Get involved with a coffee morning and short talks from Helen Squires, grants manager from CWMET (Cumbria Waste Management Environment Trust) and Rich Waller from PACT (Penrith Action for Community Transition).

Helen will cover waste management, plus grants available from CWMET.

Rich will cover home energy systems such as solar and battery storage.

There will also be an exhibition stand from Master Composters, who will be happy to talk to those interested in learning more about composting.

For more information, please visit the Zero Carbon Cumbria website.

Puzzled over the Climate Crisis?

Come along to one of Penrith Library's sessions to find out more about Climate Change Reading Groups.

Dates & Times:

• Monday June 10th - 7pm
• Thursday June 13th- 2pm

Venue: Penrith Library, St Andrews Centre, Churchyard, Penrith CA11 7YA

Date & Time: Monday 1 July, 19:00 – 21:00

Venue: Evergreen Centre

The team at Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS) are on a mission to help unravel the world of electric vehicles and charge points for householders and small businesses in Cumbria. They can help you decide whether an electric vehicle is right for you – either now or in the future.

Their free event in Penrith, held in partnership with sustainability group Penrith Action for Community Transition (PACT), will hear from local EV experts and drivers and Charge My Street. It will explore the benefits, costs, options and myths surrounding EV technology, batteries, charging, and via the expert panel Q&A session you can get answers to questions that are baffling or concerning you.

They are keen to hear about any experience you may have of EVs, any challenges you perceive around switching to electric and what support you would value at a local level that could help you move forward confidently.

Wherever you are on your journey towards a greener, more sustainable way of driving – this event is for you. You might be considering your first step towards an EV, or you may already have an EV and want to share your experience with others and ask for specific advice.

Refreshments (tea, coffee, and biscuits) will be provided as well as plenty of opportunity to meet and share experiences with other residents and businesses in the area, as well as access to advice from the experts.

For more information, and to register your place, please visit the CAFS website.

Penrith Repair Cafe aims to fix your broken items and save them from landfill. At the same time, you'll learn new skills from the brilliant volunteer repairers who can fix electricals, garden tools, ornaments and also tackle clothing and textile repairs! This is all carried out free of charge, but donations are appreciated.

There is also a cafe with delicious home made cake and drinks, which is also free!

The Repair Cafe runs on the second Saturday of each month - so 8 June - from 10am - 1pm at the Old Fire Station on Bridge Lane.

For more information, visit the Penrith Repair Cafe website and follow them on their Facebook page.

Join us to sing and garden together - swapping songs and plants to celebrate nature and community.

Date & time: Sunday 16th June (1- 3pm)

Arrive anytime from 1pm to enjoy a picnic in our garden area - we challenge you to try to make it plastic-free! - and to do some gardening together in our hidden outdoor space.

At 2pm, Sara Barnard will lead a relaxed and friendly singing session where you can learn easy rounds and songs about nature and the environment. Suitable for all levels of experience - from beginners to experts!

There'll be a plant and book swap table so please bring something to swap if you can.

The Roots and Rounds event has been designed for adults but it is suitable for children over 8. Any children must be accompanied by an adult. Younger children also welcome if you need to come as a family.

FREE but booking recommended!

To book your place and for more information, please email sarabarnard@bluejamarts.org

For more information, please visit the Zero Carbon Cumbria website.

Get involved with the Eden River Trust's Community Tree Nursery project!

There are regular sessions at the tree nursery – usually Tuesday afternoons and Friday mornings – for growing native trees from seed or cuttings and looking after all the plants.

The Eden River Trust are still developing the site itself so there is always a bit of digging or building for anyone who likes to flex their muscles and there are also special features to set up to enhance sustainability and support wildlife and community use at the plot.

We’ve worked hard to make the site as accessible as possible and you don’t need any experience or special skills to join in – just come and say hello when we’re there or get in touch with Jenni Payne at volunteers@edenrt.org or call 01768 866788 for more information.

Why not come along for the ride? Perhaps you’ll discover a skill or passion you never knew you had!

