Sharing South East Scotland's Sustainability Stories

SSSSS was set up by the area meeting to coordinate our response to Minute 36 from Britain Yearly Meeting in 2011. Local meetings have appointed either a Friend to participate in the group, or someone to act as a correspondent.

In the early stages the group is concentrating on:

• improving our communication,
• discovering what it is we are already doing,
• celebrating our achievements.

From this foundation, the group hopes to establish an overall aim for the area meeting and to look at the small, practical and time-limited projects that will hopefully encourage more people to get involved.

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

To complement this work on practical action, the group has also compiled an Area Meeting-wide environmental policy. You will find a draft of the SESAM's Environmental Policy Statement below.

It consists of a framework, with suggestions that as both a community and individuals we may find helpful. It builds on the work arising from Minute 36 at Yearly Meeting Gathering in 2011. There are different aspects to the policy, some particularly applicable to running our Meeting Houses but also for local Meetings and individuals to benefit from.

It was discussed at Area Meeting on 24th February 2013. It was agreed to distribute the policy as widely as possible and ask for feedback. Area Meeting will next discuss it in September.

If you have comments, please send them, electronically if possible, to Don Stubbings by the end of July.

{Draft Policy on Sustainability.doc}

CONTACT

If you, or anyone else in your meeting would like to find out more about sustainability work going on in SESAM, please contact any of the SSSSS group members: Rachel Fitzgerald (Central Edinburgh), Don Stubbings (Central Edinburgh), Phil Lucas (East Lothian).

LINKS

Living Witness Project

In September 2011, Southeast Scotland became a subscribing member of the Living Witness Project.

"Living Witness aims to support the development of Quaker corporate witness to sustainable living and explore ways of taking it to the wider community in Britain and elsewhere. We hope to continue to broaden the project within and beyond Britain Yearly Meeting and deepen its work to develop an innovative, spirit-led response to some of the central challenges facing society."

http://www.livingwitness.org.uk/

Britain Yearly Meeting

"The Sustainability and Peace programme drives, facilitates and supports action to live out this commitment. It helps Quakers and others to live more sustainable lives and to explore the connections between sustainability, economics and peace. We also seek to influence governments and others in order to help transform Britain into a more sustainable society."

http://www.quaker.org.uk/sustainability