5 June was World Environment Day. It was therefore highly appropriate that Jesmond United Reformed Church held a lively and innovative ecofair the very next day.
The fair itself was clearly a great success and Xenia , the main organiser, was very happy with the turnout on what was a cloudy, cold June day.
There were a number of great stalls showing the tremendous work that is done in Newcastle by grassroots environmental groups.
Different groups present
There was a little free library with messages about the environment. Next to it was Community Grocery, which is based in Heaton on Heaton Road and is a community grocery where the first shop is £5 for 12 items. The grocery is based on points with different points for different items. The grocery can be found at Kingdom Life Church on Heaton Road.
Another stall was run by the excellent Jesmond Community Orchard who are working with local schools West Jesmond and Percy Hedley at the orchard found on the edges of St Andrew’s cemetery in Jesmond.
The community orchard’s next big event is Apple Day on 10th October.
There was information from Newcastle-based Shared Interest and next to them was the Newcastle Fairtrade Partnership. Newcastle has been a fair trade city for over 30 years now and the council still supports the partnership. You can learn more about the Newcastle Fairtrade Partnership here .
The partnership works for better conditions for producers and helps develop links between supporting fair trade and combating climate change so that people have more resources to tackle the Climate Crisis.
Also represented were the Northumberland bat group, a volunteer group dedicated to bat conservation in the local area.
Similarly, Gosforth Swifts, who had the shocking information that in the Northeast we have lost 80% of our swifts since 1995. They have a Facebook page entitled Gosforth Swifts.
West Jesmond Allotments were there and a stall about retrofitting and heat pumps and how these are the way forward.
Keep Jesmond Tidy were also mentioned as an important local environmental group, while there was also information about the Repair cafe and Gibside community farm.
And last but not least, there was of course a tombola!
I asked Xenia from Jesmond URC about the fair and the involvement of herself and Moira, also from Jesmond URC.
Can you give me a short back story about yourself?
In Moira’s past life her interests have been involved with peace and justice for a long time, mainly as a connection with the Iona Community.
She is involved with Christian Aid, the Eco team in church, and Community living. She can give you individual details of any thoughts you want to ask, e.g. her 4 years on the island of Iona. Making it the first green island in Scotland.
Xenia has always cared deeply about helping others, but the three things that really shaped her environmental activism were learning about animal suffering age 6, when she went vegetarian, fundraising for the Haiti tsunami age 11 (and she hasn’t stopped talking extra to make up for that silence since!) and volunteering on an island off Cuba age 16; working with manatees, sea turtles and bats. She started attending JURC around 2021 and became a green team rep as soon as green team was formed. Most recently she’s trained as a bat carer to rehabilitate and release ill or injured bats.
What are the main aims of the Ecofair?
To unite the community, both groups and individuals and give the public accessible ways to get involved in environmental action. Plus for people to have a fun day out!
What other actions are Jesmond URC and other churches in Newcastle involved in to protect the environment?
Jesmond URC have been involved in recycling for items that cannot go in your green bin at home. A repair cafe every 3 months. Our energy tariffs are green. We take part in events such as big garden bird watch and big butterfly count and submit records of wildlife to record. We also send volunteers to things like Northumberland Wildlife Trust tree planting.
Other United Reformed churches, I believe at least three of the four, if not all the churches in our pastorate run recycling schemes. Ann from West End URC has been organising planting sessions for West End URC.
Meanwhile St Andrews on Newgate street in Newcastle city centre have a food redistribution scheme for short dated food that would otherwise go to waste and have been planting hundreds of seeds.
Why should churches be involved in environmental work?
As Christians, we are Stewards of God’s world, which means looking after and protecting it.
Why should individuals and communities in the Northeast be involved in environmental work?
The earth is everybody’s concern, regardless of background, religion, etc. We all live here, and unfortunately do all produce waste, a carbon footprint, etc, so we have a duty to do what we can to safeguard the world for ourselves and future generations. Plus, there’s so many fun, easy ways to be involved in environmentalism both individually and through the community, and you might even make new friends along the way!
