Newark and Sherwood District Council and Lincolnshire Co-op join forces for talks about environment

Council officers shared some of their environmental plans to guests at a Lincolnshire Co-op sustainability event.

The event at the Everyday Champions Centre in Newark was organised by Lincolnshire Co-op to give its members an opportunity to listen to talks about the environment, take part in interactive demos and enjoy refreshments from its Love Local range.

On the main stage, Newark and Sherwood District Council officers spoke with co-op members about the Green Rewards and free tree schemes.

The Green Rewards programme recognises positive environmental actions and shows residents how small changes in daily life can make a big impact. A dedicated app is being used across Nottinghamshire and is the first collaborative sustainability behaviour change programme of its kind in the UK.

Residents can earn Green Points by reporting the sustainable actions they’re taking — supporting wildlife, choosing a low-carbon transport method or saving energy at home.

The council’s free tree scheme hands out thousands of free trees to residents, groups and parish councils across the district and has been a tremendous success. Over 7,000 trees were distributed last year.

Roger Jackson, portfolio holder for Cleaner, Safer, Greener at Newark and Sherwood District Council, said: “It’s important that we get out in the community to speak to residents about all the green initiatives we’re involved in. With the Green Rewards app and the free tree scheme there’s lots our residents can get involved in to help make the district a cleaner, safer and greener place to live. We’re always looking at ways we can work with our residents and encouraging them to keep our neighbourhoods clean and tidy preserving our green spaces.

“We want to say a big thank you to Lincolnshire Co-op for giving us a platform to speak to residents directly. It’s great to see they’ve used their member events as a means to talk to their members about environmental issues impacting all of us.”

Transformation and service improvement manager at the council Ella Brady gave a talk.

She said: “It was great to be invited to such as fantastic event to talk about the council’s climate change agenda and how residents can get involved via the Green Rewards app. The presentation was well received and lots of questions were asked. It was great to spend the afternoon with such engaged and proactive residents.”

Lincolnshire Co-op’s head of marketing and membership Laura Dunne said: “It was great to meet with members and local organisations to share ideas about how we can continue to improve our environmental and sustainability policies.

“By engaging with members and experts on these issues, we can work together to better protect our local environment.”