Events

Mar
17
Wed
Bright Green Ideas Swap – Discussion Evening – Tell us what you’re doing to cut carbon! @ Zoom - online
Mar 17 @ 19:15 – 21:30

A discussion evening led by our treasurer, Tom Draper-Rodi, where members share what they are doing to cut their carbon footprints. 

An eclectic, snappy, round-table, ideas flurry evening where you are invited to take the microphone to share your environment-saving tips and strategies, or simply pick up ideas. 

We’ve decided to try something a little different from our usual meeting format this month. Instead of having one speaker / specific topic, we’d like to invite you to do the speaking. We thought it would be motivating and interesting for everyone to share a little of the environmentally friendly magic they’re doing, in an informal, bite-sized way. 

You could tell us: “How I made a compost bin out of scavenged pallets tied together, a good Abingdon place for foraging food, how I add leftovers into the bread maker with the next loaf, how I got my air-source heat pump, how I use the labels on milk cartons instead of sellotape, how I get my seedlings from the table outside St Ethelwolds and a man in Larkhill Road, my experience in XR, how and why I add nettles into almost any dish, how I made warm window shades using the magnetic door strips from an old fridge so they snap down around my windows, how happy people are for you to ask to take items out of their skips, what I’m doing politically to keep fossil fuels in the ground… “

If you fancy sharing an idea or two, please let us know the details (carbon.cutters@gmail.com), and we’ll put together a running order – maximum 5 minutes per person and any props and images you wish to use will make it more engaging. If we get too many requests, or overlapping ideas, we’ll think about finding another date in a few months. If there’s time at the end, we’ll open the floor for spontaneous contributions and questions. We’ll also try and allow time for some questions in the chat to be answered. 

If you’re always itching to share your carbon footprint reducing tips and tricks, but never get asked, then this one’s for you. We’d love to hear what you’re doing, big or small, and it can be as quirky as you like.

Arrive at 19:15 for a 19:30 start.

Apr
21
Wed
Air-Source Heat Pump – Our Experience, by Guy Matthews @ Zoom - Online
Apr 21 @ 19:15 – 21:00

Wednesday 21st April, 2021, at 19:15

Talk by Guy Matthews:
The talk I had in mind is based around our experience of replacing a conventional condensing gas boiler with an air source heat pump and comparing its actual performance after one year with what was promised. 

Topics:
1. Introduction to how heat pumps work and the different types and how efficient they could be in theory.
2. Our home and the process of replacing our gas boiler in the context of the government’s renewable heat incentive scheme (RHI).
3. Lessons learned: things that could have gone wrong and what is it like to live with compared to a gas boiler?
4. System performance, economics under the RHI and running cost after one year compared to what was promised and the theoretical best.
5. Thoughts on the bigger picture – relevance of air source heat pumps and the RHI to reducing UK emissions.

If you are on the email list, we will automatically email you the Zoom connection details. If not on the list, please request the details from

 
Join us at 19:15 for a 19:30 start.
poster
May
15
Sat
Seeds of Change @ Abingdon Market Place
May 15 @ 11:00 – 13:00
Calling all growers and gardeners!
XR Abingdon and Abingdon Carbon Cutters are planning a community outreach at Abingdon Market Place on the 15th May (11am – 1pm), where we will swap and give away plants & seedlings. So if you are sowing / planting right now, please plant a few extra if you can! And if you have any spare seeds for sowing in the summer to donate, please bring these along on the 15th May.
 
Ideally they would be anything that is easy to grow, can be gown in a pot or the ground, or even a windowsill. Herbs, vegetables & flowers. Plants good for pollinators all welcome! 🐝🦋🐞

 
May
19
Wed
A Climate Emergency Centre for Abingdon? @ Zoom online meeting
May 19 @ 19:15 – 21:00

Weds 19th May, 7.15pm for a start at 7.30pm on Zoom. Monthly Meeting, “A Climate Emergency Centre for Abingdon?” with speakers from Space Generators – a charity that utilises vacant property to create community hubs. 

If you’re on our email list then you will  be emailed the Zoom access code. Otherwise, email for the code.

May
22
Sat
Riverbank Litter Pick @ Abingdon Lock
May 22 @ 10:00 – 13:00
Check your bike for the summer @ Christ Church forecourt
May 22 @ 14:00 – 16:00

Are you getting your bike out of hibernation? If you are not sure about its condition, we are offering basic checks and adjustments next Saturday, the 22nd, 2-4pm, on Christ Church forecourt, Northcourt Road.

Please note that (a) we do not have spare parts, so if a repair is needed you will have to take it to a shop, and (b) it would be nice if it were reasonably clean!

Also if you have garden tools needing sharpening we should be able to do that.

Jun
16
Wed
Compost Is Not A Dirty Word! @ St Ethelwolds (or Zoom If Raining)
Jun 16 @ 19:15 – 20:45

A meeting all about composting, by James Wigmore and Susie Howard.
Will be held at St Ethelwold’s House in East St Helen’s Street if weather looks decent, or online on Zoom if it looks wet.
More details to follow…

Jul
21
Wed
AGM and meadow walk @ St Ethelwolds House
Jul 21 @ 19:30 – 21:00

Our AGM will be in person this year, barring heavy rain!

We hope you will want to come and meet the people who have been quietly making ACC happen all year, and maybe find something you would like to get involved in. But there is no pressure to do so!

The agenda is here and the minutes of last year’s AGM with annual report and accounts are here. Let us know by email if you would like to see a copy of this year’s accounts prior to the meeting. We would also like to make a minor amendment to the constitution to allow us to use internet banking. The proposed amendment is here.

After the AGM there will be a chance to stroll round our various projects, starting at the Edible Abingdon beds at Old Station House and Abbey Gardens, and progressing to the Bee Beds and the Wildflower Maze, before finishing up at the Edible Abingdon beds at the Kiosk by the river. All worth a visit!

Sep
15
Wed
Our Climate Crisis: Can COP26 deliver? A talk by Chris Church @ Roysse Room
Sep 15 @ 19:15 – 21:15

Please arrive at 7:15pm for a 7:30 start.