Ventnor Blog

Many thanks to Ray Harrington-Vail form the Footprint Trust for sending through this update to the Adopt-A-Garden scheme which was launched on the Wight recently. It’s a brilliant scheme but we were surprised to hear that the take up in Ventnor is very low. Take a read through following and if you think you;d like to get involved, contact details are at the bottom. Ed

The Adopt-A-Garden scheme is an innovative idea, which seeks to bring together two types of people. The person who has a garden they can no longer look after and the individual who wants a growing space.
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THE BISHOP of Portsmouth the Rt Rev Kenneth Stevenson has praised Isle of Wight’s Eco-Island vision during a debate in the House of Lords. (more…)

THOUSANDS of Isle of Wight residents and tourists alike are being invited along to a green themed extravaganza taking place in Newport at the end of May. (more…)

Last week Simon chatted with American writer and poet, Jack Tupac Pennington who had walked all the way from Ventnor to Cowes for the Eco Island Conference. Read Jack’s thoughts of the conference. As with all content contributed to the blog, the views expressed below, do not necessarily reflect those of VentnorBlog. Ed

First of all, I was even more exhausted when the conference finally ended not because the information available was not taken in, but because the business aspect of much of what was said was just that “words.”
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Vice Chancellor, Professor Bill Wakeham of the Uni of Southampton gave an excellent presentation at the Eco Island Conference last week, Simon caught up with him during the first coffee break.

It was interesting to see that almost 25% of the Island’s carbon footprint relates directly to transportation.

Much of this is made up by ferry crossings, so Simon posed the question “Is there a more efficient way to cross the Solent?” (more…)

First was a presentation by the Ventnor Golf Club:

The Ventnor Golf Club made a major announcement concerning their progress that fits in perfectly with the Eco Island strategy.
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One of the first people we bumped into at the Eco Island Conference last Wednesday was an American writer and poet named Jack Tupac Pennington.

Simon was quick to pull out his ever faithful audio recorder after Jack explained that he’d embraced the Eco Island vision and decided to walk all the way from Ventnor to the conference in Cowes.
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During the Eco Island conference on Wednesday we were lucky enough to catch up with Dame Ellen MacArthur for a chat.

Simon, as you can see from the photo, set sail (well drifted away from the jetty slightly) with Ellen and Dan (from Island 2000) on the Island 2000 Purple Kite.

Purple Kite Background
Just a quick bit of background on the Purple Kite first - the team at Island 2000 decided that they would do their bit for sustainable transport and set about building a boat to take them across to the conference at the Cowes Yacht Haven from their offices in East Cowes. (more…)

Professor Sir Ghillean T. Prance is Scientific Director for the Eden Project in Cornwall. His presentation to the Eco Island conference yesterday was fascinating and his insights into educating on sustainability were well received by the audience.

Sir Ghillean believes that Cornwall has much in common with the Isle of Wight, so hopefully we will be able to learn some lessons from their development at the Eden Project.
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Dr Lawrence started her presentation by stating how grateful she is to have been asked to be involved in this landmark conference and considers this to be a turning point for the island and the UK as a whole.

She believes that it’s all about “having the vision and carrying it through.”
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RECORD-breaking round the world yachtswoman Dame Ellen MacArthur has highlighted how she feels modern living has become detached from the resources it consumes. (more…)

Ellen is one of those speakers who always seems to manage to infect the audience with her inspiring attitude to life.

Even though she spoke for just 10 minutes this morning at the Eco Island conference, we certainly came away inspired by her insight.
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University of Southampton is working on many areas of sustainable lifestyles.

Amazingly 23% of the eco footprint of the Isle of Wight is related to transportation. Luckily this is one area that the Uni is putting a lot of research into.

Three project were covered.

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Tons of people at the Eco-Island conference. We heard that there were over 250 people with a waiting list to get in too.

It’s just starting now The Leader, David Pugh, giving the introduction to the event. Lots of big ups about the Island - hurrah!

Great to hear VentBag getting a mention.

Sadly Terry Farrell is unwell and won’t be able to make it. Youshen (sp?), his urban design and planning director has stepped up to take his place.

More when we hear it.

(Well done to the Council’s press office for getting an Internet connection and WiFi sorted out at the venue. It’s will save us a fortune in data changes!)

Tomorrow sees the landmark Eco Island conference being held at the Yacht Haven in Cowes.

There is a great lineup of speakers confirmed for the day including …
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A HIGH-PROFILE conference with internationally-renowned speakers is being held to help the Isle of Wight become an energy-self-sufficient Eco-Island. (more…)

There has been much talk about the Isle of Wight becoming an Eco Island, with others following suit around the globe.

At the end of this month, a free event is being organised by the Isle of Wight Council on behalf of the Island Strategic Partnership.

The aim of the event is to ‘place the Island firmly on the international stage’.
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It’s not just the Isle of Wight who are taking up the challenge of becoming an Eco Island.

According to the Times of Malta, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi claimed at a press conference that he “could not wait” to launch Gozo as an eco-island, a development which would mean a better quality of life for all Gozitans.
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John Giddings is putting a positive spin on Lily Allen cancelling her appearance at the Isle of Wight Festival - and getting a mention of the Eco-Island initiative in there too.
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WHILE thousands of people have used IW Council leisure centres to get healthy, the buildings themselves have also been shedding tonnes off their carbon footprints. (more…)

The Urgent Challenges of Peak Oil and Climate Change
Transition Island, the local branch of the national community action network, will host a meeting in the Winter Gardens on Monday 3rd March.

These meetings, held in different Island towns, allow local people to hear about the Transition Towns project. Vav Simon, from the Transition Island Steering Group, said “Each town can address its own issues. Local people know best what is needed and how things can be developed with support from the neighbourhood. There is a great deal townsfolk can do”.
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THE ISLE of Wight Council is set to trailblaze a number of key Eco-Island initiatives to make the county a beacon of excellence for green issues. (more…)

At last night’s full council meeting at County Hall, Newport, council leader, David Pugh announced the council will be further embracing Green issues.

Thirteen council vehicles will be adapted to run on bio fuels (we wonder if they will be supplied by Wight Made Bio Diesel?).

They have also stated that they plan to reduce the councils CO2 emissions by 4%, with various schemes.

A Zero plastic bag scheme - pioneered in Ventnor - will be extended over the Island.

It’s great news to see that the IW council appears to be serious about the embracing the Green issue.

Great to see in the CP that the IW Council Cabinet meeting gave full backing to the Eco Island plan.

As Ross Findon reports, not only is it hoped that the Island will benefit from becoming cleaner, but there’s a serious chance for the Island to become a ‘Green playground’ for those researching Green issues and products, leading to the Island to be a Green centre for the UK.

Two relevant up coming events are the Eco Island conference — an mini-Kyoto type event — to be held on 26 March at Cowes Yacht Haven and the Big Green Picnic, which VentnorBlog is a proud supporter of.

News reaches us this afternoon that AONB Lead Officer within the IOW AONB Partnership, John Brownscombe, has handed in his notice and will heading off to distant shores (well, the mainland).

John has held a pivotal role at the AONB over the last six years and his departure will be met with great sadness amongst his colleagues. (more…)