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Residents will be able to continue using e-bikes and e-scooters to travel sustainably following confirmation Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council has extended its partnership with Beryl for a further five years.
The new contract will see the green transport operator providing 800 pedal bikes, 750 e-bikes and 500 e-scooters for instant hire across more than 400 parking bays across the local area until 2028. For the first time, there are also plans to introduce a handful of innovative e-cargo bikes for local businesses, with these eco-friendly vehicles able to carry out sustainable deliveries aimed at replacing trips a van would normally do. The Beryl initiative has been running across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole since June 2019, and continues to grow in popularity as more people choose scooters and bicycles to make short journeys. Since the scheme was introduced across the conurbation four-and-a-half years ago, it has generated more than 1,827,000 rides across nearly 6.4million kilometres – the equivalent of nearly 160 journeys around the Earth. These journeys have had a significant impact on reducing traffic congestion across Dorset, replacing 650,000 private vehicle journeys. They’ve also contributed towards getting people active and improving air quality, preventing more than 235 tonnes of CO2 emissions. The achievements of the partnership between Beryl and BCP Council saw it claim The Municipal Journal (MJ) Award for the UK’s Best Transport Decarbonisation Project back in June this year – an accolade considered the highest level of recognition in the UK local authority community. Beryl have also provided over 180,000 free rides to job seekers, students, low-income hospitality workers, refugees, cycle training organisations and other community group members across the conurbation as part of their Community Champions initiative. They have also provided opportunities, skills, and training to those with additional learning needs and continue to work with the council on its Supported Internships project, which helps young people aged 19 to 25 who have completed formal school and college but need a final hand in gaining paid employment.
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DORSET’S ‘human fish’ – Oly Rush – has crowned a remarkable year by being listed in the latest edition of the Guinness World Records.
The plasterer and endurance swimmer, from Upton near Poole, has made the pages of the 2024 book of world records after completing a 60-mile circumnavigation of Grand Cayman. To complete the feat, the 39-year-old spent an arm-aching 37 hours non-stop powering round the Caribbean island, becoming the first person ever to achieve the feat in a bid to raise awareness of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans. It came after a number of notable achievements in recent years, including the fastest swim around the Isle of Wight and becoming the first person to swim around the Greek Island of Ithaca. Vegan Oly also raises money for environmental charities during his endurance swims and has his sights set on further firsts. “It’s lovely to be recognised by the Guinness book of records but what’s more important is to do my bit to clean up the oceans,” he said. I also go into schools and give talks and the children really seem to take what I’m saying on board. I think we have a great generation coming through who really care about reducing pollution. “Next year I aim to do another swim which I’m still finalising, but which will test me more than any of the others.” Guinness World Records 2024 details how Oly swam around the 59.3-mile distance in 36hrs 59mins and includes a picture of an emotional Oly at the end of his world record feat. The words of those feeling the effects of climate change rang out in Wimborne during an environmental demonstration.
Members of the Wimborne branch of Extinction Rebellion marked the COP28 gathering in Dubai – the annual United Nations conference tasked with addressing climate change – by voicing the experiences of those already impacted. They stood on the River Allen pedestrian bridge and spoke to passers-by for three mornings. “We spoke to hundreds of residents and the overwhelming majority were concerned about climate change,” said campaigner Rosemary Lunt. “We want to raise awareness that many countries in the Global South are already suffering climate catastrophes including drought and food insecurity, floods, heatwaves and wildfires.” The Global South refers to various countries around the world, sometimes described as developing, less developed or underdeveloped. These countries have contributed the least to climate change but are suffering the worst impacts. Around 10 members of Extinction Rebellion Wimborne read the words of climate activists from India, Kenya, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands and Uganda. To date, the FiPL programme in Cranborne Chase has awarded a total of £1.1 million to local farmers and land managers across the National Landscape.
Thank you to Launceston Farm, Myncen Farm, Cranborne Chase Cider and Shooting Reels for their support in producing this film. Cllr Maria Roe was presented with a handmade climate stripe bookmark which indicates the rate of global warming from 1962 to 2022 (as recorded at the Met Office site at Hurn). Presenting the award was Rosemary Lunt, co-founder of a new Wimborne based environmental group, Makers and Shakers, who created the bookmark and presented it to Cllr Roe in recognition of her great work in raising the profile of the environmental crisis across Dorset.
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