New Climate Emergency Centre opens in Eastbourne

The 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.

The E-Hive will be open 7 days a week during normal shopping hours over the next 5 weeks, and is situated between the Three store and Watsons Newsagents  at the Bolton Road entrance to the Beacon. It was formally opened on 1st November by Eastbourne Mayor, Councillor Pat Rodohan, who congratulated all the many volunteers in the Eastbourne Climate Coalition who have contributed to making the E-Hive happen.

The E-Hive has a range of informative displays and leaflets, and a full programme of free events and workshops over the next few weeks. They are all designed to help local residents to develop more sustainable, planet-friendly lifestyles whilst at the same time saving money and generally improving their quality of life. Full details about the E-Hive’s programme, and the Eastbourne Climate Coalition generally, can be found HERE.

Highlights so far have been a waste recycling presentation by Neil Peters from Eastbourne Borough Council, a book reading about tree planting by Felicity Goodson, a local actress, and a demonstration by the Eastbourne Shed team of how to repurpose spare pieces of wood into useful objects.

Future events will include home made goodies made by Derri Difles including food samples, a talk by horticulturalist Ben Cross about his British Flowers Rock campaign to replace flowers flown in from abroad with flowers grown sustainably here in the UK. Mercedes, one of the contestants in the BBC’s Great British Sewing Bee series will be joining us with her Refashion, Reimagine, Reutilise talk.  We also have a talk about growing mushrooms, workshops on how to spruce up old t-shirts, how to encourage more wildlife into your garden, and many more.

 

Andrew Durling, CEO of the Eastbourne Eco Action Network CIC, says:

“We had an excellent, well-attended opening ceremony on the first day of the E-Hive, which is now buzzing with exciting and engaging events about all things environmental. Dealing with climate change involves all of us, so having a place in town like the E-Hive where everyone can drop in to find out how we can together discover how to build a more sustainable, resilient, planet-friendly community is so valuable. The many volunteers in the E-Hive project have been fantastically creative, and The Beacon staff have been immensely supportive”.

 

Evie Sier, one of our volunteers says:

“We have had a great first week in the E-Hive, which has some informative displays, with lots of useful information and workshops about how we can reduce our impact on the planet.  We all have to be mindful of what we wear and eat, and how we travel.  The Climate Emergency Hub is just the place to visit to find out more, from lifestyle changes to campaigning for legislative changes. So come on down and say hi. We will be happy to see you and help you on your journey”.

 

Oliver Sterno, who liaised with The Beacon centre to create this pop up venue, says:

“At the end of this first week, it is clear from our records that our townspeople are interested in joining us and in encouraging us in our fight for gaining carbon neutrality in Eastbourne; also in campaigning for an improvement in how the government and big business support us. We are looking forward to a growing enthusiasm from our visitors over the coming days and weeks. Everyone is welcome!”