Category Archives: Environment

Sussex-based Vent-Axia Supports Climate Week with Low Carbon Discount

Crawley-based Vent-Axia, leaders in low carbon ventilation, is delighted to be supporting Climate Week by offering a special low carbon discount. During Climate week (12-18th March 2012) online customers will be able to obtain a 30% reduction on the price of the company’s Lo-Carbon Tempra single room heat recovery unit by purchasing the fan via Vent-Axia’s website (www.vent-axia.com).

Part of the company’s innovative Lo Carbon™ initiative, Vent-Axia’s revolutionary Lo-Carbon Tempra is the UK’s first single room heat recovery unit which can be simply retrofitted through a 100mm diameter hole in the wall. This allows standard traditional inefficient extract fans to be easily replaced with this discreet, low energy, continuously running alternative that also offers affordable heat recovery. Meanwhile, during Climate Week customers can benefit from all this for a similar price to a traditional intermittent extract fan.

“At Vent-Axia we are keen supporters of Climate Week. Our aim is to make Lo-Carbon™ ventilation mainstream to reduce building energy consumption and so carbon emissions. We see continuous ventilation and heat recovery technology as hugely important in achieving this objective and meeting Government targets for carbon reductions. Offering a discount on our Tempra during Climate Week will allow our customers to take advantage of this revolutionary technology for a similar price to a standard extract fan,” says Lee Nurse, Marketing Director at Vent-Axia.

According, to the Energy Saving Trust, Britain has the oldest housing stock in the developed world with 8.5 million properties over 60 years old. With ageing homes there is a huge potential to improve indoor air quality and building performance while cutting carbon emissions. The Government is therefore keen to target carbon reductions in this sector. Single room heat recovery makes heat recovery more accessible and affordable for existing homes and so offers potential carbon reductions.

Providing up to 80% heat recovery, the Tempra is the only unit of its type which can be retrofitted through a 100mm diameter hole in the wall. This enables standard bathroom, kitchen, toilet or utility room fans to be easily changed for a Tempra without the need to make the hole any larger, saving substantially on installation time and cost. The unit’s performance, taken together with Tempra’s integral Lo-Carbon™ DC motor, brings significant energy savings and will help reduce a home’s carbon footprint.

Discreet and quiet in operation, Tempra can be set to run continuously at 6 l/s or 9 l/s, boosting up to 13 l/s if required. For intermittent extract applications, the unit can be set to operate at 15 l/s. It also incorporates a manual summer setting to ensure that when it is warm outside, it operates on extract only. This eliminates the risk of the home overheating in hot summer weather.

Complying with Building Regulations Part F for intermittent extract fans and whole house ventilation systems (depending on its application), Tempra is available in a choice of three models. These include an option with light switch control, a T version with an overrun timer and an H version with built-in humidistat.

The Tempra is currently shortlisted in Domestic H&V Product of the Year and the Air Movement Product of the Year categories in the H&V News Awards 2012. In addition it is shortlisted in the Product of the Year category in the Sustain’ Magazine Awards 2012.

Tempra is part of the Vent-Axia Lo-Carbon™ collection of energy saving ventilation solutions. The aim of the Lo-Carbon™ initiative is to offer the latest low carbon ventilation technology to reduce building energy consumption and carbon emissions. For further information on all products and services offered by Vent-Axia telephone 0844 856 0590 or visit www.vent-axia.com.

- ends -

Media Contact:

Sara MacLean
MacLean Communications
Tel: 07976 782817
Email: macleancomms@gmail.com

For a high resolution jpeg please contact Sara MacLean at MacLean Communications.

Grants will boost urban woodlands for communities

Grants over £407,000 have been awarded to 14 projects across Scotland, creating better access, health and outdoor learning opportunities for people living near urban woodlands.

The cash boost will be used for a number of initiatives including developing woodlands for hospital patients and primary school children, training teachers and youth workers for outdoor learning projects and carrying out surveys to produce woodland management plans.

The successful projects are spread across Scotland from Orkney, Dundee, Ayrshire, Edinburgh down to the Borders.

Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham said:

“The development of woodlands in towns and cities is making a real difference to the quality of life of many people across Scotland.

“Funding to help revitalise or support woodland based projects can open up many more opportunities, not only for access and recreation but importantly for outdoor learning.

“If we can engage children with the natural environment at a very early age, the evidence is that they are more likely to re-engage in later life. This is good news for boosting healthier lifestyles amongst the public and for developing a greater understanding of biodiversity and climate change.”

The grants are from Forestry Commission Scotland’s Woods In and Around Towns initiative and Forests for People challenge funds. These funds are designed to help woodland owners revitalise existing woodlands for the benefit of local people and support community-based health and education.

Amongst the successful projects are:

? Ninewells Hospital (Dundee): £39,368 to enable NHS Tayside develop the woodlands around Ninewells for walking and recreation to aid patient recovery and for staff and visitors to enjoy.

? Craigmillar Castle Park, near Edinbugh: £35,050 has been awarded to Enable Scotland for a woodland-based project that provides volunteering opportunities for 16-26 year olds with learning difficulties.

? Borders Forest Trust: £53, 900 has been awarded towards the post of a Community Liaison and Education Officer, a number of woodland visits for children and training for Forest School teachers. The activities will be spread over a number of woodlands in the Borders.

? Spiers School, owned by North Ayrshire Council, receives £68, 781 to help revitalise the woodland found in the grounds of the school. The grant will go to boost the recreational and educational opportunities in the woodland.

? Orkney Island Council is awarded £52, 507 towards a project facilitator who can develop a number of educational and community related activities using the island’s woodland resource. The aim being to help the community benefit in social, health and environmental terms.

