 All in one place with new Climate Emergency Hub
We have some exciting news to share: Our new Climate Emergency Hub is now live on our website!
The hub brings together information and practical guidance to act as a central point for everyone in the borough to find out more about how to reduce their carbon footprint.
There is information and advice on how you can positively contribute to our efforts to tackle the climate emergency, as we do as much as possible to become carbon neutral by 2030.
The hub features information on local initiatives, with separate sections for residents, businesses and schools for more targeted information.
You can also read our climate emergency action plan, our collective plan as a borough which outlines a collection of measures and policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and actively address climate challenges.
 How you can get involved in Great Big Green Week
Our June newsletter will have lots more information about The Great Big Green Week (8 to 16 June), with lots of activities and events happening around the borough that you can get involved in. Make sure to look out for it for a full list of the events happening locally.
Losing Eden: Why Our Minds Need the Wild
As part of The Great Big Green Week, award-winning author and journalist Lucy Jones is coming to Wokingham Library to talk about the relationship between the human psyche and the more-than-human world. This event is being held on Tuesday 11 June from 10.30am to 11.30am and is free to attend, but places must be booked via our library events website.
 Electric Cargo bike trials available to businesses
Did you know that the My Journey team have two Urban Arrow electric cargo bikes available for businesses within the borough to trial to see how an e-cargo bike could benefit them.
Capable of carrying loads of between 300 and 630 litres, the cargo bikes can replace cars or vans for most local journeys and are perfect for first and last mile deliveries.
If your business is making deliveries in the borough, could you play your part in reducing transport emissions and making Wokingham Borough a greener place to live and work?
Benefits of e-cargo bikes
- Save money on fuel and vehicle costs
- No more parking charges
- Reduce transport emissions
- No sitting in traffic jams
To discuss borrowing a cargo bike, please email the My Journey team.
 Earn rewards for taking part in Bike Month Challenge
The Bike Month Challenge (1 to 31 May) is all about making every ride count! And how do we make every ride count? By logging them all with the Love to Ride app.
Download the app, track your rides and biking accomplishments, and provide feedback on your bike trips using the simple and fun Rate My Routes feature (coming very soon).
There are amazing prizes to be won and everyone is invited to take part - from regular riders, to people who haven’t been on a bike in years (or ever).
You could be a winner before the Bike Month Challenge even begins! Download the Love to Ride app and follow the prompt to register for the challenge.
 Government grant powers our electric vehicle dreams
We have been awarded £264,000 by the Government to install more electric vehicle chargepoints in Wokingham Borough.
This comes from a Department for Transport (DfT) fund set up to help councils improve provision in areas that don’t have off-street parking.
We’re preparing an initial list of locations before going out to tender for a supplier, which we hope to appoint later this year.
The DfT has already given us £282,000 to plan the roll out of new chargepoints. This latest grant will fund installation work, with match funding from the supplier.
It’ll help us work towards our climate emergency goals without impacting our own finances, and we can’t spend the money on anything else.
We recently installed chargepoints at 18 locations in the borough, thanks to £173,500 from the DfT and contributions from supplier Flowbird.
If your area doesn’t have much off-street parking, and you’d like a charger nearby, please email us to be considered.
 WATCH MORE: Click the image above for a virtual tour of the planned facility
Green light for museum's high-tech research hub
We have given planning permission for the Natural History Museum to build a new research centre and access road at Thames Valley Science Park, off Cutbush Lane East in Shinfield.
This multi-million pound scheme, developed in partnership with the University of Reading, will allow some 28 million specimens from the museum's collection to be stored safely to benefit future generations.
Following our decision, building work will start early next year and should finish in 2027, with everything fully up and running by 2031.
The transfer of the specimens, accounting for one-third of the museum's collection and spanning more than four billion years, will be the largest ever move of natural historical specimens in the world.
The centre will support research into climate change, which we strongly support as we've declared a climate emergency and produced an action plan that aims to support the borough in becoming carbon neutral by 2030.
The project will be funded by the Government and was agreed following a series of public events and consultations, including our statutory consultation as part of the museum's planning application.
 Tree-mendous achievement primary schoolchildren
Shinfield St Mary's Primary School has just finished planting 1,200 trees in collaboration with The Tree Council and with support from the Woodland Trust Emergency Tree fund.
Incredibly, the school has now planted more than 5,000 trees on site since 2021.
We have been supporting the planting by providing saplings, mulch, guards, weed mats and stakes through our grant from the Woodland Trust Emergency Tree Fund.
It has been a collaborative effort, with the whole school involved in the planting, as well as working with community groups and organisations.
Recent planting has taken place elsewhere in the borough too.
At Bohunt School in Arborfield, students joined in with planting 200 trees on the school site just before the Easter holidays.
A group of volunteers at Hatch Farm planted 940 trees while in Swallowfield, 770 trees have been planted at Van Demans in partnership with the parish council.
 Handy recycling tips from our engagement team
Some friendly new faces are hitting the streets of Wokingham Borough to help you and your neighbours recycle more of your waste.
Our Recycling Engagement Team are now knocking on doors for a chat and giving out helpful tips in the run-up to the waste collection changes that are coming in mid-August.
These changes can make essential savings and reduce our environmental impact – but we need you to help us by recycling all you can.
Our team, including newcomers Bethan and Charlotte, are giving out useful leaflets and explaining how to use your green bags and food waste bin to their fullest.
We know change can be hard, but they’re here to show how easy it is to make a few simple changes to your daily routine.
At the moment, we recycle 57 per cent of all the borough’s waste – which is fantastic, but it would be 70 per cent if everyone recycled everything they could.
 And finally... Congratulations to Maya's Refillables
A big well done to Maya’s Refillables for scooping a Twyford Together Community Award recently.
The zero waste shop in Wokingham won the Go Green Together award. This is awarded to an individual or initiative dedicated to improving the local environment, whether through protecting the natural world, enhancing public spaces or educating others.
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