Sidmouth is blessed with so many organisations promoting good causes, and I want to use this month’s article to promote just a few of them who have been more active in the past few weeks.

This includes Service Veterans, Sidmouth Lifeboat, CAPS, Sid Valley Biodiversity Group, and Sidmouth Fair Trade Group, who spoke to the Council at this month’s meeting. Quite a varied mix, which reflects the broad interests of the Sid Valley residents. I will use my monthly article to publicise other groups in coming months.

On 6th June we commemorated the D Day landings 80 years ago and Sidmouth Town Council worked with Veterans groups and service personnel to organise the event. I was privileged to take part laying a wreath on behalf of the Town Council at the War Memorial and lighting the beacon on the Esplanade. The setting, the weather, the crowd, the music, and the choreography all made it such a memorable event. It was wonderful to see so many of all ages present on the Esplanade in the setting sun with the cliffs and sea providing the perfect backdrop. And the Sidmouth Lifeboat, scattering petals in the shape of a heart over a mirror-like sea, provided a perfect climax for the evening. The Veterans groups both support ex service personnel as well as participate in commemorations such as D Day. Acknowledging their sacrifice is important if we are not to repeat conflicts of the past. And the volunteer Sidmouth Lifeboat provide an invaluable service to present day users of the sea.

CAPS is another group, set up by the Town Council but run by volunteers, that is trying to raise awareness of climate change in the community. CAPS stands for Climate Awareness Partnership Sidmouth and its objective is to raise awareness by working in partnership with other organisations that share our concerns about climate change. CAPS wants to help residents to understand their own Carbon Footprint, as a first step to reducing it. By working together we can make a material difference. CAPS have organised opinion surveys, social events, and talks, and there was one such talk last week. This was about the impacts of climate change on agriculture, something important to Sidmouth given we live in a farming area. We heard from 3 speakers about different land management schemes that can capture more carbon and minimise emissions. The session was well attended with many questions.

Last weekend we had the second Sidmouth Biodiversity Festival; three days of events focussing on the River, Sea and Land. There were lots of activities for all the family and events were well attended. The Festival, organised by the Sid Valley Biodiversity Group, draws attention to the biodiversity of species living alongside us in the Sid Valley as well as threats facing some of them as a result of human activity.

Sidmouth is a Fair Trade Town supporting the Fair Trade principles, and has been since 2016. Fair Trade helps farmers across the globe by ensuring they have fair prices for their products and that these can be produced in a sustainable way. Through the efforts of the Sidmouth Fair Trade group, and others, there are many Fair Trade items for sale in Sidmouth and many of our retailers are committed to selling Fair Trade products such as chocolate bars and beverages. Sidmouth Town Council is committed to supporting Fair Trade and I would urge you to do likewise by buying Fair Trade products when you can.

All these groups, and the many others in Sidmouth, only function because the many volunteers give their time and expertise. Volunteering is also a great way to get involved in the community and work with like-minded people on something of value. If you are interested in volunteering and don’t know where to start, contact the Town Council and we can help put you in contact with organisations potentially of interest.