About us

GI was born back in 2019 by a group of people motivated to play our part in combating climate change and global warming. With a shared concern about the global situation, we hoped it would help us to stop worrying about the big picture, about which we could do little. We decided that local action was what was needed both for nature and our own mental health. We are a non-political group and we want to engage with as many people in our community as we can – we would love all of Ilminster to be a bit more Green!

It started with litter picks and planting trees, we were curtailed by Covid, like everyone, but we continued to evolve and gain momentum. Soon the idea was hatched to create the Share & Repair Shop in Silver Street, which finally opened its doors in March 2022. The shop has grown each year and attracted lots of customers and plenty of attention from the media – because it is really special and unique and something we are proud to have in Ilminster.

Since then, we have attracted lots more volunteers for our Water Testing, Tree Group and GI Talks projects, but we also:

Work with local government – We are fostering relationships with the Ilminster Town Council and Somerset Council, trying to influence policy and promoting issues that will help us to achieve our objectives.
Organise social events – We have socials every three months at The Dolphin in Silver Street to discuss Green issues and to be open to new volunteers and potential projects and ideas.
Write regular articles for the Ilminster Press about issues we care about and things we are doing.
Work with the Town Council to increase local biodiversity with the creation of the wildflower meadow at West Crescent, where we carry out Wildlife Audits every quarter.
Liaise with other local and regional relevant organisations – Such as Somerset Wildlife Trust, Transition Town Wellington, Sustainable Chard, Chardstock Eco Group, etc. – we are always on the lookout for how organisations with similar aims are working for the local community and the natural world.

Who we are:

We are a group of Ilminster residents organised into a Community Interest Company. Our board of Directors are:

Sarah Hunt
Michell O’Connell
Anthony Arrow
Chris Bestley

Green Ilminster is a Community Interest Company (CIC), designed for social enterprises that want to use their assets and profits for the public good.

Policies

Next up…

November

26nov7:30 pm9:30 amWhat can gardens do for biodiversity and sustainability in a time of climate change - James Hitchmough

Event Details

James Hitchmough is Professor Emeritus in the School of Architecture and Landscape at the University of Sheffield where his work focused on encouraging more species rich, nature-like vegetation in urban greenspace. He retired in 2022 but continues to work as a design and management consultant in the UK (for example the Knepp Wilding Garden) and around the world. When not writing or speaking at conferences and workshops, he is developing a new garden on the edge of Clayhanger hamlet. See James Hitchmough on Instagram for a view into his world.

What can gardens do for biodiversity and sustainability in a time of climate change?

One of the great things about gardens is that there are a lot of them (more than 16million in the UK) and unlike much urban public space, each has a resident gardener of some sort, who generally cares about what happens there. In this talk I will explore some of the possibilities of increasing the benefits of gardens for people and wildlife, and what current scientific research has to say about all of this. I will use my own garden project (plus a little of my professional work) to illustrate some of these ideas and how I have tried to do as little harm as possible in the process.

James Hitchmough is Professor Emeritus in the School of Architecture and Landscape at the University of Sheffield. He retired in 2022 and is developing a new garden on the edge of Clayhanger.