Buckinghamshire Federation of Women's Institutes
  • Home
  • What we do
    • Board and Committees
      • Federation Trustees
      • Committees
      • Can you help?
    • Campaigns
      • End Violence against Women
      • Get On Board
      • Stop Modern Slavery
      • Make a Match
      • 5 Minutes that matter
    • Resolutions
    • Denman Online
    • The Members' Blog
  • What's On
    • Events Calendar
    • Competitions & Challenges
      • 100 Miles More
      • Huxley Cup
      • Elizabeth Bell Challenge 2021
      • 101 words
      • Silver Cup
      • Lady Denman Cup
      • Virtual Show
    • Centenary+1 Celebrations
  • Join Us
    • About Bucks WIs
    • Find a WI (Map)
      • Morning WIs
      • Afternoon WIs
      • Evening WIs
    • Find a WI (A-Z)
  • On-line Store
  • Contact Us
  • Gallery
  • Running your WI
    • Tutorials & Library
    • Finding a Speaker
    • Volunteering with BFWI
  • History of Buckinghamshire WIs
  • Use of Website
  • Covid advice
  • Home
  • What we do
    • Board and Committees
      • Federation Trustees
      • Committees
      • Can you help?
    • Campaigns
      • End Violence against Women
      • Get On Board
      • Stop Modern Slavery
      • Make a Match
      • 5 Minutes that matter
    • Resolutions
    • Denman Online
    • The Members' Blog
  • What's On
    • Events Calendar
    • Competitions & Challenges
      • 100 Miles More
      • Huxley Cup
      • Elizabeth Bell Challenge 2021
      • 101 words
      • Silver Cup
      • Lady Denman Cup
      • Virtual Show
    • Centenary+1 Celebrations
  • Join Us
    • About Bucks WIs
    • Find a WI (Map)
      • Morning WIs
      • Afternoon WIs
      • Evening WIs
    • Find a WI (A-Z)
  • On-line Store
  • Contact Us
  • Gallery
  • Running your WI
    • Tutorials & Library
    • Finding a Speaker
    • Volunteering with BFWI
  • History of Buckinghamshire WIs
  • Use of Website
  • Covid advice


The Members' Blog

Authorship
Until January 2020, this Blog was the voice of an individual WI member.  Over her 40 years of membership, our Blogger had made a very fine contribution to this and other Federations in England.  With interests in crafts, reading and writing and in travel, she also took an active part in campaigning for women's welfare and education and on environmental issues.  While she has now handed over the Blog to the wider Bucks membership, her archived blog posts are a testament to someone who always made the utmost of her membership, and a rich source of information about the part the WI can play in today's society. 

Blog from our Climate Ambassadors

9/2/2021

1 Comment

 
Picture
 Each year we have National Tree Week  (28 November – 6 December).  National Tree Week is the UK’s largest annual tree celebration, marking the start of the winter tree planting season, the best time to plant young trees. There is a very direct link between trees and carbon capture as trees absorb carbon dioxide to grow and increasing tree cover worldwide will help to fight climate change. I spent an afternoon browsing the internet and found all sorts of interesting information.
 
I spent quite a time on The Tree Council website
https://treecouncil.org.uk/
where I found news items and information about tree planting schemes, projects to record ancient trees, and even a video of how to make chocolate leaf decorations.
 
On the Woodland Trust website
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/
I found information which said that a young wood with mixed native species can lock up 400+ tonnes carbon per hectare in trees, roots and soil and trees contribute much additional value in mitigating the effects of a changing climate. They can help to prevent flooding, moderate the temperature of the urban environment,  help to reduce air pollution and maintain soil quality. I found information on how to plant a tree, an A-Z of British Trees, a link to Osprey cam and you can even buy a tree from their shop.
The Woodland Trust has created a document setting out how the UK can tackle its climate and nature crises to expand tree cover and protect and restore woodland. Read our Emergency Tree Plan
The Government’s £640m Nature for Climate fund will help deliver the English part of its tree planting commitment, along with peatland restoration and nature recovery.
 
Via the Woodland Trust website as part of its THE BIG CLIMATE FIGHTBACK lobby activity I sent a message to the Rt Hon Mr George Eustice MP, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Cabinet Member responsible for the new Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS) asking that in addition to accelerating tree planting the management of existing trees and woodlands should be improved.  I pointed out that I am a member of the Womens Institute and a Climate Change Ambassador for my county Federation and that achieving net zero emissions as soon as possible is important to me and to many Bucks WI members.  I said that I was lucky to live in Milton Keynes which has planned a vast green infrastructure and has a tree planting policy and that all parts of the country should benefit from more trees being planted.
 
