General Discussion

Sustainable Dawlish is coordinating a Great Big Green Week of Events in Dawlish linked to The Climate Coalition's Great Big Green Week national initiative.

The purpose of the Great Big Green Week Event is to celebrate and promote climate action, inform the Dawlish Community about climate initiatives and the ways in which they, themselves, can make a difference to avert Climate catastrophe.

You can view and download the Great Big Green Week Program of Events here

Events are being organised and led by a host of different organisations and include: Cllr. Alison Foden (Fix Fest), Dawlish Against Plastic (Litter pick and beach clean), Cliff Curd (Veg. Gardening), St. Mary's Church (Harvest Trail), Walking for Health, Dawlish Fair Trade Friends (Afternoon Tea and concert), Ian Shields (Apple Pressing), Shaftesbury Theatre (Film), Dawlish and Teignmouth Camera Club (Photographic Competition), Sustainable Dawlish ( The Great Big Green Dawlish Lawn Event )(Climate Change Talk) (Foraging Walk), Teignbridge Rangers (Wildlife Walks), and South West Rail Resilience ( Railway line protection Information Hub).

In addition, Dawlish Cafes and Restaurants will be featuring plant based options on their menus during The Dawlish Great Big Green Week.

Anyone else, like me, still using their "Dawlish Is Fantastic Don't Litter It With Plastic" reusable shopping bag?

Article from the Dawlish Gazette 10 years ago

"Reusable Bags Could Be Here By The Summer

Friday, 6 May 2011 -

THE campaign to introduce Dawlish’s own reusable bag is gathering momentum and hopes are high that they will be available in the town’s shops by the summer.

Teignbridge Council’s recycling officer Ben Bryant updated traders on progress and said £1,000 had already been pledged towards the project. Residents have already voted for two designs to be printed on the cotton bags, one a picture of the town’s emblem the black swan and a slogan which says ’Dawlish is fantastic...don’t litter it with plastic’.

The winning designs were created by eight-year-old Ebby Walsh, of Cockwood Primary School, and Shannon Melmoth, 14, a student at Dawlish Community College.

Speaking at the chamber of trade’s latest meeting held at the Brunswick Arms, Mr Bryant explained that there were several styles of bag which cost 80p for the most basic, up to £1.35 each although the cost would be reduced if greater numbers were printed.

Initially, 2,500 will be made for distribution throughout the town’s shops.

The completed bags are expected to be ready and on sale by the end of July or beginning of August.

Mr Bryant told the meeting: ’It is important that this bag is something special and a must have item.

’Dawlish is particularly important for the reduction of plastic bags with its proximity to the marine environment.

’Any plastic waste here can end up in the sea.

’This is a partnership between lots of different organisations in Dawlish and is a great success.’

Dawlish Fairtrade movement has already pledged money towards the production of the bags but the total cost is £2,500.

Once produced, each shop will be given a token amount to distribute with the potential for individual traders to order more to sell or give away to customers."

This is from the 2018 Visit South Devon website. Thought I'd post it on here given as it refers so much to how to get around and about without needing a car. 

How to get to Dawlish Warren

Dawlish Warren, situated roughly midway between the pretty harbour village of Cockwood and the town of Dawlish, is not only easily accessible by bus, car, train, bicycle and foot but also by ferry.

If you are holidaying across the Exe Estuary, in Exmouth, you can reach Dawlish Warren by way of a passenger ferry – cyclists welcome - that operates from roughly mid-March to mid-October. Crossing the River Exe from Exmouth the ferry landing stage is at Starcross, no distance from Cockwood.  As the ferry terminal is adjacent to the main south west rail line you could catch a train one stop to the west to get to Dawlish Warren or, for those who like to walk or cycle, NCR 2 and the South West Coast Path is routed through Starcross and Cockwood before arriving at Dawlish Warren.

For those wishing to get to Dawlish Warren from other South Devon holiday towns such as Teignmouth, Paignton and Torquay travelling by bus or train is easy and, in the case of the train, affords very picturesque sea and river scenes between Dawlish Warren and Newton Abbot. 

What to do in Dawlish Warren

I always think of Dawlish Warren as having a bit of a split personality in that whilst it has its built up area of shops, amusements, pubs and caravan sites, situated right next door to all this human hustle and bustle is the undeveloped and quiet tranquillity of the Dawlish Warren National Nature Reserve, an area of grassland, sand dunes, and mudflats which centres on a 1½ mile long sandspit/beach across the mouth of the Exe Estuary. "Perfick" is how world-famous naturalist David Bellamy described Dawlish Warren when he visited in 2007.
The sandy beaches at Dawlish Warren have recently been replenished so if it is a bucket and spade holiday you are looking for then Dawlish Warren can offer it to you in err......spades. And if you fancy a paddle or even a swim then the Blue Flag awarded waters will prove irresistible.

Fancy a walk? Then be sure to take a saunter along the sea wall to the town of Dawlish. If you’d prefer to cycle to the town then NCR 2 is situated above the sea wall higher up on the cliff top and for more information about this or any other local cycle path just call into the cycle shop situated in the outer car park of the resort. 

Dawlish Warren is an attractive place to visit at any time of year. 

A message from primary school children in Dawlish - SAVE OUR PLANET 

Here are some of their suggestions:

If you have a garden, dry your washing there and not in a tumble dryer

If you have a garden, make it wildlife friendly

If you can, grow your own fruit and veg

If possible, stop using single use plastic

Shop locally with reuseable shopping bags

Pass on things you no longer need - don't send to landfil 

Use less pollutive cleaning materials 

Turn off your car engine if stopped in a traffic jam

Don't keep electrical goods on standby

For more info on what our children think click on this link https://dawlish.nub.news/n/video-dawlish-primary-school-children-give-adults-tips-on-how-to-save-the-planet    

“55% of households put items in the general rubbish bin that can be recycled; including food waste, foil, aerosols, and plastic toiletry and cleaning product bottles and trays. This is where we can all ‘Step It Up’ and help fight climate change by recycling.

Recycling currently saves 18 million tonnes of CO2 every year, which is the same as taking 12 million cars off the road.

Let’s all start by ensuring that no food waste goes into our black wheelie bins but instead is put into the blue caddies provided, so that it can be processed into electricity, heat and bio-fertiliser. In addition, clothing is one of the largest costs to our environment – it takes 3,780 litres of water just to make one pair of jeans so please pop those unwanted clean and wearable clothes in a bag and put them in a carrier bag - not a bin bag - next to your recycling boxes or take them to a recycling bank.

Top tips for recycling in Teignbridge:

• Recycle more of these items: food waste including tea bags, fruit and veg peelings and any plate scrapings, detergent bottles and plastic food trays. You can put your food waste in your blue food waste container and your plastic packaging in your black recycling box.
• Make sure these never go in the recycling boxes: plastic wrapping, plastic plant pots and drinks cartons. Plastic bags and wrapping need to be disposed of in your black general waste bin. Alternatively, some supermarkets now have collection points for these plastics. Cartons can be taken to a carton recycling bank.”

https://www.teignbridge.gov.uk/news/latest-council-news/september-2021/