December 2025 Newsletter
Welcome to the December Edition of the Charnwood Eco Hub Newsletter!
🌿 December at Charnwood Eco Hub – Festive Season, Community Spirit, and Sustainable Gifting
As we reach the final month of the year, December invites us to pause and appreciate everything our community has achieved together. From creative workshops to bike repair projects and everyday acts of sustainability, your support has helped the Charnwood Eco Hub continue to grow as a place of learning, sharing, and positive change.
This month, we’re embracing the festive spirit with a focus on thoughtful, low-impact gifting. Our shop is stocked with a beautiful range of small upcycled and sustainably handmade items—perfect for meaningful presents that support local makers and reduce waste. We’re also offering gift vouchers, ideal for those who’d love to choose their own eco-friendly treats, gift a Scrapstore or Library of Things membership, or experience one of our upcoming workshops.
Please note that the Hub will be closing for two weeks over the Christmas break - we will be closed between the 22d December-5th January. Be sure to pop in before we wrap up for the holidays!
The Charnwood Eco Hub Team
Workshops update
As the weather cools down, our workshop programme is now taking a short winter pause. We’ll be back in March, when it’s a little warmer in the Hub and we can welcome everyone back in comfort.
In the meantime, Katie is putting together our programme for next year, and we’d love to hear from local makers, artists, facilitators, and creative practitioners who might like to run a workshop with us. If you have an idea you’d like to share, please get in touch — we’re always excited to collaborate with new creatives and bring fresh activities to our community.
Beautiful leather now available
We’re excited to share that we currently have a lovely selection of leather available to buy at the Hub. Perfect for small craft projects, repairs, or experimenting with new techniques, our pieces are individually priced according to quality and size (thank you Steve Boucher) and come in a range of colours, textures, and sizes — all rescued from going to waste. Pop in for a browse and see what inspires you; once it’s gone, it’s gone!
Christmas Tree Festival
Our Christmas tree is standing tall,
In All Saints’ Parish Church for all.
Its branches shine with colours bright,
A beacon in the winter light.
Each ornament, each handmade piece,
Crafted with love to bring us peace—
By volunteers with hearts so kind,
Using Scrapstore treasures they did find.
So come and see this joyful sight,
A tree that glows with shared delight.
Where craft and care together meet,
To make our Christmas truly sweet. 🎄💫
This year, Charnwood Eco Hub is proud to have an entry in the All Saints Christmas Tree Festival — a tree decorated entirely with handmade, upcycled ornaments. Our wonderful volunteers spent an evening together crafting every decoration from scrap materials, fuelled by mulled wine, mince pies, and plenty of laughter. The result is a colourful, sustainable tree that celebrates creativity, community, and the joy of making something beautiful from items that would otherwise go to waste. You can see our tree and all of the other wonderful trees on Saturdays and Thursdays starting from Saturday 30th November through to Saturday 21st December, between 10 am to 4 pm, entrance is FREE.
Lift out of order
Please note that the lift at the Hub is temporarily out of service. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding as we work to get it repaired as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please plan accordingly, particularly if you are hiring or donating heavy items, and don’t hesitate to ask our staff for assistance if required. Thank you for your patience while we resolve this issue.
The Arc teambuilding day
We were delighted to recently host a creative team-building day for the staff and trustees of The Arc Community Centre. Together, they designed and made two beautiful sets of fabric bunting, which will now be used at events throughout the year — a lasting reminder of a day spent connecting, collaborating, and creating.
If your organisation is looking for a relaxed, hands-on team-building activity with a sustainable twist, we’d love to chat. Get in touch to explore how we can host a similar session for your group.
First aid training
Katie, Jamie, and Ben recently completed a full day of first aid training at John Storer House to strengthen our team’s confidence and readiness in the Hub. The session covered essential skills for responding to common injuries and emergencies, ensuring we can continue to provide a safe and supportive environment for everyone who visits. We’re really proud of the team for taking this step — it’s another way we’re working to keep our community space welcoming and well-prepared.
🎄 10 SUSTAINABLE CHRISTMAS TIPS
Make your festive season joyful and planet-friendly with these simple ideas:
✨ 1. Eco-Friendly Wrapping
Use recycled kraft paper, fabric wraps or old maps - we have old maps and sheet music available in the Scrapstore, as well as Furoshiki fabric gift wrap available in the shop. 🎁♻️
🎫 2. Gift Experiences
Offer workshops, vouchers or donations instead of more “stuff.” We now do vouchers, so you can gift a Scrapstore or Library of Things membership!
🛍️ 3. Shop Local & Handmade
Support nearby makers and reduce transport impact - check out or little shop in the Hub.
💡 4. Switch to LED or Solar Lights
They use less energy and last much longer.
🌿 5. Natural or Reusable Decorations
Think pinecones, dried oranges, greenery or long-lasting ornaments.
🍽️ 6. Reduce Food Waste
Plan portions, freeze leftovers, and share extras - use apps like Olio or Too Good to Go.
💌 7. Sustainable Christmas Cards
Choose recycled, plastic-free cards or send e-cards. We have a wide selection of card making materials in the Scrapstore!
🌲 8. Thoughtful Christmas Trees
Buy real trees locally and compost afterwards, or keep artificial trees for many years. Or make an upcycled tree!
🧑🎨 9. Homemade Gifts
Jams, candles, crafted items or upcycled creations are sustainable and add personal meaning.
🚶♀️🚗 10. Travel Mindfully
Walk, car-share or use public transport where possible. A good way to keep the Christmas pounds off too!
Christmas closure
Charnwood Eco Hub will be closing for the Christmas break from Sunday 21st December, and we’ll reopen during the week commencing 5th January. During this time the Hub projects and shop will all be closed, but we’ll be back in the new year refreshed and ready for a busy 2026. We hope everyone has a peaceful, restorative festive season and we look forward to welcoming you back in January.
Coming up
December
Christmas Tree Festival
26th Nov-20th Dec (Thursdays and Saturdays, 10AM-4PM)
All Saints Church
Loughborough
LE11 1UX
Santa’s Grotto
Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th December
The Green Place
Sileby
LE12 7RS
The Fixit Group 23 Repair Cafe
Sunday 7th December, 10AM-1PM
Mountsorrel Memorial Centre
LE12 7DB
The Fixit Group 23 Repair Cafe
Monday 15th December, 7.30PM-10PM
Bradgate Arms
Cropston
LE7 7HG
Don’t forget to let us know about your upcoming events so that we can feature them!
Where to find us
Opening Hours:
Wednesdays 4-8pm (access via Clarence Street, opposite Travis Perkins)
Thursdays 10am-2pm (access via main SOFA entrance)
Saturdays 10am-2pm (access via main SOFA entrance)
Please note that the Eco Hub is on the first floor of the SOFA building, and the lift is currently out of order - if you have any access requirements, please contact us before visiting.
Address: Clarence St, Loughborough LE11 1DY
Website: charnwoodecohub.org
Email: info@charnwoodecohub.org
Phone: 01509 447075