Wotton Area CAN

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Wotton Area Climate and Nature Network.

We are a local, community-led volunteer organisation with the goal of engaging local residents and increasing awareness of our changing climate and nature.

23/10/2026

Gloomy day? Find a little light and positivity in our latest newsletter!

Our Autumn newsletter is out now, packed with local stories, positive news and ideas for making a difference in our community.

Read the latest newsletter: https://www.wottonareacan.org/so/e0Q5J6AmA?languageTag=en

Would you like to receive future newsletters? Sign up via our website to keep up to date with local climate and nature news, community projects and upcoming events.

13/10/2026

🎃 Halloween: keep the spooky, lose the waste!

Halloween is great fun, but it does have a rather scary side…

We spend hundreds of millions of pounds on Halloween each year, and a lot of what we buy is only used for one night. Meanwhile, some of our Halloween traditions aren't great news for wildlife either.

🕸️ Fake cobwebs can trap birds and other wildlife.

🎃 Leftover pumpkins can make hedgehogs seriously ill.

🧛 Millions of costumes end up in the bin, many made from plastic-based fabrics.

The good news is that it doesn't take much to do things a little differently. Reuse decorations, make a costume from things you already own, swap with a friend (or visit the library costume swap!), and make sure your pumpkin doesn't go to waste.

We've put together a few simple ideas to help you have a wildlife-friendly Halloween without spending a fortune or missing out on the fun.

Have a swipe through, and let us know if you've got any other tips to share!

05/10/2026

Want to give wildlife a helping hand in your garden this autumn?

As the days get shorter and the temperature drops, our gardens can provide some really valuable food, shelter and habitat for wildlife.

We’ve put together 5 simple things you can do this autumn:

Plant wildflowers – autumn is a great time to sow wildflower seeds and get next year’s blooms underway.

Make a wildlife pond – even a small pond can provide a valuable home for frogs, toads, newts and countless insects.

Help hedgehogs – create quiet, sheltered areas and make sure hedgehogs can move between gardens through small gaps in fences.

Give frogs and toads somewhere to shelter – piles of leaves, logs and stones can provide safe places to hide through the colder months.

Let your garden get a little wild – leave fallen leaves, seed heads, dead stems and some areas of longer grass. What looks untidy to us can be hugely valuable to wildlife!

You can find more information about planting wildflowers and making a wildlife pond on our website, as well as a handy guide from Froglife to creating a wildlife hibernaculum.

And if you'd like to find out more about how we can help wildlife in our gardens, we're also looking ahead to our Great Spring Awakening event in February, which will include a focus on hedgehogs and the ways we can make our gardens more wildlife-friendly.

What do you do for wildlife over winter in your garden?

Find the links below:

Planting wildflower seeds:
https://www.wottonareacan.org/post/planting-wild-flower-seeds

How to make a wildlife pond:
https://www.wottonareacan.org/post/how-to-make-a-wildlife-pond

Froglife's guide to creating a hibernaculum:
https://www.froglife.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Hibernaculum.pdf

The Great Spring Awakening – 23 February 2027:
Find out more and book https://www.wottonareacan.org/event-details-registration/the-great-spring-awakening

25/09/2026

Do you know what happens to your food waste?

One of the things we found particularly interesting at last week’s Beyond the Bin talk was discovering what happens after we put our food waste out for collection.

I’d always assumed it was either composted or incinerated but it turns out something much more useful happens to it!

Our food waste is taken to a specialist facility just outside Bishop’s Cleeve, where it is broken down to produce biogas and fertiliser.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_BnWwkXeQM

The biogas is processed into biomethane and injected into the gas grid so the food waste you recycled a few weeks ago could eventually be helping to heat a home or cook someone’s dinner!

And what’s left after the gas has been produced becomes a nutrient-rich liquid fertiliser, which is used by farmers to help grow crops.

