What a wonderful ‘Local to Global’ weekend we had in May! The events were fun and entertaining, but also inspired us to think about how our actions here in St Albans affect wider environmental outcomes.
Amongst our most successful SustFest events were the Clothes Swap, Growing Asian Plants, the Earthworks Open Day and the Local Trees & Woodlands talk at the Green House St Albans.
The Clothes Swap held at the Pavilion was, without a doubt, a runaway success! A collaboration between SustFest, Greenpeace and Sustainable X, it had 110 sign-ups on EventBrite, and 360 items were taken away to be worn another day. Rails, hangers and mannequins were kindly provided by Watford Waste Aware, The Library of Things at the Green House St Albans, and TK Maxx. Items not swapped were donated to Rennie Grove Hospice, so nothing was wasted.
It was a great event that highlights how we can keep clothes in circulation for longer, and therefore reduce carbon emissions and landfill both in the UK and the Global South.
The next Clothes Swap will take place in September, so watch this space!
The Habibah Community Garden at Hixberry Lane had 40 ladies attend their HAWA Open Garden and Growing Asian Plants event. On the day, they sold and planted plants grown from seeds and made delicious Asian Achar (pickle). It was a fantastic day enjoyed by everyone involved, and the proceeds from the plant sales will be donated towards the Akifa Foundation Water Well Project.
Earthworks’ Open Garden turned out to be one of their best ever attended events, and they raised a record amount of money. Former Mayor and Mayoress of St Albans, Jamie and Liz Day, visited and met the people involved in this brilliant local group.
As we well know, growing your own food and flowers is one of the most rewarding and sustainable things you can do, and the Habiba Community Garden and Earthworks are wonderful examples of this.
At the Green House St Albans, local nature authors and long-time volunteers at Heartwood Forest, Dr. Brian Legg and Chloé Valerie Harmsworth, led an engaging, fun and educational talk about local trees and woodlands, including why they are so vital for our environment and wildlife.
Brian told the story of how Heartwood’s Arboretum was set up, and also tested the audience’s tree identifying skills! Chloé revealed how volunteering at Heartwood Forest in Sandridge and walking around local woodlands inspired her to write her book, ‘The Secret Life of a Woodland Habitat’, before explaining the importance of woodland conservation.
Both writers sold and signed their books at the end of the session, including their co-written, ‘Heartwood Wildflowers’, which helps readers to identify and learn about flowers in the local area.
We also had two litterpicks in Batchwood and New Greens, a Batchwood Bike Bus, a nature writing workshop at the Green House, the Herts Natural History Society talk at St Albans Museum + Gallery, a Friends of the Earth photoshoot, a Repair Fair and Seed Swap, the Sopwell Open Garden and a dystopian play, ‘An Enemy of the People’, which raised money for the Ver Valley Society.
Our Sustainable Market in Harpenden was held on Sunday 18th, and we took part in the St Albans Spring Festival on the same day too! Over 100 people visited the stall, which included information about the Akifa Foundation, whose work lifts communities by supporting sustainable development, and enhances the quality of life for the most vulnerable people in Baffa, Pakistan. The way in which residents of St Albans have supported the Foundation’s work is a true example of Local to Global in action!
The next SustFest weekend to look forward to is on 19th to 22nd September, the theme of which is ‘Travel & Transport’! Already we have a Batchwood Bike Bus and Bokashi Composting workshop booked in. Jill Watson, Trustee and Chair of Sustainable St Albans, says ‘We were thrilled by how well our May weekend went, and we have learned a lot from it. We are now looking forward to our September weekend, and seeing what the community comes up with, and what new groups may get involved.’
We’d love you to join in too. You could be part of a walking, running or cycling group; a business that sources its products locally or sustainably; a seller or repairer of e-cars or bikes; or have a connection with the railways or buses. You might be an expert on low-carbon travel, a travel writer, or own a staycation company. Whatever you do, we’d love to hear from you!
Email sustfest@sustainablestalbans.org for a chat, or if you’re ready to submit your event already, you can do so here: https://sustainablestalbans.org/submit-a-sustfest-event/