Notes to news editors

1. The funding to physically revitalise woodlands across Scotland is primarily from the WIAT (Woods In and Around Towns) Challenge fund, to which applicants submit bids to Forestry Commission Scotland. A second Challenge Fund, Forests For People (F4P), has been developed to support the activities necessary to help people enjoy their local woods. This fund supports community-based, education and health activities that encourage greater use of woodland. Both funds come under the Scotland Rural Development Programme which provides a framework to deliver European and Scottish Government funding for social, economic and environmental benefits.

2. Forestry Commission Scotland serves as the Scottish Government’s forestry directorate www.forestry.gov.uk/scotland.

3. The full list of projects is as follows. Media are advised to contact the recipients of the grants for more detailed information.

? Machanhill Primary School (Larkhall): £4,951 towards encouraging school children to enjoy woodland and outdoor activities. The school intends to develop a woodland area near to the school for this purpose.

? Spiers School, North Ayrshire Council: £68, 781 to enhance recreation in the school’s woodland area.

? Renfrewshire Council woodlands; £12, 750 for a detailed survey and public consultation to produce management plans for woodlands in the area.

? Borders Forest Trust: £53, 900 for Community Liaison and Education officer and Forest School training to get children more engaged with woodlands in the Borders.

? Craigmillar Castle Park: £35, 050 to Enable Scotland for volunteering project using the Park’s woodlands.

? Curriemuir Community Woodland: £14,263 for conservation programmes being carried to benefit those suffering from mental health issues. New Caledonian Woodlands is the recipient.

? The Green Team: £14,636 towards forest school based projects aimed at women and children who have experienced domestic abuse. Projects being carried out in various Edinburgh woodlands.

? Living Classrooms: £26,500 to contribute to a part-time Scotland-wide forest school support and development officer to help the organisation set up a Forest School.

? Ledmore and Migdale Woods ( within Dornoch Firth). Woodland Trust awarded £27, 810 contribution towards setting up a three year project to train up teachers from local schools to gain skills in outdoor learning.

? Orkney Islands Council: £52,507 for project facilitator to run educational and community activities using the Island’s woodland resource.

? Perth & Kinross Countryside Trust: £40,050 for the Trust’s Woodlands, Words and Wonders project which encourages children to be more active and spend more time outdoors. The funding will help start up an audit of suitable woodland sites for education and training.

? Ninewells Hospital: NHS Tayside has been awarded £39,368 to help transform woodlands surrounding the hospital for patients, staff and visitors.

? Gartcosh Nature Reserve: £12, 522 towards a programme to develop the reserve more to engage 8-13 year olds to connect with the natural environment. Challenging and purposeful activities will aim to reduce future anti-social behaviour. Applicant was Neighbourhood House and site owner is North Lanarkshire Council.

? Hailes Quarry Park: Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust are awarded £4,496 towards a project encouraging youngsters to get more active through cycling events in the summer holidays.

Media enquiries: For more detailed information about the project please contact the organisation’s receiving the grants, otherwise Steve Williams, Forestry Commission Scotland press office 0131 314 6508.

UK Bed Manufacturer Demonstrates Environmental Commitment Through Charitable Support of Tree Aid

EcoFurn is currently donating 10% of all proceeds to Tree Aid, a UK-based charity focused on improving forestry conditions in Africa.

UK, November 05, 2009 – EcoFurn is currently donating 10% of all proceeds to Tree Aid, a UK-based charity focused on improving forestry conditions in Africa. EcoFurn is an oak bed and cabinet manufacturer that is firmly dedicated to environmental awareness; consequently, the company seeks to increase sustainable practices throughout the globe. Currently, organizations funded by Tree Aid support environmental projects in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali and Ethiopia.

Tree Aid was established in 1987 with the goal of using sustainable approaches to improve communities in Africa’s drylands. Since that time, it has raised over five million pounds and assisted more than 300,000 people. Tree Aid works with governmental agencies and organizations, local community organizations as well as local, national and international non-governmental organizations. The charity fosters development of on-the-ground training in Africa to improve quality of life through forestry. Its vision is to ‘see thriving and self-reliant communities in Africa’s drylands.”

In many African villages, trees are crucial for people’s survival and needs. Planting and protecting trees has a positive impact on the environment and helps to alleviate poverty in these regions. The work fostered by Tree Aid includes helping villagers to plant and protect trees and better control natural resources. Villagers also benefit from local financial enterprises set up to profit from products made from trees, like shea nut butter, baobab flour and tamarind. Fruits from trees are an important local food source. Tatus Azure from the Community Nursery and Family Woodlots Project in Ghana stated, I have planted 150 cashew trees, 40 mangoes, 45 dawadawa trees, 35 cocoa trees and a couple of orange and calabash trees. Now I can feed my family. The money I earn from the extra fruits is enough to send my kids to school too.”

EcoFurn is dedicated to providing high quality oak furniture. The company’s dedication towards improving forestry conditions in the Sahel of Africa, through its partnership with Tree Aid, also make it a highly eco-friendly company. It should come as no surprise that EcoFurn uses a highly sustainable approach when it comes to its own beds. The “A” grade timber used in all furniture comes from well-managed plantations. Trees on these plantations are cut and replanted every 15 years. It is EcoFurn’s commitment to the environment as well as to quality that makes this company a popular choice for oak beds and cabinets.

About Eco Furn:
Ecofurn is a bed manufacturer specializing in oak beds. The company donates 10% of all profits to TreeAid to encourage sustainable local practices in Africa. More information about EcoFurn and its commitment to Tree Aid can be found at http://oakbed.org.uk/eco-friendly-beds/

Contact :
Lee Ritchie
Ecofurn
Kirkcaldy, Fife KY25HS
01592565625
sales@pinebed.org.uk
http://oakbed.org.uk

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: suv | Thanks to toyota suv, infiniti suv and lexus suv