Waste, recycling and free stuff:
If you want to stop useful stuff going to landfill, or like the idea of getting good things for free, please consider joining your local Freecycle/Freegle group (we are in range of both the Market Drayton and Telford groups) and/or the newly created but incredibly useful 'Ecobees'. You can post 'Wanted' adverts as well as 'Offered' adverts with both systems. See below for details. One advantage of these systems is that the people who want your item will come and get it from you, so you needn't struggle loading up that grand piano into your Fiat Punto on your own to take it down the dump. You could consider taking things to your local charity shop if you are having a clear-out (there are plenty in Newport High Street), but health and safety fears mean that they won't take any electrical items these days.
You can read about Freecycle/Freegle on Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Freecycle_Network or at the official Freecycle homepage which has instructions on how to join: uk.freecycle.org/ . You can join Ecobees here: http://www.ecobees.com www.ecobees.com

If you really do have to throw something away that won't be taken by your normal kerbside recycling collection, your nearest recycling centres can be found using this Telford & Wrekin Council webpage (you can also find out here how to order a new wheelie bin or report flytipping etc 'Recycling, rubbish and waste' website.

Newport Green Drinks
Newport Green Drinks is based loosely on the successfull international "Green Drinks" theme. It runs as an informal social network that people can dip in and out of. Meetings are on the 21st of each month in a pub in Newport and usually a talk or visit is arranged in advance.
If you would like to be put on the email list for advance notice of the meetings and details of speakers arranged, please email Gaynor on: 00681201@harper-adams.ac.uk
"Green Drinks: In 1989, at a pub called the Slug and Lettuce in Northern London, Edwin Datschefski was sitting with several of his green design colleagues when he noticed an enviro-minded acquaintance at a nearby table. As it turned out, the friend was sitting with a few of his own eco-conscious mates, so they pulled some tables together - so a movement was born. The concept evolved into 'Green Drinks' and now it's global. In 2001, an official website came about, and the movement has since spread across the world - see www.greendrinks.org
The spirit of Green Drinks is that anyone can come along, and this makes for interesting interactions. There are lots of benefits to green drinks; they are hard to quantify, but when you have seen people come and make new links and learn and argue and set up new schemes and get new jobs etc, it is a good feeling".

NEAT 21 Environmental Action Group:
This is a Local Agenda 21 group for Newport, Edgmond, Church Aston and Tibberton (N,E,A,T!). They carry out activities and fundraising in an attempt to make our own environment better for all. Schemes include tree planting, community shredding and more. Meetings are about every two months for a business meeting in the council chamber in Newport. If you want to do your bit for your local area and join our friendly group please contact Charles Worth at: c c w o r t h @ b l u e y o n d e r . c o . u k
and see the website: http://newport21.org.uk

The Shropshire Wildlife Trust can provide you with maps and information about your local natures reserves as well interesting events throughout the year that will bring you closer to nature.
They look after 38 nature reserves and encourage people to visit them; they campaign for wildlife and the environment; encourage people to enjoy nature; involve volunteers in practical nature conservation; takes thousands of school children on trips to wild places every year; and are supported by more than 10,000 members.
Website: www.shropshirewildlifetrust.org.uk.
Address: Old Infirmary, 193 Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury SY2 6AH.
Telephone: 01743 284 280

Local Geology:
Did you know that Tibberton sits upon rocks of Permian and Triassic age? That means they are about 200 million to about 300 million years old (a time beore the dinosaurs!). Specifically, they are the Permian 'Bridgnorth Sandstone' (Cross bedded aeolian sandstones) and Triassic 'Kidderminster Formation' (cross-bedded red-brown sandstone and pebble conglomerates in a sandy matrix deposited by a wide river flowing north - The clasts are dominantly brown/purple quartzites, with occasional sandstones, limestones and other mineral clasts). Both types of sandstone have been used widely for building in the past - see Tibberton church, to the right.

For further information, see: http://www.bgs.ac.uk/education/geology_of_britain/home.html.

If you are interested in your local geology, or the geology of Shropshire in general, why not visit the webpage of Shropshire Geological Society, or become a member?
See their webpage here: Shropshire Geological Society.

Wall Farm
Wall Farm is situated on the Weald moors near Kynnersley, just a mile or so from Tibberton. It is a working farm and is farmed under the Countryside Stewardship to a plan set out by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). Its aims are to encourage wetland breeding birds such as Lapwing, Redshank, Curlew and Snipe. The surrounding farmland is mostly pasture and hay meadow for beef cattle and sheep. Wall Farm displays novel techniques for wetland management including hay strewing and wind pumps. They have created Permissive Paths over some of their land and provide a bird hide overlooking the traditional wet grassland habitat they have recreated. The farm gets its name from the Wall Fort, an Iron Age lowland hill fort, around which the farm is centred. The earth ramparts of this ancient structure are still clearly visible. The lanes surrounding the village have been designated as Quite Lanes - this means that pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders have priority and the speed limit for motorised vehicles is 25 miles per hour. The Owners are committed to educating young people about the countryside and, through the Countryside Trust, regularly run visits for disadvantaged youngsters from Birmingham and the Black Country. For more information email georgina.dobson@talk21.com or telephone 01952 603648.

Location of Wall Farm: Postcode TF6 6EQ; Map Ref SJ681178; Latitude 52.756860N Longitude: 2.474112W.
For walking routes around Wall Farm, click here!

The Shropshire Astronomical Society (SAS) is a county-wide group for anyone interested in astronomy, star-gazing or space exploration. It meets once a month for observing sessions, and every 3 months in Shrewsbury for lectures by guest speakers. Lecture subjects vary from meeting to meeting, but astrophotography, binocular observing, space probes, asteroid collisions and CCD imaging have been covered in the recent years. This years programme is well underway and details are now available on the SAS website: www.astro.cardiff.ac.uk/sas/.


Local Cycle Trails:

Harper Adams College have produced a leaflet detailing some good local cycle trails. You can download it here.

All photos on this page have been taken in or near Tibberton in Shropshire and are copyright Nigel Larkin.

To contact the Tibbertonshropshire.org webmaster, please email n l a r k i n @ e a s y n e t . c o . u k