How you can help and get involved

Get involved in a local group

The Amber Valley Nature Network

The network combines local nature groups and interested residents with organisations and Councillors at Amber Valley Borough Council and Parish and Town Councils. Meetings are held every 6 months. If you would like to be on the invite list, please email: climate@ambervalley.gov.uk.

Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Climate Network

Amber Valley Borough Council is part of the Local Area Energy Partnership, which is a collaboration of councils across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, and in partnership with charities Marches Energy Advice and Nottingham Energy Partnership. You can find more information on climate change, including homes and energy, community energy, food and nature, sustainable travel, spending and saving and adapting to climate change on the website Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Climate Network - climate action.

Local Groups

To find out if there are any local groups in your area or ways you can get involved, you could ask your local Parish or Town Council for information. Please visit our website for contact details and select which Parish or Town council you wish to contact - Parish and town councils.

You can also visit the Connected Amber Valley website for climate and nature volunteer opportunities.

If you are part of a local climate or nature group and you would like to add your group to a map of local nature and climate activity for other people to get involved, please contact us at: climate@ambervalley.gov.uk.

How You Can Help

Small everyday actions can significantly reduce carbon emissions and can support nature.

To understand your own carbon footprint, you can use the carbon footprint calculator on the WWF (Worldwide Fund) for Nature website - WWF Footprint Calculator The tool asks questions about your habits and lifestyle and will give you a score and ideas on how you can reduce your footprint.

There are lots of ways you can reduce your footprint, and they don’t need to be big changes. 

Food

• Eat low on the food chain – eating fruits, vegetables, grains and beans have a really low carbon impact. Foods from livestock – beef, dairy, lamb are really high emitters due to the methane they produce (they are 25 times more potent than carbon at trapping heat in the atmosphere!) We also need to produce food to feed them and clear land to graze them on.
• Choose meat like chicken, turkey and duck as they are much lower carbon options than beef, lamb and dairy products.
• Introduce meat free Mondays. Even a small change once per week can make a difference
• Choose local sustainable foods that are in season – foods that have had to travel from far away usually by truck or plane have used fossil fuels for fuels and cooling to keep foods in transit from spoiling.

For more information, please visit: Eight tips to eat more sustainably | WWF.

Reduce/Reuse/Recycle

• Reduce your food waste by planning meals and freezing leftovers – food that goes to waste results in additional methane in the atmosphere
• Compost your food waste! See How to compost your waste | The Wildlife Trusts
• Recycle as much as you can by checking out our What happens to your recycling with details of what items you can put in each bin
• Shop for sustainable products – look for items made from ethical materials and those that are designed to last longer
• Buy second-hand and extend the life of products to reduce waste
• Recycle packaging and consider sharing or borrowing items to minimize waste
• Get a reusable travel cup and bottle to reduce disposable use.

For information on the Council’s recycling services, please visit Rubbish, waste and recycling.

Visit a local repair café for your items:

• Crich Join Crich's Share & Repair Café for Community Fixes
• Belper - Repair Café - Transition Belper
• Quarndon - Repair Cafe | Quarndon Village
• Duffield – St. Alkmunds Church Duffield | Repair Cafe.

To find a local business who can repair specialist items or repair something specific please visit: We Are Repairs | Join The Repair Revolution.

Save energy at home or at work

• Switch items off standby
• Turn off lights that are not in use
• Don’t overfill the kettle
• Use the ECO settings on appliances like the washing machine and dishwasher
• Take a shower instead of a bath.

Amber Valley Borough Council is committed to helping residents improve energy efficiency in their homes. We work in partnership with Marches Energy Advice (MEA). For further information and advice see Improve your home’s energy efficiency.

There is a range of grants available for Amber Valley residents that help to reduce fuel bills and assist in the delivery of energy savings measures see Help available for Amber Valley residents.

For advice on renewable energy technology at home see Renewable energy at home.

Travel

• Can you walk/wheel or cycle instead of driving? This also has great physical and mental health benefits too!
• Using public transport such as the train, tram or bus will also reduce the amount of cars on the road and reduce emissions
• Taking holidays closer to home and flying less is another great way to reduce emissions.

How You Can Support Nature

There are simple actions you can take at home to help nature recover:

• Choose native plants that attract wildlife - Plants for a wildlife garden / RHS Gardening
• Don’t be tempted to remove your hedge to put a fence in!
• Mow less frequently, or not at all - Grow Don't Mow | Derbyshire Wildlife Trust
• Don’t be tempted to put turf down instead of grass!
• Turn your lawn into a mildflower meadow and sow native wildlife seeds – the pollinators and other wildlife will love it
• Put a pond in your garden, however small - Pond in a Pot | Derbyshire Wildlife Trust
• Use peat-free compost in your garden or window box
• Volunteer your time, please visit Connected Amber Valley – Google My Maps for local volunteer opportunities and Volunteer | Derbyshire Wildlife Trust.

Make space for nature

You can access different guides on how to attract wildlife to your garden or outdoor space, by helping hedgehogs, attracting butterflies, caring for birds, building a pond etc! Please visit Wildlife gardening | Derbyshire Wildlife Trust.

Derbyshire Biological Records Centre

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust hosts the Derbyshire Biological Record Centre, which collects, combines and verifies data on species across the country, and helps with monitoring, data analysis and it feeds into planning decisions. 

You can submit your wildlife sightings to the Biological Records Centre. To find out more, sign up for free and submit your sighting here please visit - Derbyshire Biological Records Centre | Derbyshire Wildlife Trust.

Contact the team directly on 01773 841332 or email climate@ambervalley.gov.uk