Shipley Community Hub: At the Heart of a Village. A group that started off due to a request for a local Bridge Club has grown into a real community centre! Thanks to a single person,making one small suggestion, the wonderful Shipley Community Hub now sits at the heart of the village. It offers not only somewhere for […]
Recently, as a milestone birthday treat, I took a boat trip out to the Rampion Wind Farm which lies 13 kilometres from the shoreline on the South Coast and covers a total area of 72sq. kilometres. This impressive feat of engineering has been providing green energy since 2018 to around 350,000 homes – around half […]
From the Path to the Shop: Natural community food production. With all the worry about climate change and food production, it feels important to get to know one another to develop good practices for improving soil fertility and the production of local organic food.
Embracing the Green Circular Economy: A Step Towards Sustainable Prosperity. As we begin to understand the challenges of the future, it becomes increasingly evident that the old story of using consumers (us!) to fuel economic growth by buying stuff they don’t need is of course incompatible with the limitations of living on a small island with finite resources.
Amidst multiple challenges, inspiring local projects are emerging that offer sustainable paths forward. One such project is Community Energy Horsham, which embodies the principles of the green circular economy and paves the way for a more prosperous and resilient future.
Community Energy Horsham is a community-funded renewable energy project which aims to harness the power of solar energy, reducing the community’s carbon footprint and promoting clean, sustainable energy generation. By encouraging local investment and involvement, Community Energy Horsham empowers residents, strengthens community ties and provides opportunities for individuals to participate actively in the transition to a greener economy.
This initiative aligns perfectly with the principles of Kate Raworth’s ‘Doughnut Economy which emphasizes the importance of renewable energy, and using only what we need. By generating clean energy locally, Community Energy Horsham reduces reliance on fossil fuels and contributes to a healthier environment for all.
Our pets bring immense joy and companionship into our lives, but have you ever wondered about their impact on the natural world? As it turns out, our furry friends can have unexpected consequences on the delicate balance of nature. From ground-nesting birds to fledglings in trees, our pets play a significant role in shaping the […]
It has been a great joy being part of the Sussex Green Living community over the years and it has led me into many unusual situations! For example, last week I found myself decorating a cardboard coffin with butterflies and meadows, to be used as a funeral director’s window display in Horsham during Great Big […]
The UK’s flying insects have declined by 60% in 20 years. The decline in insects affects all the major groups, not just flying and in the next few decades, as many as 40% of the world’s species could become extinct, including bees, ants and butterflies. Clive Cobie asks the question, ‘”is change in the air?”
In 1992 the world’s governments signed both climate and biodiversity conventions. That was the time in history when the world, already after significant delay and procrastination, understood our predicament and agreed to do something about it. Since then, no number of conventions, plans, targets, ambitions, or “COPs” (Conference of Parties signing the convention) has made […]
The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions, and 20% of global waste water. In the UK we buy more clothes per person than any other country in Europe and an estimated £140 million worth goes to landfill every year. Simple changes to how we buy and dispose of our clothing […]
It’s not just Spring in the air! I can feel a new wave of environmental awareness amongst the communities around us, uniting and supporting each other to reduce our impact on the planet.
This month’s Sussex Green Ideas webinar focused on the OnePlanet technology platform which is designed to enable users to understand how health, environment, community development and economy are interconnected, and support pathways to action.
The North Horsham Community Land Trust (CLT) was very pleased to attend the Sussex Green Hub at the end of January to explain to residents who we are and what we are aiming to achieve. NHCLT was formed following an initiative by North Horsham Parish Council in January 2020. We are a community led, not-for-profit […]
We are all aware of the urgent need to protect our nature which has been depleting at a rapid rate. If you want to make some changes at home to protect nature, boosting the biodiversity in your garden or outdoor space is a great place to start. Biodiversity and climate are inextricably linked, you can’t […]
We all want a world where our climate is stable, nature thrives, and where all people have health, happiness, and prosperity – it’s our human right, right? Unless we change things, we are on track to breach the 1.5°C temperature increase limit set by the Paris Agreement by 2030. The breach risks irreversible environmental degradation […]
These Earth’s natural resources are key to our Western lives: water, air, oil, gas, coal and minerals. Perhaps we could be thinking about recycling as another resource that is about reusing these over and over again? Here are some tips as to how and where we can recycle.
Each month a special and very welcoming Horsham community event pops up, open to all: The Sussex Green Hub, and last month our warm-hearted community got even bigger and better as almost two hundred visitors attended throughout the day. This month our busy volunteers refilled 140 bottles with personal hygiene and cleaning products, repaired 43 […]
During the weekend of Saturday 6th to Monday 8th May, there will be celebrations and parties all the country. Local town, Eastbourne, has put together a guide to help with the preparations and create eco-friendly events. We’re sure that King Charles would approve.
We are all guilty of wasting food but did you know that 25% of food wasted in UK households is due to cooking, preparing or serving too much? This costs us £3.5 billion a year. So being savvy with our food can prevent waste and save us money, not to mention the benefit to the […]
It was the first experience I’ve had of using a retort kiln. Normally I use a ring type. The ice crystals were glistening on the metal door as I pulled hard. It creaked with resistance as the morning sun shone upon what was left of the wood. It had been reduced by half through a […]
As a child, I never understood the saying, “It’s an ill wind indeed that blows no good,” but I recently realised that’s what’s happening now. I went to buy a thermal T-shirt, my current one sadly threadbare, but there were none to be had. The assistant told me they had ‘overperformed’, because fuel prices are […]
At Sussex Green Living we often talk about our outreach with families, in the villages, in schools and with the Youth Eco Forum. What people may not realise is that we also run community sessions with the elderly. Morag and I went along to the Kings Court Care Home in January this year, taking the […]
This year we’re asking, “Can airlines please tell us the truth – the whole truth – about the impacts of aviation? Is it not one of the biggest polluters of our planet?” Like cigarette packaging and advertising, and in a similar way to food allergy advice, shouldn’t plane tickets have health warnings for us and the […]
It was the first time I had been to a SECA meeting, and it was inspiring to see over a hundred people working together for change. We arrived in Brighton in an electric car, (my first time in such a conveyance), for the annual South East Climate Alliance or SECA meeting, the aim being to […]
It is easy to focus on finances and ignore the climate just now, when the cost-of-living crisis is hitting us so hard. However, the two are fundamentally interlinked. Reassessing how we live and what we consume ultimately saves resources for our planet and puts money into our pockets too. For 2023 we want to build […]
