Other Activities – EcoLocal

Events Organisation

administrator — Thu, 14 Jul 2022 15:49:01 +0000

EcoLocal has lots of experience in organising events, including large Fairs attracting up to 10,000 people. We also organise community fun days, local markets, multi-partner conferences, and more.

E-mail us at info@ecolocal.org.uk.

Low Energy Heritage

administrator — Thu, 14 Jul 2022 15:45:21 +0000

Our Low Energy Heritage was a project looking at those living in the London Borough of Sutton in times past. It recorded the experiences of the older generation, who lived through times of shortage, when energy was less cheap and less available.

We can use their knowledge and experiences to help us, and future generations, tackle issues such as climate change and an increasingly expensive, less plentiful energy supply.

This doesn’t mean we need to go back to living the way we did in 1930 or 1860. We now benefit from modern technology such as solar panels, wind turbines and improved insulation. These technologies will help us to create low energy communities in the future with a good standard of living and a quality of life perhaps better than today.

However, many of the skills our grandparents and great grandparents used on a daily basis have almost been forgotten, and re-learning them might not only help us to create a low energy future but also lead to a greater sense of satisfaction for us all.

Our Low Energy Heritage has been supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund, Sutton Local Studies & Archives Service and EcoLocal Services Ltd.

Read Our Low Energy Heritage Book

This EXHIBITION is also available to borrow, please phone 020 8404 1522 or e-mail info@ecolocal.org.uk for details.

Make the most of leftovers and food for free – try out tasty soup recipes, traditional home made drinks and eggless fruit cake recipes

Here are a few memories from the past:

* read the reminiscences of local elders

Community Networking

administrator — Thu, 14 Jul 2022 15:39:16 +0000

We share news of local sustainability related projects and events to over 10,000 local people. Click here to join our free email list.

Send us information on your project or activity and and join our e-news list below to get our updates.

Also, join us on social media – see our twitter and face book feeds on the right of this page.

Subscribe to email list

Community Engagement

administrator — Thu, 14 Jul 2022 15:32:20 +0000

We can help you to engage the people you want to reach out to. At EcoLocal, we have over 20 years experience of running activities designed to do just that. Whatever your event or promotion, we can tailor our activities help you reach your audience.

We use a combination of interactive techniques to engage the community, facilitate a meaningful exchange of views and help prioritise actions.

We provide bespoke:

training and facilitation
engagement via social media platforms
roadshows
interactive workshops
hackathons
door to door consultation
value surveys
focus groups
face to face surveys

Find out more about our services

Tools for Self Reliance

Trevor Lancefield — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 10:30:13 +0000

Tools for Self Reliance (Sutton Volunteer Group)

This group refurbish tools and sewing machines for dispatch to Africa to give people a chance to build a sustainable livelihood.

TOOLS FOR SALE:
Becaused they currently have more tools than they are able to move to Africa, they have some available for sale in used condition, fully refurbished and PAT tested. Includes drills, jogsaws, planers, routers, sanders, circular saws, bench saws, bench grinders & pillar drills.

THEY ARE INTERESTED IN DONATIONS OF THE FOLLOWING:

Workshop Tools:
Metric tools – woodworking, engineering, plumbing, bicycle, leatherworking, auto-mechanics and good quality Power Tools (240v only), but NOT gardening tools.

Sewing Machines:
Old Singer machines (round bobbin) – hand, treadle or electrified. Electric sewing machines any make but MUST HAVE zigzag. Also interested in Haberdashery (needles, pins, cottons, zips etc) and unused dressmaking fabric (at least 1m wide), but not curtain or upholstry fabrics.

You can bring your donations or ABOVE TYPES OF ITEMS to their workshop ONLY on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 10am and 1.30pm. See map below – the postcode is SM5 3NX.

DONATIONS to pay for training in Africa welcome.

TALKS: they are happy to come and give a talk to community groups, rotary groups etc about their work.

They also have volunteers who can collect. Contact the Sutton group via www.suttontfsr.org.uk

Please DO NOT contact Ecolocal directly as we do not deal with enquiries for Tools..

EcoFair 2026

administrator — Thu, 25 Jul 2019 10:31:55 +0000

The 2026 EcoFair will be held on Bank Holiday Monday 31st August.

If you are interested in performing on one of the 3 stages please navigate to the music page on this site and select the stage(s) you wish to apply to perform on.

If you'd like to be a stallholder and did NOT come last year, please register your interest using the following link:

Enquire about Becoming a Stallholder

Please note, you do not need to apply if you attended the event in 2025. Stall pitches are in high demand so we will not be able to meet all requests for stall pitches and we need to ensure a diversity of stall types appropriate to our events/market.

This is a fundraising event for the charity EcoLocal and everyone involved in running the event and taking part as performer does so as a volunteer.

Starts 10:30am and ends 8pm in Carshalton Park, Ruskin Road, Carshalton, Surrey. Please share details on social media.

We’re aiming—quite confidently, but without making a fuss—to make this the very best EcoFair in South London and Surrey. You know, the sort of event people mention later with a little nod, as if to say, “Oh yes, that was a good day.”

This year we’ve got three solar-powered stages (very impressive, very forward-thinking) with live music throughout—so there’s always something going on, even if you’ve just popped over for a quick look and somehow stayed three hours.

