Chesterfield Borough Council is calling on all residents to consider how they can play their part in making the most of the space they have available to have a positive effect on the environment.
During May, the council is hosting an online campaign to sign post how local people can consider ways they can grow anything from wildflowers in their gardens to fruit and vegetables in planting boxes.
You don’t need to have loads of space to grow plants, herbs, flowers or shrubs – whether you have a window box or a large garden there is lots of inspiration online about how you can make the most of your green space.
If you do want to grow your own food and want to get the kids involved too there are a few ideas of how to get growing today on the BBC Good Food website.
If you’d rather have a dedicated growing space and don’t have any room at home, you can find out more about allotments in Chesterfield. Many have waiting lists but you can find out more about local sites here.
Making the most of your land doesn’t have to be all about growing food. There are lots of fun activities the whole family can get involved in outdoors on the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust website from how to make a mini nature reserve to making mini seed bombs you can throw in your garden.
You can learn how to create your own wild flower pots or wild flower lawns to support insects that live in urban places by visiting the Wildlife Trust website. This is easy to do, and really beautiful when in bloom too.
The council will be reducing the amount of grass cutting taking place in May to allow the land and the insects that live within it to thrive.
New signs will be in place in locations we are not cutting to let residents know what is happening and why.
Another great way you can play a positive role in helping the environment is to make your own compost. Homemade compost enriches the soil making it a good place to live for insects and worms. The National Trust can explain how to make your own at home.
In Chesterfield, the council has planted 2450 of trees in the last year with more planned over forthcoming months. Planting trees is good for the environment as they reduce pollution, lock up carbon and help provide habitats for wildlife. You can consider planting trees at home if you have the outdoor space available.
The Woodland Trust’s website explains how trees can play a part in being a defence against the climate crisis.
Throughout May we will be signposting ways you can consider land use related to climate change through our social media channels.
Chesterfield Borough Council launched a new seven-year Climate Change Strategy in March 2023 that outlines the council’s aims and objectives to becoming a carbon neutral organisation by 2030 and a carbon neutral borough by 2050.
The new seven-year strategy (2023-2030) is based around several themes including: buildings and energy use, travel, green space, land use and offsetting carbon emissions. This is our formal commitment to putting climate change at the centre of everything we do as a council. You can read the strategy on our climate change web page.
