Current and Future Projects
The GLOSS Project
In October 2005, DEC secured CRED funding to deliver the two year GLOSS (Gorton Leads On Sustainability Strategy) home composting project in Gorton. The project was match funded by Awards for All and Manchester City Council with Val providing £5,000 in-kind match funding. We work in partnership with MCC to raise recycling and composting rates in the area. Progress to date has been hugely successful and seen a large increase in local home composting (14% to date). This represents 33% of Gorton residents home composting and rivals rates in the more salubrious parts of the country.
GLOSS was set up to raise community awareness of the environmental issues surrounding waste management and is funded by the Big Lottery Fund's Community Recycling and Economic Development (CRED) Programme. The main aim is to encourage people to take responsibility for their own waste.
Around 80% of household waste can be recycled, and over a third can be composted! This means that if every Manchester resident recycled their organic waste through home composting, they would reduce their waste production by almost 200kg per person, per year. This would mean a massive 68,000 tonnes of waste in Manchester could be diverted from landfill each year!
If you want to join the 1000 Gorton residents that are now involved with the GLOSS project and help Gorton become a positive example to the rest of Manchester then please get in touch (contact details on the front page). We are here to help and advise you.
Gorton’s home composting rate is now more than twice the national average, so well done Gortonians!
The WRAP Recycling Project
DEC has also secured funding from WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) to work in partnership with MCC to increase recycling rates further by employing local canvassers to encourage householders to use the kerbit recycling service. The canvassers provide residents with service information, and take orders for new recycling bins and boxes. To date (July 2007), the project has increased local recycling participation to 22.3%, more than double the January rate of 10.2%.
DEC Helps Gorton’s Next Generation To Act More Sustainably
With Climate Change predicted to affect the ability of shops to supply all our food in the future, it is essential that young people learn the basic skills needed to grow at least some of their own food. DEC is working with several local schools and youth groups to teach healthy, sustainable habits, and the environmental reasons why they are needed.
Abbey Hey Primary School, Abbey Hey lane, Gorton
Every week, Abbey Hey’s year 3 class visits DEC’s growing site in Debdale Park to learn about growing food, making compost and the importance of protecting local biodiversity (the insects and other life that plants need to produce our food and oxygen). As well as providing them with a dedicated growing area at our Debdale site, our staff also offer advice and support to the school’s gardening club.
At the request of pupils, Abbey Hey has set up a weekly fruit and veg market in the school playground, which runs each Friday from 3:00 – 4:15 pm. The market is open to parents and the wider community of Abbey Hey, to encourage people to eat their 5 portions of fruit and veg a day (there is nowhere else local to buy fresh produce). Parents are also given free recipes each week, and all profits are used to provide much requested fruit snacks for pupils at break time.
The Peacock Centre, Peacock Close, Gorton
The Peacock Centre supports children who have been excluded from school, mainly due to behavioural problems. DEC is working with a group of primary school age children, who will visit our site in Debdale Park to learn about growing food, composting, healthy eating and nutrition.
Eating a healthy, balanced diet has been shown to dramatically improve childhood behaviour and attention spans (and thus classroom performance), and to reduce the symptoms of allergies such as asthma. It is hoped that the kids will take these healthy behaviours home to their parents.
Carbon Neutral Eco Centre
This is the most exciting project we have undertaken to date.
The idea is to erect a carbon neutral building in Debdale Park to provide office, kitchen and training space for use by schools, community groups and local residents. Examples of the services we hope to provide are cook-and-eat sessions with SureStart, Organic gardening courses/clubs for organisations, groups for local residents, information and advice on how to save money and make small changes to your home and/or lifestyle that will reduce your daily impact on the environment.
The completed building will use renewable energy such as solar panels to produce electricity, ground source heat, a grey water system and a wood burning stove for heating and cooking. The aim is to be a carbon neutral example for everyone to see.
Volunteering Opportunities
If you would like to help Gorton become more sustainable or learn more about gardening, please contact us.
