 Last chance to sign up for Solar Together scheme
There is still time to sign up for our Solar Together initiative as, following feedback, the registration deadline has been extended until Friday 13 September.
Solar Together provides homeowners and small-medium business owners the chance to install solar panels and battery storage through a group-buying scheme to secure competitive prices. It is the only group buying scheme operating locally.
It only takes five minutes to register your interest and receive a no-commitment offer through the scheme.
Choosing an installer can be quite daunting, but Solar Together uses trusted and vetted installers, which ensures consumer protection and competitive pricing. After you have registered, you will receive an email confirmation and then a detailed personalised offer from a vetted installer.
 Case study: 'How I got my electricity bill down to zero'
A local resident is sharing his top tips to help others make savings on their electricity bills, as well as playing a part in helping to address the climate emergency.
Peter Lord, a retired software engineer, focuses on using more off-peak electricity to help save money and use less carbon.
As well as driving an electric car, Mr Lord has solar panels on his house and battery storage. He invested £12,000 in the panels, but says these will be cost neutral after eight years due to the money he makes from selling excess energy to the main grid.
He also uses an immersion heater for his hot water, along with automation devices to control the amount of energy consumed. Through all of this, he has managed to reduce his electricity bill to zero in the course of 12 months.
He said: “I think the key is the ability to store energy and use a smart electricity tariff. Then, you can store energy when it is cheaper and use the store when it is more expensive. Using cheap electricity for hot water also removes the need for gas in the summer months.
“The effect on the bills is immediate. I choose to pay per month on actual usage, rather than having an estimated bill. It is still ongoing, but in the summer I am making a little money. This includes house electricity, my electric car and hot water. In the winter – with less solar generated – I need to pay a little for electricity consumption, but the gain in the summer should cancel out the loss in winter.”
His top three tips are:
- Research available tariff plans that suit your house
- Make use of off-peak electricity and store energy
- Measure and monitor
You can read more about Peter's case study by visiting his website.
 Help families in need by donating old school uniform
If you have any unneeded or outgrown school uniforms, donate them to First Days Children's Charity.
This local charity accepts summer and winter uniforms, as well as school items like lunchboxes, rucksacks, football boots and water bottles. Please make sure they are clean and in good quality.
To drop off your donated items, make an appointment online before heading to First Days’ headquarters at Molly Millars Lane, Wokingham (RG41 2QZ). Alternatively, put them in one of their orange or pink donation bins.
First Days has a Uniform Shop just over the road from The Elevate Centre at 3 Denmark Court (RG40 2AZ). It is open every Thursday from 3pm to 6pm for families in need to get low-cost uniforms.
 Take a test drive and start your electric vehicle journey
Get ready to immerse yourself in the world of electric vehicles (EVs), e-bikes and e-cargo bikes with hands-on test drives and the opportunity to meet local providers to support your electric journey.
Come along to our free event on Saturday 21 September, which takes place between 9am and 1pm at Elms Field in Wokingham town centre.
At this event, you will have the chance to:
- Test Drive: Experience driving a variety of EVs, e-bikes and e-cargo bikes first-hand from local dealerships
- Network: Connect with suppliers and installers specialising in EVs and associated charging infrastructure. Whether you are interested in installing home chargers or electrifying your business fleet, they can help you navigate the electric world, along with myth busting EV concerns
To participate in the EV test drives, you must carry a valid driver's license for a minimum of two years and be over 21 years of age. Your licence will be required on the day, plus your national insurance number for checking.
 Prizes to be won for pedal power this September
It is quick, free and easy to sign up for Love to Ride's annual Cycle September challenge, which we are supporting to help people travel more sustainably.
All you have to do is register and start logging your trips, which you can do all year round as part of the Love to Ride campaign, but there are lots of extra rewards for doing it in September.
There is a £1,000 cash prize for early birds who register before Saturday 31 August, a grand cash prize of £2,000 and a prize draw for those who encourage others to sign up.
There are also workplace prizes, as well as goodies such as sweaters, T-shirts and more.
You can log journeys and win points with the Love to Ride app (available for Apple or Android devices) or by syncing it to Strava or MapMyRide, and there are points for getting your friends and family on board!
 Fairtrade Fortnight highlights how you can help
Did you know it has been 30 years since Fairtrade products first hit the supermarket shelves?
This year's Fairtrade Fortnight campaign (9 to 22 September) aims to highlight the difference individuals can make by purchasing Fairtrade items.
The movement aims to help farmers and producers in less economically developed countries and means they will receive a fair price for the goods they produce.
Fairtrade sets social, economic and environmental standards for the companies and farmers involved in the supply chain and shopper demand has driven companies to start thinking more about sustainability.
Nearly 80 per cent of UK consumers say they chose Fairtrade products over an alternative.
 Young wordsmiths receive their poetry certificates
As part of this year's Great Big Green Week, we invited children across the borough to send in their poems about nature.
There were three age categories and the winner of each received a £20 book voucher, with the winners chosen by our libraries, biodiversity and climate emergency teams.
Certificates were recently presented to the winners and runners-up at Wokingham Library. Congratulations to Maliya, Mabel and Freya for winning their respective categories and well done also to Rebecca, Iris and Aadya for being runners-up.
The children were inspired by themes such as river pollution, trees, mushrooms and added illustrations to make their poems even more eye-catching.
