Monthly Archives: October 2023

Book now: Climate Fresk Workshop

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Saturday 4th November 10:00 – 13:00 in the ECO Action Hub Maidenhead

You can’t fix what you don’t understand – luckily, the Climate Fresk turns climate science into a game! Played by over 1M people worldwide, this collaborative workshop allows you to understand the essential issues of climate change in order to take action.

Based on IPCC reports, you’ll learn how the climate functions – as well as the consequences of its disruption. Whether you’re a novice or an expert, you’ll learn a lot in just three hours.

How it works: The workshop is based on a 42-card game.

  • Each card represents an element, a cause or a consequence of climate change.
  • In teams, guided by facilitators, you have to find the cause-effect relationship between the different components of climate change.
  • Collective intelligence will get you from one set of cards to the next!
  • This step-by-step reconstruction provides keys to understand the complexity and develop an overview of climate change.

All you need to bring is your joy, energy, and willingness to learn! Just make sure to arrive on time so we can start the workshop with the whole group, and plan to stay for the full 3 hours (there will be a short break in the middle).

Tickets: offered at £10, £5, or free … best considered as a donation which we welcome but no donation is also fine. ALL the registration details you need are in the link.

RBWM Sustainability SPD Consultation “How To” Guide: MORE HELP!

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We recently posted about the RBWM’s Sustainability SPD Consultation (here). If you just want to provide a quick response, we suggest you use our handy “How To” guide (here).

For those with more time and interest in how the SPD can be made better we’ve now got more detailed responses linked here to help you shape your feedback to RBWM! This edition has a particular focus on Energy Efficiency, Climate Adaptation and Sustainable Construction.

If you are short on time then you can simply copy and paste the last three columns of the table in the document (Section, Para, Suggested Text) into Box 5 of the Representation Form and email to planning.consultation@rbwm.gov.uk. Those items where ‘Push for change’ is highlighted in red are our priorities.

It would be really great if you can complete the submissions using the forms and information we’ve provided. The more RBWM hear from all of us as residents, the better informed they will be to make sound decisions.

To see all our posts about the Sustainability SPD please click here.

Thank you for your submissions!

Sustainability in action graphics

“We must now look at the world through a new lens”

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The BBC’s Planet Earth III is now on television and iPlayer.

Presented by Sir David Attenborough it’s a fascinating journey to the far reaches of our planet. It follows some of the world’s most amazing species, telling extraordinary stories that are dramatic, thrilling, funny and sometimes heart-breaking, but always full of hope.

For anyone who cares about the climate and biodiversity … it’s a must-watch!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0gjwxhv

Sir David Attenborough

Repair Cafe – Open Saturday 11th November

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Here again: Maidenhead’s successful Repair Café gives people’s broken or worn-out possessions a new lease of life! See people like yourself rebuilding, repairing and recycling things that might otherwise be thrown away. Opening again in our ECO-Action Hub.

Please register here if you wish to bring something for repair to reserve your time-slot: Or feel free to email the Repair Café team on repair.maidenhead@gmail.com.

We open from 10:00 to 15:00. Repair skills available at this next event include:
– small electrical items (excludes microwaves and large items)
– laptops/computers, phone repairs (except screen repairs)
– IT assistance(e.g. anti-virus, software updates)
– glass repairs, book binding, fixing picture frames
– basic woodwork, small furniture items
– sewing and mending, textiles repairs

We aim to fix anything, our volunteers love to solve problems!

We have published our future dates which also include:
– Saturday 9th December

RBWM Sustainability SPD Consultation “How To” Guide

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We posted last week about the RBWM’s Sustainability SPD Consultation. (See here).

For any of our supporters (YOU!) that are keen to respond but are short of time, here is a detailed “How To” guide. Helping you to make best use of your time and respond in what we consider a most appropriate fashion to get to desired outcomes within RBWM!

Here’s a summary of what you will find there:

  • Why Engage: We want to live in a Borough that is zero carbon and rich in nature. When developments take place, we want them to help us achieve this. The Sustainability SPD will direct and guide planners and developers towards this.
  • What Best Informs: The SPD needs to include: clear Intent (a sense of urgency & confidence the SPD will deliver RBWM targets), meaningful Content (the SPD needs to remain current and relevant in our changing world). And must be Ambitious (to ensure the Borough’s critical climate goals are reached and the SPD delivers)
  • How to make a difference: Experience shows we are more successful in achieving change when we clearly target specific sections of the document subject to consultation. It is also just as important to support those sections of the draft SPD that show true ambition.

We will be providing specific guidance on the Eco Action website in the next fortnight to help you to do this. Deadline for your response to the consultation is 27th November 2023.

Here again is the link to the “How To” guide. Thank you.

Sustainability: People, Energy, Planet.

RBWM Sustainability SPD Consultation

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In June 2019, RBWM declared an environment and climate emergency. It enshrined the target of net zero carbon emissions in the borough by 2050, in line with Government policy.

A Sustainability SPD is one of the key actions identified in the Environment and Climate Strategy 2020-2025, to help shape development towards net zero carbon, protect and enhance the natural environment, drive carbon reductions in the borough and deliver wider climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The Council has now prepared the draft Sustainability Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) for public consultation. The consultation will run for six weeks from Monday 16 October 2023 until midnight on Monday 27 November 2023.

Whilst the ECO Action Hub is working with a consortium to help influence and update the Sustainability SPD you also as residents have the opportunity to comment and respond to the consultation … However, we will shortly be providing guidance here on how best to do so, to save you the trouble of reading all 86 pages, and to maximise the impact we can collectively have. 

In the meantime, if you do want to get a head start and read the SPD – please click on the link below for more information: RBWM Sustainability Consultation Link HERE

People acting in a sustainable environment

“Cultivating Climate Solutions & Unveiling Green Garden Secrets with Peter Gibbs”

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Discover the secrets to greener gardening, embrace the power of weeds in your garden, and gain essential planting tips to thrive in scorching summers. Join Peter Gibbs in a thought-provoking conversation with the ECO Action Hub as he unveils the single most impactful change you can make in your garden to combat climate change.

🎧 Listen to the full interview here (5:20 mins): here

Peter Gibbs

Peter Gibbs, a well-known figure from BBC Weather and the chair of Radio 4’s beloved Gardeners’ Question Time, along with his contributions to BBC TV’s technology program Click and Radio 4’s environment series Costing the Earth, will guide you towards a greener, more sustainable garden and a healthier planet. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to make a difference!

This enlightening discussion is just one installment in our “Climate Conversations” series, brought to you by the ECO Action Hub.