Two years ago today, Hereford City Council declared a climate and ecological emergency, and began the ambitious undertaking of tackling these issues in our City.

As a direct response, the City Council has launched a new Climate and Biodiversity Committee, which will focus on protecting and enhancing our natural environment. The Committee will seek opportunities to benefit the City’s biodiversity and ecological wellbeing, increase awareness of environmental issues, scrutinise the City Council’s environmental impact, and shine a light on green issues around the City.

Chair of the Committee, Diana Toynbee, said; “The decision to declare a climate and ecological emergency is one we can certainly be proud of. However, we must follow words with actions, so our new Climate and Bio-Diversity Committee is making sure we stay on track as we head towards a greener, healthier City.

This issue affects every one of us. What is beneficial for nature is also better for our quality of life, our economy and the tourism to the City. We are already looking forward to hearing from residents on what they want to see the City Council doing and how we can all work together. Let’s make Hereford the greenest City in England!”

Herefordshire as a County is well-known for its abundance of countryside, but as a City we must do better at taking care of our environment. Especially now, as the world recovers from the Coronavirus Pandemic, there are more opportunities for us to build green structures and routines, creating a vibrant future we can all be proud of.

The Climate and Biodiversity Committee will be branching out to community groups and organisations in the City to begin growing new projects, as well as looking into the state of allotments in the City. In particular, the Committee recognises the opportunity to work together with young people, and educate future generations on the immense benefits of green living through exciting projects.

In the past, the City Council has been involved in many green projects. For example, we recently awarded a large grant to Friend of Castle Green for an environmentally sustainable heating system for the Pavilion, we bought wildflower seeds for planting in parks to encourage biodiversity, and we have supported Hereford in Bloom and others with tree planting. We have encouraged and sought housing developers to install district heating systems, to be included in larger residential developments. We have looked inward too, and recently swapped the Mayor’s car from a petrol engine model to greener hybrid.

Keep up to date of the continuing work of the Climate and Biodiversity Committee by following our social media pages, or to learn more about the City Council, explore our website.