Woodland and Wildlife

A green corridor, community conservation project on the northern edge of NETPark.
The project relies on volunteers who donate their time to the upkeep and development of the newly planted site.

Activities so far have included; the planting of 840 native trees, litter picking, clearance of undergrowth and a botany survey with Durham Wildlife Trust. There are many more exciting ideas for future plans, such as sowing a wildflower meadow, extending the woodland and encouraging more wildlife onto the site. New volunteers are always welcome, we value any contribution people are able to give.

If you are interested in joining in the activities of the Woodland and Wildlife group, would like to join in the conversations over e-mail, or for more information, please contact sdtwwcontact@gmail.com. Alternatively, if you are on Facebook please search for 'Woodland and Wildlife - Sedgefield' and then request to join the page.

A market run by VOLUNTEERS and helpers.

The market is held every first Sunday of the Month, on the village green, from 8.30am to 12.30pm.

A FREE community stall, music tent & health bus are available throughout the year. The free stall is available to clubs and societies for promotion or fundraising. To take advantage of this fantastic opportunity call Roger Clubley: 01740 620609, email farmersmarket@sedgefieldweb.co.uk.

Savings of over £140,000 has been achieved by the residents of Sedgefield

Sedgefield Energy Switch is a new initiative from Sedgefield Development Trust. Working together with iChoosr, we're trying to help Sedgefield residents save money on their domestic gas and electricity bills. So far Sedgefield households have saved, on average, over £178 each per year, simply by switching their energy tariff or supplier through the scheme.

The online information hub

Sedgefield Web is a community enterprise which transforms the Sedgefield News into an online information hub.

Sedgefield Web was established to raise funds for the charity with the support of local businesses in the form of advertising on our website. Advertising space for businesses is excellent value and establishes a strong link between the community and services, products and the needs of the Sedgefield area. Sedgefield Web is at the heart of providing online information for the community but can only grow with the support of the community!

For more information please email sedgefieldweb@hotmail.co.uk.

The news run by VOLUNTEERS and helpers.

Sedgefield News started life as an independent 4 page newsletter in May 2002, one of the earliest projects of Sedgefield Development Trust. Such was the flow of news, information and advertising that in a less than a year it grew, first to 8, then to 12 pages. Printing costs and volunteer time have kept it at this size, requiring some ingenuity to satisfy the demand for space! Our online presence is part of the solution.

For more information please email sedgefieldnews@hotmail.com.

The Bees at Hardwick

All of the 7 bee-keepers have completed as a minimum, the beginners course offered by Darlington Bee keepers or some other bee keeping organisation and some have a little more experience than others. With the help of a grant brokered by SDT we will have more hives and colonies in 2017. The aim is to increase the colonies to about 12 and for all of the bee keepers to support and manage the apiary whilst extending their knowledge.

If you think you might be interested in learning about bee keeping you can contact one of the local associations and check out the training available. Please visit their websites: www.dbka.co.uk or www.teesbees.co.uk or www.durhambeekeepers.org

If you would like to visit the apiary and see the bees at work please contact Clare or Ian Midgley on 01325 308283. We have plenty of protective bee suits and can organise one of the group to supervise your visit. That way you will decide if you are comfortable around bees and observe a little of what it entails. In the winter months the bees are less active and hives cannot be opened for visitors. The spring and summer are the times to check us out.

We will be actively looking for additional sites for our bees as the project expands. Have you got an allotment, orchard, garden, corner of waste ground, farmer's field where we could consider placing hives? Ideally we need vehicular access. We can pay an annual rental or can reward you with natural local honey!

Call Us.

DIDO

In 2007 we were awarded a grant from Awards for All, to create a project which would provide an opportunity for residents to come along, once a month to enjoy a programme of entertainment and educational talks and social interaction. The project was designed to counteract the social exclusion and loneliness which can and does exist, even in a vibrant village such as ours, especially when people are widowed, which is becoming more prevalent, given the demography of our area, as people are living longer. Our members age varies from 50's to 90's with diverse needs and disabilities.

We are now in our eighth year with more than 70 members, and at least 50 attending every month. Our programme consists of a meeting once a month, usually on the second Monday, in the Parish Hall with a variety of entertainers and days out to places of interest. We also have a group of our more active members who get together to do Line Dancing.

For further details of how to become a member please contact Gloria on 01740 622447.

Sew Easy

This project is now up-and-running. Anyone who is interested please call me on 01740 622447. If you need to leave me a message, please include your telephone number so that I can call you back. Gloria Wills

Citizen Of The Year

The Citizen of the Year Award is run jointly by Sedgefield Development Trust, Rotary Club of Sedgefield and Sedgefield Town Council. Each year someone who has made an exceptional contribution to Sedgefield is chosen by a representative panel of assessors drawn from the organising group plus the previous year’s winner.

Nominations are solicited from within Sedgefield Village boundary and the award is presented by the Mayor of Sedgefield in the Parish Hall during the Annual Town Meeting in May. Nomination forms are distributed annually in the February edition of Sedgefield News.

• 2000: Billy Cooper
• 2001: Alan Smart
• 2002: Wendy Gill
• 2003: Derek Lofthouse
• 2004: Joan Edmundson
• 2005: Jackie Postgate
• 2006: Nancy Wells (Rana Coates – special award)
• 2007: Peter Hinde
• 2008: Keith Wells
• 2009: Sandy Clubley
• 2010: Ken Saiger
• 2011: Geoff Raynor
• 2012: Alison Hodgson
• 2013: Norma Neal
• 2014: David Hillaby
• 2015: Walter Howell
• 2017: Angela Bannister