Book now: Saturday 1st July from 10:00 – 13:00 in the ECO Action Hub: Climate Fresk
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.
This is 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).
Book now: secure your spot – Click the ‘Take Part’ button here: Climate Fresk
Tickets: offered at £10, £5, or free depending – best considered as a donation which we welcome but no donation is also fine.
Please read our short interview with ECO Action founding volunteer Sam Gibbins, who is running stages 331, 332 and 333 (Cookham to Windsor) on July 8th, and don’t forget to come and cheer her on!
What is the Running Out of Time Relay?
Running Out of Time is a 2,661km relay from Ben Nevis to Big Ben. There are a total of 366 stages, with stages ranging from 2-30km long. The relay runs from sunrise to sunset for 32 days and travels to 30 counties.
What can YOU do to support the runners and the planet?
Select one or more of the planet pledgesfrom the Running Out of Time website! There are over 30 to choose from.
Come and cheer on Sam and other runners / cyclists / walkers on the day!
Sign up as a Batonbearer yourself!
Interview with Samantha Gibbins, who is running in the colours of ECO Action
Why do you personally care about climate change?
When I finally opened my eyes to the real scale and severity of what our world could look like in one generation, especially on our current trajectory to 3oC+ of warming above pre-industrial levels, I was terrified. From an individual point of view I’m scared of how me and my family could be impacted, but I’ve seen that the future I fear is already a reality for millions of people in developing countries. I care about mitigating and adapting for climate change because I’m in a position where I can do something. Every person making a difference counts. Every 0.1oC we can prevent matters.
Of all the issues we’re facing today (climate change, biodiversity loss, air pollution, plastic pollution etc.) which one is most important to you and why?
Categorising these as separate issues is misleading as they are all so intricately connected and dependant on one another! I think that many people feel more comfortable thinking of these separately as it maybe feels easier to approach each issue independently and ‘tick off’ once solved. With this in mind, I think the biggest challenge is to shift people’s mindsets. We need more empathy in the world and appreciation of nuance to help us come together and work together with all of our differences. Because, however clichéd, it is together that we can make the biggest difference.
Which of the 32 pledges are you taking?
I’m “getting to my relay stage greener” with numerous trains, I’m going to “attend a local event for the Great Big Green Week”, and I’m “joining others in my local community to take positive action”!
Who is cheering you on?
The family contingent and some ECO Hub members!
What inspires you?
How many incredible people are working to make our world a better place. There are so many small scale and community initiatives dotted about, and so many people who are passionate about this when you start looking and getting involved. The ECO Hub is a perfect example of this – Climate Emergency Centres are dotted around the country; community energy projects are working to provide renewable energy to local areas (I can think of Maidenhead, Marlow and Reading doing this!); and local people are petitioning for our natural spaces to be protected or even better, rewilded. All of this gives me hope and inspires me to keep working for a better future.
World Refill Day: A global day of action to prevent plastic pollution and help people live with less waste. A world-wide movement to inspiring action, and show the world is ready for a refill and reuse revolution!
Last year we reached more than 100 million people globally with wide coverage by the press in UK and abroad. Popular campaign ambassadors are Bonnie Wright, Dominic West, Petrice Jones, Bianca Jagger and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
Come to the event at ECO Action Hub – Filling Good will show you how affordable it is to refill vs shopping in the supermarket, show you eco cleaning tips and offer some samples of food from the shop!
A Festival Where Art Meets Science: Come join the Festival and Wild Cookham & learn about our global wildlife. More information: Home | Our Changing Earth Festival
Don’t forget: Our inaugural ECO Action Hub Clothes Swap in collaboration with animal army on Saturday 20th May. Shop other people’s wardrobes and help reduce clothing waste.
animal army is working with us and donating from their collection a starter stock including: vintage 60’s, a denim collection and summer tops and dresses from top brands such as COS, Zara, Scotch & Soda, Stella McCartney, adidas and Nike. Have a look at some of the great clothes ready to swap in this video on Facebook: Clothes Swap Video or on Vimeo: Clothes’ Swap Video
And remember:
You’re not just swapping but upgrading clothes from ones you don’t wear to ones you will!
Our starter stock contains designer brands, vintage pieces and brand new clothes with labels on. You might be looking for pieces to wear or resell on Vinted or other platforms.
All clothes are steam cleaned & hung on rails or folded on tables, so it’s easy to shop!
We think you’ll find this a great experience and great value for money!
£30 million worth of clothes sit unworn in the UK’s wardrobes* so why not swap them? Clothes deserve to be worn and loved! The perfect way to do that is through swapping. EVERY TIME you swap an unwanted piece of clothing you extend it’s lifecycle and reduce it’s carbon footprint!
Come to our inaugural ECO Action Hub Clothes Swap in collaboration with animal army on Saturday 20th May. Shop other people’s wardrobes and help reduce clothing waste.
animal army is donating a collection of 50 items of starter stock including: vintage 60’s, a denim collection and summer tops and dresses from brands such as COS, Zara, Scotch & Soda, Stella McCartney, adidas and Nike. Follow animal army on Facebook and Instagram to see the collection.
