The Bulletin
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here.
The Hungerford and Kintbury Ward news can be found
here.
STARGAZERS
This is a final call for all those wanting to join a group of
amateurs interested in the night sky and astronomy. To make sure
that you are signed up, please email Inkpen-climate@outlook.com.
We already have enough interest for this activity to be viable but
a few more members would be very welcome. The first meeting will
be 24th May, 7:30 at the Inkpen pavilion. Don’t miss out.
Darkness
is a dwindling resource. As the amount of artificial light
increases, total darkness threatens to disappear from our
world. Darkness is fundamental to us and to the rest of
the natural world.
People need on average 6 to 9 hours of sleep a night, and
if you want to sleep well, you need darkness. Sleep also
affects blood pressure and weight management.
Without darkness your body clock will not receive vital
messages about the time of day, making it more difficult
for you to fall asleep. Irregular body clocks have been
linked to many diseases, such as hypertension, type 2
diabetes, depression and asthma. For us, darkness is a
friend.
Most animals are much more sensitive than humans and can
even sense light that is indistinguishable to the human
eye. Many animals need darkness for protection when
searching for food. If an animal does not dare search for
food at the right time, its populations will shrink and it
will eventually disappear. This is already happening.
Plants too require darkness to structure the rhythm of
their vital functions. For anticipating the onset of
winter, the amount of light is more reliable than changes
in temperature. Whereas temperatures can fluctuate
unpredictably, the amount of light decreases in a
predictable way.
Darkness is as important as daylight. It is important to
us all and to all things. Put off your lights when you
don’t need them and save money, save electricity and help
save the natural world.
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Please give us a hand – Oak Trees in Inkpen
We need
your help to measure oak trees. Measuring tree
girths helps us to evaluate changes that have taken place in
Inkpen and enable future researchers to
evaluate the effect of
climate change on tree growth and distribution. This is work
of real value, be part of it. Go to
inkpenhistory.uk to find out more
Get a spring in your step.
It’s spring and time to get out into the very fresh air, so come
along, make the
Pop-In Café your stop off point. We’re
open on the first and third Thursdays of each month so that’s the
2nd and 16th of May, 6th and 20th of June. Stay for as long
as you like and relax with a coffee, tea or hot chocolate. There’s
always a selection of biscuits and much sought after cake(s).
If you don’t know many people in Inkpen or want to meet up with a
friend, then this is the place to come. The café is at the Inkpen
playing field pavilion 10 am till 12:30pm. All are welcome.
Going for a walk
If you want a breath of fresh air and some exercise, check out
the Inkpen
walks,
but keep your distance from others, that's at least 6 feet apart
in old money. If you feel that you should wear a face mask when
outdoors, then checkout the design given on the
News page.
On the news page this month there are a number of updates
including from the Inkpen Primary School and pre-school, from
the Playing field trust and Village Hall, and there's this
months Police Report .
Climate change issues.
The IMPFT, the playing field trust, is in the process
of installing solar panels and a key entry system. The trust,
chaired by Brian Cox, is aware of the need to reduce its carbon
footprint and is making what progress it can. The solar panels
are clearly there to reduce the trust's reliance on fossil fuel
energy, and to feed whatever extra is generated back into the
grid. The key entry system is there to make sure energy is only
consumed when the facilities are in use. Many of you are
choosing to adopt private energy saving measures - the trust is
focused on trying and do the same.
On a more global scale, England's hedgerows would stretch almost
ten times around the Earth if lined up end to end. That's
according to a new map - the most comprehensive to date - of
these historic features of the landscape. We need to protect our
hedgerows and the wildlife that relies on them.
Ecologists hope that new data will lead to better protections
for the much-loved lines of trees and shrubs that provide food
and shelter for wildlife, and store large amounts of carbon.
Laser scanning from the air reveals a total of 390,000 km of
hedges. The South West boasts the most hedgerows, led by
Cornwall. Surrey, Hampshire and
Berkshire are the counties
with the least - excluding big urban areas.
We are depending on renewables to help us get to net-zero carbon
emissions. If you'd like to see what contribution renewables are
making on a daily basis, have a look
here.