There’ll be over 100 stalls, which sounds a lot because it is a lot. You can wander about at your own pace, discovering eco-projects, artisan crafts, and all sorts of clever things you didn’t know you needed but suddenly feel you might.

Food-wise, you’ll be very well looked after. Plenty of vegetarian and vegan options, hot and cold, and the sort of things that make you say, “Ooh, I’ll just try that.” There’s also a fabulous bar, for those who like something a bit refreshing while they’re having a sit down.

For children, there are activities to keep them happily occupied, along with demonstrations and things to watch and join in with. And to make life that bit easier, there’s even a free electric bus to bring you to the event—no fuss, no bother.

Whatever your age or what you’re interested in, there should be something to catch your eye and give you a little lift. There’s plenty to see, hear, do, learn about and, of course, taste.

All in all, it’s a lovely day out—just the sort of thing you’ll be glad you came to.

The following is from the 2025 event: Admission – Affordable, Local & Worth It
We’ve worked hard to keep Carshalton EcoFair 2025 affordable for everyone — and we think it offers amazing value for a day out right here in the heart of the community.

This isn’t a big commercial event — it’s run by volunteers, and every penny raised goes towards putting on the EcoFair and supporting EcoLocal’s charitable work across the local area.

We know times are tough, so we’ve kept prices low — especially for families and those on lower incomes — while still offering a fantastic mix of music, food, entertainment, and activities.

Here’s what you need to know:
Children under 12 – FREE
Adults (18+) – £10
Young people (12–17) – £8
Adults on low income – £8

Family discounts:
• Two adults & two or three teens (12–17): £32
• One adult & two or three teens (12–17): £24
No advance tickets needed — just turn up on the day!

Your support helps keep this event going strong and funds local eco projects, from community gardening and inclusive cycling to wellbeing and food-growing schemes.

Thank you for being part of it — and for supporting something so rooted in Carshalton.

EcoFair is organised by local charity EcoLocal which is a non-profit organisation full of volunteers who put their time and energy into developing activities and resources for the local community. The event costs the charity well over £25,000 of up-front costs to put on. There are no staff costs in running the event, it is run entirely by volunteers. So as a small local charity we need to raise the cash to fund the EcoFair.

We aim to raise funds for our activities supporting people with disabilities or experiencing mental health issues or who are isolated, to participate in community life through outdoor eco projects. Our eco-wellbeing, gardening, food-growing and inclusive cycling sessions make a huge difference to people’s physical and mental health. They increase social interaction and connection with nature and are good for the environment, helping people take action to participate in community and environmental projects. Any surplus funds raised after covering event costs this year will be put toward the cost of these activities again.

Sutton Nature Conservation Volunteers

administrator — Tue, 24 Jul 2018 12:58:36 +0000

Sutton Nature Conservation Volunteers (SNCV) is the main nature conservation organisation operating within Sutton. They get together regularly to clear a range of sites around the borough in co-operation with the council.

They welcome new volunteers, the tasks are good fun and they are a nice bunch of people to be with.

You can make a contribution to the environment and acquire a lot of like-minded friends at the same time.

Visit the SNCV’s events page

Surrey Organic Gardeners – talks and meet ups

administrator — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 16:07:47 +0000

A programme of talks and events:

Friday evening events start at 7.30pm (arrive from 7.15pm) at the ‘Garden Hall, The Lodge, Honeywood Walk, Carshalton SM5 3NX.

Entrance fees – only £4 on the door including tea, coffee and biscuits (cash or card). Please do invite your friends – open to all – just turn up.

27^th February – ‘Wandle: River at Risk’
Bobby Dean MP will introduce and show a documentary film he made on the history, perils, conservation and community engagement that the river Wandle brings to our local area. There will be time for discussion and questions about the threats to the Wandle from polluters – what measures should, could and are being taken. This is an opportunity to find out more about the river which is important part of our local natural environment.

27^th March – Creating Hampton Court’s Kitchen Garden
Vicki Cooke is a community gardener who is enthusiastic about garden heritage and growing edible plants. Vicki will talk to us about how she re-created an historic walled kitchen garden at Hampton Court Palace. Join us for a royal evening!

24^th April – Shakespeare and England’s Trees
Here’s a talk with a difference! What trees grew in Shakespeare’s England, and what was happening to them? How do the worlds of Shakespeare’s stage and the English countryside relate? From oak to willow and the magical forests imagined on stage, this talk explores early agroforestry, deforestation and use of trees through Shakespeare’s many references to trees. Our speaker, Hannah Leigh is a researcher working at Shakespeare’s Globe with an MA in Shakespeare Studies from King’s College London.

29^th May – Plant Swap
This evening will be chance to find unusual plants, pick up bedding flowers, veg seedlings and beautiful houseplants.

We hope you’ll grow some plants from seeds or cuttings to bring along to swap, but if you can’t that’s not a problem – you’ll be able to buy plants on the evening.

All meetings £4 on the door – start at 7.30pm (arrive from 7.15pm) at the ‘Garden Hall, The Lodge, Honeywood Walk, Carshalton SM5 3NX.

Donations
Some people have asked how they can make a donation even if they cannot attend talks. Of course we welcome this and will put any funds donated into the SOGG account at EcoLocal to support the SOGG activities and EcoLocal organic gardening. Please email info@ecolocal.org.uk if you would like to make a donation and we will reply with details of how to do.