Andrew Jones' Reply

After writing to Andrew Jones in an open letter on this blog about the state of Harrogate's Eco- friendliness I was very happy when I got a reply last Monday. This is what Andrew Jones, MP for Harrogate wrote:
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Dear Ellen 

 Thank you very much for contacting me.  I have read the open letter on your blog and, as a long-standing supporter of environmental concerns, it is great to read your blog.  I thought I would deal with each part of your letter in turn if that’s OK:

School green projects.

I think the idea of an ‘eco-competition’ between schools is a really interesting one.  I know a great many schools like Harrogate Grammar already do environmentally-based projects but we could all always do more.

I regularly write to headteachers and the next time I do so – which will be at the beginning of next term – I will ensure that I make the suggestion to them.

Harrogate, more buses/bus stops/car sharing.

Car-sharing is a great idea and Harrogate does already have a car-sharing scheme.  You can read more about it athttps://harrogate.liftshare.com/.  Please tell as many people as you can about it so that we can spread the word.

Good news on buses and bus stops.  The County Council is using Government cash to upgrade bus stops.  For instance the bus stop on York Place on the Stray is going to have a shelter added.  Information on bus services is going to be more widely available using smartphone technology.

There is always more that can be done but there has been good news on trains.  In the last few years we have seen more activity to make train travel more desirable.  We have seen new services introduced on the Leeds – Harrogate – York line including a direct evening service from London, new fast ticketing machines at Pannal, Harrogate, Starbeck and Knaresborough station and improvements to the signalling meaning more trains can use the line at the same time. 

Litter picking.

It is appalling that people drop litter particularly when it is only a short walk to a bin.  The Council do regular litter picks on the Stray and I have attached the schedule of work they do.

I regularly organise or take part in litter picks with Councillors and community groups.  I think we should do more to educate people to take their rubbish with them in the first instance.  Then we need to do what we can to clear up the remainder.

Again many thanks for your email.  I hope my thoughts have been helpful and thank you for your ideas.  Please do feel free to come back to me if you would like any more information or have any questions.

Kind regards

Andrew

Open Letter to Harrogate MP, Andrew Jones

Dear Mr Jones,

 I am writing to you as part of my school project on how we can live greener, causing less impact on our earth and ultimately becoming more  environmentally friendly. Harrogate is overall quite a green town - I mean we have the stray and the Valley Gardens etc...- however there is still A LOT more we could do to improve it. Below are my ideas:

SCHOOL GREEN PROJECTS
Some schools in Harrogate are already trying this but not all are. For example Harrogate Grammar has a school allotment and gardening club run by one of the teachers. The club is well attended and people generally enjoy helping out. Only thing is that the club is only really active within the school. Wouldn't it be nice (and good for everyone - fitness, environment...) to get more people involved? I suggest that we have some sort of competition between schools. Perhaps which school is more eco friendly based on grounds, wildlife, energy consumption then give the schools 1 month to improve and crown a winner. As I already know Harrogate pupils are extremely competitive (as well as myself!) I believe this would work - even if the competition did not take this format.

HARROGATE: MORE BUSSES/BUS STOPS, CAR SHARING
Yesterday after walking into town I could not believe that even on what I believe has been the hottest day of the year the roads were still fully crammed with cars and I was being choked by the sheer amount of fumes being exhausted - perhaps a slight exaggeration. I propose the idea of a car sharing scheme for Harrogate to try and minimise the amount of cars taking up our roads - especially in hot weather. Or if this is too hard to try maybe we could insert more bus stops around the town. Less cars on the road - either by people sharing or people on busses/trains - would be great! Think about the less road works to be done - a lot less expensive- and more jobs available as drivers! In my opinion this is the win win situation.

LITTER PICKING!
Even on the stray I cannot fathom how much I am appalled my the amount (piles) of cans and crisp packets lying around. In your defence, today is a particularly hot day so all the young people are hanging around outside, however who's going to pick it up? It was hot last week too and some of the litter from then is still lying around. Would it be possible for the council to have a litter picking scheme or for the government to be more involved in one? Less litter would be fantastic - prettier places, less danger to animals and community involvement.

 I hope you have listened and liked my ideas and take a least some of them onboard.
Thank you, yours faithfully,
Ellen Y.

Happy World Environment Day!

Today was 'World Environment Day!' I bet you didn't know and neither did I until this year - lets just say it's not quite as famous as Christmas. It is an annual event by UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) which is aimed at widening peoples knowledge on our environment today. This years theme (2013) was 'Think. Eat. Save.' This is to do with reducing the size of your carbon footprint by chucking away less waste (especially food) however perhaps more importantly, thinking before you buy about how much waste things will produce and if you could minimize it before it is a problem. Today I bought 1 bottle of water and a packet of tomatoes. Yes I agree with you if you're thinking I must be pretty weird! I'm feeling pretty guilty right now as before I bought them I didn't check the label to see what will happen once I'm done with the food. However I checked afterwards and the water bottle can be put in my local plastic recycling bin, while the tomatoes  which were packaged in a plastic tray with a plastic wrapper, are not so lucky. The tray can be recycled however I'm not too sure about the plastic wrapper on top. Oh dear.... Did you know that it is World Environment Day/WED today? If you didn't check it out here.

Welcome to Don't Throw It! Grow It!

I am starting this blog to alert people of the changes we are doing to our planet, how much they use and more importantly how they can make a difference. We are doing no good to our Earth at the moment. We take it for granted and watch TV then take the car to the shops (even though it's only a five minute walk away.) Last year in Perth Australia they had the one of the driest Augusts on record yet in New York 2011 they had the first snow in October for 121 years! This is not normal and I have a feeling it may be caused by us - in fact we all know it. Our planet is suffering and I hope, just hope that I can spread a little daily or weekly advice through this blog. I will be writing about how we can transform old to new, how much we use (and how much we actually should,) tips and tricks for an eco lifestyle and you'll hopefully take a bit away from reading it so you can make your change. Thanks for visiting and I'll be back soon! Don't throw it, grow it!