Here’s how it works:
Drop off: Thursday 18th May (10-4), Friday 19th May (10-4) or Saturday 20th May (10-12): Drop your clean and gently worn (no tears, stains or missing buttons please) adult size clothes at the ECO Action Hub: Unit 5-7, Nicholson Centre Atrium, Maidenhead SL6 1LB.
You’ll receive a token to bring to the Swap detailing your time slot (first drop = first in!) and how many clothes you can take away. Have a look around the Hub at all the eco tips and info whilst you’re there.
Saturday 20th May – The Swap
1pm – the first 20 swappers to drop off their clothes enter the swap for first dibs.
1:30pm – the next 20 swappers enter the Swap
2:00pm – all swappers can enter the Swap
All swappers leaving the swap with 1 or more items are required to donate £5 to the Eco Action Hub and animal army, (both non-profit organizations committed to fighting climate change). Anyone who doesn’t find something they love, does not pay and can keep their token for the next swap event.
Extra Tips:
Wear clothes that are easy to take on and off: we have fitting rooms to try on everything and lots of mirrors
Bring your own shopping bags to take home your “new” clothes
Give yourself time to browse and shop slowly so you find something you love
Bring a water bottle or grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the swap
Image courtesy @loveyourclothes
Don’t miss out: come to our inaugural Clothes Swap Saturday 20th May!
Volunteers needed to help survey and classify some of Maidenhead’s waterways to identify and tackle sources of pollution. This would include a free training day and further riverbank surveys of a small stretch of river this spring.
Outfall Safaris are a powerful form of citizen science, allowing sources of pollution to be identified, recorded and reported to Thames Water and the Environment Agency so they can be addressed, improving local water quality and habitats. Many previously unknown and unrecorded polluting outfalls have been documented in this way, helping to close the knowledge gap about what is happening in our rivers.
Once registered you will receive information about how to join the training session. All surveys can be carried out anytime during April-May when the weather is dry.
Surveys can only be conducted following at least 48 hours of dry weather therefore flexibility is required.
The training will include:
An overview of water quality issues in the catchment
Information on outfalls and how they become polluted
Instruction on how to assess each outfall using the project app and then upload information to the database
Borough Council Election Hustings In person at venues in Windsor and Maidenhead
RBWM CEC invites you to our own local ‘Question Time’ focused specifically on environmental issues including climate change, net zero, natural environment, waste, energy, transport and air quality.
In May we have our next council elections. Would you like to ask current councillors more about the council’s efforts to improve energy efficiency in the borough? And to hear from different candidates about their plans for the future?
Who should attend? Current and future RBWM voters
Windsor 7.00pm, Monday 17 April 2023 The Old Court, St Leonards Road
Maidenhead 7.00pm, Thursday 20 April 2023 Furze Platt Senior School (a no smoking venue, no smoking anywhere in the school grounds)
In both cases, the doors open at 6.30 and the events finish at 8.30pm.
What do I need to do? Turn up between 6.30 and 7.00pm with your questions for borough election candidates. Our independent chairs will select the questions. We cannot guarantee that all questions will be raised.
This event is supported with contributions from the RBWM Climate Emergency Coalition: ECO Action Hub, Filling Good Cooperative, MaidEnergy, RBWM Climate Community, Wild Maidenhead, Wildlife in Ascot, Green Earth Plan, Maidenhead Great Park, Wild Cookham, Wild Windsor
In December 2020, our Council made an important commitment to cut CO2 emissions by 50% by 2025, both for the council and for the borough. But will these targets now be missed?
Greener, net zero new build construction requires new guidelines. RBWM was to have put this in place in 2021. But this has still not happened.
Meanwhile, other Councils are pushing ahead with low-energy homes. In 2018, Bristol City Council won an RIBA award for transforming a brownfield site with a handsome row of low-energy Passivhaus homes.
RBWM need to put in place a new supplementary planning document (SPD) to incentivise the construction of net zero buildings and to increase renewables generation in new build. This should have been in place in 2021 but still hasn’t been issued. The council’s efforts to reduce energy demand and decarbonise supply in the borough are therefore delayed.
Does this mean that RBWM will now miss it’s target to cut CO2 emissions by 50% by 2025?
And what impact has this had on efforts to reduce energy demand, decarbonise supply, and increase renewables generation in the borough? Can the lost time be made up?
In May we have our next council elections. Would you’d like to ask current councillor’s more about the council’s efforts to improve energy efficiency in the borough? And to hear from different candidates about their plans for the future?
Then join us at the hustings that we are organising in Windsor and Maidenhead in April.
The Windsor hustings will take place at The Old Court on Monday 17th April 2023. Doors to the auditorium will open at 6.30pm (the bar will be open beforehand) and the event will begin promptly at 7.00pm and end at 8.30pm.
The Maidenhead hustings will take place at Furze Platt Senior School on Thursday 20th April 2023. Doors will open at 6.30pm and the event will begin promptly at 7.00pm and end at 8.30pm.
If you’d like to submit a question to ask at either event, please send it in advance by email to either plastic freewindsor@gmail.com or wildmaidenhead@gmail.com. Questions may also be submitted on the night, between 6.30 and 6.50 pm.
