January 2026 Newsletter
Welcome to the January Edition of the Charnwood Eco Hub Newsletter!
As we step into the new year, Charnwood Eco Hub is buzzing with ideas, activity and fresh opportunities to get involved. January is a great time to repair, reuse and reset, and our Hub continues to offer practical ways to live more sustainably — from the Scrapstore and Library of Things to our Makerspace, refill station, workshops and community events.
If you’re a Scrapstore or Library of Things member, this is also a good moment to check whether your membership is due for renewal, so you can keep borrowing, creating and saving waste from landfill without interruption.
We’re also excited to be celebrating our first anniversary on Saturday 7 February (see below for more info) Whether you’re tackling a new project, reducing post-festive clutter, or simply looking to connect with like-minded people, we look forward to welcoming you at the Hub this month — wrap up warm though, it’s chilly in here!
Charnwood Eco Hub Turns One!
We’re delighted to be celebrating our first anniversary on Saturday 7 February from 10am-2pm, marking a year of sharing skills, reducing waste and building a more sustainable community together. To say thank you, we’re inviting everyone to join us for tea and cake and a free bird feeder making activity suitable for all ages. It’s a relaxed, drop-in event with no need to book (children must be accompanied by an adult at all times). As an extra birthday bonus, anyone who signs up in person for a Scrapstore membership on the day will receive a free basket. We’d love you to come along and celebrate with us!
Invitation To Stall Holders - Charnwood Sustainability Fair 2026
We are delighted to invite local sustainability, environmental and community-focused organisations, makers and ethical businesses to take part in this year’s Charnwood Sustainability Fair, which will be held on Sunday 3rd May in Queen’s Park Loughborough.
The fair is a celebration of positive action — bringing together people who care about the environment, community wellbeing and practical solutions for more sustainable living. It’s a great opportunity to showcase what you do, connect with the local community, and inspire others through conversation, activities and ideas.
We welcome stallholders offering:
- Environmental and sustainability projects or campaigns
- Repair, reuse, upcycling and circular economy initiatives
- Ethical, local or low-impact products
- Community groups, charities and social enterprises
- Hands-on activities, demonstrations or information stalls
If you’d like to be involved, please get in touch to request a stallholder application form and further details. Spaces are limited, so early expressions of interest are encouraged.
We’d love you to be part of a friendly, vibrant event that celebrates sustainable living in Charnwood and beyond.
Charnwood Eco Hub Features In Ethical Consumer Magazine’s Directory of Libraries of Things!
We’ve started the new year with a brilliant upsurge in Library of Things memberships, and it’s been wonderful to welcome so many new faces through the doors. Perhaps it’s the time of year — with New Year’s resolutions inspiring people to try more eco-friendly, low-waste ways of living — or maybe it’s thanks to the fantastic work of our social media superstar Sarah, spreading the word far and wide.
It could also be the result of Charnwood Eco Hub being featured in Ethical Consumer magazine’s Directory of Libraries of Things. Whatever the reason, it’s clear that more people are choosing to borrow rather than buy, saving money, reducing waste and sharing resources within the community. Thank you to everyone who has joined us — and to our volunteers who make it all possible.
Carbon Foot Print Calculator
Global emissions in 2025 are estimated to have been similar to or higher than in 2024. Because global emissions have not yet peaked, many actors, including the United Nations, are now questioning whether it is still possible to limit global warming to 1.5°C
The Carbon Law
So what would it take to keep warming below 1.5°C?
The Exponential Roadmap Initiative has shown that global warming can be limited to 1.5°C if we follow the carbon law, of halving our emissions every decade.
However, since global emissions have still not peaked, the new analysis shows that we must now halve emissions every five years to stay close to 1.5°C. This is an enormous challenge, but it remains technically possible if we rapidly scale the solutions that already exist.
To create momentum for this exponential transformation, the entire socio-economic “trinity” must work together:
- Legislators (politicians, authorities) - must intervene where markets fail and set rules that stimulate climate-friendly solutions while discouraging environmental degradation.
- Producers (companies and the public sector) - need to take responsibility for the carbon emissions generated by their products and services and switch to fossil-free solutions. Furthermore, they need to influence their stakeholders (suppliers, customers, partners, etc.) to follow suit.
- Consumers (You and I) - need to reduce our carbon footprint through lifestyle changes and resolutely demand climate friendly solutions (from producers) and democratically influence (legislators) to act.
A good start is to calculate and reflect on your own climate impact for 2025. With ClimateHero’s Carbon Calculator, you can calculate your carbon footprint in just 5 minutes.
You’ll get feedback on what you’re already doing well, along with suggestions for how to reduce your footprint. The reduction suggestions you accept are saved as your climate pledge, i.e. your New Year’s resolution for 2026.
New! Group Of The Month
Two Wheel Campus
This year we have introduced a new feature to the newsletter, and that is to feature a different local group with a focus on sustainably activities every month. To kick off 2026, we present to you…Two Wheel Campus. The group was set up by student joe Ward and friends last year and it runs a bike repair workshop every Sunday at Fearon Hall. Joe also saved the day at our Sustainability Fair last year by running our Bike Repair stall, and serviced a record 6 bikes!