The team at Another Way are inviting schools to James Rebanks’ farm for a tree health and biodiversity survey, and to learn more about the skills needed to be an ecologist, as well as nature friendly farming in Cumbria.

The day is taking place on the 14th June as part of Big Green Week, supported by CAfS, the Tree Council and CDEC. They have small pots of money available to cover transport costs if needed.

They will be doing some fun nature activities, learning how to record good data which will be contributing to a national research study on tree survival, learning about green careers and how nature friendly farming can support biodiversity. There will also be the chance to do some species identification, using a recording software to contribute to Cumbria’s citizen science database with Cumbria Biodiversity Data Centre.

We have places for around 20 students per school, and this could be for any 3 hour period during the day.

For more information, please visit the Zero Carbon Cumbria website.

Join us at Dalemain’s Historic Gardens for our informative and fun gardening days, giving you the unique opportunity to follow a garden through the seasons at close hand, whilst working alongside a small group of people.

Whether you are green-fingered or just looking to
develop your skills, the course will include a day packed full of lectures, practical demonstrations, seasonal tips (propagation, pruning and more), whilst also giving you the opportunity to work in the Gardens on the day.

You will gain first hand gardening experience from Jane Hasell-McCosh (owner of Dalemain), Shelagh Todd (Horticultural Lecturer and Plants Woman) and Jo Lees (Head Gardener of Dalemain).

Included alongside a wealth of knowledge is a delicious homemade lunch in the Mediaeval Hall, a behind the scenes tour of the gardens, and a take home plant from our very own Gardens.

Dates and times:

• Monday 1st July, 9.30am - 4pm
• Monday 5th August, 9.30am - 4pm
• Monday 2nd September, 9.30am - 4pm
• Monday 7th October, 9.30am - 4pm
• Monday 4th November, 9.30am - 4pm

Location: Dalemain Mansion, Dalemain, Penrith, CA11 0HB

Learn about all things foraging with Wild Food UK.

The foraging course begins with a short introduction on foraging, a talk about Wild Food UK’s Foraging Code with a brief summary of the Countryside Act.

Then take a slow walk around Acorn Bank’s estate, learning to identify the different plants, flowers, fruits and mushrooms you might find.

Along the way, there will be the chance to stop for seasonal homemade refreshments such as Wild Food UK’s wild sorrel soup, elderflower champagne or fruit leathers. End the day with a tasty wild food lunch based on what’s been found throughout the day. Wild Food UK's homemade food is seasonal, so for these courses the meal will be built around what's growing on the estate.

For more information, please visit the Visit Eden website.

Do you want to get your facts straight about the latest climate science? Develop an understanding of carbon footprints and build your knowledge of what we can all do, at home, in our communities and at work, to help restore the balance?

CAFS's interactive Climate and Carbon Literacy training course provides a clear understanding of climate science, an awareness of carbon costs and the impacts of everyday activities.

Location: Via Zoom

Dates & Times:

• Part 1: July 3rd, 2024 9:15 AM   to   1:15 PM
• Part 2: July 10th, 2024 9:15 AM   to   1:15 PM

For more information, and to book your place, please visit the CAFS website.

Climate Fresk is CAFS's brand new, half day training offering to complement the full day Climate and Carbon Literacy related courses they already deliver.

Climate Fresk is an extremely interactive group activity where a facilitator uses a pack of cards to support a group of people to map the causes and effects of the climate crisis, and together, through discussion, unpick the complexities, interrelated issues and feedback loops involved. It is a really engaging, collaborative method for understanding the fundamentals of climate science. It uses 42 ‘cards’ drawn directly from the latest IPCC reports and gives a deep dive into the whole climate system. The visual and interactive nature stimulates discussion, debate and group problem-solving. And it is really good fun! You will join a rapidly growing movement of 1.6 million participants worldwide.

CAFS are offering this workshop to local sustainability groups for FREE - be the first to try it! 

Location: Rheged Centre, Redhills, Penrith, CA11 0DQ

Date & Time:

• July 9th, 2024 9:45 AM to 1:00 PM

For more information, and to book your place, please visit the CAFS website.