On Friday 16th June, members of County Durham Green Party attended Ecofest, a sustainability festival organised by students at St. John’s College, Durham University.
Our secretary Liz Wright, parish councillor John Chapman, co-comms officer Richard Simpson and member Matt Scholar manned a stall to promote the Party and to listen to the concerns and ideas of visitors.
John’s partner Bisserka made some nettle banitsa – an amazing pastry dish – from her native Bulgaria and Liz provided homemade pesto with a full list of ingredients foraged from her garden and from hedgerows.
Liz prepared an ABC of Sustainability and we asked people to add the things that sustainability means to them. The list includes:
- Abundance – there is already enough for everyone.
- Biodiversity. Batteries.
- Circular economy. Clean Air. Care – it’s your job. Citizen’s Assemblies/open forums. Car share.
- Degrowth.
- Equality. Electoral Reform. E-bikes.
- Farming Responsibly.
- Give stuff away.
- Insulation for our homes.
- Litter picking.
- Make do and mend.
- Nationalisation of utilities.
- Organic food.
- Public Transport – more of it and on time.
- Quiet – no noise pollution.
- Rewilding.
- Sealife. Share what you have. Sustainable everything.
- Vegetation. Value what we already have.
- Water (clean).
- You matter and so does your community.
Liz said: “We had a fine afternoon at the college today. Thanks to everyone for supporting my idea to attend. It was good to have a chance to meet other people involved in providing sustainable solutions and to talk to visitors about their adventures in sustainability and how we might work together.
“This was something of a first for the Party in County Durham and I hope we can do many more events in future.”
Getting to know you – visitors to our stall discussing the ideas to engage with the wider public