The Float at MSDC Playday in Burgess HillSussex Green Living

When a Community Comes Together to get a Float Back on the Road

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Early August brought an unexpected setback for Sussex Green Living when its iconic electric Eco Float broke down. After a complex recovery, the float was finally towed onto a trailer and taken to The Milk Float Company in nearby Alford, where Len – who has spent his life maintaining and rebuilding milk floats – was able to assess the problem. His prognosis was clear: the Eco Float needed a new control panel and accelerator, at a cost of £1,550.

For a small charity, an unexpected repair bill of this size could have been a major obstacle. But what happened next was a powerful reminder of the value of local community support. Read more

Slow travel: Explore the gems on our doorstep this Bank Holiday

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With bank holiday weekends coming up in April and May, this spring offers the perfect opportunity to rediscover what’s right on our doorstep – and to think a little differently about how we travel. Many of us will already have booked our summer holidays, but there’s growing pressure on airlines to be more transparent about the true environmental cost of flying. 

From April 2027, airlines and travel agents will be required to display clear, standardised emissions figures at the point of booking, giving passengers the information they need to weigh up the environmental cost of their journey.  

The news was welcomed by environment group CAGNE, which had been campaigning on the issue for over a decade. But a spokesperson said the warnings should be similar to those on cigarette packets – warning of the risks to the health of the planet – adding that people should have all the information so ‘they can then seek greener forms of transport whether that be a different airline or travel by train or not to fly’. 

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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?

The airwaves and newspapers have been full of airlines’ enticing advertisements encouraging the consumer to spend, spend, spend on low-cost package holidays in  a cost-of-living and climate crisis. Read more

Car Sharing in Horsham

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Car shareI recently completed a Carbon Literacy course with the Scottish Community Climate Action Network (SCCAN) who produce some excellent teaching resources. They focus on actions we can all take and as a result and based on a Scottish idea, I made an enquiry about the possibility of a formal car-sharing scheme at Horsham Rugby Club.

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Puttenham Barn Bunkhouse

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Chris MeeksBuilding Your Dreams

While wardening at Puttenham Bunkhouse Barn last weekend, I had the pleasure of interviewing Chris Meeks, its founder, who spent many years as editor with Cycling UK, (Cyclists’ Touring Club), and who, aged 16, was the youngest elected member of the YHA’s management team here in the south-east.

Sitting relaxed in the sunshine, amid butterflies and flowers, wearing a T-shirt bearing the slogan “Wilderness not woodchips”, Chris continues to share his passions.

He’s an astonishing example of how one person can inspire a generation.  The bunkhouse began life as an idea: finding a place, negotiating the lease with Guildford Borough Council, raising £130,000, removing a huge cattle trough and digging out the floor to lower it by 50 cm. The eventual opening in 2005 was achieved thanks to enormous input from a team of volunteers, including John Bannister, an alternative technology expert.

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Why Drive When you can Ride? by Peter Silburn of Horsham District Cycling Forum

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Knowing what to do in the face of the global climate crisis can often seem a daunting task.

Whilst it’s true that the really big changes need to be prompted by Government action there’s still a lot you can do as an individual. Small changes build up, especially when other people join in.

A major cause of global warming is our over-reliance on cars in towns and cities, which also contributes to poor air quality, traffic congestion, road danger and noise, and the obesity crisis.

One small step you can take is to cycle for those short journeys where through force of habit you instinctively get in the car.

For short journeys in town it’s often quicker by bike, and it saves you money too. What can be just as important – even where the journey time is slightly longer than by car – is that the time taken can be remarkably consistent, meaning you don’t need to leave extra time for your journey just in case you get stuck in traffic. Read more