A fair and festival will take place at St Mark’s Church Hall on April 20.
A group of green thinking locals are holding an upcycling event in Wimbledon to encourage residents to be more eco-friendly.
Upcycling Wimbledon, organised by Transition Town Wimbledon (TTW), takes place on April 20 in St Mark’s Church Hall and includes an Upcycling Fair from 11:00-2.00 and the Festival of Green Ideas from 2:00-3.30.
Upcycling is the process of converting materials in their original form to a new product in order to use up old materials and create less waste.
Rachel Phelan, Principal Community Engagement Officer at Merton Council, said: “The Council has a long close working arrangement with these groups and actively supports their activities.
“They play a valuable role in making Merton a more sustainable place and are often unsung heroes, voluntarily giving their time and bundles of energy!”
Merton Council will be running a stall on the day with Love Food Hate Waste, a UK based ethical food company, cooking up food near its use-by date and handing out free pancakes and recipe ideas.
Juliet Boyd, event organiser at TTW, said: “We didn’t know how much we could do that was fun and different.”
“The main focus for Wimbledon was looking at ways to reduce waste.”
The Upcycling Fair will include mending and sewing advice and tips for composting, re-using old fabrics and growing your own food for free.
The Festival of Green Ideas will be an invitation to locals to present to everyone what they are doing to make Wimbledon greener, followed by a workshop to explore and generate further opportunities for sustainability.
TTW was set up as part of Sustainable Merton to generate ideas to make Wimbledon a more sustainable community and work closely with Merton Council.
They run craft groups, organise energy-saving and recycling events and have two small community gardens from which they grow their own vegetables and learn about composting.
If you have any upcycling ideas, would like to set up a stall or need any further information, contact Juliet on 0208 946 2514 or [email protected]
Photo courtesy of by Newtown grafitti, with thanks.
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