Have you visited The Green House, St Albans’ new eco hub, yet? If not, then read on. Our Planet Our Future’s latest event invited two of the hub’s team members to share how it can help you lead a happier, healthier and more sustainable life – and reveal some exciting plans.
Transitioning towards a more resilient future
Before we met The Green House team, we welcomed the Transition Network’s Rakesh ‘Rootman Rak’, who came to tell us about his organisation’s plans for the future. The Transition Network (which Sustainable St Albans is part of) is a movement of communities reimagining and rebuilding the world as we transition away from fossil fuels.
The movement began in 2005 in Totnes, Devon and has now become a global movement that has spread to over 48 countries. In fact, Sustainable St Albans itself began life as Transition St Albans.
As a permaculture teacher, Rakesh was perfectly positioned to outline why we need to end our reliance on fossil fuels and move to a more resilient future. Although many associate permaculture with growing food, its scope is wider than apples and potatoes. Permaculture is a land management approach that can be applied to buildings, transport, communities and all aspects of modern life that have become reliant on fossil fuels.
The Transition Network is now at an important point in its journey. To ensure long-term sustainability and continued growth, the movement needs to attract a more diverse, younger audience. As Rakesh pointed out, the term ‘transition’ can carry many meanings to different people, and the word ‘sustainability’ itself doesn’t necessarily imply improvement. This may lead to the network evolving its language to appeal to different sectors of society. If you have any suggestions, you can contact the network via its helpdesk.
Introducing The Green House
Tricia Gibbons from The Green House then took to the floor to tell attendees all about St Albans’ new eco hub. The project to create the hub launched in November 2022 and opened its physical doors in spring 2024 on the premises above Jefferson Eco CIC at 46, London Road, St Albans. The hub aims to help local people lead happier, healthier and greener lives through workshops, information, signposting and more.
The eco hub is our local version of a movement that has spread across the country in recent years, and the UK is now home to between 30 and 40 such hubs. There’s no hard and fast definition of a hub, and they can take many forms. Zero Carbon Guildford has partnered with the University of Surrey to run ZERO, which features a café, community fridge, recycling, workshops, preloved baby clothes and a small cinema. On a smaller scale, One Planet Abingdon serves as an information hub and signposts people to further opportunities for engagement.
Tricia talks more about the hub in the video below:
The eco hub model is driven by a desire to bring the local community in all parts of the district together to access resources, share knowledge and create change. As we wait for governments and big businesses to act, many of us feel we need to take a bottom-up approach. The Green House partners with the many local sustainability groups already doing great work in the district and brings them all together, including Wilderhood Watch*, Friends of the Earth and Sustainable St Albans.
It also works with St Albans District Council, the University of Hertfordshire, local schools, the Liberal Democrats, the Green Party, wildlife trusts and local eco businesses such as tommy & lottie and Jefferson Eco CIC.
How can the Green House help you?
Martin Malcolm-Brown, who has volunteered for Sustainable St Albans and The Green House for many years, introduced us to the hub’s huge variety of events, workshops and classes, many of which are free to attend.
Events include:
- One-to-one sessions with eco experts to discuss green your home ideas e.g. heat pumps and insulation
- Group workshops e.g. using leftover food up and fermentation with the Cobbled Kitchen
- A sustainability book club on the first Monday of the month (bimonthly)
- A climate club for children between 7 and 12 years old
- Repair fairs for electronics, garments and items such as bikes
- A sewing repair café every second Sunday of the month
- A 18-30s bird watching group
- One-off events including speaker events and a very successful climate fresk event
The Green House also accepts harder-to-recycle items for collection, including pill blister packs, manual or electric toothbrushes, printer ink cartridges, pringles tubes and spectacles. New items are often added, so make sure you keep an eye on the website.
The Green House regularly works with primary schools and can accommodate small groups in its workshop space. The team would like to work with secondary schools, which, due to the size of groups, would generally require hosting an event on the school campus. If you have a contact at a local secondary school, the team would love to hear from you via the contact form.
Since protecting local wildlife begins with understanding and appreciation, you’ll find a wealth of information at The Green House about local nature, including occasional events, citizen science species surveys and how to get involved hands-on with the local river conservation groups, Ver Valley Society and Batford Spring Volunteers. And you can deepen your knowledge of sustainability and related topics by borrowing books or copies of Ethical Consumer magazine from the eco library. All you need to do is sign up for a free account.
Finally, you can hire the welcoming space at The Green House by the hour for an event or meeting complete with tea/ coffee making facilities, power and WiFi.
What’s next for The Green House?
Exciting times are ahead for The Green House as it moves into its next phase of funding. This will allow the team to focus its attention on new and upcoming initiatives, including the soon-to-launch Library of Things, which will complement nicely with the partyware borrowing service already available.
When was the last time you needed a garden shredder? Or a baking tin for a special number-shaped birthday cake? Soon you’ll be able to borrow these and other items that you only need once in a blue moon for a small fee, meaning less clutter for you and more money in your pocket.
The project will initially run as a nine-month pilot with limited stock. If successful then it’ll move to larger premises. The ultimate goal is to have a branch in Harpenden and the surrounding villages.
The evening ended with attendees and speakers coming together to suggest items they’d like to borrow. Ideas included a soldering iron, a jumper bobble remover, a laser level, blow-up beds and tents. And if you’re curious about local wildlife? Keep your eye out for binoculars and bat detectors, which could soon be coming to your brand-new Library of Things.
Our next event
Love travel but feeling increasingly uncomfortable with the high carbon footprint of flying? Come and find out how you can satisfy your travel bug flight-free with our travel event.
Speakers Anna Hughes of Flight Free UK and James Blake of YHA Hostels Association will explain why we should fly less and share their flight free travel tips as well as the joy of fulfilling adventures closer to home. Book your free spot here.
About Our Planet Our Future
Our Planet Our Future is Sustainable St Alban’s landmark series of talks and events to help you live a more sustainable life.