April 2025 Newsletter
Welcome to the April edition of the Charnwood Eco Hub newsletter! 🌿🌞
With longer days and fresh spring energy in the air, we’re excited to bring you the latest updates, initiatives, and events helping to build a greener, more sustainable Charnwood. April is a time for new beginnings, and what better way to embrace the season than by getting involved in our growing eco-conscious community?
If you haven’t visited us yet, now’s the perfect time! Whether you’re borrowing from our Library of Things, discovering treasures in the Scrapstore, or looking to volunteer, we’d love to see you. From 28th April, we will also be opening on Monday evenings from 5pm-9pm.
Our opening hours:
🕰 Monday: 5 PM – 9 PM
🕰 Wednesday: 3 PM – 7 PM
🕰 Thursday: 10 AM – 1 PM
🕰 Saturday: 10 AM – 2 PM
📍 Find us on the first floor at SOFA, Towles Mill Building, Clarence Street, Loughborough, LE11 1DY
👉 Daytime entry: via the SOFA main entrance
👉 Evening entry: via the Clarence Street side entrance (lift access available during the day only)
Keep reading for exciting workshops, events, and community projects happening this month. Let’s keep making a difference together! 💚♻️
Congratulations to Alex, the winner of our Hub Birdspotting competition! 🐦🎉 Your keen eye for nature has earned you a delightful Ringtons hamper — enjoy your well-deserved prize!
Announcing our new workshops!
Exciting news from the Eco Hub! Our new workshops are kicking off this month, will run on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of every month, and we’d love for you to join us. On Saturday April 26th, we’re offering a beginners upholstery workshop with Dai, where you can learn the basics of this handy craft. Then on Saturday 10th May Amanda will be showing you how to create relaxing neurographic art, and on Saturday 23rd May Emma will be making beautiful origami fabric scrap butterflies. These workshops are a great way to get creative and make something special. For more details and to sign up, visit our workshops page. We can’t wait to see you there!
We’re running a Plus Size Clothes Swap in the Hub on Sunday 27th April from 11am-2pm. All genders welcome, suitable for size 16/XL+, and tickets are on a pay as you feel basis (suggested donations of between £2-£5). You can book your tickets here.
Coming soon!
We’re thrilled to announce the opening of our new refill station at the Eco Hub on Saturday, May 10th! This is a fantastic way to reduce waste and stock up on your everyday essentials without the plastic. From cleaning products to toiletries, we’ll have a variety of items available for you to refill in your own containers, or you can purchase a reusable glass bottle from the shop. Join us on opening day to learn more about how you can make more sustainable choices in your daily routine. We can’t wait to see you there and help you make the switch to zero-waste living!
Applications Open!
Planning ahead for a greener future? We’re pleased to announce that applications are now open for the 2025 Charnwood Sustainability Fair and Christmas Eco Market!
These much-anticipated events are perfect opportunities for local businesses, organisations, and artisans to showcase their sustainable products and and eco-friendly services, and their knowledge and projects. The Sustainability Fair will take place in Autumn 2025, highlighting green initiatives and fostering community collaboration, and the Christmas Eco Market will take place in November.
Don’t miss your chance to be part of these inspiring events!
We’re delighted to have been nominated for Leicestershire County Council Net Zero Heroes scheme, and proud to be in such illustrious company as our friends at Mountsorrel’s The FixitGroup23! Thank you to everyone who is helping us by joining the Scrapstore or Library of Things, and helping to promote a circular economy and reduce consumption in Charnwood. You can read our nomination or nominate your own Net Zero Heros here.
Carbon Literacy is a day’s worth of accredited learning about climate change – it’s causes, impacts and solutions. This course has been created specifically for community leaders in the following sectors:
- Voluntary
- Community
- Social enterprise
It is suitable for anyone involved in an organisation in Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland.
It will empower you to set and achieve sustainability goals and to drive effective, tangible and positive changes within your community. You will leave with a personalised plan of action to implement, both by yourself and through collaborative efforts in your community.
Topics covered include:
- How climate change is impacting on communities and what you can do about it in your role as a community leader
- The science of climate change
- Climate justice and climate impacts
- Carbon footprints and how your church can cut theirs
- The co-benefits of tackling climate change
- What do we do with climate anxiety and grief?
- How we can best communicate about climate change with others, especially in our communities.
This course is in person at VAL in Leicester and is funded by the Universities Partnership and De Montfort University. Lunch will be included.
For an online version of this course go here.
Join the Charnwood Eco Hub Volunteer Team
Are you passionate about sustainability and making a difference in your community? The Charnwood Eco Hub is looking for enthusiastic volunteers to help us bring our vision of a greener future to life!
From supporting events and workshops to maintaining our community spaces and sharing eco-friendly practices, there’s something for everyone to get involved in. Volunteering is a fantastic way to meet like-minded people, develop new skills, and contribute to meaningful change.
No experience is needed—just a can-do attitude and a love for the environment.
Interested? Email us to sign up or learn more. We’d love to have you on the team!
Coming up
MAY
Our Food System is Broken: the Case for Citizen Food Growing in Urban Spaces
Incredible Edible/Barrow Greener Living
Bishop Beveridge Hall, Barrow on Soar
Thursday 1st May 2025, 7.30pm to 9pm. Admission £2.
Free Carbon Literacy for Community Leaders
VAL Offices, 9 Newarke Street, Leicester, LE1 5SN
Wednesday 7th May, 9.30am-4.30pm
Nigel Temple talk on Bees
Incredible Edible (email ediblelboro@gmail.com to book)
Fearon Hall, Loughborough
Thursday 8th May 2025, 7.30pm to 9pm.
Repair Cafe
Woodhouse Eaves Plastic Free
Woodhouse Eaves Youth & Community Hall
Saturday 10th May, 9.30am-12.30pm
Neurographic Art Workshop
Charnwood Eco Hub
Saturday 10th May, 11am-1pm
The Fixit Group23 Repair Cafe
Mountsorrel Memorial Centre
Sunday 11th May, 10am-1pm
Origami Fabric Butterfly Workshop
Charnwood Eco Hub
Saturday 23rd May 11am-1pm
Transition Loughborough Repair Cafe
Fearon Hall, Rectory Rd, Loughborough
Saturday 31st May, 9.30am-12.00pm
Where to find us
Opening Hours: (from 1st February 2025)
Mondays 5-9pm (access via Clarence Street)
Wednesdays 3-7pm (access via Clarence Street)
Thursdays 10am-1pm (access via main SOFA entrance)
Saturdays 10am-2pm (access via main SOFA entrance)
Address: Clarence St, Loughborough LE11 1DY
Website: charnwoodecohub.org
Email: info@charnwoodecohub.org
Phone: 01509 447075