Environment minister praises Bloomfield's efforts in tackling climate change

We see around 2,000 people come through the doors every week and 44 different groups take part in activities at the centre, from jewellery making classes to netball. If we can convince all of them to save energy and be kinder to the planet, we can begin to see a big reduction in Bloomfield’s carbon footprint, and that of the local community.

After the launch of the Climate Challenge in August, we have made lots of changes – big and small – to daily life at Bloomfield. And it’s been great to notice that saving energy is becoming second nature to our after-school groups, who no longer need to be asked to turn off taps or switch lights off when they leave a room. Our Dial-A-Bus Scheme, which reduces the amount of cars travelling to and from the centre, has been a great success. And our One-Pan Cooking Challenge showed that low carbon food can be high in flavour as Learning Pembrokeshire’s Italian cooking course instructor Luciana Swannell taught students how to create tasty meals using local produce provided by Narbeth Allotments.

So when Environment Minister Jane Davidson visited the centre, it was a great opportunity to tell her about all the things we’ve done to cut down our carbon emissions. The Minister enjoyed a tour of the centre, where she was treated to a special recycling presentation by the after-school club. This was followed by a Question and Answer session in our conference room, attended by various members of the community, including local environment groups. The Minister was pleased to see how the whole community was getting involved and encouraged others to do the same.

And there’s much more to come this month, as we prepare to have water saving devices fitted around the centre by Welsh Water. We hope the dual flushes, urinal controllers and water butts will help to lower costs as well as save energy at the centre.

That’s all for now, but we’re looking forward to our next event at the centre, where some of our children from the after-school club will be helping members of Transition Narbeth to plant the first trees in Bloomfield’s new garden. So we’ll have lots more to tell you all next time.

In the meantime, if you have any carbon-saving tips for how the centre to help us in the Climate Change Challenge we’d love to hear from you!

Top Tip: Instead of cooking with lots of separate pots and pans, try cooking it all in one pot or pan. It saves energy, saves you money – and saves on the washing-up!

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