Cornwall Conference

More than 80 environmental activists from around Cornwall attended the Sustainable Action in Your Community conference in Bodmin on 10 April.

The conference was organised by Cornwall Waste Action (CWA) and ReZolve Kernow. It included a variety of speakers, including Dan Rogerson, MP for North Cornwall and Dave Meneer, CEO of Fifteen Cornwall. Mr Meneer shared his experiences of making Fifteen as sustainable as possible, including recycling food waste and using natural ventilation and high levels of insulation.

There was also a range of workshops held: Making Re-Use Your Business, Keeping it Local, Compost Solutions, Love Food Hate Waste and Consume Less, Growing with the Community and Social Enterprise Works. A "soapbox" spot allowed eight local people to share their experiences on making a difference.

The conference included a prize-giving, where six organisations were awarded prizes to help develop their projects. A further £300 prize will be awarded to a community project.

Conference organiser, Guy Doncaster from CWA, said: "I am delighted that so many committed and enthusiastic people attended the conference. I hope that the day provided both inspiration and practical advice to those people who want to do more to help their local community become more sustainable. I am impressed with the existing level of activity, but there is clearly a desire to get more projects off the ground; our competition winners will benefit from a range of expert advice to help make this happen."