An award-winning eco church has given its congregation an opportunity to experience electric car travel.
St George’s Jesmond received the Silver Eco Church Award last summer from the charity A Rocha UK, which equips Christians, churches and dioceses to protect and restore God’s creation.
On Sunday 2 June, about 50 people turned out for an eco event at St George’s, which focused on sustainable transport.
Church members who already own electric vehicles (EVs) brought them along to show those in attendance, and provided free rides for those wishing to try them out. There were two cars on show - one a fully electric Telsa, and the other a plug-in hybrid.
Environmental champion Kay Plumley said the event was organised by the church’s eco group, which hosts regular sessions based on different environment-related topics, ranging from eating and heating, to transport.
“It made for some very interesting conversation,” she explained: “It was a really productive day and we are grateful to everyone involved. It was an opportunity not just to see and experience the EVs first hand, but to discuss the merits of them and sustainable forms of transport generally.”
Kay said the attendees discussed the options facing people, from giving up a petrol or diesel car and replacing it with a fully electric or hybrid equivalent, to the practicalities of using public transport or cycling. Issues around EV battery charging and charging-points were also considered.
“We discussed a lot of pros and cons,” said Kay. “There’s still a process to making EVs and that requires mining lithium, and these are quite expensive cars to buy at the present time. People were generally hopeful that as technology continues to evolve, the price of purchasing an EV will come down. Some people suggested running their existing cars into the ground, while saving up to replace them with an EV.”
The day was one of several awareness-raising sessions organised by the eco group at St George’s, which take place every few months. It was also an opportunity for members of the congregation to engage with the eco-group on other topics, as well as the church’s walking group, promoting a healthy form of exercise and sustainable transport.