About Us
Hartstongue
Connecting green-minded people in Devon
to local businesses and societies.
700 Devon Businesses listed in our free directory
600 Local Societies and Charities listed
300 Nature Reserves listed
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Are you worried about climate change? There is no planet B, but there are many ways to take climate action in Devon.
Take action in how you shop. Take action in how you travel. Take action by joining groups. Take action by supporting each other. Take action in non-violent protest.
Find ways to heal our planet in your area of Devon.
Reducing our Carbon Footprint
We work from home
We lived on Lundy for over ten years without owning a car. When we went on holiday we used public transport - the highlight being a three week holiday in Italy. We took the Eurostar to Paris, a sleeper train from Paris to Munich, and then through the Brenner Pass to Verona. We travelled Italy by train staying in Verona, Assisi, Orvieto and Florence.
Since returning to mainland Devon, we are trying to live without a car. We chose to live in Chulmleigh because of the local shops and its public transport links. We buy most of our food from Chulmleigh Bakery, the Old Dairy and the Central in Chulmleigh and get our veg and organic milk delivered by Local Farm Box. There are hourly buses to Exeter and we are close to Eggesford Railway Station for services to Barnstaple or Exeter and beyond.
Working from home gives us more time together as a family. It gives us the flexibility to plan our weeks around the seasons, to grow some food in our garden, to go for walks when the weather is good. These things make us happier and more productive in our work.
On my 52nd birthday, my step-daughter challenged me to learn to ride a bicycle..
Our web-hosting is from Dynamic Servers
Based in Bow, Mid Devon, Dynamic Servers Limited provide smart website hosting, powered 100% by renewable energy. Their smart website hosting network is completely powered by renewable energy because they care about the environment and they know that we do too. Their energy consumption has been certified by both the supplier and the UK energy regulator Ofgem.
We get our electricity from Ecotricity
Ecotricity is Britain’s greenest energy company. All thier electricity is green, generated at wind and sun parks around Britain. It’s also certified vegan. Their gas is a mix of carbon-neutralised natural gas and sustainable green gas. What makes them different is that they have no shareholders. So, instead of paying dividends they invest our bills in building new forms of green energy. And, we can be absolutely certain that the energy we supply will not be greenwashed. Joining Ecotricity is one of the biggest things we can do to help fight climate change.
Our mobile phone contract is from Ecotalk + RSPB
Make a difference with your mobile. Ecotalk and RSPB have teamed up to create vital new habitats for Britain’s wildlife. They use the money from our bills to give land back to nature. They’ve got some of the lowest cost tariffs available, great coverage on the market-leading EE network.
We have contacted 361 Energy for a Home Energy Call
361 Community Energy is a not-for-profit social enterprise with a mission to help northern Devon’s community to take climate change action and rapidly reduce the region’s carbon footprint. They do this in a hopeful, action-based and non-partisan way.
361 is supported by a wide range of local and regional partnerships, including North Devon Council, Torridge Council, Devon County Council, the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, local climate groups and more. They are focused on significant carbon reduction while also increasing quality of life for everyone in the region, young or old.
We encourage you to to sign the Devon Climate Declaration
On the 22nd May 2019, members of the Devon Climate Emergency Response Group endorsed the underlying principles of the Devon Climate Declaration. In collaboration, they will engage Devon’s residents, businesses and visitors to develop and implement a plan to facilitate the reduction of Devon’s production and consumption emissions to meet IPCC recommendations at the latest. This transformational change will be challenging and will include:
- Deploying more renewable, decentralised and smart energy systems
- Retrofitting energy-efficiency measures into our existing buildings
- Constructing zero-carbon new buildings
- Travelling less and using improved walking, cycling and public transport infrastructure more often, and using electric and hydrogen vehicles
- Changing our consumption to use less, re-use more and choose low-carbon options
- Challenging all economic sectors to review their practices and the values of those they do business with
- Divesting from fossil fuels
- Changing our dietary patterns and reducing food waste
- Changing agricultural practices to reduce emissions associated with farming operations, manage soils sustainably and replenish soil carbon
- Encouraging carbon storage such as through tree planting, the use of wood in construction and peatland restoration
- Empowering the people of Devon with the knowledge and skills to act collectively.
On 4th September 2020, Hartstongue signed the Devon Climate Declaration, and we encourage others to do the same.
We just won an electric bike from Carbon Savvy and the Bike Shed, Barnstaple
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Devon is full of natural beauty
We've always loved the wildness of Devon. I spent my childhood exploring the woods and coast around Ilfracombe. It spent my 20s and 30s hiking on Exmoor, the South West Coast Path and the Tarka Trail. My 40s were spent living and working on Lundy where I met my wife.
Since February 2020 we've lived in Chulmleigh. Now we are discovering the lanes, woods, rivers and farmland around our new home.
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Our lives on Lundy
Lundy brought us together. We loved the geology, the history, the plants and the seabirds. We kayaked along the east coast, we walked through heathered paths and wondered about the scattered stones of the past.
I ran the bar in the Marisco Tavern for 12 years, whilst Shelley anchored the office. Lundy focused the skills that we'd learnt in our previous lives: adapting to change; repairing; finding alternative ways to do things.
My bar hours gave me my mornings free to go bird watching. I followed the lives of a ledge of 18 pairs of Guillemots through 10 breeding seasons.
We were both active members of the Lundy Field Society. My years behind the bar gave me the opportunity to speak to like-minded people and gave me the knowledge to give walks and talks when there was no warden on the island.
Dark Skies
Devon has some of the darkest skies in Britain. I grew up with an interest in astronomy which started with the Viking probes in 1976. I studied Astrophysics at Cardiff University, and have organised stargazing events and talks in Ilfracombe and on Lundy. I helped Lundy gain Dark Sky Discovery status.
My talks and events focus on making the sky accessible. I hope that people go away with the ability to explore the night skies for themselves, whether with their eyes or with binoculars. The British weather is never predictable - so I always have a plan B - an alternative talk while we wait for any clouds to clear.