We had more than 100 entries and the judges had a tough time choosing their favourites. Thank you to everyone who took part.
Read our libraries blog article, which features recommended reading on climate change.
 Participation more than doubles for Beat the Street
More than 14,000 people took part in this summer's Beat the Street, a game that awards points for exploring Wokingham Borough by walking, wheeling or cycling.
Players racked up a staggering 163,680 miles in total, the distance equivalent of more than 13 return trips from London to Tokyo.
They either used a contactless card or a smartphone app to check in at more than 100 'beat boxes' across the borough, all marked on a map.
About 6,200 people took part when we last held Beat the Street, so we are thrilled to have more than doubled participation.
This year's community winners were:
- Schools (total points) - Floreat Montague Park Primary School
- Schools (average points) - Westende Junior School
- Empowered schools (total points) - Addington School, Red Eagles
- Community and workplace teams (total points) - Redwood Early Years
- Community and workplace teams (average points) - Southlake Unofficial
- Running and cycling teams (total points) - Finch Coasters Running Club
- Running and cycling teams (average points) - Finch Coasters Running Club
- Small teams - Active4 Health
- Charity - Wokingham Foodbank
- Individual leaderboard (adult) - Max Polkinghorne
- Individual leaderboard (child) - Harsh (eight)
Beat the Street was run by Intelligent Health in partnership with our My Journey Wokingham active travel team and funded by us and the Government.
 Schools are STARS when it comes to active travel
We are delighted to announce that we are one of the top councils in the UK for taking part in a healthy school travel scheme.
Wokingham Borough now ranks eighth among small local authorities (those with under 100 schools) for participation in Modeshift STARS.
The scheme, backed by the Department for Transport, encourages schools to come up with ideas to get pupils walking or cycling more instead of being driven. Thirteen of our schools are now accredited and we would encourage any others who are interested to find out more. Our Modeshift STARS schools are:
- Aldryngton Primary School, Earley (very good)
- Crosfields School, Reading (very good)
- Westende Junior School, Wokingham (very good)
- Earley St Peter's Primary School (good)
- Emmbrook Junior School, Wokingham (good)
- Floreat Montague Park Primary School, Wokingham (good)
- Gorse Ride Junior School, Finchampstead (good)
- Nine Mile Ride Primary School, Finchampstead (good)
- St Mary's Shinfield Junior School (good)
- St Crispin's School, Wokingham (approved)
- Windmill Primary School, Wokingham (approved)
- Hawkedon Primary School, Earley (approved)
- Shinfield Infant School (new approval - not counted in league table)
We are also working with nine other schools to help them get accredited, so we're hoping for more good news in future.
Supporting the next generation's health
We support Modeshift STARS through our My Journey Wokingham team, because reducing unnecessary car journeys is key to improving air quality. We are also doing all we can to become a carbon neutral borough by the end of the decade and schemes like this are crucial to fighting the climate emergency.
We are also working with the Government to reduce air pollution around our borough's most affected schools, as exhaust fumes are dangerous to growing children. By reducing traffic on the roads, we can also alleviate congestion for those journeys where driving is more likely to be necessary.
 Relaunched park and ride scheme has expanded
Following a successful trial, we are excited to announce that we’ve expanded services from Winnersh Park and Ride.
Weekday services have been reintroduced and the Saturday service is increasing frequency, thanks to funding from the Department for Transport (DfT).
The 500 Winnersh Park and Ride operates four buses an hour on weekdays and Saturdays, making it easier to get to and from Reading town centre.
We are committed to making bus services more attractive, in partnership with local operators, as outlined in our Bus Service Improvement Plan. Like with all bus services, the 500's viability relies on people using it, so please consider this more environmentally friendly option if you can.
An affordable journey for everyone - fares are:
- Over 18 - £2 per journey, £4 return
- 18 and under - £1.50 each way, £2.80 return
- Family group fare up to three adults and two children - £8 (includes parking)
A £1 parking charge applies to all vehicles parked per day for the park and ride.
 Get free support to make your home energy efficient
If you live in an off-gas property and rely on fuels including oil, coal or liquefied petroleum gas for heating, then you may be able to get free support to make your home more energy efficient.
The Home Upgrade Grant (HUG2) is aimed at helping lower income households living in energy inefficient homes to improve their property to help make it greener and cheaper to heat.
Improvements would vary depending on the individual property, but could include things like insulation upgrades, solar panels, solar hot water and air source heat pumps.
As well as helping residents tackle the high cost of living, these improvements will support our climate emergency goals by reducing the properties' carbon footprint.
You can apply if your home isn't heated by mains gas, is energy inefficient and you have a household income of less than £31,000 (or are receiving an income-related means tested benefit, such as Universal Credit).
Find out more and apply on the HUG website.
Boiler Upgrade Scheme
If you own your home, you can apply for a grant to get funding for air source heat pumps or a biomass boiler as part of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
You are eligible if you are replacing fossil fuels systems, such as oil, gas, electric or liquified petroleum gas and you can still apply even if you have already had funding to make your property more energy efficient for something like insulation.
Grants for air source and ground source heat pumps are worth £7,500 and for a biomass boiler are £5,000.
To apply, contact a suitable MCS certified installer to get a quote. Confirm your eligibility with the installer and agree on your quote. They will apply on your behalf through the Ofgem website and the value of the grant will be taken off the amount you pay for installation.
Keeping up-to-date
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