Introduction to the Climate Change Task Group

Dear resident
The next Community Ad Magazine for Ramsgate Town Council will be a dedicated Climate Change Issue!

I’m Tricia Austin, a Ramsgate Town Council (RTC) councillor for Central Harbour ward and I chair Ramsgate Town Council’s Climate Change Task Group. The group is made up of council members, officers and community representatives, who all help deliver our Action Plan to reduce our carbon footprint in Ramsgate.

Things we’re working on include:

• Improving our own ways of working at RTC – for example, recycling all the council’s waste and replacing the council’s diesel van with an electric one.
• Improving the insulation and energy efficiency of RTC’s buildings.
• Sharing information with residents and businesses about living and working more sustainably.
• Developing a Repair Cafe, Town Shed and Toolbank/Library of Things in Ramsgate.
• Exploring new tree and hedge planting schemes.
• Investigating food growing initiatives on spare land within the town.

How you can help:

• Do you have practical skills? Could you spare an hour or two a month to volunteer in our Repair Cafe? We’re looking for people who can help residents do basic repairs - stitching up a hem or mending a bike puncture. Or could you help others learn basic woodwork skills in our Town Shed?
• Do you have spare tools hanging around at home that you never use? Why not donate them to our Toolbank/Library of Things?
• Do you have ideas to contribute to our Task Group? We’d like to involve more community and business reps! We meet for an hour in the early evening every six weeks and would love to welcome you to our group.
• Would you be willing to try out an energy saving device (provided free by us) and report on how well it works? We’re looking for volunteers to share their experiences with others.

How we can help you:

• We’ll continue to share information on how to live a cheaper, greener life, in this magazine, on our website and via our social media accounts.
• Would you like to learn basic practical repair or woodworking skills? Come along to our new Repair Cafe or Town Shed to be shown by a volunteer.

If you’re interested in any of these things, or you have any comments or suggestions, please contact me on cllr-tricia.austin@ramsgatetc.org.uk or call me on 07775 794408. Or get in touch with Ramsgate Town Council on info@ramsgatetown.org.

Written by:
Councillor Tricia Austin,
Central Harbour Ward