thame-surrounds-environmental-newsletter

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Environmental Groups in Thame		Volunteer		List your Events

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To include an article, email [email protected] who administers it on behalf of the community.

Have you signed up for Better Points yet?

Better points is an award-winning behaviour change platform and app that uses technology for better transport, health and climate. The App combines gamification, auto-tracking, rewards and messaging to achieve behaviour change over time. It works by generates GPS activity data to measure and evaluate outcomes e.g. CO2 avoided, calories burned, etc.

Among others, the App is aimed at regular car drivers and aims to increase uptake of active and sustainable travel; see measurable behaviour change and mode shift; and support other sustainable transport projects e.g. cycle training.

The App will support campaigns and promotions including National Walking Month, Big Green Week, Bike Week, Catch the Bus Month and TravelWise Week.

By using it, participants generate points that they can swap for vouchers or donate to charity.

Find out more and sign up here: https://oxon.betterpoints.uk/

Head Womble steps down

Thame Wombles are going through a period of change with Joe Chapman, who founded the group and has been Head Womble since, giving up his positin. Joe says “ Many Thame residents have embraced the task of litter picking and have supported our group over the past four and a half years. We are in a strong position as a town and there is no doubt that people are generally keeping the communal areas clean and tidy.

My job has become much easier than it was in the first three years but we cannot be complacent. The danger is that we will default to just a Thame Tidy Day once a year and the historic waste will build up again.

Thame Wombles still has over 900 members and yet we struggle to get more than 4 volunteers to cover local events. However, it is clear that litter is being picked up regularly as there are no reports of any of the previous “ grot spots” which blighted our town. We had only one small fly tipping incident along the A418 ring road in May of this year which was cleared within a few days by SODC. This month there has only been 8 tyres reported dumped in almost the same spot which has been reported for clearance.

There remains one area of concern at the end of Ormond Road on the Lea Park Estate which is a large amount of fly tipping which has been there for the past 3 years and gets added to occasionally. Local residents have no interest in clearing this mess up and the SODC will not collect it as it is on private land. The Wombles would have traditionally cleaned up and transported it to the local waste and recycling centre but this is something they no longer do or were authorised to do as it is illegal.

A regular small group of 6 volunteers covered Music in The Park and 2 covered Thame Carnival and the Thame Pride event. It was very encouraging to see that the Thame Pride organisers arranged a team who specifically covered litter picking to ensure that the town was as clean, if not cleaner, than it was at the start of the event.

Both ASM and KUBOTA completed litter picking events in June and it is hoped that other businesses will follow suit throughout the year.

Hopefully somebody will volunteer to lead the group into its next phase, to introduce new ideas or at least to sustain the progress made so far. If that someone could be you, then please get in touch.

Nature Adventure and Produce Swap

Friendsof the Earth August Bank Holiday event in the Marquee on White's Field, MillLane, Chinnor

Friday22nd August, 10am - 12.30pm

Come alongand enjoy Nature activities with fun crafts, lots of play and storytelling.
Bug Hunt, Hedgehog Collage, bug hotel, wildflower garden and much more.
Talk topeople about Friends of the Earth and what they can do to help.
Bringsurplus produce to swap or pay a donation to take away anything youfancy - this is a great way to share unwanted produce and to savewaste.

VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED FOR THIS EVENT

Looking for something fun to do over the summer holidays?

21st Century Thame is running 6 week Eco Challenge. Take part in as much or as little as you want - with a chance to win prizes! So far 2 challenges have been announced:

1. Magnificent Stag Beetles Challenge

2. Grow Food from Scraps Challenge

Don’t forget to take part in the Wild Thing Hedgehog Trail through Thame in the Summer Holidays. There are chances to win prizes for yourself, and for a local primary school in Thame.

For information Hedgehog Adventure – Thame Town Council.

New species seen in Cuttle Brook Nature Reserve.

Over the past month species seen in Cuttle Brook nature reserve have included kingfisher and the brown hairstreak butterfly. This butterfly was spotted near Watkins bridge and is believed to be a new species for the site. It is a rare butterfly with a stronghold in the UK on Bucks / Oxon border just north of Thame around Bernwood Forest.

In other news, some of the Alders in the reserve have died from disease and old willows are suffering from the hot dry summer, so some felling is likely to be needed in the autumn for safety reasons along the paths around the reserve.

New Shoots: River Thame Edition – Applications Now Open!

What? A hands-on wildlife skills programme for young people aged 14–18
When? One Saturday per month, Sept 2025 – June 2026
Where? Sites across the River Thame catchment (e.g. Aylesbury, Thame, Dorchester-on-Thame, Wheatley, Chinnor & surrounding areas)
Cost? Completely free to take part, all equipment provided!

