 The Sheffield Energy Hub, 30 Cambridge Street
New energy hub open to the public until the end of September
A new information hub will be open to visitors in Sheffield, providing information and support including on things like energy efficiency measures, retrofit grants, renewable technologies, community energy and more. Involving around 20 community and public sector organisations including Sheffield Community Energy, South Yorkshire Climate Alliance and Sheffield City Council, the hub will have experts on hand, with a different theme each day:
Tuesday: Community Energy
Wednesday: Retrofit Grants
Thursday: Energy Efficiency & Heat Pumps
Friday: Retrofit
Saturday: Heat pumps, solar, and battery storage
The hub will also be displaying the brilliant Day One exhibition of climate and environment themed prints by young Sheffield people.
Open Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 30 Cambridge Street, Sheffield S1 4HP.
 Solar panels on Barker's Furniture, Sheffield
More South Yorkshire businesses set for energy efficiency boost thanks to expansion of Low Carbon Project
The Low Carbon Project, managed by Sheffield City Council, has been expanded to continue over 2025 and early 2026. In the first phase, the project supported 223 businesses with £3.2 million in funding. The second phase will run until March 2026 and aims to support a further 144 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Sheffield, Barnsley, Doncaster, and Rotherham.
 Government to provide £20m to support electrification of Sheffield’s buses
The Government’s Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) has announced £20m funding to support the upgrade of buses operating in Sheffield, to reduce harmful pollution in the city. The funding will replace polluting diesel buses with new electric buses, which could be operating on target routes in Sheffield as early as next year.
The new £20m funding from the JAQU will have a huge impact on the support the Council can provide for local bus operators to upgrade their fleet to electric
 Greener Greenhill and NESST improvements (photography credit Fran Halsall, Regather)
Community focus: Regather's work helping communities improve their public spaces
Written by Fran Halsall, Garden Services Manager at Regather
Regather is a Sheffield cooperative with a mission to make food, farming and landscapes more sustainable. We support community groups who want to adopt public spaces to make them work better for nature and more attractive for people. Here we focus on two projects helping grassroots organisations to plan and install new biodiverse planting schemes.
Greener Greenhill are based in Greenhill, S8. In 2024, they successfully bid for funding from Sheffield City Council’s Economic Recovery Fund to improve Greenhill's business and shopping area. Our brief was to both improve the appearance of the area and increase the biodiversity. Our design centred on the roundabout, which now features 75m2 of vibrant wildflower meadow. Turf from the roundabout, removed to create the right planting conditions for the wildflowers, was repurposed to form three mounds on the Community Library's lawn. These were planted with hazel shrubs, a key food source for early-emerging insects, wildflowers and spring bulbs.
To help Greener Greenhill successfully manage this complex project, we liaised with both the city council and Amey, the landscape contractor, to ensure that all aspects of the planting and installation conformed to safety standards. The scheme was installed by Greener Greenhill and volunteers, overseen by Fran Halsall, our Garden Services Manager. Greener Greenhill have taken on the maintenance: mainly weeding and watering, and cutting the meadow annually in early autumn.
The result is an abundance of wildlife-attracting planting, replacing where there was previously nothing but short mown grass. The hazel will increase cover for birds, while the presence of wildflowers has significantly increased the number of insects. Feedback from local people has been really positive. Roundabouts make excellent nature refuges, as they are mostly off-limits to people. Adding trees where possible or meadow-style planting is a swift way of reclaiming public spaces for the benefit of wildlife.
NESST are a community organisation working in S7, whose focus is on improving local spaces for both people and nature. In 2024, NESST were one of 26 groups funded by Kew's Grow Wild programme. This paid for the renovation of a 100m2 street planter on Woodhead Road, Highfield. Our design primarily featured native plants, including species chosen specifically to support moths, whose importance as pollinators is frequently overlooked. With an eye on future urban growing conditions, we also included a number of Mediterranean species known for their drought tolerance. Having a mix of UK plants and others from warmer areas of Europe builds more resilience into planting schemes.
After planning with the city council, NESST and local residents dug out all the dominant 'weeds', which would have outcompeted the new planting. Once cleared, NESST and local residents installed the design. Between them, they have done a fantastic job of staying on top of the watering and weeding throughout this summer and last year. Next year the plants will be well-established and there will be far less maintenance to do.
Local residents are delighted with the results and it is a great model for how other communities, with some expert support, can take direct action to improve their neighbourhood and bring biodiversity back to urban Sheffield.
Opportunities for individuals
Warm Homes Local Grant Now Open - find out if you're eligible today
Sheffield City Council, in partnership with E.ON, is offering the Warm Homes Local Grant (WHLG) to help improve energy efficiency for eligible households. Support is prioritised for low-income residents and those most vulnerable to cold homes.
Residents can apply online or use the webchat, or speak to an adviser at the E.On Advice Centre Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. on 03332024820.
Have you got the BetterPoints app?