What’s particularly surprising is how much food waste still ends up in our black bins. Despite Gloucestershire having kerbside food waste collections, food waste makes up around 25% of the waste sent to the incinerator.
If we recycled all of that food waste instead, we could produce even more biomethane and fertiliser.

So next time you scrape your plate remember: it’s not just waste - it’s a resource!

If you don’t already have a food waste caddy, you can order one through Gloucestershire Recycles.

And if you missed Beyond the Bin you can now watch the talk via our website:

https://www.wottonareacan.org/post/beyond-the-bin-with-kelly-osborne-sept-26

17/09/2026

FREE TALK TONIGHT - Beyond the Bin, Rethinking Waste.

Come along this evening for a relaxed, practical look at reducing waste in everyday life. We’ll hear from a local zero-waste advocate about what’s worked (and what hasn’t!) and from the Gloucestershire Recycles team about the many ways we can reduce, reuse and consume less.

Under the Edge Arts, doors open 7pm, talk starts 7.30pm
Questions at the end
Bar open
FREE entry

https://www.wottonareacan.org/upcoming-events

12/09/2026

Is your black bin usually full by collection day?

Do you ever find food waste creeping into the black bin?

Do you make a conscious effort to reduce what goes in it?

Do you know what happens to your food waste, recycling and black-bin waste once it leaves your doorstep?

Here in the Stroud District, we’re lucky to have food waste and recycling services that can help us keep a lot of waste out of landfill but what about everything that can't go in those bins?

If you'd like to explore some realistic ways to reduce waste in everyday life, come along to our FREE talk this Thursday.

We'll hear about one local zero-waste journey - including the things that haven't worked! And from the Gloucestershire Recycles team, who'll share local options for reducing waste and consumption.

Thursday 17 September - 7.30pm (doors open at 7pm), Under the Edge Arts
Questions at the end
Bar open

https://www.wottonareacan.org/upcoming-events

28/08/2026

Our next FREE public speaker event....

Living a Zero Waste Life (Or Trying To!)

How much waste do we really create and what can we do about it?

Join us for an engaging and practical evening exploring how to reduce waste at home and in everyday life, without the pressure to be perfect.

We’ll start with a refreshingly honest look at one local zero-waste advocate’s journey, sharing what has worked, what hasn’t, and the challenges along the way. Expect plenty of simple, realistic ideas to cut waste, save money and make more sustainable choices.

We’ll also hear from the Gloucestershire Recycles team at Gloucestershire County Council, who’ll take us beyond the bin and explore local ways to reduce waste and consumption - from repair cafés, rental schemes and refill shops to buying second-hand and choosing lower-waste packaging.

Drawing on research from Keep Britain Tidy, they’ll also look at why reducing waste matters and what can encourage us to buy less.

Thursday September 17th - Under the Edge Arts
Doors open: 7pm
Talk starts: 7.30pm with questions at the end
Free entry and the bar will be open

https://www.wottonareacan.org/event-details-registration/beyond-the-bin-rethinking-waste

03/08/2026

If you missed How to Live on Earth at Wotton Cinema on Saturday, there's another chance to see this inspiring film tonight.

How to Live on Earth is a thought-provoking and uplifting documentary that explores how we can respond to the climate and nature crisis with hope, imagination and practical action. It celebrates the people and ideas already creating a fairer, more sustainable future.

Book tickets here - https://www.wottoncinema.com/film/How+To+Live+On+Earth/1902

26/07/2026

💚 We need your best plastic-free tips!

Whether it's a kitchen hack, a favourite refill shop, a bathroom swap or something completely unexpected, your experience could inspire someone else to make a change.

We've shared a few of our favourite tips in today's carousel to get the conversation started...

Now it's your turn!

🌿 What's your favourite way to reduce single-use plastic?

🌿 Which swap has been the easiest to stick with?

🌿 Is there a product or tip you'd recommend to others?

Address

Wotton-Under-Edge
GL12

Website

http://www.wottonareacan.org/

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