Green Home

Green homes – save money, energy & the planet

/in , , , /by

Green HomeHeated households: New report reveals the energy usage and cost of household appliance

86% of the UK are consciously trying to be sustainable

A new report by Wren Kitchens has revealed the amount of energy used by kitchen appliances based on the average usage time and how much power they consume.

86% of the UK are now are consciously trying to be sustainable according to a new report by Wren Kitchens1.

Recycling, reusing, and repurposing have now become an everyday occurrence in the UK as households try and do ‘their bit’ for climate change and reduce their carbon footprint.

However, with energy use for household appliances tripling within the past 40 years2  just how much money and energy could we save by changing to a greener solution?

The new report has revealed that the kitchen is the most likely culprit for carbon and energy usage, due to the amount of appliances the room hosts whilst detailing tips on how to save energy and money. Read more

To Travel or Not to Travel? That Is The Question

/in , , , /by

Press release

Holidays on hold? Or help at hand

On Saturday 6 June, Sussex Green Living’s virtual Horsham Climate Café meeting will be focusing on what post-pandemic travel might look like once the world opens up again.

Many questions about the future of travel and holidays remain to be answered. With movement restrictions still in place and many holidaymakers still not knowing if, how or when they can expect to get away, the biggest question may be:

How will people feel about holidays after the pandemic and have travellers’ priorities changed?

Some may be desperate to get away after the lockdown and others may be feel it is too risky for health reasons. The nature recovery may have inspired people to stay at home whilst others may be motivated by sustainable holidays or wanting to make a difference overseas.

This week’s Climate Café event will discuss Ethical Travel, StayCations and SlowCation (travel by bike and train) and suggest possible alternatives to our traditional get-aways. Read more

Wool & environmentally friendly gardening

/in , , , /by
Wool and gardening….. Really? Yup Really!
Fact, wool producers in the UK get paid very little money for wool produced every year. Getting wool from the field to the wool depots is not cost effective. Sheep owners give away the fleeces to shearers, burn them or just allow them to fester in a dark corner which is not environmentally friendly.
Garry (my husband) and I started with 6 Southdown ewe lambs 6 years ago. We now have a flock of 32 sheep. We graze on land in North Horsham. A hobby which has become a passion. Determined not to waste the gorgeous wool that our small flock of sheep produce every year, I researched online and found companies, crafters, art and design colleges to recycle the wool too. I did think about processing our wool for yarn and weaving. It would have cost me thousands of pounds so I went back to the drawing board.
What was simple, environmentally friendly, required little processing, cost effective and made good use of the natural qualities of wool. Wool and gardening!  And so evolved WOOL SHrED.

Read more

Help us in global recycling contest

/in , , /by

Press release – Help Sussex Green Living win prize through ‘liking’ recycling video

Sussex Green Living (SGL) volunteer Joy Carter has won Terracycle’s global #keepOnRecycling contest for her “how-to” film that inspires householders to recycle specific single-use plastics during the lockdown.

The film promotes the free recycling schemes run by SGL and Terracycle to avoid items ending up in landfill or being sent overseas by the Council to be incinerated.

Joy said: “Now that most of us are staying home we are generating a lot more waste than normal and it is an ideal time to learn what to do with items that can’t be put in our recycle bins”.

Help Sussex Green Living Go Global! 

Joy is donating the £80 prize money to the Horsham Community Fridge but has set her sights on the global prize and needs your support. The funds would enable SGL to set up a storage facility for all the recycling they sort through ordinarily on a weekly basis at the Quaker Meeting House.  To help SGL win, please watch, like and share Joy’s film on social media. https://www.facebook.com/SussexGreenLiving/

Carrie Cort, SGL founder, said: “We are delighted that the volume of recycling from the local community has increased so significantly – it shows how many people care about being zero-waste. However, we now need to expand our operation to avoid volunteers taking a bag loads of recycling home to sort through. Please support our film and help us win the Terracycle award”. Read more

Launch of two Horsham community forums

/in , /by

Press release – Horsham Future Forum and Youth Eco Forum launching 2nd June 2020

Sussex Green Living launches Horsham Youth Eco Forum Zoom virtual weekly meetings

Sussex Green Living (SGL) are excited to launch the Horsham Youth Eco Forum as part of the development of Horsham Climate Cafe.

Since its opening in December 2019, Horsham Climate Cafe – a collaborative project established by SGL, Horsham Quakers and many volunteers – has wanted to offer a space for local young environmentalists to meet and share ideas. As we adapt to socially-distant lives, the community formed by HCC feels more important than ever, and the Eco Youth Forum will offer an opportunity for young people aged 11+ to connect on a weekly basis.

