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 Repair café returns to Spencers Wood
The repair café run by a group of volunteers at Spencers Wood Village Hall will return this Sunday (7 August), from 1:30pm to 4:30pm.
This will be their fourth repair café. So far, the volunteers have repaired around 100 old broken household items, including airbeds, bicycles, camping chairs, computer, dehumidifier, shears, soup maker, trousers and more. A considerable amount has also been raised for the village hall.
Books and toys are also welcome as they will run a toy/book exchange on-site. There will be a café for residents to have a drink whille they wait for their repairs.
The repair café will be held every month from now until the end of the year. Find out more on the Spencers Wood Village Hall Community Facebook page.
Eco-friendly holiday ideas
Summer holiday is here. Many of you may set off for a break somewhere in the UK or abroad soon.
The term ‘sustainable travel’ or ‘eco-friendly holiday’ is a buzzword nowadays. Being kind to the environment when you travel doesn’t mean you have to give up the things that you like.
We hope this week’s newsletter can give you some ideas on how to plan an eco-friendly holiday in the UK.
 Eco-friendly accommodation
Eco-friendly accommodation like hotels, B&Bs, lodges can be found across the country. Their owners always put sustainability as a key priority in running their premises.
The National Trust website introduces a host of eco-friendly cottages in the UK, which feature installations like solar panels, air source heat pumps, wood burners and even electric car charging points.
Staying in this kind of eco-conscious accommodation can support National Trust’s work, because the charity uses all money they make on various conservation projects, such as rebuilding coastal paths, preserving historic buildings, and protecting wildlife habitats.
The Visit Britain and Visit England websites also provide recommendations of sustainable spots for holidays. They are not only stunning in their design and architecture, but also excel in helping the environment. Some boast plastic-free rooms and an organic home farm, and some run on ‘green’ electricity with installation of a biomass boiler or are powered through a wind turbine.
These are just some examples of eco-friendly accommodation options available. You can find out more by doing a quick search online.
 Sustainable restaurants
While you work hard to recycle food waste and avoid single-use plastics at home, you can still stick to your principles during your holiday.
Consider visiting one of the sustainable restaurants, cafés, hotels, or pubs listed on the Food Made Good website.
Food Made Good is the largest globally recognised sustainability programme for the hospitality sector. It provides guidelines to food businesses on sourcing ingredients, reducing waste and plastic, improving energy efficiency, and even supporting local community.
 Eco-friendly attractions
The Living Rainforest in Thatcham, Berkshire is not only a place to learn about rainforest. The attraction has put in place a number of sustainable practices to minimise its impact to the environment. These include covering glass roofs with solar cells, replacing oil with woodchip as main source of heating, using recycled materials for pavements and more.
The Eden Project in Cornwall has two vast biomes, one of which is the world’s largest indoor rainforest and home to species from Asia, Africa and South America. The Eden Project is taking on different initiatives to support environmental conservation, such as turning waste into compost and energy, using electric vehicles, and partnering on a ground-breaking geothermal energy project.
Learn more about the eco-friendly attractions in the UK on the Visit England website.
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