Avatar photo

Rebecca Campbell

rebecca

Rebecca is a contributor for The Lincolnite and is studying for a Masters in Environmental Journalism at the University of Lincoln.


The Lincoln Canoe Club took first place on Sunday with 233 club points as it hosted its annual marathon on Brayford Pool.

Over 100 paddlers were in attendance from eleven clubs throughout the East and West Midlands to take part in the Regional Hasler qualifying event for the National Hasler Final at the end of the year.

Scoring two points ahead of last year’s win, Lincoln Canoe Club were able to keep Nottingham CC from taking first place with their 213 points.

Other canoe clubs present included Burton, Gailey, Solihull, Anker Valley, Mercia CC, Hereford, Royal Leamington Spa, Soar, and Shropshire Paddlesport.

“It’s a very good turnout indeed,” said Lincoln Canoe Club president Peter Wright. “We’re one of the leading clubs in this area and nationally we have a very good reputation.”

Also taking part at the event was former Olympian Laurence Oliver, the coach at Lincoln CC, who began canoeing in 1956.

“Our chairman Laurence Oliver has been in three Olympic Games for the British Team, which is extremely unusual,” Wright said. “Not only that, but he is still competing, so this is an extraordinary and exciting day for people.”

At the age of 68, the well-known and respected sportsman took to the water, where he finished in sixth place in the veteran’s division six singles.

Winners of this weekend’s Lincoln CC Marathon in the Lightening K1S, the Hody K2s and the single and double divisions include Ella Jarratt in the under 12 girls and Ben Quittenton in the under 10 boys Lightening race; Peter Quittenton in the junior division four singles; Christopher Gray in the junior division seven singles; William Doughty in the junior division nine singles; David Oliver in the veteran division two singles; and Richard Oliver in the veteran division six doubles.

Photos: Lincoln Canoe Club

The debate on Lincoln’s carbon emissions has sparked renewed interest with climate change threatening the way we live.

With the City of Lincoln Council producing 2,062 tonnes of GHG emissions in 2010/11 and the city of Lincoln emitting in excess of half a million tonnes, the Full Council meeting on September 27 presented the ideal platform to unveil measures taken and campaigns in place to tackle the city’s CO2 levels.

Councillor Fay Smith, Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services and Public Protection, discussed her four-page report in a bid to highlight the importance of climate change and to encourage residents of Lincoln to cut their carbon emissions.

Councillor Fay Smith

“When we took back control we thought we needed to re-focus,” Labour Councillor Smith said.

“We decided that we wanted to re-emphasise Lincoln’s carbon footprint. We’ve always been working towards that since the Kyoto [Protocol] in 1997.”

Smith discussed the steps that have reduced Lincoln’s carbon footprint.

So far these include the installation of LED lighting at Broadgate and Lucy Tower St car parks, solar thermal hot water, low-carbon design principles, and the reduction of natural resources such as electricity and gas as well as water, transport and waste.

Further energy reduction projects have already been put in place.

These consist of the extension of the green waste collection service to the rest of the city, supporting the growth of electric cars by working in conjunction with Midlands Plugged in Places, working together with Anglican Water to save water consumption and repair faults, and investigating the possibility of solar and wind powered lighting at Tentercroft car park.

The real-life problems of fuel poverty, coastal flooding, and the consumption of scarce resources such as fossil fuels means the biggest challenge the council face is solving the issue of Lincoln’s carbon footprint in a way that delivers improved changes for our environment.

“I know there are other greenhouse gases, but the one people focus on is carbon,” Smith said.

“We want to explore what’s happening and then see how we can all work together for the benefit of everybody. The end result is that we need to reduce Lincoln’s carbon emissions; everybody needs to reduce carbon emissions.”

Lincoln Green

Smith also introduced a new campaign, Lincoln Green. Launching in October, any new initiatives undertaken by the council to cut CO2 levels will fall under this programme.

The first one to take place will feature the council’s car parks which, will include leaflets encouraging residents to cut their consumption as well as a competition.

Funding is achieved through various schemes enabling the city to borrow money in interest free loans. These are then repaid back over three to five years through the energy savings before Lincoln starts to make a profit, which in turn presents the opportunity for further monetary and environmental benefits.

Reducing Lincoln’s carbon emissions is not a quick fix solution, but the City of Lincoln Council is pushing the importance of climate change with the introduction of different schemes in place.

Council leader Ric Metcalfe said, “I don’t think we can go on consuming at the same rate as we have been doing.

“I think that we have all got to be that little bit more frugal and thoughtful about our consumption because I think we owe it to our children and grandchildren to make sure that we haven’t depleted the resources.”