This is the section which we hope will be filled with our ongoing projects to create our shared vision of Aylesbury.

Inspiration!

Not sure what we could do together? Here are some which are being carried out by other groups across the country…

Helping us to move away from unsustainable and inhumane factory farming towards local, organic produce and supporting community growing.

• Growing food in unexpected places – see Incredible Edible Todmorden
• Linking growers with local garden owners to share space in a Garden Share Scheme, like Lend and Tend
• Establishing a Community Composting Scheme through which local residents can add their own fruit and veg waste, and use any compost created
• Let’s Get Growing is a Facebook group already set up by Aylesbury Garden Town to support and encourage people to grow their own food
• Hold cooking classes to help people reduce waste and find interesting ways to eat well

Building and maintaining strong communities which are integrated and inclusive across the whole of our local society.

• Running free skill sharing events, asking people to share their own knowledge and skills – such as mending clothes, upcycling, gardening, hosting a party, songwriting, etc. – with others in the community
• Holding meet ups at which we can share ideas and get to know others in the community with similar values as us. Green Drinks is a way of doing this which has been running in towns across the world for many years now.
• Establishing sharing groups, pooling resources across the community. This could include toys (like Pimlico’s Toy Library), books (Little Free Library is one way of doing this) or general items (Streetbank is a way to share your stuff with your neighbours)

Encouraging one another to only consume what we need, to fix what is broken, to reuse what we can, and be mindful of where our waste ends up.

• Recycle for Buckinghamshire are already doing a lot of work to reduce waste in our area, including a brilliant Zero Waste Map showing where you can reduce, reuse and recycle.
• Establishing a local repair café to which people can bring their broken or ailing items to be fixed by or with volunteers with expert knowledge. There is already one running in Aston Clinton, and others in many towns across the country.

Supporting higher air quality standards and the reduced use of polluting transport.

• Sustainable Tring have worked with London Northwestern Railway to create a car share scheme at Tring station to connect train users who travel to the station by car.
• Crystal Palace Transition Town are lending out their cargo bikes to help people to change the way they move around and travel carbon free.

Finding ways to increase the use of renewable energies, and encouraging one another to only use the energy we really need.

• Brixton Energy creates cooperatively-owned renewable energy projects whose financial revenues stay within the local community.
•  Low Carbon Chilterns Co-op is a community organisation set up to bring about the installation of renewable energy systems on community buildings in The Chilterns.