The Rural Affairs Committee encourages members interest by organising talks and visits on matters environmental and agricultural as well as highlighting topical websites, projects and news items.

CLIMATE CHANGE

A conference held at Denman in November for Federation Science Coordinators was run by the newly-formed Federation Support committee, and concluded with a day on Climate Change which was open to all, attended by Oxfordshire members, as well as representatives of other Federations.

The first speaker, Dr Denise Smythe-Wright was an Oceanographer from Southampton University (and a long-standing WI member) who has been predicting climate change for the last 20 years. She presented the scientific facts of climate change as they stand at present, followed by the potential impacts upon the world if nothing is done to halt global warming. It is predicted that future wars will be fought over water - by 2020 the Himalayas are likely to be snow-free, and 70% of the world's population relies on water that comes from that mountain.

Rosie Boycott, doyenne of Fleet Street, and Boris Johnson's 'Food Czar' followed. We were reminded of the role of food in our society, where culture, food and social life are inextricably linked. Riveted by her gravelly tones, we heard her views on the Food Crisis in Britain, where obesity rather than starvation is a problem in some areas, and where supermarkets hold sway over farmers. We heard horrifying statistics - that the UK sells 49% of all the ready-meals sold in Europe, and that the production of manufactured food is in the hands of four giant companies which operate almost outside political controls. Members joined in with personal tales of woe from the farming community, complaints about cookery no longer being taught in schools. The prospects for the future are not good - as countries move into prosperity the demand for meat in the diet grows - and it takes 20 kilos of grain to raise 1 kilo of beef! Fifty per cent of our own grain crop goes to animal feed. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world, one child dies of starvation every 6 seconds. And of course, we bin 33% of the food we purchase.

Our final speaker was Danny Chivers, a young man who had stepped in at the last minute when Mark Lynas had been taken ill. Working in East Oxford, the charming young man had his audience absorbed from the first moments of his presentation. He had spent his entire working life with climate change, so was well placed to give us an excellent visual example of the way in which we would have control over our own emissions if we are to meet the targets for carbon reduction by 2050. Some members were dismayed to find that the little things they have been encouraged to do have little impact - such as not keeping the TV on standby, or their mobiles on charge - both of these actually consume very little. Using our cars and taking long flights are the most damaging things we do - and Danny was not an enthusiast for carbon off-setting. Planting trees might sound like a good idea, as they absorb Carbon Dioxide while they are growing, but this is then stored, and released when the wood burns - there are all sorts of difficulties with this, he felt. This is one of the reasons why the burning of forests round the world is so damaging - between a quarter and a fifth of global warming due to this one factor.

We were left with the chilling fact that 300,000 people a year are already dying because of climate change. In UK our so-called National Emissions only count the events inside the country - they don't include shipping, or the manufacture of goods outside. Finally we were urged to become citizens, rather than consumers, to take part in movements and groups within our own communities, to push for changes to actually give us and our successors more of a chance for survival!

Equality and Diversity E-bulletin - September 2009

  Please click here to see the Vale of White Horse District Council's Equality and Diversity E-bulletin (September 2009). This issue includes information on:

* Details about the Emergency Carers Support Service

* New dance classes coming to the Vale

* Loans available to help keep people safe and warm

   In the September E-bulletin there is the opportunity to give your feedback on a number of Council services reviews. In addition, there's information about a funding opportunity that your group may be interested in.

If you have any queries about anything contained in the Bulletin, please contact:

Katharine Doherty

Equalities Officer

Vale of White Horse District Council

01235 540324

ORGANIC GARDENING

Are you thinking about growing your own vegetables for the first time? Or do you want to introduce more sustainable methods into your garden? Confused about what you can and can't compost? WI members were among those who were able to take advantage of a series of day courses to introduce Organic Gardening Principles which were held in July at the gardens of Robert Longstaff at Longworth. The picture shows Susan Bowers, Swerford & Wigginton WI, and Ann Sharman, Duns Tew WI and Chairman of the Rural Affairs Committee, learning the finer points of pricking out seedlings from Robert Longstaff.

  Robert and his wife Yvonne (who spoke at the 2009 Annual Council Meeting) are both qualified as Master Composters, and are available as speakers (see the 2009/10 OFWI Handbook) and are also running courses as part of the Denman Programme, where he is also available for Taster Days. Additionally you could arrange for visits to their own demonstration gardens.

SOS FOR HONEY BEES

The resolution about honey bees was passed at the AGM in early June, and although this is to pressure the government to give more help for research, there is a lot that we can do ourselves to help honey bees, as well as bumble bees and other pollinators, which are also in decline. There are full details of the problem on the NFWI website, as well as plenty of ideas for action - including an invitation to become a Bee Champion!

  The best thing you can do is not to have too tidy a garden! The bees need a diverse diet of nectar, and many weeds, such as daisies, provide a good source. Cottage garden plants, especially British native plants are ideal; modern hybridised flowers do not provide easy access to nectar.

The NFWI website has a list of links to sites with lists of bee-friendly plants you can access - in addition, you may like to try the RHS website for a comprehensive list 'Plants for Bees'.

