Eco-friendly events are popping up all over the district for this year’s Sustainable St Albans Week.
Numerous organisations, charities, and businesses have got involved throughout the themed week, which celebrates everything sustainable.
Food courses, outdoor activities opportunities, tours, nature walks, and talks on a variety of subjects, including sustainable housing, transport systems and ethical investment have been organised.
For this year, Sustainable St Albans Week is also partnered with a new campaign group against single use plastic called Plastic Free St Albans.
That campaign is asking residents to collect plastic milk bottle tops and recycle them at the beauty store Lush in The Maltings. Locals are also encouraged to attend a film screening of a documentary called A Plastic Ocean at the Odyssey, or the #plasticfree community picnic, both on April 22.
A series of talks hosted by Harpenden’s Rothamsted Research, called Our Planet Our Future, will kick off Sustainable St Albans week and it will draw to a close with the Know How festival - a family-friendly event based on learning about sustainable practices.
Chair of Sustainable St Albans Week, Catherine Ross, said: “The Know How Festival is a fun, practical day with sessions on things like fuel efficient driving, composting and repairs, plus information stalls, short films, live music from the Fleetville Swing Band, and kids activities. Everything from an electric car display to vegan cookery!”
The community sponsors are Just Energy Solutions, Rothamsted Research and BRE Trust. The gold sponsors are AECOM, JPA Furniture, Independent Locker Solutions, Godfrey’s, Allsopp, Green Energy, Lussmanns, Lyndhurst Financial Management and Veolia.
Most of the events are free throughout the week, which runs from April 21 to 29, but for some, booking is required.
Find out more details about all the events at www.sustainablestalbans.org
Activities for children:
- The Living St Albans environmental photo competition is awarding cash prizes worth hundreds of pounds to winners. The lucky youngsters will be announced by St Albans Mayor Cllr Iqbal Zia.
- Imaginative children can enjoy an hour of interactive storytelling and craft with Kathryn Holt at Trestle Arts Base.
- Toddlers can make their own DIY shakers at St Albans and Harpenden libraries.
- Animal lovers can discover a treat close to home by joining in with the Heron Watch at Verulamium Park.
- Thirty schools and colleges are collaborating with the art and design A level students at Oaklands College to host Slam Dunk basketball games in order to collect as many plastic bottles from campus as possible.
Highlights for adults:
- Willing volunteers can help revive the River Ver by working on its banks by New Barnes Mill - wellies not supplied.
- Walkers can enjoy a nature stroll by the Colne and Ver rivers, to Colne Valley and Bricket Wood for a pub lunch.
This is an opportunity to see spring migrants and woodland birds. Or more bookish walkers might enjoy the Harpenden Library Walking Reading Group, who will be discussing Jonas Jonasson’s The 100 Year-old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared around Rothamsted Park.
- Get insights into how money and fossil fuels intertwine at an expert talk by CCLA charity fund managers, S&P Global and Christian Aid’s Big Shift campaign in Trinity United Reformed Church.
A separate event will host speakers on how architecture, building engineering, and interior design can impact health and wellbeing.
- Gardeners can swap their seeds and have a look around at the launch of a new Earthworks project at the same time. There will be music and refreshments at the charity headquarters.
- Clothes and accessories can also be swapped at Premier Inn on a token basis.
- Repair any old bikes, clothes, jewellery to their former glory and more at a fair at St Luke’s Church in Cell Barnes.
- Camphill Trust’s Café on the Corner is running a special local menu all week.
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