We are in a climate and ecological crisis. Learn the facts, the latest news and solutions to combating climate change and protecting our planet for future generations.

Communities and Churches Unite Around Climate Emergency Film

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By Karen Park and Morag Warrack

The People’s Emergency Briefing is a public information film that clearly and honestly briefs the UK on the climate and nature crisis. Building on the landmark National Emergency Briefing (NEB) held in Westminster, the film features event footage with reactions from members of the public and some familiar faces. The film was shown in Henfield last Sunday and it’s designed to be followed by structured discussion, to allow people to process what they have heard and find ways to engage positively around local community solutions. It is not party political in any way but it is relevant to everyone.  Read more

Fundraising banner with child and flower pot

Donations set to double in national campaign

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Following a competitive application process, Sussex Green Living has been selected to take part in the Big Give Earth Raise—a national match-funding campaign launching on Earth Day 22 April.  Read more

Small but Mighty: Our Charity’s Ripple Effect Across Sussex in 2025

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Small but Mighty: Our Charity’s Ripple Effect Across Sussex in 2025 2025 was truly a bumper year for our small but mighty charity, one that has created powerful ripples of positive change across East and West Sussex. Guided by our three pillars – conserving resources, making food sustainable and restoring biodiversity – we’ve shown what […]

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National Emergency Briefing held in Westminster 

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On 27 November 2025, Central Hall Westminster, London, was buzzing with an invite-only audience of around 1,250 politicians, scientists and leaders from business, culture, faith, sport and the media. Also in attendance were familiar faces like Chris Packham, Deborah Meaden, Jennifer Saunders, Mark Rylance, Brian Eno,  Roger Harrabin and four of the Sussex Green Living […]

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From Donation to Dump: The Environmental Cost of Charity Shop Surplus

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© Kevin McElvaney / Greenpeace

Written by Katie Webber

You know that big bag of old clothes you dropped off at the charity shop after having a wardrobe declutter? You probably felt a warm glow of generosity by donating your unwanted bits to a good cause (and it’s probably also a relief to get all that clutter out of sight by conveniently handing it all over to someone else, right?). What if I told you that only between 10% and 30% of second-hand donations are resold in store. What happens to all the rest?

The clothes that charity shops can’t sell are taken away and in the UK, 70% of used clothing is exported to the Global South. Once there, many clothes end up in landfills or incinerated. This has major impacts on health and the environment, including water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, worsening the strain on countries already struggling with waste management infrastructure. Read more

Plant 2 Plate Festival Logo

Exciting new family friendly event in Horsham

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Plant 2 Plate Festival LogoPress release – PLANT TO PLATE FESTIVAL – brought to you by Sussex Green Living

Growing together – Food – Fun – Family – Free

From 10am-4pm on Saturday 26th April, Horsham will come alive to celebrate green living in Sussex – perfect for mums, dads, and little ones alike. It’s a day packed with local food, expert talks and eco-friendly fun that will inspire you and your family to live more sustainably. Spread across four unique venues in central Horsham, come along for a day of free goodies, family-friendly activities, and caring community vibes at the Plant to Plate Festival!

At the Sussex Green Hub, in the United Reformed Church, you will find advice and simple energy-saving hacks to reduce utility bills, our popular Horsham Repair Café who might help you fix that zip, clock or kettle. There will be free food stalls at the Horsham Community Fridge, our Refill Shop to top up on all of the essentials, and don’t forget to treat yourself to one of the Sussex food or drink artisan delights – of course all in line with reducing waste.

At the Unitarian Church Hall and gardens, green thumbs can get hands-on gardening tips from the experts with activities like ‘take it away’ seedlings, books and goodie stall and ways to reduce your food waste. There’s also the chance to get your hands dirty with composting and wildlife-friendly gardening advice and nature activities for the kids.

The Quaker Meeting House will play host to an array of expert talks and demonstrations, including how to avoid that problematic packaging that just can’t be recycled and ideas on how to cook tasty healthy meals that can reduce your impact on the planet.

Stop off at the Bishopric Market on your way between the venues, hosting fresh fruit, veggies, plants, and even retro pre-loved treasures for your home. Enjoy live music, meet warm-hearted community volunteers, and explore the vibrant eco float that’s been creatively refurbished to lighten our carbon footprint.

Whether you’re already deeply passionate about taking care of our planet or just starting out, the Plant to Plate Festival has something for everyone. Bring your family and friends, learn new ways to live more sustainably, and join us in building a brighter, greener future for Sussex – one plate and one plant at a time!

