The Dartmoor Circle network of climate change groups around Dartmoor has helped its members hold and publicise events for more than a year. Now it has formed a new social enterprise, Dartmoor Circle Limited, to expand its work. As well as supporting its member groups, it will undertake a series of new initiatives to reduce carbon emissions on Dartmoor.
'The timing could not be better' said Andrew Shadrake, Chair of the new social enterprise company. 'As money is becoming tighter, people are looking for ways to save money as they help the planet. For example, people can save hundreds of pounds by driving more carefully, and that also reduces the amount of carbon their cars emit.'
The other big news is that the Dartmoor Circle has received a grant from Dartmoor National Park Authority’s Sustainable Development Fund to write a plan for reducing carbon emissions right across Dartmoor. The Circle will look at all kinds of ideas from across the country and overseas, and choose the best ones to use on Dartmoor. It will also come up with some exciting new initiatives of its own, such as community-scale power plants powered by biogas, hydro, or wood fuel - all energy resources which are plentifully available on the moor.
The Dartmoor Circle has a huge opportunity to make a difference because it is a co-operative, owned by climate change groups. 'One of the biggest issues for government is reaching people in communities, and making it easy for them to adopt a lower carbon lifestyle' says Andrew Shadrake. 'There are lots of government initiatives, but often take-up is quite low. That is where we can help. The Dartmoor Circle is made up of groups from Ivybridge, Bovey Tracey, Chagford, Moretonhampstead and Tavistock, to name just a few. That means our members are part of the communities government is trying to reach – and we can make those connections.'