I also found research information about how walking in woodland can increase physical health, enhance mental wellbeing and positive feelings. A specific term called ‘forest bathing’ describes a Japanese practice known as shinrin yoku which is intended to promote relaxation, de-stress and boost health. The method is a very simple one, of being calm and quiet amongst trees, observing nature and breathing deeply.
See https://www.forestryengland.uk/blog/forest-bathing
I then got distracted by the link to tree related blogs including how to make a holy wreath and natural decorations for Christmas.
Earlier in the year in June Cath and I participated in a zoom event organised by the Wales Federation with the theme of Trees, Our Environment, Health and Wellbeing and these linked to their current campaigns for tree planting and mental health.  The first speaker talked about a local group which supported the recovery of those suffering from mental health issues by engaging in outdoor environmental tasks and gardening. The second speaker was a forester, Tom Jenkins Head of Forest Research in Wales who spoke about how trees were essential for the future of Wales in both environmental and economic terms. In his view the more trees and woodland the better but they should be the right trees in the right places. He stressed the importance of increasing public awareness and for the government to formulate an appropriate tree planting policy to meet climate targets.
 
On 19th July 2020 Cath completed a 10km sponsored run for the International Association of Human Values (IAHV) Climate Action Now-Tree Planting project. This initiative promotes tree plantations and, education of teachers and children on the effect of climate change across the globe and has so far planted 240,000 trees and thereby helped to reduce Co2 emissions. International Association For Human Values  Well done Cath, her friend and the two dogs Harley and Ziggy!
 
 
Yvonne Alton
December 2020

1 Comment

100 miles for 100years

31/12/2020

0 Comments

 

by Sue Macdermott, Beaconsfield WI

​Spurred on by the Bucks Federation’s centenary challenge to ‘walk 100 miles for 100 years’, Beaconsfield WI asked me to form a walking group and lead it through the year. By the end of October, the official end to the challenge, 111 different walkers had participated in 13 walks. We averaged 3.5 miles – the shortest walk a gentle 1.5miles, the longest 7.5 miles, walking the perimeter roads of Beaconsfield as a grand finale to the challenge.  The total distance walked was 366.5 miles. 
Picture
​Our year started off with a four-mile walk from a coffee house in Beaconsfield, walking in woods, fields and an unused country lane, to finish where we started with a well-deserved coffee and the chance for everyone to catch up after the Christmas break.
 
We managed to get out on a regular basis thereafter, so that by 12 March we had successfully completed five walks – one being the wettest walk the walk leader had ever led. The alpacas we saw did not seem to mind the rain but we did, so the walk was shortened to get back to the protection of the pub, where a hot drink was very welcome. 


Read More
0 Comments

Blog from the NFWI page

10/11/2020

0 Comments

 
0 Comments

Are you Using Slave Labour?

29/7/2020

0 Comments

 
Written by Jane Cutler, Chair, Science and Society Team
The resolutions about Modern Slavery and Stem cell donation are now WI mandates.
 
Are you using slave labour?
I am sure that I have in the past. But am I using it now? What about the guy with an Eastern European accent who cleaned our windows on that hot sunny day last week? Okay I gave him an ice cream and tipped him but was it his own window cleaning business or was he a Modern Day Slave? And how do I find out? And what about those builders who put up extensions for a really good price and only the boss speaks English? And just how do we know if the staff at the local “really cheap car wash and they do a good job” are getting paid a decent wage?

Now getting more personal do you use nail bars? Here’s a more positive story. A WI member had suspicions that slave labour was used at her nail bar. She tipped off the police and a prostitution ring was uncovered and dealt with. You see this is a case where
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
The recent Centre for Social Justice and Justice for Social Care recent report states that at least 100,000 victims of slavery are being abused and exploited by traffickers and crime gangs in Britain today. This is 10 times higher than a Home Office assessment six years ago!

So how can we WI members tackle this problem?
  • Be aware what is happening locally. (In Cheddington we were astonished to learn of slavery happening on our doorstep. Several people were arrested and given long sentences in 2012 in a high profile case.)
  • When the price of new clothes is too cheap to be true ask yourself why. Were they made in a sweat shop?
  • Read the NFWI website for updates on the campaign.
  • Ask your WI Secretary to make the NFWI End Modern Slavery Briefing available to all members online. Here you may read advice on how to spot slavery from the Metropolitan Police
  • Being socially distance aware, discuss what actions you and your WI will take in your community.
 
BE SLAVE AWARE!!
0 Comments

Fabric re-use and recyling for our environment

9/6/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Along with many other Bucks WI members I have been spending time during lock-down sewing.  Many members set to, making the Scrub Laundry Bags requested by Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust reusing all kinds of cotton fabric that came to hand or which was donated by friends and neighbours.  I decided to use up my growing store of bright patterned gent’s cotton shirts purchased from the charity shop bargain rail to make fabric face masks, first of all for the family and more recently for friends and neighbours.  According to the internet a close weave fabric is best and the cotton or poly-cotton of shirt fabric is most suitable for hot washing.  I have also been mending and altering garments which had been waiting for me to get around to them for ages. Even my teddy bear got a new pair of trousers so he was respectable to sit in the window as part of the teddy bear exercise in lock-down action.
 