Both the climate crisis and the current pandemic raise big questions for the future of younger generations and it is important to be able to discuss concerns and to problem-solve in a creative and collaborative way. Sussex Green Living hopes that the creation of this forum will enable young people to tackle eco-anxiety with eco-action and being an essential part of the local green community. Read more

Get Creative for Nature Over Half Term

/in , , , , , /by

Inspiring environmental art competition appeals for children and young people to get involved over holidays and the summer term. Thanks to a grant from The Boltini Trust, Sussex Green Living and the South Downs National Park Trust, which is the official charity of South Downs National Park, have developed this “Clean Up & Create” a Bright New Future competition for 5-16 year olds in Sussex and Hampshire.

Julie Fawcett, Chair of the South Downs National Park Trust, said “A key focus for the South Downs National Park Trust is to engage young people with this amazing natural asset on their doorstep with all its beautiful landscapes and wildlife.

“This competition offers a great way for children to get creative and think about ways we can conserve and enhance our environment in the years ahead. Young people are the future custodians of national gems such as the South Downs and this is a fantastic way to inspire them”

The aim is to encourage young people to design some artwork with a powerful message to raise awareness of the environment and represent the theme of a bright new future they want for the world.

There are two categories to choose from in each age group: Read more

Horsham Climate Cafe – the value of nature

/in , , , , /by

Horsham Climate Cafe – the value of nature All of us are experiencing the uncertainty the current pandemic has brought with it, alongside the forced physical disconnect from one another and our usual routines. However, while this situation has restricted us in many ways, it has also freed us in others. An overwhelming number of […]

Read more

News from the Horsham Repair Cafe

/in , , , /by

Sorry to say that the Horsham Repair Café will not be physically opening for our once a month repairs, refills and energy advice for a while. However we have reviewed the situation and are now going to trial a weekly repair service which will run alongside the household and personal hygiene bottle refill service. We can offer repairs to small electrical household and IT items only at the moment. This drop off and collection service will be offered each Saturday between 10-12 noon (with suitable covid social distancing and product handling restrictions).

Please book in your item by completing our online booking form here, we will then email to confirm the procedure and location for drop off. Please note that we are not able to repair any textiles for the foreseeable future.

Costs:

Electrical repairs – our volunteer repairer will assess the item and inform you if there is a need to purchase any parts. If you agree to the costs on collection you will be asked to pay for the costs, a voluntary donation to the Horsham Repair Café is optional. Read more

Message from Ecuadorian cloud forest

/in , , , , /by

One of the last hidden treasure/locations

Saturday 9th May the weekly virtual Horsham Climate Cafe focused on The Value of Nature, bringing attendees a special message from Nicola Peel who is locked down in a cloud forest in Los Cedros Biological Reserve in the Choco region of Ecuador full of yet to be discovered plant and animals. Plants which will provide cures to diseases, trees which give us oxygen to breath, things we take for granted. The debate is gold and copper mining for new phones or medicine and oxygen?

During this Climate Cafe session Victoria Wyllie de Echeverria also gave an informal talk about the deep connection indigenous people have to nature, their stewardship of the land and water and how they are adapting to climate change.

You can see Nicola’s video message at the bottom of this page. Learn here about Nicola’s lockdown location, one of the most biologically diverse and endemic habitats on Earth in her latest email:

Dear friends,

After finishing my work in the Ecuadorian Amazon I was about to have a week to myself on the coast. This was not to be. Like so many of us due to the unforeseen events our lives have changed.

I had returned to Quito and was staying with a friend when I heard that due to Corona Virus all borders were closed, flights to be cancelled and no more buses. I got out of the city on the last bus to Chontal and headed up to the Los Cedros Reserve. http://reservaloscedros.org/about/ Read more

Pressing the pause button

/in , , , , /by

On Saturday 2nd May Dr Tony Whitbread spoke at the Horsham Climate Cafe to around 100 people using Zoom video conferencing. He spoke about positive impacts of covid on human attitute to nature and signs of the natural world recovering. This event was chaired and facilitated by Helen Whittington, Carrie Cort, Chloe Harrison and Vivaine Doussy. You can hear a podcast of his talk, see the global reach of this event and the Q&A here.

Tony shares his thought provoking insight with us here…..Nature seems to be blossoming while us humans are locked up indoors.  We’ve heard about goats taking over gardens in Llandudno in Wales and fallow dear wandering round parts of London.  There are elephants on the streets of Thailand, elephant seals in Argentinian suburbs and the penguins are taking back the streets in South Africa!  There seem to be more butterflies and the birds seem to be singing louder.  Is nature really recovering while we are locked up, is it the good weather, or is it just that we are taking the time to pay attention and notice what has been there all along?

Read more