Monthly Archives: May 2024

Repair Cafe Saturday 8th June

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Tools on a wooden desk

Back again this year: 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. Open 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!

Look out for our future dates in 2024!

Grow Green: Gardening Ideas for a better planet

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One of our many visitors at the Hub at our Anniversary Event was inspired by what they saw.

They talked about how many of the resources in the Hub support the messages and learnings from a book they recently read. They wrote a review and strongly recommend “Grow Green” by Jen Chillingaworth.

“This little book is one I would certainly recommend to anybody who wants to learn about gardening in the best way for the planet. It is small and light enough to be carried around the garden, and provides lots of helpful information for all green gardeners, including beginners.“

Hub Visitor’s Book Review

You can get this book from all good bookshops including one of our personal favorites: The Little Bookshop Cookham.

I thought we were not doing too badly in our garden, from an environmental viewpoint. We have a pond, two water butts, three compost bins, a log pile and a wild area. We don’t use any chemicals and have started to save some of our seeds. However, I found lots of useful tips in this little book which covers topics from compost and biodiversity, to checking your soil type and growing indoor plants. I never knew that ground cinnamon could be sprinkled on soil in seed trays to help reduce problems with fungal disease, or that most edible plants need 6-8 hours of direct sunshine during the day.

The author does not assume that her readers know anything about environmentally friendly gardening, but manages not to be patronising! She suggests we apply the 5 R principles – Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rot to everything we do in the garden. There are loads of ideas on how to reuse containers you already have, lists of what is suitable for composting, and which plants help others to grow better.

Many of the things she mentions fit in with the resources at the ECO Action Hub! I have swapped seeds there, and will certainly be at the next seedling swap. The library of things will mean tools and equipment can be borrowed, saving money and reusing resources more efficiently. There is a great section about wildlife and how to make your garden more welcoming to all sorts of creatures. It is a fantastic place to visit anyway, but has already made us better at gardening sustainably.

Hub Visitor’s Book Review

🌿🎉 THIS SATURDAY: ECO Action Hub’s 1st Anniversary Party! 🎉🌿

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What’s Happening? We’re celebrating our first year – AND we’re celebrating YOU, our incredible community of eco-warriors. Here’s why you won’t want to miss this:

When: Saturday May 11th from 10:00 with the ‘grand opening’ at 11:00, cake and bubbles at 12:00 and events through the day in ECO Action Hub.

Inspiring Conversations: Connect with people on the same journey or just starting out: climate advocates, curious minds. Share stories, swap tips, learn how small actions can make a big difference for you & for the planet!

Meet Our Team and our Partners:  Our passionate team members will be there to chat with you about sustainable living, climate action, and biodiversity. Our partners (from the local “Wilds”, from the “Wildlife Garden Awards” and others will all be there too!

Meet Special Guests: We’re thrilled to welcome RBWM’s Karen Davies, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Biodiversity, along with her colleagues. They’ll be signing up for the 10% Challenge right alongside you!

Engaging Eco-Activities:

  • Seedling Swap: Bring your extra seedlings and exchange them with fellow gardeners.
  • Repair Cafe: Got a broken item? Our skilled repair volunteers will help fix it!
  • Library of Things: open for you to be able to pick items to take out ‘on loan’!
  • Banana Climate Game: A fun way to learn about carbon footprints and climate impact.
  • Jenga Challenge: Challenge yourself to answer eco-questions playing a giant Jenga game.
  • Personal Action Plan Sign-Up: Get personalised tips to reduce your environmental impact.
  • 10% Challenge: Commit to reducing your carbon emissions by 10%—we’ll guide you!
  • Young ECO-Warriors Story-Telling: for children from MDG at 11:15 / 13:15
  • Live Music: Relax and listen to gently soothing eco-friendly live music too!

Cake and Bubbles: And if that’s not enough there will be cake and champagne to go with the games and the swaps and the conversation … it’s a reward for your commitment to a greener planet!

🌎🌱 Together we can create a greener, healthier future. See you there! 🌎🌱

THIS WEEK: Repair Cafe Saturday 11th May

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tools in garage?

Back again this year: 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. Open 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!

Look out for our future dates in 2024!