Reusing this accumulated fabric is good for the environment so we can all feel appropriately proud of our activities.  I had a search around the internet to see if I could find out a measure of exactly how much CO
2 might be saved by reusing cotton fabric but it is hard to get a simple measure or specific amount. The nearest I could find was in a WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) case study report where it calculated that reuse of a cotton T shirt produced a saving of 2.5kg CO2-eq per T-shirt.  This methodology is outlined in www.wrap.org.uk/benefitsofreuse.  And there are other environmental benefits too; saving energy and resource.  
The Benefits of Reuse Case Study: Clothing can be found here
http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/Clothing%20reuse_final.pdf
 
The WRAP organisation was set up in 2000 to promote sustainable waste management and I found lots of other information on their website about textiles including a new Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP)  which I need to have a good look at. see http://www.wrap.org.uk/sustainable-textiles/scap
 In autumn 2019 Cath attended the NFWI educational Fast Fashion event, organised along with clothing charity TRAID, for WI members to learn more about how to reduce the global impact of clothing and learn more about the true cost of fast fashion.  Members were asked to consider different aspects of fast fashion - repairing and mending clothes,  clothes production and the throwaway culture and the impact microplastic fibres have on the environment. Cath made a pledge not to purchase anything new for a whole year and I am trying to follow her good example. So far this has worked well, especially now that we can not go out to shop.
I did wonder about the actual term fast fashion meant and found a definition in a UK government report which said that:    ‘Fast fashion’ is a term used to describe a new accelerated fashion business model that has evolved since the 1980s. It involves increased numbers of new fashion collections every year, quick turnarounds and often lower prices. Reacting rapidly to offer new products to meet consumer demand is crucial to this business model.
The report Fixing Fashion: clothing consumption and sustainability;  Published: 19 February 2019 is very informative and deserves more visibility, its available here
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvaud/1952/full-report.html
Finally I wondered what happened to the clothing that we in the UK send to recycling and found the website of a very interesting company Roberts Recycling Ltd which recycles and sends textiles overseas for reuse.
 
https://www.robertsrecycling.co.uk/news/how-much-co2-is-saved-by-our-textile-recycling-operations/

0 Comments
<<Previous

    Archives

    February 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013

    Categories

    All
    ACWW
    Annual Meeting
    Body Image
    Book Group
    Bucks County Show
    Care Not Custody
    Centenary
    Christmas
    COOL
    Denman
    Digital Team Leader
    Discussion Group
    Existentialist Angst
    FGM
    Food Matters
    Great Food Debate
    Happy Stitchers
    History Day
    Homelessness
    Investigation And Discovery
    Jammin' With The WI
    Literary Lunch
    Loneliness
    Love Your Libraries
    Membership
    Mental Health Matters
    Modern Slavery
    Organ Donation
    Plastic Soup
    Quiz
    Resolutions
    Science
    Shop
    SOS For High Streets
    Stuart Lodge
    Support Overdue
    Violence Against Women
    WI Campaigns
    WI Constitution
    WI Crafts
    WI Life
    Women's History
    Women's Suffrage

    RSS Feed

​Charity No: 228057 ​
WI ADVISER
MY WI
NFWI
WI TRAINING
MCS2
​External links disclaimer
Throughout our site you will find links to external websites. Although we make every effort to ensure these links are accurate, up to date and relevant, BFWI cannot take responsibility for pages maintained by external providers.  If you come across any external links that don't work, we would be grateful if you could report them to us.
On-Line Store
Campaigns
Blog
Gallery
Board and Committees
Find a WI
Competitions
A History...
Contact
Library and Tutorials
What's on
Running your WI
Photo used under Creative Commons from rverc
  • Home
  • What we do
    • Board and Committees
      • Federation Trustees
      • Committees
      • Can you help?
    • Campaigns
      • End Violence against Women
      • Get On Board
      • Stop Modern Slavery
      • Make a Match
      • 5 Minutes that matter
    • Resolutions
    • Denman Online
    • The Members' Blog
  • What's On
    • Events Calendar
    • Competitions & Challenges
      • 100 Miles More
      • Huxley Cup
      • Elizabeth Bell Challenge 2021
      • 101 words
      • Silver Cup
      • Lady Denman Cup
      • Virtual Show
    • Centenary+1 Celebrations
  • Join Us
    • About Bucks WIs
    • Find a WI (Map)
      • Morning WIs
      • Afternoon WIs
      • Evening WIs
    • Find a WI (A-Z)
  • On-line Store
  • Contact Us
  • Gallery
  • Running your WI
    • Tutorials & Library
    • Finding a Speaker
    • Volunteering with BFWI
  • History of Buckinghamshire WIs
  • Use of Website
  • Covid advice