Mark your calendars – we can’t wait to see you there!

Events Calendar | Sussex Green Living

Sussex Environmental Charity Marks Banner Year with Call for New Volunteers

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Sussex Green Living is celebrating a remarkable year of environmental activism and community engagement, while announcing ambitious expansion plans for 2025. The grassroots charity has seen unprecedented growth in its initiatives across the region, particularly in its innovative business partnerships and educational programmes.

“The climate and ecological emergency affects us all, small changes by many in everyday actions are triggering significant and rapid societal shifts” says Carrie Cort the charity’s founder. “2024 has shown us the incredible impact of community-driven environmental initiatives.”

A significant milestone came in March when the charity partnered with Billingshurst-based PMW Marketing to launch two groundbreaking projects. The Green Business Network has successfully fostered corporate environmental responsibility, while the Pollination Education Station project has literally planted seeds of change across Sussex. Read more

Residents call on MPs to vote for landmark Climate and Nature Bill

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Residents in Arundel and South Downs are calling on local MP Andrew Griffith to vote for a landmark piece of environmental legislation at its second reading on 24 January 2025. Members of Greening Steyning, Sussex Green Living, and South East Climate Alliance gathered this weekend for a photo opp to raise awareness about the Climate and Nature Bill (or “CAN” Bill).

If made law the CAN Bill would ensure that the UK has a joined up, science-led and people-powered plan to tackle climate change and nature loss, together. It is currently supported by 187 MPs, 372 local councils, 1,000 organisations, and over 1,200 leading UK climate and nature scientists.

The CAN Bill is being championed by Dr Roz Savage MP (Lib Dems), a longtime environmental campaigner and world record breaking solo ocean rower. She is supported by 11 co-sponsors from Labour, Conservatives, Lib Dems, Greens, Plaid Cymru, and SNP. Read more

Sussex Green Living – Spreading like Wildflowers!

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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.

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Local Elections – Who is supporting Climate and Nature Pledge?

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The Importance of Nature

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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 and runaway climate change that will affect all our societies and economies.

An essential ally against the climate crisis is nature. We are losing nature at an alarming and unprecedented rate. For anyone who has been watching David Attenborough’s latest BBC programme, Wild Isles, you will know that Britain is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world.

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Pollinator Highway

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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 high and people are dressing up warmly at home rather than putting the heating on. Result!  I know people who, when working on the computer at home, take a break for a few minutes and go for a run, simply to warm up.  Loved ones are switching off the TV earlier than their usual habit and instead snuggling up in bed with a good book. Result!  People are jumping on their bikes or walking rather than taking the car for short journeys, and we’re driving more carefully because the roads are full of potholes. Result!

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The Impact of Flying

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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 planet?

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SECA Annual Event – Meeting of Hope

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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 bring councils and communities together to address the issues related to climate breakdown and share successes and suggestions.

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Sussex Green Living Achievements 2022

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Ashington Youth Club

Well what a year 2022 was for Sussex Green Living. As we reflect on the last year and plan for the future and 2023, we thought it was worth taking a moment to share some of our achievements…

Demand for Sussex Green Living environmental education services in schools and public events has never been higher, so much so that requests for our help vastly outstripped the grants we had been awarded to be able to deliver the work in schools.

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Birds of a Feather

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George Frederic Watts, The Wounded Heron, 1837, oil on canvas (Watts Gallery Trust)

On a guided tour of the George Watts Gallery, near Guildford recently, I was surprised to learn about the Victorian artist’s ‘protest pictures’.

Born when our own Percy Shelley was at the height of his powers writing his controversial poems of protest, I felt the two would have got on well, with their artistic commentaries on the ruthlessness of the governments of their day.

One painting which felt particularly poignant was called, ‘A Dedication (to all those who love the beautiful and mourn over the senseless and cruel destruction of bird life and beauty)’.  It depicts an angel weeping over an altar littered with kingfishers and other small birds.

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What does COP 27 mean for us locally?

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As COP 27 begins, what’s happening locally to help save our beautiful little planet from doom?

Well, Horsham District Council held a Climate Action Day on 20th October to help prepare the parish councillors for what lies ahead for all of us.

Two thirds of the 32 parish councils in HD were represented, with 11 parishes not attending. So what progress has been made?

