Maidstone Borough Council's Eco Hub was back with a bang this August.
Spanning across two weeks, the hub welcomed residents from across the borough to speak to a variety of stallholders including Maidstone CAN, South East Water and Kent Wildlife Trust, while a host of activities, talks and entertainment were also on offer.
Highlights included The Kent Owl Academy and their fascinating talks, upcycling old jars into candle holders, making bugs out of old toilet rolls, and Mayor of Maidstone, Cllr Brian Clark, announcing our prize winners for 'The Great British Bug Off' Art Competition. The talent on display from all age groups was incredible, and the winners won an Owl Experience at the Kent Owl Academy.
In other news, the Mayor had the pleasure of meeting his furry counterpart - Mayor Bear!
A huge thank you to the stallholders, volunteers and budding artists who took the time to engage with the event, and thanks to our wonderful residents for engaging with the Eco Hub.
Please join us for the AUTUMN ECO HUB!
This will be held on 3 & 4 October 2026 at the Mote Park Education Space (next to the café) 10am-4pm.
Biodiversity-boosting bus shelters set to transform Maidstone
Plans to install new biodiversity boosting bus shelters across Maidstone will take a step forward this month, with installation set begin in the town centre.
The installation of the Landmark II bus shelters form part of the council’s ongoing investment in a greener, more attractive and sustainable borough. They will replace existing town centre bus shelters, providing improved facilities for passengers while delivering a range of environmental benefits. Provided by Bauer Media Outdoor UK, they feature Living Roofs planted to support bees and other pollinators, while also helping to improve air quality, absorb rainwater and reduce surface water runoff.
The shelters will also include low-energy LED lighting to improve visibility and safety for passengers. Sensors ensure lighting is only provided when needed, helping to reduce energy consumption and minimise light pollution.
The council has secured over £19,000 from the Chewing Gum Task Force for a second consecutive year, following evidence that its gum litter reduction campaign achieved an 86% drop in discarded chewing gum in targeted areas.
The funding, administered by environmental charity 'Keep Britain Tidy', will support chewing gum removal and behaviour change campaigns in key public areas across the borough.
Alongside improving the appearance of streets and public spaces, reducing gum litter can help protect the environment by preventing waste from entering the wider ecosystem and reducing potential risks to wildlife.
Last year, Maidstone was one of only two boroughs selected to take part in an independent evaluation of the effectiveness of targeted street cleansing and anti-litter messaging. The study found that gum litter fell by up to 86% after two months, with reductions still evident in the six months following deep cleaning and the installation of specially designed signage which encourages people to bin their gum.
We are looking for five Maidstone residents to take part in a three month food waste trial!
The trail will help understanding of the benefits and barriers of using the food waste collection service. We are intending to test the amount of food waste collected, impacts on home, shopping costs, and waste in black bins.
Starting in October, we are seeking residents who have access to the food waste collection scheme but do not currently use it.
As part of the trial, you will start collecting your food waste and be asked to record a small amount of information throughout the process.
Places are limited and will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
If you're selected to take part, we'll provide everything you need to get started, including food waste caddies and liners. You'll also have a dedicated contact who can answer any questions and provide support.
If you are selected, you will be contatced before the beginning of October.
Have you been to a Repair Café?
Repair Cafés are events in which people bring broken items to be repaired by skilled, talented volunteers. The items being brought to the cafés range from clothes and jewellery to coffee machines and furniture.
There is a thriving Repair Café scene in Maidstone - see the upcoming Repair Cafe's and locations:
The Bearsted Repair Café
Location: Madginford Hall, Egremont Rd, Bearsted, Maidstone ME15 8LH, UK
Time: 1pm to 4pm
Upcoming dates:
26 September 2026
28 November 2026
Tea, coffee and cake will be provided. If you have any questions, or you would like to volunteer, please contact BearstedCAN@gmail.com.
The Maidstone Repair Café is held on the first Saturday of every month.
Refreshments are available and you can find out more about local sustainability initiatives at the Maidstone CAN zone. If you have any questions, or you would like to volunteer please contact MaidstoneCAN@gmail.com.
