Repair Cafe – Open Saturday 14th October

Here again: Maidenhead’s growing and 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 14th October
– Saturday 11th November
– Saturday 9th December

Repair Cafe – Open Saturday 14th October

Here again: Maidenhead’s growing and 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 14th October
– Saturday 11th November
– Saturday 9th December

Recycling: what about things like Pringle packets?

Confronted with seemingly non-recyclable waste? Here’s how ECO Action Hub is helping:: Terracycling provides practical accessible ways to divert hard-to-recycle items from landfills and incinerators.

Hero image of difficult to recycle waste

What is the ECO Action Hub doing to help: Have a look at this short video: here

Come and discover TerraCycling and more at the ECO Action Hub

Imagine a world where even the most obscure and unconventional items can be given a new lease on life through recycling. This vision comes to life at the ECO Action Hub, where we’re dedicated to showcasing innovative solutions like Terracycling. Our hub is a treasure trove of information, resources, and inspiration for individuals seeking to make a positive impact on the environment.

Terracycling, as one of our flagship initiatives, offers a clear path forward. It empowers everyone to take control of their waste, bridging the gap between everyday consumption and responsible disposal. By joining us at the ECO Action Hub, you’ll not only discover the power of Terracycling but also access a wealth of knowledge and support on your journey towards a greener, more sustainable future.

Let’s transform the way we think about waste, one Pringle packet at a time!

Maidenhead’s Repair Café open 9th September!

Open again: Maidenhead’s growing and 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 September
– Saturday 14th October
– Saturday 11th November
– Saturday 9th December

ECO Action Hub Kilo Pre-Loved Clothes Sale 26th August

If you are looking for women’s designer clothes, clothes for your kids, or clothes you can repurpose and recycle -come to the ECO Action Hub on Saturday 26th from 11:00 to 14:00.

We’re running our inaugural kilo clothes sale and we have a LOT of great pre-loved clothing to offer you! It’s been pre-sorted and steam-ironed, and is all hanging up ready waiting for you!

How it works: Come to the Hub and start choosing clothes. Once you’ve picked your goods, queue at our checkout table where we will weigh your items and calculate your price (and any donations!)

The ECO Action Hub is an impressive place to help everyone learn more about climate change, eco action and what they can do – where we host events throughout the year such as Repair Café, Seed Swaps and now a Kilo Sale!

Maidenhead’s Repair Café open 9th September!

Open again: Maidenhead’s growing and 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 September
– Saturday 14th October
– Saturday 11th November
– Saturday 9th December

DraughtBusters – Save Money, Stay Warm!

DraughtBusters can draught-proof your home and save you money. DraughtBusters are a team of experienced volunteers who want to help people with draughty homes. Here is a project update on their progress so far this year …

FEEDBACK FROM OUR CLIENTS: Across RBWM we have done 90 visits in the last 12 months. We have some great positive feedback from our clients!

November to December 2022

  • What a fabulous initiative! Your volunteers were very helpful and informative.
  • Thanks for the visit which went well thanks. They were super nice and helpful.
  • I just wanted to say a HUGE ‘thank you’ to your volunteers for the insulation they added to my home yesterday. I can really notice a difference and they did a superb and professional job. I am most grateful to them, and you for organizing. Thank you again!
  • Thanks great, what a great thing you’re doing!

January to March

  • I wanted to let you know that your volunteers kindly visited today and their suggestions were super helpful. Kindly please let me know how to contribute to say a big thank you for their visit.
  • Thanks so much for your detailed email and for sharing all these very useful links. I want to thank you again for the useful visit. I also made a little thank you donation today. Will definitely look to tell neighbours about your team!
  • Thank you and your team for helping with some draught fittings, they were both very thoughtful. I will add a small donation and spread the word.
  • I am already feeling a big difference after the work you have done in my house. (from someone who is not in good health and does not have central heating.)
  • We were very pleased with the visit, and happy to find out we didn’t have too much to worry about. We will definitely recommend you to our neighbours. Many thanks once again.
  • Just to say once more heartfelt thanks for your advice, most of which I’ve been able to implement. I’ve also been singing your praise to friends and neighbours, so you may well hear from them.

Reading DraughtBusters say

  • We used to say draughtproofing would save £90 to £120 on average per year, five and ten years ago.We now estimate £300 to £400 per year (10% of heating bill) as draughts account for 15% but the other 5% is tough to realise.
  • Our DraughtBusters fix (almost always) all draughts around windows, doors and pipes etc. We also advise how residents can use a small cushion pushed up a chimney to stop those draughts.
  • So, we estimate that we’ve saved each client between £120 and £400 per year in the last 12 months.

The bottom line: In the last 12 months we’ve saved RBWM residents between £10,800 and £36,000. We used grants from RBWM & NHS Frimley to purchase key draughtproofing product so that we could help residents across our key areas – Cookham, Maidenhead and Windsor.

ESTIMATED SAVINGS: The Energy Trust Says

  • “Draught-proofing around windows and doors could save you around £50 a year*. If you have an open chimney, draught-proofing your chimney when you’re not using it could save around £70 a year*.
  • Draught-free homes are comfortable at lower temperatures – so you may be able to turn down your thermostat, saving even more on your energy bills.

* Savings based on a typical gas-fuelled semi-detached property in England, Scotland or Wales. Figures for England, Scotland and Wales are based on fuel prices under the Energy Price Guarantee running from April 2023 to the end of June 2023.”

DraughtBusters can help you: We will fix your draughts and give you advice on how to save money around your home. All free – do not hesitate to get in touch with us, by email rbwmdraughtbusters@gmail.com or phone 07548 594413 and leave a message.

Running Out of Time Relay on 8th July (Saturday)

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!

Screenshot of stages 331 to 334

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.

https://running-out-of-time.com/

What can YOU do to support the runners and the planet?

  • Select one or more of the planet pledges from 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!
Screenshot of pledges 2 and 3 from the Running out of time website

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”!

Photo of Sam and a llama

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.

We’re Hiring: ECO Action Hub Manager!

We opened in April and have had over 500 visitors! We’re getting even more active in the ECO Action Hub and in the local community. Now we’re recruiting a Hub Manager to help expand our mission: ‘to inspire local people to do more to address the Climate and Biodiversity Emergency.’

ECO Action Hub Manager Role and Responsibility
ECO Action Hub Manager

The Hub Manager has a crucial role in this. They will become essential to ensuring the successful establishment and running of this dynamic centre with its very varied activities.

If you are passionate about promoting sustainability and biodiversity, if you have attributes and skills to inspire local people and small businesses to take positive action in the Climate Emergency, we would love to hear from you.

If you are interested please download and have a look at the job description (here) and contact us with your background and relevant information on ecoactionrbwm@gmail.com

We would love to talk to you.

Helping at the ECO Action Hub – It starts with you!

Thinking of volunteering? Coronation messages highlighted the urgent need for us to conserve our Planet. Let’s build on this momentum!

It’s a great time to help support Maidenhead’s Eco Action Hub. Our mission is to inspire everyone to take some additional sustainable steps. Please could you spare some time to volunteer at the Hub – you can make a difference just having conversations with people.

Even if you can only spare a little time, we would love to hear from you and talk over what you’d be able to do to help us promote our sustainability messages at the Hub.

Please contact Sarah on ecoactionrbwm@gmail.com

Come and see us in the hub and discuss how you may help and volunteer
Help at the Hub – it starts with you!