Cllr Nick Worth, executive councillor for emergency services and culture, discusses the impact of the Green Masterplan on emergency services and heritage

"Hi, I'm Cllr Nick Worth, one of the executive councillors at Lincolnshire County Council. "I'm going to share with you what we've been doing in two areas – fire and rescue and cultural services, which really shows the council's new Green Masterplan in action. "Across the fire and rescue service, we have been taking steps to reduce our carbon footprint and be more efficient in everything we do. "We have 24 fire stations that generate power with Solar Panels, and in addition, a wind turbine and an air source heat pump at our Bardney fire station. "We also have air source heat pumps at two other stations including Wragby where we also have a rain water harvester. "When we have built new buildings with our emergency service colleagues, such as the joint fire and ambulance stations in Louth and Sleaford, and our new police fire and ambulance station at South Park in Lincoln, we have energy efficiency at the forefront of our minds. "By housing emergency services in one place we make efficiencies, and by incorporating renewable technology, we considerably reduce our impact on the environment. "The South Park site on its own has saved 330 tonnes of carbon dioxide in the first 9 months of operation compared to the older buildings it replaced. "In 2019 we started the roll out of our new fire appliances across the county. "The fleet is fully HGV Euro 6 compliant and will reduce carbon emissions by approximately 40%, with a reduction of 25% in nitrogen dioxide over the lifespan too, compared to the previous vehicles. "We're also looking at the most efficient vehicles available, for when our other support vehicles need changing in the coming years. "All fire services will be looking at electric vehicle options in the longer-term future, ready for the ban on combustion engines in 2030. "And in readiness, we are now looking at what we will need to have in place, including electric charging points at our stations, so we can add those vehicles to our fleet over the next few years. "I also look after the culture service, and I'm pleased to say at the Collection museum, like many of our fire stations, we have solar panels in place and at Lincoln Castle we are starting to look at ways to see how it can reduce its impact on the environment. "Inside our venues, we are trying to start conversations about our environment – so we've hosted the Museum of the Moon by Luke Jerram enabling our communities to see detailed NASA imagery of the moon's surface encouraging new perspectives and discussions about our planet and our responsibilities – now and in years to come. "We also have an amazing installation as part of our collection - 'Tide by Stuart Haygarth' which is made from plastic items, including water bottles and sunglasses - all collected from a beach – helping us to really consider our behaviour on pollution. "We've also hosted the wonderful exhibition of Wildlife Photography from residents showcasing our great nature, and this year, we are also bringing the Big Draw to the Collection which focuses on climate change. "In the future, we will be hosting Gaia by Luke Jerram which will give us the opportunity to see our planet floating in 3D. Brilliant stuff! "It is an exciting time and the three guiding principles of the green master plan: Don't waste anything, What are the wider opportunities? Take responsibility and pride are things we can all live by at home, work and school."