How are you getting on in cutting down on your carbon footprint? Here at Bloomfield we are doing our bit to help the environment by taking part in the Welsh Government's Climate Change Challenge - a friendly competition with two other community centres in Wales to see which of us can make the biggest cuts in our carbon footprint over a year.

We are very lucky to have a very active group of youngsters who want to brighten up the centre by growing sunflowers in our garden. The little ones from Bloomfield Day Nursery have planted the seeds and are waiting for the giant flowers to grow.

Obviously they need a lot of water, as do all the other users of the centre, so we're thankful to Welsh Water for supplying a water butt to help us use less water from the mains. We're so pleased that we can help members of the community do their bit to cut their carbon footprint - and the local wildlife is pleased too, as the children have put up bird boxes and feeders to give our feathered friends a hand.

You can help the environment by following the 11 Actions for 2011 - there's more here http://www.walescarbonfootprint.gov.uk/myfootprint/11actions/?lang=en – one of which is cutting back on your water use.

Did you know that using a bowl rather than running a tap can save six litres of water in one minute? After 10 minutes, this is the equivalent of filling a small bath. And by spending one minute less in the shower and only staying in for four minutes, you can really save water, energy and money. If a family of four each reduced their daily shower by one minute each, it would save around 7,000 litres of hot water each year.

Dwr Cymru has more on this at http://www.dwrcymru.com/English/waterefficiency/bathroom/index.asp Looking ahead, we are looking at ways to generate our own power by using renewable energy systems. One of our staff recently went to a renewable energy fair organised by Pembrokeshire Local Action Network for Enterprise and Development, know as PLANED.

There were workshops held to explain how we can benefit from renewables, such as wind or solar power. If we could use these systems it would really make a difference.

We are also continuing our community work with NAREG - Narberth Area Renewable Energy Group - which we helped to set up. NAREG is looking at new ways of reduce Narberth’s carbon footprint and educate others to consider living a low carbon lifestyle.

By working with all the groups in the area, which are doing wonderful work to support environmental sustainability, we are looking to cut our community's carbon footprint and make a real difference.

The Climate Change Challenge comes to an end soon, and we will find out if we have the honour of being the winner. However that goes, we will carry on working hard and use the experience to make sure our carbon footprint continues to get smaller.

If you want to know more about us and our environmental efforts, or have any tips that can help us, contact us on narberth.learning@pembrokeshire.gov.uk

Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here

Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here