Seven items of good news from Bristol Green Doors
Things are definitely starting to buzz here. There is lots going on and we want to share the higlights with you in this blog which covers:
- March 17-18th open homes event
- Website improvements to help visitors find homes of interest
- Our succesful bid to run an external wall insulation project for a four home micro terrace
- Bristol Energy Network meeting
- Advertising opportunities for the supply chain on our website
- Work on Regional Growth fund
- Warm and Cosy - Insulationand Draght proofing event - THIS weekend
MARCH 17-18TH OPEN HOMES EVENT
We are really excited at how the March 17-18th event is developing. http://www.bristolgreendoors.org/events/march-2012
We have over 40 homes participating from across the city. 15,000 map booklets are being distributed now and look great (see below). Thanks to Stu at Shoe Design Creative for all your patience. http://www.shoedesigncreative.com/
We had a great householder and volunteer Welcome event last week at Bush house. As well as giving everyone an overview of the project and presenting the posters and the draft of the map (see left below), we ran two sets of workshops, one with previous and new householders together and the other for the volunteers. Much valuable feedback was given in these and follow up sessions.
It was also very satisfying to spend proper time with the people who are so crucial to what we do. Quite rightly we had some lovely food together, enjoyed each other's company and had (nearly) the whole team's photo taken.
Despite nasty weather, we had an excellent turnout and it was clear that this year's volunteers will be an enthusiastic bunch. There are still some opportunities to volunteer, though places are filling up. See here for more
http://www.bristolgreendoors.org/news-item/volunteers-wanted
There is lots of media interest in what we are doing: Including Points West, BBC Bristol and The Evening Post (this Saturday). We've even had enquiries from visitors from Manchester!
WEBSITE IMPROVEMENTS
Circle Interactive are working very hard on our website which will soon have individual pages, with downloadable case studies, for all homes featured in our Bristol Green Doors 2012 event - March 17-18th. These pages will be searchable and will allow visitors to select homes they want to see based on criteria such as location, featured measures or type of house prior to the event.
We think this will bring a number of benefits to all concerned with the project as well as provide an ongoing resource around the homes and their improvements. We are aiming to have these up two weeks before the event.
SCALING UP EXTERNAL WALL INSULATION - TACKLING THE TERRACE
We are pleased to announce that Bristol Green Doors has been successful in being awarded one of the first grants from the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s (DECC) Local Energy Assessment Fund (Leaf). The fund has allocated £10 million to community-based schemes across the UK that actively promote energy reduction or renewable energy production, and Bristol Green Doors have been awarded £78,000 from this fund.
Our project, “Tackling the Terrace”, will involve cladding a micro-terrace with external wall insulation. The terrace comprises four houses, 3 of which are owner-occupied, whilst the fourth is divided into 3 privately rented flats. We believe this project is the first of its kind in the country, where individual property owners are working together to install external insulation to make their homes more thermally efficient. The terrace will be featured as part of our March 17-18th event.
Seehttp://www.bristolgreendoors.org/news-item/tackling-terrace "> http://www.bristolgreendoors.org/news-item/tackling-terrace
BRISTOL ENERGY NETWORK MEETING
It’s been a very good few weeks for Bristol's community projects involved in energy and there will be a Bristol Energy Network meeting themed on Communities Leading the Sustainable Energy Revolution on 23rd February. We will be presenting the project there along with other groups
http://www.bristolenergynetwork.org/node/50
ONLINE ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITY
We are now offering businesses involved in retrofitting a real opportunity to reach a responsive market through online advertising. Our website has a new Next Steps section which provides a concise and simple introduction to specific technologies which can be taken up to improve domestic energy efficiency. See http://www.bristolgreendoors.org/next-steps
Each page will feature a maximum of three vertical “skyscraper” adverts on random display with a direct link to the advertiser’s own website.
The cost of this advert is £250 till 1st March 2013.
For more information: http://www.bristolgreendoors.org/advertise-website
REGIONAL GROWTH FUND TO SUPPORT JOB CREATION AROUND RETROFITTING
Retrofitting can create jobs and Bristol Green Doors is working closely with the Energy Saving Trust to secure investment to expand and develop a Green Doors type approach to open homes events in the rest of the West of England and the wider South West. Working in partnership with Bristol Green Doors, FE Colleges in the West of England and Regen SW, the Energy Saving Trust has submitted successful funding bids, subject to contract, that would enable us to extend local activity over the next three years as well as support other community groups across the region to develop similar Green Doors programmes.
WARM AND COSY - Draught-proofing & Insulation event THIS Saturday 18 Feb (11.00 -14.00)
This looks really good.
RealRefurbs www.realrefurbs.org are running a practical focus on breathability, ventilation, draughts and insulation including demonstrations from local specialists (including Natural Building Store, Footprint Building, Urbane Sustainable Building and CSE) fitting materials live at Create Centre, Smeaton Road, Bristol BS1 6XN
This is a free, drop in event, based around Urban Design Build's large scale exhibit of the ground floor and roof section of a Victorian house (recently exhibited at Grand Designs Birmingham) and is Phase 2 of the RealRefurbs exhibition at Create which addresses the different stages of the eco-refurbishment of a terrace home.See
www.createbristol.org/events.htm
see also http://www.bristolgreendoors.org/blog/grand-designs-create-green-door-s
Phase 3 takes place on Bristol Green Doors weekend Saturday 17th March (11.00 -14.00)
