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Christmas 2011 Events

Father Christmas with (from left-right): Diane Brown of The Potions Club, one of the workshops run at Derbyshire Eco Centre; Tim Sidaway of Garden Farm, High Leas; Site Manager Andrew Mallyon-Price and Chris Bills at Northwood Recycling Centre.

Backed by the Matlock Mercury and local environmental project Little Green Space, Father Christmas once again donned his traditional green robes for a visit to the Derbyshire Dales – this year to highlight a variety of eco-friendly projects and businesses that have been launched in the area over the past year or so.

The festive figure visited The Renewable Shop on Brookside Industrial Estate in Tansley, which helps homeowners to reduce their carbon footprints through products including solar panels, air and ground source heat pumps, under floor heating and biomass boilers. Set up by Tom Mastin and Wayne Bradshaw, the new business is officially launching in January 2012.

Then it was onto Garden Farm at High Leas. Tim Sidaway and Sarah Fowler took over the farm in January 2011. The farm specializes in rare and traditional breeds of pigs, cattle, sheep and poultry. Tim and Sarah are working to establish Garden Farm as a community hub.

At the Derbyshire Eco Centre at Middleton-by-Wirksworth, Father Christmas called in at a workshop being run by The Potions Club. The centre, which officially opened in September 2010, helps to protect Derbyshire’s rural heritage and runs courses that help keep traditional skills alive and that help people to live sustainably.

His last stop was at the Northwood Recycling Centre in Harrison Way , Darley Dale, which recycles a huge range of household items including paper, electrical items, glass, plastic, furniture, white goods and much more. The site opened in August 2011.

Father Christmas said: “It’s not long until Christmas Eve, but I was keen to take time out of my hectic festive schedule to visit some of the exciting green projects and businesses that have been launched in the Derbyshire Dales over the past year or two.

“Between them, these inspiring initiatives are offering a wide range of environmental solutions that are good for the planet and for people’s quality of life too. They are making it easier for people in the Dales to buy local food, to invest in renewable energy, to reduce landfill through recycling, and to benefit from education and training.

“With climate change threatening my North Pole home, it was wonderful to see this positive green action for myself and to wish them all – and the Mercury’s readers of course – a very Merry Christmas.”

Read the Matlock Mercury story here.

Cutting carbon: With the staff and directors of The Renewable Shop, Tansley

All photos by Paul Robinson, Matlock Mercury (courtesy of Matlock Mercury)

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