As periods of extreme heat become more frequent, the importance of cool areas are vital in providing relief from oppressive and in some cases dangerous heat.
The council has launched 'Cool Zones' as part of the 'Climate Resilience' framework, which are a network of welcoming community spaces where residents can take a break from the heat and stay safe during periods of hot weather. They can be found in various places in the town centre.
See the various cool zones below!
Maidstone Museum - Library Room
St Faith's Street, Maidstone, ME14 1LH
Fusion Healthy Living Centre
2 & 3 Cobb Way, Park Wood, Maidstone, ME15 9XF
St Luke's Church
Foley Street, Maidstone, ME14 5AR
Holy Cross Bearsted
Church Lane, Bearsted, ME14 4EE
The Maidstone Mall
The Mall Maidstone, Pads Hill, ME15 6AT
Creative Maidstone (The Arts Hub)
Granada House, Gabriel's Hill, Maidstone, ME15 6JR
Kent County Council launches WeRoam App
Kent County Council have launched an app that rewards you for walking, wheeling and cycling.
WeRoam is a free active travel app developed by Active AI Ltd in partnership with Kent County Council (KCC) and funded by the UK Government.
Available now on iOS and Android, the app is designed to make walking, wheeling and cycling more fun, more social and more rewarding for everyone, regardless of age, ability or fitness level.
WeRoam connects to your smartwatch or fitness tracker to automatically log walks, cycles and wheelchair journeys, or you can record activity manually using the built-in ‘Record’ button.
Every journey logged earns points which unlock new levels. As well as this, hidden across Kent's towns, countryside and coastline, a network of Roam Markers are waiting to be found!
Phone contract coming to an end? Eco Talk is providing eco-friendly phone contracts!
'Eco Talk' is a UK-based sim-only mobile network, and is the world's first green mobile network where all profits go towards rewilding. Chris Packham has recently joined the company as Chief Ecologist.
Eco Talk put 100% of profits back into UK ecosystems instead of paying shareholders, and advertise that consumers will not experience a lapse in service - in fact, they claim to be under the UK's best network coverage!
Discover a new seasonal recipe each month designed to reduce waste and make the most of seasonal ingredients!
One of the best and easiest things we can do for the environment is to eat less meat and eat seasonal fruit and vegetables. Every month, this newsletter will now share a sustainable recipe, and a list of the fruits and veg that are in season this month.
Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither are habits. These recipes will therefore be easy, nutritious and inexpensive, so they can be eased into your everyday routine.
Easy Roasted Vegetable Pasta
Ingredients
1 courgette, chopped
1 pepper, chopped
1 red onion, sliced
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp oregano or thyme
Handful of kale or rocket
Pasta for 4 people
Method
Heat the oven to 200°C.
Put the courgette, pepper, onion, tomatoes and garlic in a roasting tin.
Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with oregano or thyme.
Roast for 25 minutes until soft and slightly browned.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta.
Stir the roasted vegetables through the drained pasta.
Add the kale or rocket and mix until just wilted.
Season with salt and pepper and serve.
Optional extras
Add lentils or chickpeas for some plant-based protein
Through Switch Together Maidstone (previously Solar Together), residents, businesses and community buildings can access competitive group-buying discounts on:
- Solar panels
- Battery storage
- EV chargepoints
- Green tariff switching
- Heat pumps (coming soon)
Get a free personalised cost estimate and find out what could work for your property.
Expect professional installers and average savings of around 20% on standard rates!
The fund provides grants of up to £5,000 to support community-led projects to deliver new or expanded, innovative waste prevention and reuse initiatives resulting in a prevention or reduction of household waste.
Get a funded heat pump - and the support to install it in your own home!
Start at Home is a scheme run by NESTA that helps heating engineers install a heat pump in their own property, with up to £7,500 of kit covered by the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) grant. Getting the experience provides you with the confidence to promote to your customers.