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Eastbourne E-hive

New Climate Emergency Centre opens in Eastbourne

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Eastbourne E-hiveThe E-Hive, Eastbourne’s latest pop-up Climate Emergency Centre, is now open in The Beacon shopping centre. It is a crucial part of the campaign to deliver a carbon neutral Eastbourne by 2030, as mandated by the Climate Emergency declaration passed unanimously by Eastbourne councillors in July 2019.

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Silent Spring

Sixty Years since Silent Spring (first published in West Sussex County Times)

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Silent Spring

Recycle. Repair. Save fuel. Care about Nature. They’re becoming mainstream now. But it wasn’t always thus.

Sixty years ago, things were very different. Big science and technology dominated everything. Problem with insects munching your crops? Destroy them with DDT! Want to get to the shops faster? Try our new ’59 saloon with fuel consumption lower than the Dead Sea! Everything was going to be newer, shinier, faster, bigger-and largely made of plastic.

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Is the climate broken? Opinions from the people of Horsham

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Is the climate broken? Should the Government be doing more about it? Can ordinary citizens do anything? How will things look for our children and grandchildren?

To find out what the people of Horsham think, we spent a recent lunchtime patrolling the busy streets around the Swan Walk Shopping Centre.

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Crystal glass and bees

It’s Crystal Clear…We have a water crisis (first published in West Sussex County Times)

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Crystal glass and bees

A surprise from a zoom I attended last week was that many people are unaware that we have a real water crisis here in Horsham District, the first ever in the UK on this scale.  The huge water shortfall means that all building work is now on hold while solutions are sought.

Southern Water provide drinking water for over a million properties, and remove and recycle the waste water of almost five million people.  Quite a task!

Although we have 205 reservoirs, this provides only 7% of our water.  The majority comes from underground aquifers, with around 25% being taken from rivers.

The cost of this service from 2020-2025 is around £1,000 per property, with improvements ranging from digitisation, artificial intelligence and machine learning to re-vamping the 3,500 pumping stations and 40,000 kilometres of sewers.  Over a thousand options are being modelled including banning non-essential water use and building a desalination plant at Shoreham.

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Katie at Refills

Play with Plastic Free July (First Published in West Sussex County Times)

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Katie at Refills

Going plastic free for a whole 31 days does sound pretty daunting, some would argue impossible, but it’s a great opportunity to get a little creative, learn something new and hopefully pick up a couple of new habits you can stick to. It’s like diet and exercise, if you’re not enjoying it and it doesn’t fit in with your lifestyle you’re unlikely to carry on with it.

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Why the UK Energy Price Hikes & Energy Shortages?

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Why the UK Energy Price Hikes and Energy Shortages? Its our reliance on imported fuels, rather than developing the huge tidal and wind resources we have around this island. Most UK homes are still heated by gas and many are woefully under insulated.

Multiple factors are behind the gas price increases. Geopolitical pressures, including high demand for gas from Asia and low supply from Russia, as well as last year’s cold winter, which left gas stocks low, are among the main reasons.

Other countries, such as Norway and Germany, have done a much better job of moving away from gas-fired heating and adopting electric heat pumps, meaning consumers are less exposed to price leaps. Many energy companies have gone bust in recent months and new suppliers have had to purchase gas and electricity on the wholesale market. Britain’s entire energy market needs modernising. Read more

Climate & Ecology Bill

Climate Change hits Sussex as UK Declares First Red Extreme Heat Warning

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Climate and Ecology BillSoaring temperatures have left Sussex residents sweltering after an extreme heat warning raised the question whether this week has been the hottest on record in the region and what we should be doing to tackle climate change.

The national emergency came only a day after Sussex Green Living’s CEO Carrie Cort, her son and the charity’s Youth Eco Forum leader Tash Barns joined ‘Zero Hour’, a coalition of UK campaigners, world-leading scientists, academics and members of the public in Victoria Tower Garden next to the House of Lords in Westminster.

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Rainforest

The Importance of Rainforests (First Published in West Sussex County Times)

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RainforestI have been blessed to spend 20 years working in the Ecuadorian Amazon and Choco cloud forest, a world away from my home in Pulborough.

It has been like having parallel lives.

The UK has one of lowest levels of tree cover in Europe at 13%, globally ranking 136th out of 189 countries. Looking down from a plane over our green desert fields, we can see how few trees there really are with only tiny patches of ancient woodland remaining, maybe unaware that here in England our level of biodiversity is painfully low.  Although the woodland cover has doubled in the last 100 years this is mainly with non-native conifer plantations, where very little diversity can exist.

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