This is the first time that the outside it is beautiful (oiib) team has worked together. oiib is also a gathering of artists and is not yet a company. We don't plan to become a charity.
However, our first project, oiib itself, holds the wellbeing of nature and wildlife close to its heart, as well as communities and heritage. We think that the wellbeing of and care and responsibility towards wildlife, the environment, heritage and communities go hand in hand. Our future projects will also continue to promote not only a greater love for the planet we live on, our local environments and wildlife, but also a greater sense of shared responsibility for it and how we use its resources. This means we can't champion the wildlife, or the beautiful landscapes and its heritage, invite Yorkshire Wildlife to tell stories about peat restoration and take part in our sessions, if we our selves are not committed to a sustainable culture as a project. We can't ignore that we are in a climate crisis and that every action we take not only has political meaning, but affects the environment too.
Therefore, as a group of freelancers working on this project we aim to put in use sustainable practices as much as possible.
During the project we kept basic notes on our sustainability efforts. These are now available below, after each of our pledges. We did not manage to be true to all of them, but want to be transparent and look at how we can avoid similar mistakes for next year. Some of the mistakes were, in hindsight, avoidable and due to inexperience on the producer's part (who is writing this :) ).
What oiib is doing now, will be doing during the project and in the future to help promote sustainability
1) We will be using public transport at all times. This one is easy, as our project is set on a train. At other times we will be using local bus services and our own two feet. We also made a commitment to Arts Council England as part of our sustainability principles that we would use public transport at all times.
During the project, between 1st October and 8th October, we were able to use public transport at all times and did not use cars, not even taxis, at all. We also did a fair amount of walking - x3 miles every day walking too and from Settle Station, Settle and Langcliffe and to our workshop venues from train stations. Even though at times we were lugging heavy project trolleys, we made sure only to use public transport when we had to. Of course, we were helped by the fantastic, sunny weather and by the fact that no one had any severe mobility issues and enjoyed walking.
2) We will be using services local to the area as much as possible. This includes printing services. We will, where possible, be using recycled paper and stationary for our creative sessions.
We used iPrint in Settle for our x2 A3 posters. We used stationary from The Green Office for some of our stationary materials such as sugar paper. Unfortunately, budget reasons meant we could not make sure all our materials were recycled and also meant that some materials were ordered using Amazon (including the recycled paper). Our origami paper and flip chart paper was not recycled. Nor were our easy grip pens and pebble pens. Other materials such as pens, pencils, materials, scrap paper, glue and scissors were already in our possession, so we did not buy those.
Recycled materials:
A3 sugar paper x 2 50 sheets
Not recycled:
Easy grip pens (pack of 5)
Pebble Pens (pack of 12)
Small Origami paper (x2 200 sheets)
Large Origami paper (x2 200 sheets)
Velcro (x2 strips soft & hard)
Already in our possession:
Pens, felt tips, pencils, sharpeners, A4 lined paper, scrap paper, scissors, glue
Next year it is our promise that our stationary will be made from recycled materials and will be properly budgeted for.
3) Our three T-shirts, which will advertise our logo, tagline and website, will be made by TeeMill, the world's first open access sustainable supply chain.
Image of our T-shirts below. We did indeed procure our x3 T-shirts from TeeMill and intend to use this sustainable supply chain again next year.
4) We are looking into how our website can be powered by 100% renewable energy by companies such as Solve UK. This will be something that we will put into force in our next round of funding, as it is an expensive business, and not something we can currently afford.
5) Where we can, we use the search engine Ecosia. It's not always possible, as google has the monopoly on most of the internet, but at a guess, we use it for around 50% of the time.
Ecosia was used first for searching before trying google as a second choice. We used maps a lot and Ecosia has a link to use Google Maps for navigation purposes.
6) Where possible we have tried to book accommodation straight with the owner and not through companies who don't have good track records on sustainability or environmentally friendly policies. Due to the last minute bookings we had to make, this has been 50% possible this time round. We aim to make it 100% next time.
We rented x2 accommodation during our stay in Settle, where we based ourselves. This is because of initial worries of not getting our budget on time, which proved unfounded. We were unable to book directly with both of our landlords - for one booking we regrettably had to use Sykes, as it was close to the time of our project and impossible to find anywhere to stay, within our budget, in an air BnB or a pub - prices had risen since we put in for our funding. However, we know how to avoid this next time and who to book with directly, avoiding middle men companies such as Sykes. Our other booking was at Robin Hill & Brewhouse Cottages, where we could book with the kind and accommodating landlady direct. She also had good recycling standards in the house.
7) Any refreshments we buy for our creative sessions will be fresh and healthy food and won't be putting coppers into the hands of the big food giants. We will also use sustainable crockery and not single usage plastics.
In the end we did not need to buy refreshments for any of our workshops, as most provided them anyway. If and when we ate out, it was at local community led pubs and, mostly, vegan cafes, especially in Bentham. We made sure to support local businesses such as Carnforth Heritage Cafe, G&Mo's in Bentham and did not engage with any coffee chains or eateries.
Becky Cherriman, Sarah Hehir & verity healey on a break at G & Mo's, with a good vegan menu at Low Bentham