Here's how it works:
Sign up with a scheme provider
Get your heat pump kit, funded by a government grant (up to £7,500)
Get support with design and installation
Walk away with the skills and credibility to offer heat pumps to your customers
Local Water Environment Grant (LWEG) enables the Environment Agency to provide capital and revenue grants to local authorities and third sector organisations. It is not a funding programme in itself, but a payment mechanism for partnership projects within the Environment Agency.
LWEG is funded through the Water Environment Improvement Fund (WEIF). The WEIF is an annually funded programme. The Environment Agency plan and secures longer term funding for WEIF through the Medium Term Plan (MTP). The MTP is an important document. It provides a 6-year rolling list of proposed projects and investment needs, with their costs and outcomes, to deliver the catchment priorities and ambitions. It provides both a ready list of projects, for the year ahead and a source of information to bid for more funding (via a Spending Review bid) by showcasing our shared ambition for the environment.
Veolia Environment Trust have a variety of different funding opportunities available, including:
Community Grants Scheme - available to constituted not-for-profit organisations, local authorities, and Environmental Bodies (EBs). Grants of between £10,000 and £75,000 are available to create or improve buildings or outside spaces for the benefit of the community.
Habitat and Biodiversity Grants Scheme - Funding for improvements to or the creation of natural habitats and our vision is for a healthy environment where native species can thrive. This scheme is available to constituted not-for-profit organisations, local authorities and Environmental Bodies (EBs). The minimum grant request starts at £10,000.
Instead of purchasing something new, why not shop locally on low-cost or free item exchange sites? You can save items from landfill while saving money!
Freegle is a UK-based online charity network where people give away unwanted items or ask for things they need for free. Its main goal is to promote reuse and keep usable items out of landfills.
Help protect the River Medway by becoming a River Guardian
Do you want to make a difference for your local river? The South East Rivers Trust is encouraging residents to become River Guardians for the Medway, helping to tackle plastic pollution and protect wildlife.
Volunteers are supported with free equipment and can adopt a stretch of river, carrying out simple actions like litter picking and reporting issues.
The River Medway is a vital part of Maidstone’s natural environment, supporting a wide range of wildlife and providing an important blue corridor through the borough.
From kingfishers and fish to riverside habitats, it plays a key role in local biodiversity and is increasingly under pressure from pollution, particularly plastics.
By getting involved, you can help protect this much-loved river, improve habitats and keep it healthy for future generations.
Taking part is also a great way to get outdoors, connect with nature and be part of a growing community taking practical action for the environment. And it's all happening right on our doorstep!
We still have a number of bright and colourful anti-idling banners to offer to schools and other areas, where children and other vulnerable groups gather, or places where drivers frequently idle, adding to air pollution and wasting fuel.
These banners were designed by children in Kent as part of a campaign, and their messages help remind drivers to switch off their engines for the benefit of people and planet.
Permission from the landowner will be needed where the banner is affixed
Join us in Mote Park where we will have activities, speakers and stallholders to answer all your sustainability questions, whilst enjoying various crafts and learning opportunities.
Join us for a host of great speakers and some great freebies!
The Maidstone Repair Café takes place in the Market Hall on the first Saturday of the month, where you can bring along broken items and get help from skilled volunteers to fix them, saving waste while learning something new.
November's theme is 'Sustainable Christmas'. The Café is free to attend and open to all, it’s a great opportunity to connect, share skills, and be part of a more sustainable community.
Thanks for reading our Climate Change and Biodiversity update. Why not sign up to our other newsletters to find out what’s happening across Maidstone Borough.
Environmental Services –parks, open spaces and waste services
What’s On in Maidstone – for all events
News – to keep up to date
Consultations – share your views
Visit Maidstone – the best places to visit and stay
Business in Maidstone – workshops, events and business support
Planning - see the latest planning applications in Maidstone
Museum - the lastest news and events from Maidstone Museum
We want to improve our communication and engagement with you around climate change & biodiversity in Maidstone. If you want to contact us please email climateandbiodiversity@maidstone.gov.uk
If you have enjoyed reading our Climate Change & Biodiversity update, why not forward this email onto your friends and family so they can 'Stay Connected' to news from Maidstone Borough Council.
