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

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

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

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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

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..

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

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

Plant Swap Evening: – Free entry
You’re invited to our very first Plant Swap on Friday 29th May in the Garden Hall and Victorian Walled Garden, Carshalton.

Bring along your spare garden or houseplants and swap them for something new! Please make sure all plants are clearly labelled with their names. Don’t have many plants to swap? There will be some plants available to buy while stocks last.

Arrive between 7:15pm and 8:00pm, after which the swapping will begin!

Tea, coffee and biscuits will be available in the Garden Hall, and it’s a great chance to meet fellow gardeners and explore the beautiful Victorian Walled Garden. See how volunteers have been restoring the space and discover what’s growing there — from fan-trained peach trees and rows of vegetables to colourful flowers.

Plant Swap Rules:
1. You can bring plants to the swap between 7.15pm and 8pm
2. Plants must be healthy and disease/pest free. Cuttings must be well rooted.
3. Label all your plants with their common plant name
4. All types of plants are welcome: garden plants, house plants, perennials, annuals, veg seedlings, shrubs, herbs, succulents
5. Bring your own bags/trays to take plants home in
6. You will be given tokens in exchange for your plants by the event volunteers (1 token for small common cuttings, annuals or seedlings. 2 tokens for medium plants/perennials. 3+ tokens for larger or rare species).
7. After 8pm a gong will ring and the swapping will commence. At this point you can exchange your tokens for other plants (we may introduce ‘rounds’ if very busy)
8. If you don’t have enough tokens for all the plants you would like, you can buy plants (cash preferred – card readers available) – funds raised go to the Ecolocal charity
9. Any plants left at the end of the evening become the property of EcoLocal charity and will be used either in the walled garden or sold to raise funds for our Community Food Growing Project

Coach Outing:
We are organising a gardeners coach outing.  For details please see here.

Talks:
Autumn talks and events to be announced.  Entrance fees for talks – 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.

All talks £4 on the door (plant swap free) – 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.