Sustainable Witney was formed by a small group of volunteers who wanted to make our West Oxfordshire town a better, greener place. Considering its size, the group carried out a surprising number of different projects and had a very active web presence.
Cogges Link Road
When Oxfordshire County Council wanted to build the unnecessary Cogges Link Road, the local newspapers gave up reporting on the ensuing public enquiry after a day or so. My reporting, published on the Sustainable Witney website, remains the most complete record of the proceedings of that enquiry. Now the Sustainable Witney website has been deleted, I have reproduced these posts on this website so there is still a public record.
Plastic-Free July
I first attempted Plastic-Free July in 2013 and blogged about my experiences for Sustainable Witney. Many people, not all of them local, joined in the challenge. I ended up being featured in the Oxford Mail and being invited to give talks about low-plastic living. I compiled a "plastic-free survival guide" for Oxfordshire with local tips for where to shop, which inspired someone as far afield as Croydon to do the same.
During my years as part of the group, I also:
- Took thermal images of houses all over West Oxfordshire to show residents where their homes were losing heat;
- Helped to organise various swap-shops as a way of keeping usable things out of landfill;
- Explored the feasibility of setting up a local car club;
- Contributed dozens of different blogposts on everything from cycling to bees.