by Bex Bastable. Christmas is a time of joy but also a time of overspending and overconsumption. But this year could be different, starting with your wardrobe. What if this festive season, you bought nothing new to wear? Before you panic about party season, hear me out. The fashion industry produces 100 billion garments […]
As Stress Awareness Week (3 to 7 November) begins, Sussex Green Living says concern about the environment is becoming part of the pressure many people feel in daily life. Many worry about our changing weather, plastic pollution, air quality and the loss of biodiversity. These concerns have become part of the background to modern living, […]
Did you know your daily diet might include a helping of plastic? Microplastics have been found in honey, sea salt, bottled water, and even human blood and lungs. While they may be “micro” in size, their impact on health and the environment is anything but small. We can’t see them, but they’re everywhere. Every time […]
Sussex Green Living has received a National Lottery Community Fund award to expand its work with young people and families, while exploring the creation of a “Library of Things” for Sussex. SGL is best known for running the monthly Repair Café and Green Hub in Horsham. Since it was launched, volunteers have repaired hundreds of […]
Across Sussex, people are proving that repair is not a thing of the past but part of the future we need to build. From Storrington to Horsham, Lewes to Brighton, Repair Cafés show what a circular economy looks like in everyday life: people coming together to fix broken things, share knowledge and stop waste before […]
It isn’t easy to make time for change. Between work, family and the daily scramble of modern life even simple acts of care can feel like luxuries. Yet at the refill station in Chanctonbury Leisure Centre I watched someone carefully scoop oat powder into a reused container and it made me pause. In that small, […]
by Keir Hartley The sustainability movement has achieved great things in the last decade. “Repair”, “recycle” and “reuse” are words that everyone uses now, from businesses and TV shows to repair cafés across the country including the ones run by Sussex Green Living. Dare we hope they’re here to stay? The evidence suggests so, as […]
This October Sussex Green Living will be opening the doors to something new at the Horsham Repair Café. We are calling it Crafternoons, and the idea is simple: an afternoon each month where people can sit together, bring something they are making, and enjoy a couple of hours of creativity and company. The support of […]
In a small workshop in Haywards Heath, cricket bats are being restored to life. Barney Morris, better known as Barney Bats, repairs around 50 damaged bats each week. After a busy weekend of matches, his workbench can resemble a triage unit as bats arrive in need of care and attention. Morris, who runs the cricket […]
Once I figured out how to make refill work in my life, it’s become something beautifully simple. I’m lucky to have an organic shop nearby that stocks seasonal fruit and veg, refill options for pantry staples, toiletries and household cleaning, as well as kombucha on tap and fresh herbs. It’s a place I actually enjoy […]
By Keir Hartley Across West Sussex, more and more communities are finding simple ways to cut waste and make the most of what they already have. Whether it’s fixing broken items, passing on unwanted goods or switching to refillable options, people are discovering that small changes can make a big difference. At Sussex Green Living, […]
Sussex Green Living is excited to announce that a new dry-food refill service will be coming to Storrington this summer. The service will launch on Wednesday 23 July at Chanctonbury Leisure Centre and will run every fourth Wednesday from 9am to midday alongside the UK Harvest food hub. Local residents can bring their own containers […]
by Amanda Law, the Brighton Socks Company Having coffee with an old friend in Brighton’s North Laine recently, the conversation quickly, and inevitably, turned to the climate crisis. Many of my conversations do these days, especially when discussing my small business, the Brighton Socks Company. My friend and I agreed, without question, on the need […]
24 May – 1 June 2025 www.childrensgardeningweek.co.uk www.plantlife.org.uk/campaigns/nomowmay by Marianne Lindfield – Climate Action Engagement Officer, SGL Children’s Gardening Week arrives as May gives way to June, when the garden has found its stride and everything is stretching into summer. It often falls during half term, which makes it the perfect time to step outside […]
by Daisy Day, Master Beekeeper In Britain there are around 250 different species of bees. A few of these are social insects living in large organised communities such as bumblebees and of course honeybees. All bees feed on nectar for energy and feed their larvae on pollen for protein, both collected from flowers. Pollination is […]
by Elle Runton. Deputy Trustee Sussex Green Living. It would be fair to say I’m not yet a gardener. My grandfather had a smallholding, and my uncle just lays his thumb on a plant leaf and it blossoms at his touch, but I’m embarking on a learning journey—with some success. My local Sussex nursery-bought raspberry […]
Written by Marianne Lindfield Living with the land and recognising that even our gardens are part of it has been part of my thinking for a long time. As a permaculturalist observing patterns, valuing edges and letting nature lead is not new but each year the practice becomes more visible. This spring has brought […]
Festive Fun that doesn’t cost the Earth. Christmas doesn’t have to be a costly burden, with a little effort and imagination we can have a waste free festive season, save money and protect the planet for future generations.
Celebrating Local Apples: Sweet Success at Transition’s First Apple Day. On Saturday, 19th October, Transition Horsham held its first Apple Day at the Unitarian church hall and garden. It was a great success with over 150 people coming through the door. Visitors were treated to an amazing selection of apple varieties to admire and taste, […]
Dogs and Wolves: Saving nature in Lewes where dogs are behaving like wolves! In Lewes, dogs are on a mission to help the environment, and they’re doing it by acting like wolves! A long time ago, before wolves disappeared from the UK in the 1760s, they travelled across large areas every night, sometimes covering over […]
How Affordable are Affordable Homes? We’ve heard a lot recently about housebuilding. Horsham District Council’s new Local Plan is now with the Government appointed inspector. Meanwhile, central government is promising to double the number of new homes built each year, which could potentially mean a lot more building in our District
Preparing for Spring: Flowering Food for our Hungry Pollinators! As we head towards autumn, it’s time to think about spring planting and preparing our outside spaces and Pollination Education Stations (PES) for the coming year to give our pollinators the best chance of survival during the winter and provide them with rich, nutritious food sources […]
Enjoying ducks and protecting ponds: Horsham Town has two new family-friendly Wildways Trails thanks to Horsham Green Spaces, and these are a wonderful way to explore nature, with both routes beginning and ending at picturesque ponds. Ponds are often home to ducks, and we are fortunate to have a newly restored, wildlife-friendly pond in Horsham […]
Worthing’s new heat network brings in the community. Can we really find ways to ensure that everyone gets a benefit from Net Zero? Not just by doing the right thing, or far in the future, but here, now, in terms of tangible things like jobs and lower costs? According to Charlotte Owen, yes, we can. […]
Partnering for a Greener Future: At SGL we’re thrilled to be partnering with Greenwood, which is a great example of how a company can become ‘greener’.