Tideswell & District Environment Group News

Tideswell & District Environment Group (TDEG) has had a busy few months, and we are looking forward to new projects at the start of 2025. If you would like further information about any of the news below, please email at info@tdeg.org.uk.

If you would like to join TDEG, please sign up (it’s free!) via our website at tdeg.org.uk/join-us.

TDEG Open Meeting – Local Community Energy Initiatives – 19 February

Our next general TDEG meeting will focus on community energy initiatives in our area. Sheelagh Handy, a Director and Trustee of Hope Valley Community Energy (HVCE), will talk about their project to increase the take-up of retrofit and energy-saving measures in six wards across the Hope Valley, including Tideswell. We will also hear from Bill Purvis (health and fuel poverty consultant) who is working with HVCE to help develop the programme. They will share what HVCE has succeeded in doing so far and what it aims to achieve in the future. We can also say what we would like locally.

Everyone is welcome on Wednesday 19 February, 7.30pm – 9.00pm, Fountain Square Church, Tideswell.

Our New Rivers & Brooks Group

Our new Rivers and Brooks Group had its first meeting on 20 November. A well-attended meeting focused on concerns about the amount of untreated sewage permitted to flow into Tideswell Brook, as well as the level of pharmaceutical pollution in the brook. You can read more about these concerns in our new web page for the group at tdeg.org.uk/rivers-and-brooks-group.

We also heard about the excellent work undertaken by the Cressbrook and Litton Fly Fishing Club to monitor water quality in the River Wye over many years. We hope to learn from their expertise and set up some `citizen science` type monitoring of water quality in Tideswell Brook this spring.

Many actions and ideas for further research were discussed at the meeting, including monitoring water quality, lobbying the relevant agencies and Severn Trent Water, and sharing information in the community about how we can all help to improve water quality in our local rivers and brooks.

Since that meeting, we are pleased to report that our local MP, John Whitby, has agreed to meet representatives from the group in Tideswell Dale in mid-February, to hear our concerns. We will report on that event at our next meeting.

The next meeting of the Rivers & Brooks Group will be held on Wednesday, 26 February, 7pm, in Fountain Square Church. Everyone is welcome.

If you would like to be added to the Rivers & Brooks Group mailing list, get involved with the group’s plans and receive details about future meetings, please email us at info@tdeg.org.uk.

February Dates for your Diary

As well as our general meeting on 19 February, our project groups will be continuing with their monthly activities:

Bicycle Maintenance Club – meets on Saturday 1 February, 3-5pm, at the Peak Tri Store, Unit 7b Meverill Rd, Tideswell. Sessions include a demonstration followed by time for hands-on practice of that month’s maintenance topic and 1:1 support diagnosing any niggling problems.

Tideswell Repair Café – meets on Saturday 15 February, 10am-1pm, (please bring any items before 12.30pm), Tideswell Community Hall. Refreshments available. More information on our web site (tdeg.org.uk/tideswells-new-repair-cafe-helping-both-the-planet-and-your-purse ).

Rivers & Brooks Group – as discussed above – Wednesday, 26 February, 7-9pm, in Fountain Square Church.

Join Us

There are lots of opportunities to get involved in all our project group activities, whatever your interests or skills. We always need help, whether it’s volunteering at the Repair Cafe, litter picking, working with our local schools and other youth groups, or citizen science activities such as our butterfly surveys in Tideswell Dale and water quality monitoring.

We also need to find a new Treasurer to help us keep track of our cash, manage our very simple budget and keep our committee informed about finances.

Please email us if you’d like more information about any of these activities or if you have your own ideas about new projects (email info@tdeg.org.uk).