Two Wheel Campus is a non-profit, community bike project based in Loughborough. We are crazy about bikes and want to get more people cycling through our repair workshops, bike polo club and refurbished donated bikes for sale.
Through our services and activities: we are teaching new skills, helping people get active, and providing a positive social environment. Anyone is welcome at our bike polo and repair workshop sessions, regardless of ability.
You can find out more at - twowheelcampus.co.uk Or find us on Instagram / Facebook @twowheelcampus
Call for Workshop Facilitators
We’re starting to put together our workshop programme for the coming year, and we’d love to hear from people who would like to share their skills at Charnwood Eco Hub. Katie is currently shaping the programme and is keen to connect with workshop facilitators who can offer practical, engaging sessions aligned with sustainability, repair, reuse, creativity and low-waste living.
We’re interested in a wide range of ideas — from hands-on making and repair skills to talks, demonstrations and family-friendly activities. Whether you’ve delivered workshops with us before or are completely new to the Hub, we’d be delighted to hear from you.
If you’re interested, please get in touch with a brief outline of your workshop idea(s), your availability, and any previous experience. Katie will then be in touch to discuss next steps.
Bikes for Schools
Active Together is launching a new Bike Library scheme in schools across Leicestershire. With the cost of living continuing to put pressure on families, the initiative is supported by Leicestershire County Council’s Active Travel team and will give children who might otherwise miss out, the chance to learn to ride and enjoy the freedom and health benefits of cycling. More than 30 schools will take part, loaning refurbished bikes to pupils aged 9–13 and providing training to build confidence and skills.
The scheme is funded through Active Travel England’s grant programme and has been timed to start after Christmas, when many households may have replaced old bikes with new ones. Donated bikes will be refurbished at Rutland Prison workshops, giving inmates valuable skills while recycling resources. Schools will then loan the bikes and provide ‘Learn to Ride’ training sessions funded nationally, starting in March 2026.
Anita Bird, an Assistant Development Officer at Active Together, says:
“Far too many children miss out on learning to ride because they don’t have access to a bike at home. By donating, you’re giving a young person the freedom, confidence and joy that cycling brings. It’s a simple act that can have a lasting impact”.
The Bike Library builds on Active Together’s successful Set, Pedal – Go! programme and complements similar projects like My Bike Rutland, which refurbishes bikes through prison workshops to support people who otherwise couldn’t access one.
Anyone with an unused bike can make a big difference by donating and helping create a future where cycling is a normal, accessible way to travel for education, work and leisure.
To donate a bike, use the link below.
More information: https://www.active-together.org/cycling
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Who Are Our Volunteers?
Another new feature for this year’s newsletter is our volunteer corner. Without our tight-knit and diverse community of volunteers we couldn’t operate, and we are extremely grateful to all of them, each of whom brings something different to the Hub. We’d like to introduce you to them to give you an idea of the different ways you could get involved with the Eco Hub, and what our volunteers get out of being part of the crew. First up is Alan, resident DJ and PAT Tester extraordinaire…
I joined the Charnwood Eco Hub as a new volunteer in September 2025. With my background in electrical and electronic design and repair I thought I would like to help bring the Eco Hub’s Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) up to speed. I began my career as a Brush technical apprentice in 1969 and worked there for 35 years.
Before Covid I was a hospital volunteer at the Leicester Royal Infirmary. I volunteered in Radio Fox the hospital radio as a presenter and latterly as director of broadcasting as well.
Why did I volunteer? Since I retired in 2020, I have found my days are filled with many things, projects for my own home and other people, DJing, holidays, etc.
Sometimes I felt that I could do with going back to work for a rest. When I was working it was always with something complicated or a technical problem that needed solving. But volunteering at the Eco Hub I can do something simple and easy like PAT testing. That is to say it is simple for me but very important and useful for the safe and successful operation of the Eco Hub. Plus writing technical documents is something I have found that I enjoy. So I find a session volunteering at the Eco Hub quite relaxing and it’s always a good feeling to be helping people.
Buy Nothing New Month: Putting Reuse into Practice at the Hub
January’s Buy Nothing New Month, led by Keep Britain Tidy, encourages us to avoid buying anything new (except essentials) and instead repair, borrow, swap or reuse what we already have. It’s a simple challenge with big benefits — reducing waste, saving money, and cutting our environmental impact.
This is something we support year-round at the Hub. Our Library of Things makes it easy to borrow items rather than buy new, from tools to household equipment. Our repair sessions and skill-sharing workshops help keep items in use for longer, and our swap and reuse events are a great way to give pre-loved items a second life.
If you’re looking for a New Year’s resolution that’s practical, affordable and planet-friendly, Buy Nothing New Month is a great place to start — and the Hub is here to help you every step of the way.
Coming Up
January
Transition Loughborough Potato Day
9.30AM-12.30PM, 31st January
John Storer House
Loughborough
LE11 3HA
February
The Fixit Group 23 Repair Cafe
Sun 1st February, 10AM-1PM
Mountsorrel Memorial Centre
LE12 7DB
Eco Hub Anniversary
Saturday 7th February, 10AM-2PM
SOFA, Clarence St
Loughborough
LE11 1DY
Transition Loughborough Repair Cafe
Saturday 21st February, 9.30AM-12.30PM
Fearon Hall
Loughborough
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