What we’re working on and how to get involved
Campaigning
Eco Colchester is here to support you with your environmental concerns; whether it’s a new development, high polluting business / organisation or ecocide (damage to nature), we’re here to offer a platform to share your concerns widely and ensure that it is given the attention it deserves. Get in touch if you would like Eco Colchester to support a campaign or if you have a concern relating to the environment.
Pesticide Free Essex
Eco Colchester has joined forces with pesticide campaign groups across Essex and Pesticide Action Network (PAN UK) to encourage all councils across Essex and Essex County Council to phase out and eventually ban pesticides and move towards a policy which supports less damaging methods for controlling ‘wildflowers’. Our campaign aims to raise awareness to the general public too in the hope of banning urban pesticides in peoples gardens. To get involved and support the campaign visit the website.
Salary Brook
170 metres of ancient and protected hedgerow was wrongfully removed by developers and we want answers. Watch our video and sign our petition.
Middlewick Ranges
Enform and Eco Colchester joined forces with the ‘Save the Middlewick’ campaign team who have been tirelessly campaigning since 2016 to protect the Middlewick Ranges in South Colchester from development. Colchester has under gone huge development over the past 20 years with no sign of it letting up anytime soon. The Middlewick Ranges is the last and largest remaining green space and wildlife area in this part of Colchester. Containing rare habitat and species, a green lung and essential space for sanctuary and mental & physical wellbeing for residents . We need to save it. Follow their campaign on social media and visit their website to see how you can help.
Meetings
Our meetings are a great way to learn, plan, share ideas and network. We are working on meetings for 2022. In the meantime, we invite you to stay in touch with what’s going on via the Facebook page.
Tree & Hedge handout
Since 2019, we have handed out 1,900 native small garden trees and hedges to individuals, community groups, schools, hospitals and businesses around Colchester.
You can read all about our last handout here. With special thanks to our tree suppliers TCV (The Conservation Volunteers).
Tree and hedge hand out’s are detailed on our Facebook page or you can send an email to ecocolchester@en-form.org.ukto request trees or hedges. The season runs from October to March.
Future projects
Possible projects we need your help with:
- Coordinating or contributing to our social media platforms
- Running instagram, twitter accounts
- Coordinating one of our focus groups
- Writing emails to businesses, politicians etc.
- Making bags & facemasks from scrap material
- Setting up small community refill huts
- Creating visual Terracycle / Recycle posters
- Setting up swap / give away tables in local communities
- Blogging or writing (growing your own, creating a wildlife garden, turning your home into an ‘Eco Home’, recycling etc)
- Setting up litter picking groups
- Setting up smaller Eco village groups
- Helping to run events such as the eco festival
The Colchester Climate Alliance
Eco Colchester and en-form have joined forces with other local and professional environmental and social justice groups and charities to forge an alliance; the ‘Colchester Climate Alliance‘. Under this banner we are able to meet, plan and take action where needed as a collective voice.
We meet regularly to discuss matters relating to social equality and resilience as a town in the face and future-proofing of the climate emergency. The alliance enables us to take joint action and form a stronger force to ensure that decisions for Colchester address for instance; greater energy conservation and generation and protecting of our existing established habitats and the creation of new habitat.
We welcome all kinds of community groups and NGO’s that want to work on issues around climate justice and community resilience. Please get in touch with us by email: colchesterca@gmail.com if you want to be involved.
The Colchester Climate Alliance include some of the following groups and organisations:
Eco Colchester, Community Energy Colchester, Better Planning Campaign, Transition Town Wivenhoe, En-form, Community 360, Colchester Cycling Campaign, Pesticide Free Essex, Route 51 Cycle Project, Women’s Institute Chapel and Wakes Colne, Colchester Litter Pickers, Colchester Food Coop, Abberton Rural Training, Together we Grow CIC, Colchester Arts Centre, Extinction Rebellion, Animal Rebellion, Refugee Action, The Socialist Worker Group, The Quakers, Colchester Liberal Democrats, Colchester Green Party, Momentum North East Essex, Colchester Rotary Club, Colchester Natural History Society.
We’d love to hear from you
Please fill out the form to give us any feedback on anything we’ve missed, OR if you’d like to plan or share a local event OR if you can help with any of our existing work.
Setting up a project
If you need advice or help with setting up an environmental project, get in touch with en-form.