A bit of history

How was Greening Denmead formed?

In August 2023 a small group of about 6 people met at the White Hart to discuss the idea after having found each other on the ‘Steps to Sustainability - Denmead’ facebook group. The Parish Council had previously allocated some money to take this forward but fell short of volunteers. 

Supported by the Greening Campaign, this group ran a public meeting in October 2023 which about 40 people attended. At that meeting, attendees volunteered their names against the five pillars of Greening. We then held an online meeting with these people to introduce them to the experts and what types of projects they could support. 

In addition to the original management committee, four working groups formed:

• Space for nature

• Cycle of the seed

• Energy Efficient, Warmer Homes

• Waste Prevention

The volunteer groups then developed their own plans for what they wanted to achieve, based on the menu of options available via the Greening Campaign ‘pillar’ programmes, and their knowledge of what would work in Denmead.

In January 2024 we formally approved our constitution (which governs us) and became an unincorporated association. 

In April 2024 we launched Greening Denmead’s year of action on climate change and biodiversity loss, with these groups, combined with Greening challenge cards delivered (in theory at least!) to every household in the village.

Since then the groups have been taking forward their projects. 

In October 2024 we joined Winchester Climate Action Network (WeCAN).

In November/December 2024 we made some changes to our structure. We now have groups/teams focused around specific projects / events, rather than based on Greening Pillar themes. This will make volunteer commitments and outcomes clearer.

From January 2025 we created the Seeds of Change ‘club’ to bring together people who care about helping our village get greener faster. 

Why was Greening Denmead Formed 

(a note from our Chair in Oct 2023)

Climate change used to be something we talked about in the future tense. But it's here now.

• We had several days of 24C T-shirt weather. In October!

• While the days are shortening, we've seen apple trees across the village flowering.

• We are starting to get long dry periods of up to 3 months without rain, and when we do get it, we get a deluge and floods.

• Wildlife is declining at an alarming rate.

• Yet ticks are on the rise - I've removed 3 ticks from my children this summer

• We are starting to see gaps on supermarket shelves and price jumps as crops fail in other parts of the world.

• We are being warned of energy blackouts

And this is just the start.

Weathering these shocks, helping our wildlife, and getting to net zero, will need a strong community.

On the positive side, Denmead is already starting to take action:

• We already have a Repair Café

• The Parish Council are planting trees

• The Scouts has a volunteer-led recycling centre

• The Infant School has eco-warriors and PTA run pre-loved uniform sales

• The Junior School has developed a Forest Garden, where children learn to grow vegetables

• The Church has various initiatives caring for the environment

• The list goes on.

• And there are individuals, facebook groups and community interest companies with great ideas about how to reuse waste and support wildlife

What the Greening Campaign provides is:

• a network that could help all these groups have greater impact by sharing resources, finding volunteers, and reaching more people.

• More than that, it gives us funded access to expertise that will help us make a bigger difference for nature and net zero. And,

• It provides a well-trodden path to engaging the whole community in a fun way.

As a community we can make a bigger difference than individuals or even groups acting alone. That's why I stepped forward to get the Greening Campaign going here and I'm really excited at what we might achieve.