The South Hams Sustainability Group is a small group of people from across the South Hams who are interested and experienced in sustainable development issues, either through their employment or personal life.
Role of the Group:
To act as a consultative forum in advising the South Hams Strategic Partnership on issues of sustainability and to help promote agreed programmes within the South Hams Community Strategy.
Aims of the Group:
- To enhance community awareness of sustainability using the Sustainable Community Strategy and Sustainability Appraisals as tools;
- To raise awareness and promote local solutions to a range of sustainability issues, concentrating on the issues of 'Healthy Communities' and 'Climate Change', which both require multi-agency approaches.
Objectives of the Group:
- To seek and provide informed support to the South Hams Strategic Partnership on sustainability issues of local concern;
- To support capacity building at a local level, helping communities to achieve sustainable solutions to locally identified needs;
- To increase public awareness and understanding of sustainability issues.
New Members:
The Group is open to anyone with a general and active interest in sustainability issues who can demonstrate their interest in furthering the Group's objectives, irrespective of political party, gender, race, religious belief, sexual orientation or disability. Anyone interested in joining the Group should contact South Hams District Council's Community Development Team (contact details below). They will be invited to attend two meetings before being asked to send a letter to the Chair requesting membership of the Group.
Achievements:
- The Group gave a presentation to the South Hams Strategic Partnership in September 2005 to explain how it adds value to the Community Strategy and to ensure that sustainability is reflected in the work of the Partnership;
- A successful Light Pollution Event was held in March 2006 (see below for report of the event);
- A Sustainability Workshop was held in October 2006 which enabled the Group to develop a common understanding of sustainable development and what constitutes a sustainable community (see below for notes of the workshop);
- The Group carried out the Sustainability Appraisal of the South Hams Sustainable Community Strategy 2007-2011 in October 2006.
- The Group revised its Terms of Reference in July 2008.
What is Sustainable Development?
Sustainable development is very hard to define because it can mean different things to different people and there is no wrong or right definition. A famous definition is the Brundtland definition from 1987; 'Development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'. In very basic terms it is about ensuring that people can lead happy healthy lives now and in the future without the natural world being damaged beyond repair. To achieve this we all need to think more about the long term impact of our actions.
Group Reports and Press Releases
Useful Links
Dartmoor National Park Authority's Climate Change Exhibition
Totnes and District Sustainability Group
Transition Town Totnes
Ivybridge Environmental Action Group
Dart Estuary Environmental Management
South Hams Friends of the Earth
South Devon AONB
Sustainability South West
Our South West
