Flowers planted
Following last month’s news about a Mint gardening group that had been started, we’re now pleased to report some further action. With thanks to a volunteer who comes to Forum and Prayer group, the beds at the front of the church have been weeded and tidied, and some flowers have been planted. Take a look! As well as the great improvement already visible, 60 daffodil bulbs have also been planted, so we’ll look forward to seeing those in spring. If you would like to join the gardening group please speak to
Stephen Mosedale or Sue Cordery.
Caring for creation: reducing our carbon footprint
As part of our commitment to care for creation, the Property Committee and Eco Church Team have been working on a ‘Net Zero Carbon Plan’ which has now been agreed by Church Council. The Plan commits the Mint to ‘seek to care for creation in all its activities’ and aims to reduce the Mint’s carbon footprint annually towards zero. To do this, we have identified 22 actions we would like to take, as time and finances permit. The actions are in nine sections:
- Heating system
- Gas and electricity supply
- Management of heating
- Insulation
- Lighting
- Equipment and appliances such as fridges
- Water and waste
- Financial arrangements
- Communications
Most of the actions are energy efficiency work on the Mint’s buildings, but also include
considering how we can use our rooms more efficiently, how we buy our gas and electricity
and installing solar panels on the roof. Copies of the Plan are on the Mint’s website at
https://themint.org.uk/eco-church.
We have made a good start on several of the actions. We are applying for grant funding for
the solar panel project, and have been awarded a grant of £8,750 from Benefact Trust. We
also have over £19,000 from the 2023 Gift Day, which was targeted at greener energy and
carbon reduction projects. We need to determine the technical feasibility of the solar panels,
but subject to that, we are hopeful that a solar panel installation will be able to reduce the
Mint’s net carbon emissions and also save significantly on our energy costs. Martin Easton