Devon

Council pledges to do everything in its power to help people through Coronavirus crisis

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Sat, 03/21/2020 - 8:05am

Devon County Council Leader John Hart today pledged the authority will do whatever it can to support residents and communities through the Coronavirus outbreak.

“This is an unprecedented situation and many residents will be deeply worried about themselves, their families and how they are going to cope over the coming weeks," he said.

“I want to assure everyone that the whole council is working flat out alongside our partners in the NHS, districts and others to make sure we put everything we can in place to help people through this.

“We will do everything it takes to...

Keep Busy Topsham - Responding to the crisis by pulling together

Two organisations in the East Devon estuary town of Topsham are working together during the Corona crisis to provide essential information and inspiration for local people, and especially those in need of support during self-isolation.

The two are Estuary League of Friends - a hugely-respected charity based in the town, and Love Topsham, a group of volunteers who run a Community Interest Company focused on encouraging local business and community-based initiatives.

Estuary League of Friends who normally work with local social care services to provide help and support to the...

Charity zoos: business as usual

Charity zoos: business as usual

Authored by Paigntonzoo
Posted: Thu, 03/19/2020 - 11:06am

The three South West zoos run by regional conservation charity Wild Planet Trust have a defiant message for coronavirus: “It’s business as usual”.

Staff and volunteers are prepared for the impact of coronavirus, but at this time the charity zoos remain open. Zoo spokesperson Phil Knowling said: “We’re monitoring the situation closely and will naturally continue to follow the advice of Public Health England and the Government. We will close if directed or if we no longer have the people to operate safely, but right now WE ARE OPEN!

“Our three zoos, Paignton Zoo, Living...

Learn to Play Day 2020 events postponed

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Tue, 03/17/2020 - 9:02pm

Following the government’s announcement yesterday, and the ongoing daily developments in regard to Coronavirus, the decision has been made to postpone the nationwide Learn to Play Day events that were planned for the weekend of 28th/29th March 2020.

Paul McManus, CEO of Music for All, the organisers of Learn to Play Day, said:

“The safety of all event organisers and participants is of the utmost importance to us. This is a very current and fast-changing situation with the risks to people's health likely to escalate alongside growing public concern. We understand that this...

Ash dieback infected trees near Bickleigh to be felled

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Mon, 03/16/2020 - 9:41am

Almost 200 Ash dieback infected trees in Mid Devon will be felled later this month (March).

Devon County Council has identified 190 infected trees in the Bickleigh area that need to be removed for safety reasons.

The County Council has been liaising with private landowners and will carry out the tree felling on their behalf in order to minimise disruption to the travelling public. Previous felling work in the Bickleigh area in February 2018 removed around 60 trees.

To date, Devon County Council has dealt with over 1,000 roadside trees infected with Ash Dieback, or...

Two West Exe teams in finals of £25,000 tech prize for young people

An app that simplifies text for students with dyslexia and learning difficulties and a robot friend for those with anxiety and autism are just two of the final ideas in the running to win the £25,000 Longitude Explorer Prize.

The prize calls on the UK’s young people to put their ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit to the test and use technology – such as artificial intelligence (AI) – for social good. They have been challenged to create and develop solutions to some of the world’s biggest issues, including climate change, living healthier lives, and an ageing population.

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What-what is a ne-ne?

What-what is a ne-ne?

Authored by Paigntonzoo
Posted: Sun, 03/15/2020 - 12:16pm

Two ne-ne have hatched at Paignton Zoo in Devon. But what-what is a ne-ne?

It’s a species of goose - one of the rarest in the world. Found on the Hawaiian Islands, the Hawaiian goose or ne-ne is named after its call, a soft neh-neh sound.

It’s officially classed as Vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Paignton Zoo is home to eight adult ne-ne as well as these two goslings.

It’s believed that it was once common, but human activity put paid to that. The ne-ne is the official bird of the state of Hawaii.

Return to mender: BigFix 2020 saves £100K of broken items from the tip

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Sat, 03/14/2020 - 11:07am

Two thousand people across Devon and the UK visited their local repair café earlier this month to have a record 2,253 broken items fixed at the largest event of its kind ever held.

Coordinated by Devon County Council, the Big Fix 2020 saw 66 Repair Cafes across the UK run simultaneous events on Saturday February 15, with a single mission – to repair as much as possible.

The Big Fix 2020 achieved its goals and then some with an army of 1,000 expert volunteer fixers giving up their Saturday morning to repair £100,000 of items with visitors consuming 1748 cups of tea and...

Exeter City's matches postponed by EFL due to coronavirus

All professional football in England has been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Exeter City's matches against Salford City (March 14), Scunthorpe United (March 17), Plymouth Argyle (March 23) and Bradford City (March 28) have been postponed following the the announcement this morning that all matches in the EFL have been postponed until April 3 at the earliest.

Exeter City FC released the following statement on their website:

"A statement from the EFL this mornig read as follows: The FA, Premier League, EFL and Barclays FA Women’s Super League and FA Women...

Wombles coming to Exeter for Great British Spring Clean

Famous litter pickers and environmentalists The Wombles will be visiting Exeter next week to take part in The Great British Spring Clean.

Anyone can join in the event which is happening on Wednesday (18 March) in the streets surrounding St James Park, the home of Exeter City Football Club.

The Wombles – who became famous in the 1970s with their own TV series - will be joining Exeter City Council and a number of big organisations for the litter pick and tidy up. The event sets off from the football ground at 10am and finishes as 2pm, although people can come and leave as...

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