Bats make up a quarter of all British mammals, with 18 bat species resident in the UK. Our bats: like the dark eat insects have complex...

Louise Ciotti, Director at Adapt Architects Ltd and Senior Lecturer in Architecture, Retrofit and Conservation at UWE talks about the...

Guest speaker Louise Ciotti, Director at Adapt Architects Ltd and Senior Lecturer in Architecture, Retrofit and Conservation at UWE,...

Looking to improve the energy efficiency of your home without causing unwanted problems like moisture buildup, cold bridging or...

One of the remarkable and most cherished things about our town are our fabulous grasslands, which support many wildflowers, insects and...

They always say getting started is the hardest part, so it was a stroke of good timing (and a bit of good old Wotton networking) that...

Where should I plant them? Wildflower seeds are best planted in well drained, nutrient poor soils in a sunny location.  Heavier clay...

A talk about regenerative agriculture and the ways that our food production can be more sustainable. Increasing biodiversity, topsoil...