In June 2023 Rode and neighbouring villages hosted a number of events as part of Great Big Green Week, the UK-wide celebration of community action to tackle climate change. This included a series of talks in Rode Memorial Hall on the theme of “How do we tackle the Climate Emergency?”
The three excellent presentations were well attended (around 40 visitors at peak), and elicited plenty of audience interaction. The “headline” speaker was Sarah Dyke (Lead Member for Environment & Climate Change on Somerset Council, and now MP for Somerton & Frome) who provided a comprehensive overview of all the actions that Somerset Council is taking to address the climate emergency. We also hosted a talk from the Centre for Sustainable Energy (on the practical steps to take to make your home warmer, more energy-efficient (and therefore cheaper to heat), and less carbon-intensive. Then Terry Pinto (an “Eco-Architect” based in Frome) provided a fascinating look at a whole range of local projects, show-casing low carbon housing. Links to the presentations are set out below: