Chinnor & District

Monthly speakers on Zoom

John Tyler - ‘The Lost Forest of Bernwood’

The Lost Forest of Bernwood existed for over a thousand years, but few people know where it was. Yet much of it’s ancient landscape and wildlife still survive, and in this talk we explore what it was like to live and work in the Forest in mediaeval times and look at some of the plants and animals that would have been familiar to the people of the Forest.

John, worked for many years in nature conservation, most recently as a warden of a nature reserve in Kent. He has a particular fondness for glow-worms and his other interests include photography, woodcarving and coracles.

Monthly Speakers on Zoom

Jeremy Holmes – ‘Rags to Riches to Giving it all away Andrew Carnegie, the world’s richest man’
Andrew Carnegie came from a slum in Dunfermline, Scotland, made his fortune in America as a ruthless steel magnate, then at the start of the 20th century gave it all away by setting up philanthropic foundations all over the world. In his day he was worth more that Bill Gates and earnt so much so much interest on his wealth that he couldn’t give it away fast enough. This talk explains his rise, his motivations and his unique personal story, in the context of the dramatic industrialisation of America.

Jeremy had a career as a management consultant, as CEO of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and then in higher education. "My interest in Andrew Carnegie was stimulated by being a trustee of the Carnegie UK Trust of 12 years and also living in New York in the 1980’s. I’m now semi-retired, enjoying other trustee and non-executive work, and giving talks such as to the U3A"

ANNUAL LECTURE ON ZOOM

Alex Hetherington 'Try to do the right thing'

Dr Alex Hetherington is the Circular Economy Practice Lead at Oxfordshire based, Sustainability Consultancy, 3Keel LLP. As a Chartered Engineer and Chartered Environmentalist, Alex combines her practical insight and experience of processing with sustainability expertise and a passion for whole-life thinking. Having started her career as a production engineer manufacturing plastics, 30 years on plastics play a significant role in her day to day life again; advising clients on material choices, sustainable packing and the reality of recyclability. Alex is well versed in helping others navigate the complexities of environmental and sustainability topics. In addition to advising a diverse range of clients with 3Keel, she was a visiting lecturer at The University of Bath for 12 years, and enjoys sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm to promote a more sustainable future.

Packaging and plastics have become hot topics again over the last couple of years with increasing numbers of pledges from companies to reduce packaging use and adapt their ranges to use more “sustainable” materials. We all want to do the right thing, but what does that mean when we are faced with a complex recycling landscape with different materials collected by different local authorities and a multitude of claims of what is ‘recyclable’ and ‘sustainable’.

Having advised organisations including retailers, manufacturers and brands on actions to improve the sustainability of their packaging, Alex will aim to provide insight into the realities of recyclability and sustainable packaging as it impacts all of us in our daily lives:
• Why is recycling collection so variable across the country?
• What happens to my recycling? How does it get recycled?
• What do we mean by terms like ‘recyclable’, ‘compostable’, ‘recycled’
• Is there such a thing as ‘sustainable packaging’ and why do we need it anyway?
• What are the watch-outs if you’re trying to do the right thing?