Recycling
Village Shop Recycling
We have 2 silver dustbins outside the Village Shop – one for Tetra Pac cartons and one for Aluminium foil and containers. These are emptied regularly by Green Martinstown members. Please wash and squash items for these bins. Blister packs that pills are supplied in are also being collected for recycling inside the shop
Community Compost Heap
Members have cleared and manage the compost heaps in the churchyard. These are available for all Martinstown residents to use to compost their food scraps and garden clippings. The resulting compost is available when ready, for residents. A donation can be made here on the website. Please do not add cooked food or roots of things like bindweed or nettles. Thank you.
Dorset Community Energy (DCE)
https://www.dorsetcommunityenergy.org.uk/
Late last year Pete West, secretary of Dorset Community Energy, gave a zoom presentation to Green Martinstown about the work they do. DCE is a Community Benefit Company that raises funds to install solar panels on the roofs of public buildings. They fitted the solar panels on the roof of Martinstown village hall as well as on schools in Bridport and Bridport Hospital.
If we can work in conjunction with Dorset Council on their land, or another landowner, or even acquire land of our own – DCE would be willing to offer advice, raise funds through shares and organise installation etc. Have a look at their website!
Helping Hedgehogs
As HEDGEHOGS emerge from their winter hibernation, can we please watch out for them? They are so vulnerable – so here are a few suggestions for what we can all do to help them:
if you know they visit your garden, provide a meal of the specialised hedgehog food available in garden centres
- put out a shallow dish of water
- a log pile is irresistible to them, as is a pile of leaves
- beware when using your fork in a compost heap to avoid a sleeping hog
- provide small gaps in your fencing at ground level
- if you have a pond, make sure there’s a means of climbing out to safety
- do take especial care if driving through the village in the dark
- please try to avoid using slug pellets: whilst they kill slugs, they also then kill the creatures that feed upon them. Allow the hedgehogs to do the job of dealing with slugs for you!
