April/May 2015
April 2015 News
Our Annual General Meeting was held held in late April. It was a time to review the past 12 months and look forward to the next 12. The AGM also signaled a time of renewal, and BRCT will soon be recruiting for the newly vacant position of Projects Coordinator. Our previous Projects Coordinator, Niki Bould has moved on to other things and we want to thank Niki for her enthusiasm, contributions and hard work for the Trust over the past 2 and a bit years.
As we look back we can see: slow but significant progress in the wind project; important solar developments throughout Blueskin and beyond; the launch of the Cosy Home Charitable Trust; growth in the Home Performance Assessment service; a large and important research report on the Blueskin and Karitane Food System - thanks to a Lottery Research Grant and Ahika Consulting; a growing interest in, and access to, E-Bikes; and a whole host of advocacy and community actions.
Behind all this is a dedicated board of Trustees, who donate time, passion and expertise to ensure the Trust is continuously steering towards our vision and ensuring that our day-to-day operations are always lined up with our goals. And on the operational side of things, the Trust could not operate without the support of so many community volunteers and pro bono contributions, who contribute in many critical ways, from maintaining our website and developing events, to providing legal advice and wind data measurement.
On the 13th of April BRCT got out of the office and onto Bland Park for a great day out at the Blueskin Agricultural & Pastoral Show. The A&P Society committee have worked hard over the past few years to make the A&P Show very contemporary and relevant for our community and again delivered a fantastic day. Thank you to everyone who helped us set up and take down the BRCT ‘field office’ on the day.
Looking ahead, and in addition to our main community wind work, we will continue to focus on the provision of community services and to grow our social enterprise activity. Social enterprise is using business methods to deliver social and environmental gains. As Alex Hannant of the Akina Foundation says, Social enterprise isn’t about replacing mainstream business; it’s about expanding our practice and developing new models to tackle social and environmental challenges in different ways. At BRCT this means engaging in providing products and services that align with our values and enable us to deliver more to the community.
To that end we want to make it easy for residents to insulate their homes. BRCT is part of the national Community Energy Network and as a result we are now able to offer Inzone polyester ceiling, wall and underfloor insulation for sale through BRCT. It’s an insulation product containing a percentage of recycled milk bottles and doesn’t irritate the skin, so is relatively easy for you to install.
By Scott Willis