This first image celebrates the end of the wonderful Full STEAMS Ahead trial project. By this time we had been approved as education suppliers for the University of Exeter and this .. as you see, was our final tea party. It is a great visual summary of how we like to work with smiles and optimism (Climate Hope), when in partnership with those who share our passions.
The Penpell Principles are the same, whoever we are working with, no matter their status, income, age or any other category someone might put them in. We aim always to celebrate their skills, give them courage in the face of adversity and bring out a sense of fun.
Another thing you can rely on is cups of tea or other drinks and refreshments. They will always be lovingly prepared and – if not home made – then sourced with much thought to be responsible for everyone’s health and what is good for the planet.
Our top priorities are:-
- Giving hope to our Younger Generations. Life has become ever more challenging for young people, who struggle with high fees for university, impossibly few and expensive options for housing and the sense that no official body functions properly or listens any more. We definitely should keep their Careers and Futures to the Fore in all we do.
- Locals Matter – we believe local knowledge is invaluable and too often overlooked. We are all about valuing and empowering local people and – in the case of new energy or mining projects – the benefits must come back and enrich the area more than ever happened in the past.
- Equality of Voices – there have been way too many hours wasted by some of our team members, in meetings where individuals were only there for their own glory or gratification. They blocked the path to progress. Which is why we say everyone has to be heard and valued for their own contribution, regardless of income, official status etc.
- Freedom from Digital Devices – we have clear expectations about using phones creatively for learning, but never staring at them when out in the landscape. Along with this is the other priority, to build awareness of Digital Dependence. Pretty much everyone is now relying on Lithium batteries in their lives, but few are ready and willing to support Lithium mining and promote recycling here. We must not leave this to countries in the Southern Hemisphere – why should the landscape of Chile, the children of Congo and the workers of China shoulder this burden for us? Answer = they should not!
- Waste not, Want not – every scrap of waste produced, and some that we actively seek out from other sources, is made us of or recycled. In particular, we need old mobile phones, for the next priority …
- Sharing Stories – increasingly our best method to offer learning, is through recorded and edited ‘Learning Conversations’. This is where the local knowledge can be saved for posterity.
Communicating with Team Players and Partner Organisations
Apart from numerous phone conversations, and the inevitable emails, once a month we aim to link everyone up through a Newsletter. But do you know the history of this?
Green Fridays Blog started way back in 2021, when G7 guests from around the world were hosted in Cornwall, by the then prime minister, Boris Johnson, and the late Queen. The idea of writing came to me, along with a sense of outrage about Green Wash, having viewed a 50 mins long video of Cornwall’s green credentials and promise for the future, and been able to pick out many inaccuracies and some downright fibs.
The blog tackled numerous stories, with top priority to green energy info, applicable to ordinary people paying their domestic bills. I also gave many tips on how to build or renovate sustainably, how to drive and travel with a lighter carbon footprint, where to source the best quality food in this country and support our farmers … and – inevitably – I would often drop in a few stories of mining, .. past, present and future.
A further great benefit of the Blog is that one can use it to refresh memories and be sure of facts about world-wide weather tragedies, from mega floods and hurricanes, to extreme droughts and wild fires.
As a thank you for subscribing you will also have priority booking for future events and be invited to our BBQ / end-of-summer ‘jamboree’ at Meadow Barns.
An extra opportunity, free if selected, is that your Army Unit may choose to support one or more families to apply and hopefully successfully receive a Blue Peter Green Badge. Despite Blue Peter badges dating back to the 1960s, this is still quite a prestigious award for a young person to achieve, with a benefit that the wearer is entitled to free entry at a number of UK visitor attractions. The requirements for the scheme are here: –https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/findoutmore/blue-peter-apply-for-a-green-badge. We are very keen to do this with a small number of suitable partner families.
A FINAL WORD – whatever happens, however serious our challenges, we can guarantee that Partners at Penpell will always have fun!