Participants will explore nature reserves, try real conservation techniques, and work with friendly professionals from River Thame Conservation Trust, Chiltern Rangers, and local environmental organisations. It’s a fantastic way to grow confidence, make friends, and gain experience in the environmental sector.

Apply here: https://forms.office.com/e/aaFg61QYu5

Deadline: Midnight, Monday 25 August 2025

Help for EV drivers

OCC are helping residents without off-street parking charge their electric vehicles (EVs) at home. 500 residents can apply for affordable and practical EV charging cable channels.

Find out about the scheme

Get free home upgrades

The Warm Homes: Local Grant provides fully funded energy-saving improvements – like solar panels, insulation, and heat pumps – to boost your home’s efficiency and help save money.

Funding is limited. Are you eligible?

Ask your MP to support the Repair and Reuse Declaration

We all know that repair and reuse is popular, beneficial to the environment and… satisfying. But politicians are doing very little to encourage repair and reuse. Why? Because they don’t think people are bothered about it.
We can change that. We can show that there’s public and political support for a shift away from our throwaway economy.
Please get in touch with your MP, tell them why you want to see more reuse and repair, and ask them to support the declaration too.

Can you help Fresh Water Habitat Trust to identify Priority Ponds?

Priority Ponds are waterbodies that have a particularly high conservation value, usually because they support important freshwater species or rare community types. We are looking for volunteers to carry out Priority Pond Assessment (PASS) surveys in England and Wales to help us to map more of these vital habitats.

Last year, volunteers carried out an incredible 746 pond surveys and of those, 106 are predicted to be Priority Ponds.

Find out more here

Oxfordshire council top in country for climate action

Oxfordshire County Council are leading the way on climate action in the country.

This is according to the latest Council Climate Action Scorecards, published by Climate Emergency UK, which gave Oxfordshire County Council a score of 64 per cent.

West Oxfordshire and South Oxfordshire showed the greatest improvement since the 2023 scorecards, rising by 22 and 20 percentage points respectively.

Overall, Oxfordshire’s average score stands at 56 per cent, well above the South East regional average of 39 per cent and the national average of 38 per cent.

In individual categories, several Oxfordshire councils performed particularly well.

South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse each scored above 80 per cent in planning and land use, with 90 per cent and 84 per cent respectively.

Oxfordshire County Council achieved 88 per cent in buildings and heating.

Annie Pickering, operations director at Climate Emergency UK, said: "All six councils in Oxfordshire have improved their scorecard results since 2023, showing that councils, along with residents, want to prioritise climate action to improve their lives and communities."

From Witney Gazette - read more here

Or read on OCCs website here

Get involved in green action in your community

Did you know Thame has a Green Living Plan - a 10 year plan for a greener, cleaner Thame. The plan includes over 190 actions that we want to take by 2030 to help achieve this.

You find out more about these actions and see what has already been completed, what is in motion and what still needs to take place at the Thame Green Living Website - https://thamegreenliving.org.u...

There is so much to achieve so get in contact through the website to play a part.

Events coming up

All information below is correct at time of sending but is subject to change. Events are delivered by different groups and each button below links to more details. Please make sure you click through to book your space/read more information prior to attending.

Various dates over the month of August. Click to sign up and details will be shared through the WhatsApp group details on the website. Her Land Work Party (women & girls): YOU MUST REGISTER BEFORE ATTENDING IN CASE OF CHANGES

Saturday 16th August: Repair Café: 2pm-4pm Scout Hut, Southern Road. Click for more info and next date

Sunday 17th August: Cuttle Brook Nature Reserve Work Party - meet at 10am at Southern Road.

Friday 22nd August: 10am - 12.30pm. Marquee on White's Field, Mill Ln, Chinnor.

Wednesday 27th August: Cuttle Brook Nature Reserve Work Party - meet at 10am at Southern Road.

Google Calendar for local sustainable events

21st Century Thame have set up a google calendar that is up to date with any environmental / sustainable events - https://21stcenturythame.co.uk/21st-century-thame-environmental-calendar-of-events/

- let them know if we’re missing any - and click on the ‘add’ cross at the bottom of the calendar to subscribe to the calendar so that the events appear on your personal device.

Add your Green Group to the Mycelium Map!

The Mycelium Map is a digital ecosystem for eco-groups to showcase their work and events. It’s open to everyone in and around the Chilterns working on climate and nature sustainability.

You can read about the map here: https://hedgerleywood.org/mymap/

Or check it out at: https://mymap.eco

Email [email protected] for information and the link you need to put your group on the Map.

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