Do you know what to do if you have a swarm of honey bees nearby? These are of great value to beekeepers, as it is almost the only way they can start new hives these days. Call the police or the town hall; they will give you the name of the nearest beekeeper who will come and collect the swarm. You could look at the website of the Bee keepers Association - they have a list of registered swarm collectors http://www.britishbee.org.uk/swarm_collection.php - and there are local collectors you might like to know about who are happy to have their details published:

  

Oxford Area: Paul Whitaker 01608 811120, Mobile 07970 145136 Little Lees, Charlbury, Oxon, OX7 3HB. 'I am prepared to collect swarms in the Oxford, North Oxford & West Oxfordshire areas.' E-mail: paulwhitaker71@msn.com.

South of the county, Ron Crocker, 01189 722315, 'will arrange collection of swarms in the south of the county'.

PIG BUSINESS

At last! We have heard that Pig Business has finally surmounted legal hurdles, and is to be broadcast on More 4's True Stories series at 10 pm on 30th June. This is a film made by local girl Tracy Worcester, (formerly Ward, from Cornwell) aka the Marchioness of Worcester, who has been an eco campaigner for twenty years. (She has agreed to talk at our Pig Day in January - look out for details in News and Views!)

The film is an exposé of the secretive world of corporate pig farming. We see who pays the true cost of 'cheap' pig meat - the appalling conditions of factory farms endured by animals, workers and neighbours, environmental pollution and the destruction of rural economies, particularly in one of the newer members of the EU, Poland.

You may have heard that Swine Flu emerged just downwind of a swine plant owned by Smithfield, a giant multinational corporation and the world's biggest pig meat processor - no great surprise as overcrowded pig factories are incubators of disease and superbugs.

Smithfield, the world's biggest pig meat processor, does not want the truth to get out. They have already managed to stop the film being broadcast once, by threatening a ruinously expensive legal action. Even national newspapers trying to report on the film have been bullied into silence. The Mail, The Sunday Mail and The Mirror, have all tried but failed to get an article about the film past their lawyers, but the June issue of Observer Food Monthly, published on 22nd June, ran a long article about Tracy and the film.

As far as this committee is concerned, we are also concerned that our membership understand that British Pork is raised to the highest standards. However, there is a problem with pork labelling - it is possible that imported pork is used to make, for example, sausages or pies, which may then be labelled as British! The supermarkets seem to realise that this is an issue, so do look for those products which are labelled as being made with British Pork.

HARWELL VISIT

A small group of members visited UKAEA Harwell to learn about the plans for the development of the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus and to see at first hand the progress with decommissioning the nuclear site.   John Wilkins, Head of Site, summarised the history of Harwell from its opening in 1946, as the first UK centre for nuclear research, to the present day as it is being developed into an international centre for scientific and technical expertise. From Steve Moss, Head of UKAEA Property Development we heard about the environmental restoration programme including the decommissioning of redundant nuclear facilities and the management of radioactive waste.

We then had a guided tour of the site and split into two groups, one visited DIDO, a former Material Testing Reactor, and the other went to the Active Handling Facility. Materials tested in DIDO for a few months demonstrated the effects of irradiation over a period of 20-30 years. In the Active Handling Facility nuclear waste is packaged by remote control for safe long-term storage. It was a really interesting and informative afternoon, which we all enjoyed and learnt a lot about an important organisation in our county.

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Sustainable Energy Conference

  This conference was attended by our WI representative Pat Clark and she reports:

  Amongst many exhibits and speakers was one from a WI village in Oxfordshire, Blewbury which has a community-led initiative to reduce the carbon emissions of the building stock in this medium-sized Oxfordshire village.

  The overall message from the conference was that energy-efficient building design and "sustainable" methods for creating energy are playing an increasingly important part in housing development. Costs of installing "sustainable" systems are coming down as conventional fuels continue to go up in price. Energy supply for the future is a key issue. Germany was quoted as a country hoping to break its dependence on Russia for fuel. Sweden was quoted as a country far ahead of Britain in designing houses that have little or no need for energy for heating. It was acknowledged that older buildings, particularly in conservation areas, presented special problems when it came to adapting to more "sustainable" energy supplies, but even small changes such as switching to low-energy light bulbs, or recognising that wood-burning stoves have 70% efficiency compared to the 12% efficiency of an open fire, will help.

  WI members wishing to explore whether or not it would be viable to install "sustainable " systems for their own homes - or, indeed, find out more about opportunities to produce biofuels - may wish to consult TVE at www.tvenergy.org, or tel: 01635 817420.

  Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust have produced facts sheets on a variety of topics from 'badgers' to 'wildlife friendly pest control in the garden'. For more information go to www.bbowt.org.uk click on education, fact sheets, or phone 01865 775476.

Hogwatch - There is some evidence that the hedgehog population is declining. When did you last see a hedgehog? That is what 'Hogwatch' want to know. Hogwatch is being coordinated by Royal Holloway University of London and is funded by the People's Trust for Endangered Species and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society. To get an accurate picture of where hedgehogs are, they need our help by registering our sightings of hedgehogs. To find out more, or register a sighting go to www.hogwatch.org.uk