On the 16th of October, the Annual General Meeting (AGM) for Plastic Free Falmouth (PFF) took place at the Greenbank Hotel. Around 70 people attended, all representing different areas of Falmouth's community, coming together to see the all the work and progress of the last year. It was also a time to put our heads together and consider possible next steps going forward for the group.
Kirstie Edwards, the coordinator of PFF, presented an overview of the years work. This included campaign achievements, our organised events and the total amount of volunteer hours that have been given to the cause.
This included: numerous beach cleans around Falmouth, an increasing number of Plastic Free Business Champions, installing water points at various beaches with plans to expand these further, successful grants for cigarette voting bins and new beach clean equipment.
Another huge achievement was the chain reaction of plastic free initiatives being undertaken by fire brigades across the UK that have reacted to the success of Falmouth's plastic free fire and rescue force after approaching PFF this year.
After the presentation, a 'World Cafe' style informal brainstorming session was coordinated. This involved four simultaneous groups on the topics of fundraising, businesses, problem solving, and events. Everyone was encouraged to get involved and switch around across tables during the evening to get a broad array of viewpoints and perspectives.
To round off the evening, the PFF committee was acknowledged for the year and a raffle was drawn complete with plastic free prizes.
It was a successful and sociable evening of community engagement, which generated lots of ideas that will hopefully be brought forward for the coming year. PFF are excited to welcome new members and undertake a fresh year of campaigning. It is never too late to get involved and join the group. If you think the topics covered at the AGM is something you want to be a part of, go to the 'contact' tab on this website.