BetterPoints is a free app which allows you to turn your steps, cycle rides, bus trips and more, into shopping vouchers or donations to local charities. The BetterPoints Sheffield scheme aims to encourage residents across the city to choose active travel to get around wherever and whenever possible, taking cars off the road in the city, reducing congestion and emissions, while helping to promote a healthier lifestyle.
To join in, download the free BetterPoints app and use it to record journeys made on foot, by bike, in a wheelchair, or by bus, tram or train.
Opportunities for businesses and organisations
SMEs apply now for the support and grants to reduce energy use
Dedicated support and funding for eligible businesses to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.
Through the Low Carbon Project, businesses can:
- receive free energy audits
- receive grants of up to £10,000 for energy improvements
- reduce energy costs
- become more competitive, resilient and productive
- potentially safeguard and create jobs through improved profitability and reinvestment of savings
- become a more environmentally friendly business by reducing carbon emissions.
Green skills courses for people in work
The Sheffield College have increased their range of green skills and sustainability short courses which have been created to offer adults in employment the opportunity to develop their knowledge in sustainable practices and technology.
Courses include a mixture of face to face and online learning, creating flexible qualifications in retrofit, sustainability and renewable technologies with an aim to provide the green skills of the future, supporting learners and employers with the transition to green economies and workforces.
National Lottery Awards for All England – Environment Fund
Funding of between £300 and £20,000 for up to two years available for community-led projects that improve the environment and help people connect with and enjoy nature where they live.
Suitable for: voluntary, statutory or community organisations.
Apply by Wednesday 17th December 2025.
Npower community fund for not for profit organisations
The npower Community Fund has grants of up to £100,000 available for not for profit organisations within 50m radius of their Leeds office, LS15 8ZA, with projects aiming to decarbonise and safeguard our world, support the growth of responsible businesses, promote social innovation or champion local skills or employment.
Free trees for schools and communities
The Woodland Trust are giving away hundreds of thousands of trees to help the UK reach its 2050 carbon net-zero target. Schools, nurseries, universities, outdoor learning centres and other groups such as resident associations, sports clubs, scouts and guides from across the UK are amongst the organisations eligible to apply for up to 420 saplings to improve their local environment. The Woodland Trust are currently taking applications for tree packs to be delivered in November 2025. Applications are expected to close in August 2025 and organisations can apply independently or through the council's Community Forestry Team who can also provide advice on species and support with planting.
Sheffield City Council consultations are published on Have Your Say Sheffield. We advertise relevant city centre and citywide consultations in the newsletter, and encourage you to take a look at the site for local consultations and updates on previous consultations.
Events and summer holiday activities
Summer Holiday Learn to Ride sessions
Our Beginners Learn to Ride sessions are fun, relaxed lessons for children aged 5 upwards wanting to learn how to ride their bike.
Group sizes are small, so everyone gets the maximum benefit from the session.
You can bring along your child's pedal bike (without stabilisers), but helmets, balance bikes and lots of spare bikes will be available for all to use.
Parents can stay at the session, however from past experience, we find that children tend to make much better progress when parents don't stay.
Cost: FREE
Session length: 1 hour
Venue: Sheffield, Forge Valley school, Wood Lane, Sheffield S6 5HG
Dates: Tuesday 5th August, Wednesday 6th August, Tuesday 19th August & Wednesday 20th August
Sessions are currently fully booked, but cancellations may become available, and you can subscribe for news about future sessions
Moth watch!
Meersbrook Park Walled Garden, Monday 18th and Tuesday 19th August
Set up moth traps, and then view, learn about and release the moths.
Wardsend Cemetery Bioblitz
Wednesday 27th August, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Free event for nature enthusiasts and families! ‘Bio’ means ‘life’ and ‘Blitz’ means ‘to do something quickly’. Together they make ‘BioBlitz’, a community race against the clock to discover as many species of plants, animals and fungi as possible within 24 hours!
Volunteer work days and family events with Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust
Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust have bookable volunteer work days (14+, 14-16 year olds to be accompanied by an adult) and bookable family activity sessions throughout the holidays at sites across Sheffield (charges apply).
Holiday activities at Green Estate
Green Estate, based at Manor Fields, have a range of charged for nature and history themed holiday activity sessions for children throughout the holidays.
Day One exhibition at the Sheffield Energy Hub
30 Cambridge Street, S1 4HP, Tuesdays to Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The excellent Day One exhibition continues it's journey around Sheffield, on display at the Sheffield Energy Hub until the end of September
Take part in the Big Butterfly Count
Following the results of the Big Butterfly Count 2024, Butterfly Conservation have declared a butterfly emergency, and we need your help more than ever before. By taking part in Butterfly Conservation's Big Butterfly Count - a UK wide survey, you can help assess the health of our environment simply by counting butterflies.
Jobs and career opportunities
Sheffield City Council opportunities
Current Sheffield City Council vacancies include Senior Transport Planner, Ranger and Green Space Apprentice.
Emerging Film Maker: Good Life Schools
Global Action Plan is looking for an emerging film maker / or team to create a short 2–3-minute documentary and 2 x accompanying teasers, capturing the impact of the Good Life Schools programme in Leicester and Sheffield.
Deadline Monday 4th August
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