Sustainable Whaddon is an initiative that came out of the consultation exercise carried out in connection with the new Whaddon Plan. It is clear that a significant proportion of our community are interested in exploring ideas for a more sustainable lifestyle and are keen to see initiatives for a 'greener' Whaddon. A small group of villagers meet every couple of months, looking at opportunities to improve sustainability, enhance ecology and biodiversity and to reduce our carbon footprint. Some of the areas that we focus on are listed below.
The group can be contacted at Sustainablewhaddon[at]whaddon.org and everyone is welcome to attend the meetings.
At 10:30am on Bank Holiday Monday 5th May Sustainable Whaddon will be building a Bug Hotel on Whaddon Rec and would like to invite Whaddon families to join in and help us make it.
We have already made the basic shell (out of old pallets), and this will be put in place in advance, but now need to fill it with suitable materials for bugs and insect to make there home. The sort of materials we need is as follows, and if you are able to bring some with you that would be great, but you can also just come along to help assemble it.
Hollow stems - such as old bamboo canes
Airbricks
Blocks of wood with holes drilled in the end
Dead wood
Pine cones
Tiles or broken pottery, and stones
Loose bark
Dry leaves
Straw and hay
Moss
Bundles of dry sticks
Rolled up sections of corrugated cardboard
Please also bring gardening gloves (or similar) with you to protect your hands from splinters from the old pallets. If you are unable to come along on Monday, but have some suitable building materials such as air bricks or old bamboo canes, then these can be dropped off in advance at Spring Cottage, Bridge Street.
We look forward to seeing as many as possible up on the Rec (near the fence to the churchyard) next Monday morning,
Sustainable Whaddon are planning to install bat and swift nest boxes at St Mary's church, and we're pleased to report that we have been granted approval by Ely Diocese for this to go ahead. This is also supported by the Parish Council and it's hoped the swift boxes can be installed for when the swifts return from Africa on their annual migration.
The next meeting of the Sustainable Whaddon group is on Wednesday 10 September at 7.00pm. For further details, contact sustainablewhaddon[at]whaddon.org
The Whaddon News, the village's own newsletter, often includes articles about a more sustainable lifestyle and green initiatives. The following links will take you to the relevant articles.
Plant-based diets and the environment - Whaddon News June 2025
Heat Pumps - Whaddon News March 2025
Sustainable Gardening and Seed Exchange - Whaddon News June 2024
A Wilder Look at Lawns - Whaddon News September 2024
Hedges and Hedgerows - Whaddon News December 2024
The Sustainable Whaddon group is pleased to report that the Whaddon seed exchange is up and running in the Meldreth Road telephone box. Its purpose is to help gardeners easily swap vegetable and flower seeds, enabling more sustainable gardening and hopefully providing villagers with interesting seed to grow. Currently there are more than 50 varieties of seeds available and villagers are welcome to take seed from the exchange to grow in their own gardens. We are planning an official opening ceremony in the near future and hope to get a local "celebrity" to cut the ribbon, so watch this space!
To be successful, the exchange needs regular seed donations so please harvest your garden seeds and dig-out unwanted commercial seed packets and add them to the collection. Further information is available in the phone box or email specific questions to sustainablewhaddon[at]whaddon.org.
The linked file below lists the seeds currently available in the seed exchange.