WI helping save planet

Jan 28 2008 by Sally Williams, Western Mail

WOMEN’S INSTITUTE members in Wales are shaking off their cosy tea-drinking and jam-making image by getting their hands dirty in compost and joining teams of eco-warriors to tackle climate change.

In a move that would once have been the preserve of 1990s environmental activists like Swampy, the practical-minded EcoTeams have set themselves ambitious recycling and waste reduction targets to help save the planet.

The WI members from communities in Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire, Cardiff and Neath Port Talbot, aim to cut their household waste by 23%, gas use by 15%, electricity by 9% and water by 21%.

Sarah Thomas of the National Federation of Women’s Institutes (NFWI) Wales, said the teams were set up for members to learn how their homes and daily actions affect climate change.

She explained, “Participants record their meter readings once a month for electricity, gas and water where applicable. Waste is weighed weekly.

“By the end of the four-month- long programme, the total amount of energy, water and waste saved by each individual participant and by teams as a whole is evaluated.

“Fourteen WI members were trained as EcoTeam leaders and have since established EcoTeams in their area.

“The teams are a small group of six to eight WI members and others who meet once a month to learn more about climate change and share fun, easy and practical ways to make their daily lives more environmentally sustainable.

“They make friends and save money, in the knowledge that they are doing their bit to help the planet. Topics covered include water, energy, waste, transport and shopping.”

It is perhaps a sign of the increasing acceptance of environmental issues that the WI are now prominently involved in a movement that was once associated with the likes of prominent dreadlocked activist Swampy, who hit the headlines in 1996 for spending a week in a tunnel complex during a road protest.

It is also a sign of how far the WI has updated its image. The WI had languished for decades under its “jam and Jerusalem” label until it showed it was a force to be reckoned with when its members gave former Prime Minister Tony Blair a slow hand-clap several years ago. It was one of the first public displays of discontent about his leadership.

Meanwhile, many WI members across Wales are now also taking part in the Carbon Challenge to change the way they live for a greener lifestyle.

The WI’s campaign topics include farm-gate milk prices, the amount of packaging on our goods , saving community hospitals, improving children’s diet and the effect of chemicals on public health.

Meanwhile Valerie Morgan, of the Cardiff EcoTeam, said that her counterparts in the Llanilar team in Ceredigion, included team members collecting used coffee grounds from a local cafe to add to their compost.

Margaret John, 68, from St Fagans, who is a member of the Cardiff EcoTeam, said she recycles food waste by feeding it to her chickens.

She said, “We have quite a good-sized garden and our composting is not in a neat pile but scattered, so that it all gets into the ground. We have water butts and don’t waste energy on outside lights, we try to do our bit in our own little corner.”

Marylyn Haines Evans, chair of the Federations of Wales Committee, said “By providing members with the support network to set up EcoTeams, the WI hopes to set a positive example of how important it is to address the impact of our households on climate change and also how easy it is to make those small changes that really do make a difference.”

The EcoTeams initiative is funded by Environment Wales.

It is part of NFWI’s 90@90: Projects for a Healthy Plane initiative, which promotes sustainable consumption, looking at food, the home and transport.

EcoTeams originated in the Netherlands in the early 1990s

Since then, more than 150,000 people have taken part worldwide.

On average EcoTeams manage to save waste by 23%, gas by15%, electricity by 9% and water by 21%.