Next week, Kennaway House will be home to several amazing Sidmouthians and Devonians showing us some amazing things they have been doing to keep down their energy bills.
At a special event on Thursday 16th April, organised by the Climate Awareness Partnership Sidmouth (or, CAPS), we will be considering how ‘We Are All People of Power’ here in Sidmouth and East Devon.
We will have the chance to learn about what individuals, businesses and organisations have done, from people who’ve secured grants for solar panels to others who can show us practical ways to reduce our energy costs.
The evening starts at 6pm with the opportunity to chat to stall-holders in the Cellar Bar who have received funding from the council – including Al Cameron of Hospice at Home, Ian Westran of the Sid Vale Scouts, Ben Richards of Gathered and Grown, and Nick Mills of Sidmouth Rugby Football Club.
We’ll then be able to watch the short documentary “We are all people of power” from local artist Polly Meyrick who has not only painted portraits (which can be viewed) but also interviewed several people in Devon who’ve managed to bring down their carbon footprints and so their energy costs through all sorts of imaginative and inspiring ways.
After the screening, we then have the chance for further interaction with more stall-holders, from Ray Arrell of Regen, the South West group looking to help us transition to renewable energy, to Dan Grey of ECOE, the Exeter Community Energy group which has all sorts of suggestions as to how we can do that transition.
There will also be Nick Hall on hand, a professional retrofit coordinator who can point us in the right direction for how to make our homes warmer and less costly to run.
Chris Lockyear will be at the event to demonstrate how the town council’s thermal imaging camera can directly point out to us the spots around our home where the heat is escaping and the cold getting in – so we can learn where exactly to take steps to reduce our energy bills.
From the councils, we will be joined by Zoey Cooper, Exmouth’s climate officer, Catherine Causley, the district council’s climate officer, and Anderson Jones of the Devon Communities Together – all of whom have a wealth of expertise to help local people, businesses and communities tap into practical tips and funding to save energy.
And also at this ‘big event’ will be artist Polly Meyrick herself to chat further about the Devon people behind her portraits and her documentary – and Dr Juliette Jackson of the wonderful SeaDream project which is currently doing several workshops on energy and sustainability with Sidmouth schools.
See what they all have to say during what should be a busy and hopefully useful evening at Kennaway House.
The event is free, does not need a ticket and the bar will be open all evening.
CAPS is a project of the Vision Group for Sidmouth and has received funding for the event from the Town Council and Devon Libraries Unlimited.
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