Climate Emergency Declaration in Hazlemere

In February 2020 Hazlemere Parish Council declared a Climate Emergency and set a net zero 2030 target. As part of the declaration the parish council agreed to set up a working party to consist of local residents and parish councillors.

The Hazlemere Climate Emergency Working Party, under the chairmanship of parish councillor Ed Gemmell, now meets 3-4 times per month to work on a variety of climate and environment related projects and discuss the strategy for reaching net zero 2030 and further projects that should be undertaken locally.

All the current projects are described below. If you have particular expertise relevant to any areas then please get in touch with us as we need help on all projects. Also, if you would like to register as a volunteer for all climate and biodiversity projects or a specific initiative then please also get in touch.

Also, if you are young person make sure you join our young person’s climate group.

Current Projects

Bee Squared

Launching in April 2021 the “Bee Squared” project aims to make Hazlemere into a massive bee and pollinator corridor. Pollinators in the UK and in other parts of the World have been rapidly declining in the last 50 years. Bee numbers are now dangerously low in the UK due to climate change, habitat loss and pollution. A WWF report from 2019 showed that 17 bee species were regionally extinct – including the Great Yellow Bumblebee, the Potter Flower Bee and the Cliff Mason Bee – with 25 types threatened and another 31 of conservation concern.

Hazlemere will be creating a bee corridor to help bees and other pollinators to travel through our parish easily refuelling at the thousands of wildflower patches which will be planted as a result of the Bee Squared project.

The Bee Squared project was completely paid for by the kind donations of our sponsors. Thank you very much to our sponsors: Hursts Estate Agents, Bucks Buzzing and Indigo Lily.

Packets of wildflower seeds, enough to plant a one m2 patch, will be delivered by volunteers to every home in Hazlemere. We are asking every single home to please find an area for the wildflowers of around one m2 in their front garden (or plant in a few large pots).

For more details about Bee Squared please click here.

Wildflower Meadows

In connection with the Bee Squared project we aim to create further larger wildflower areas on parish council owned land all over the parish with a pilot project being started just off Brackley Road in 2021.

Thank you to the wonderful residents of Brackley Road for supporting the initial pilot project.

For more details about the Wildflower Meadows please click here.

Advanced Recycling

Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycling. This is the mantra endorsed by the HCEWP but as a last resort if you need to recycle then we want to help you recycle as much as possible.

In order to help the natural environment Hazlemere is embarking on an ambitious advanced recycling project with aim of expanding this over the coming months and years as the project becomes a success. In April 2021 the scheme was launched with the first drop offs points at the Hazlemere Community Centre on Rose Avenue.

The first items are all those accepted by Terracycle and include the following:

• Home hygiene flexible packaging
• Hasbro toys and games
• Marigold gloves and packaging
• Phillips dental care
• Pantene refill packs

Terracycle is a global leader in recycling typically hard to recycle waste. The items above will be sent back to Terracycle to be recycled thus creating a circular economy and stopping these items from being added to landfill. 

For more details about Advanced Recycling in Hazlemere please click here.

Lower Carbon Hazlemere

We need to lower our carbon footprint in Hazlemere and fast. Initially the HCEWP is working to help the parish council get its own operations to net zero, hopefully within the next twelve months. The HCEWP is developing a draft plan currently incorporating five steps with the first a move to a green electricity supplier and further possible steps including solar panels, heat pumps and battery storage to be installed in the parish council buildings.

The working party is also looking at further energy and carbon reduction projects which can be initiated in the whole community. If you have expertise in this area please get in touch.

For more details about energy and carbon reduction projects in Hazlemere, please click here.  There are more general pages about the impact of CO2 emissions, and How to go Carbon-Neutral.

Youth Climate Group

In order to encourage everyone in Hazlemere and surrounding areas to get involved we have started a local youth climate group.

This group is particularly for all teenagers, students and other young people who want to get active in Hazlemere and surrounding areas developing their own climate projects or who want to be involved in discussions around climate change and biodiversity loss.

Online meetings are organised regularly.

For more details about the Youth Climate Group and dates for the next meetings please click here.

Hazlemere Climate Talks

On the first Monday of every month, we organise a Hazlemere Climate Talk. In the past these talks have covered: Heat Pumps, Community Energy Schemes, Nappy Libraries, Energy Saving Measures, Sustainable Fashion, Bees, Buckinghamshire Council’s Climate Change Strategy.

If you have a suggestion for a talk, please let us know.

For more details about Climate Talks, see:

• Hazlemere Climate Talks
• National Climate Talks

Further Climate Emergency Work

The HCEWP is made up entirely of volunteers and we need your help to launch more and more climate emergency projects and to make current projects successful.

Please come forward to offer your expertise and/or your time to help us get Hazlemere to net zero in 2030 and to help us revive our local biodiversity.

Among the projects we would like to launch are the following:

1. 2030 Net Zero Plan for Hazlemere
2. Local Transport programme car clubs, cycling, EV charging points etc.
3. Community food growing scheme
4. Parish litter reduction
5. Thing Library and repair hub
6. Food waste reduction/food education
7. Plastic and packaging reduction

To offer your help with any of these please click here or email to clerk@hazlmereparishcouncil.org.uk