waste less. live more
We inspire and help people to waste less and live more sustainably.
Sustainable Youlgrave
Youlgrave is a Peak District village in Derbyshire with about 1,500 residents.
In 2006 we created a grassroots community group called Sustainable Youlgrave to reduce our village's carbon footprint.
Energy conservation is a big part of this, which is why we started off by surveying all 600 properties in the village to gauge current energy usage. We then began looking at initiatives like renewable energy generation and anaerobic digestion as a future option for our hard-pressed local farmers.
We have organised several public meetings and regularly write articles for the village newsletter. We also hold monthly group meetings and liaise with the Parish Council.
We have no budget whatsoever and we are run entirely by volunteers. We have around 80 supporters, but we’re reaching out to the whole community. So much so the community is now talking about sustainability and climate change.
For us, sustainability is not just about the planet, it’s about the whole picture, which includes the health of our local communities too. Self-sufficiency is as much about prosperous village-owned shops and keeping the post office open, as it is about wind turbines!
We self-organise and set our own goals. We are trying to ensure the long term future of our small rural community by educating and energising local people, influencing regional decision-makers, identifying suitable renewable energy options, forging partnerships and inspiring a whole network of local green community groups.
