The Smart Energy Show Marlow returns this April. We’ll have fresh exhibitors, a great quick-fire talks programme, and a new location with plentiful parking! All information here!
The key focus will again be on better energy management in buildings. This will include exciting renewable and electric technologies like solar panels, batteries, electric car-charging, heat pumps and other electrical home heating technologies, and smart energy controls. And, for anyone renovating or building afresh: energy retrofit assessment, fabric insulation and green building design.
With energy prices rising again, more government support available, and technologies improving, it is time to engage, even if you’ve already made some green energy changes in your life.
The Smart Energy Show Marlow 2025 takes place on Saturday 5 April at Great Marlow School, Bobmore Lane, Marlow SL7 1JE. Opening times are 10am to 4pm.
We held a free event in the ECO Hub “Electric Vehicle Question Time” last Saturday 22nd. Local residents gave questions to our expert panel led by Ginny Buckley.
Ginny is a well known TV presenter from Top Gear, Dispatches & Escape to the Country. Her specialist subject is motoring journalism: She recently set-up www.Electrifying.com where she is CEO.
On the panel were Dug Tremellen (RBWM Transport Policy) & Richard Taylor from Your Energy Your Way, who install EV chargers and also run a small fleet of EV cars and vans.
Questions ranged from optimum charging methods and charging infrastructure through to 7-seater EVs and grid-balancing technologies.
Andrew Ingram, a volunteer at ECO Action who organised the event, said “There were many topics but the answer that surprised the audience most, was that EV batteries will now outlast the vehicles themselves. They are also being recycled”.
On 16th February, Greenpeace Berkshire will be in Eco Action WAM in Maidenhead, hosting a welcome event film screening of ‘Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy’.
This film screening and welcome event is a great opportunity to watch and discuss the fantastic new film ‘Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy’; directed by Emmy-winning writer and film maker Nic Stacey, which exposes the tricks companies like Amazon use to keep people buying, and the true costs of overconsumption on people and planet. !
WHEN : 3pm Sunday 16th February
WHERE: ECO Action WAM, Nicholsons Centre, Maidenhead SL6 1LB
COST: Free
It’s also an opportunity to meet and get to know your local Greenpeace group, find out what we do, and how you can take part in our campaigns. Come join us to grow our movement for change! The cafe will be open for refreshments .
WHAT NEXT: Please Register HERE to reserve a place , get reminder & get notified of updates.
ELECTRIC VEHICLES QUESTION TIME Saturday February 22nd 2025 HOLD THE DATE!
WHY COME?
Thinking about getting an electric car? Got lots of questions?
Not sure if it’s for you? Will you save money and reduce carbon if you have one? Why shouldn’t you have one!? This is your chance to hear our expert panel discuss and answer your questions about electric vehicles.
Come to our Electric Vehicle Question Time in the ECO Action Hub Maidenhead on Saturday 22nd February from 11:00 – 12:30
Headlining our panel is highly experienced motoring journalist and EV specialist Ginny Buckley who recently founded www.electrifying.com. together with EV owners, an installer and a specialist in charging infrastructure planning. AND our EV owners will be on Maidenhead High Street from 10am for you to ask questions.
See you at the EV Question Time – where coffee, tea and brownies will be served from the ECO Community Cafe (Donations welcome)! The ECO Action Marketing Team
Cookham Footprint is hosting a SMART ENERGY SHOW on Saturday 23rd November from 13:00 – 16:30 at Chartered Institute of Marketing’s Moor Hall Cookham SL6 9HQ!!
I want to find out more about Air Source Heat Pumps and are there alternatives?
Is my roof suitable for solar panels and are they worthwhile?
What is the Great British Insulation Scheme?
Is my house suitable for cavity wall insulation?
What is a Hybrid system?
I’m interested in an electric car and need a charger.
What about battery storage?
Can I get FREE draughtproofing?
What grants are available?
Peter Gibbs, meteorologist and broadcaster, will start the talks at 1.30pm explaining his enthusiasm for these technologies, and what his motivation was for installing them.
There will be short talks covering topics such as Solar Panels (pvs) and batteries, Air Source Heat pumps, Zero Emission Boilers as well as talks by WildCookham on how we can encourage wildlife into our gardens.
Need more convincing? Become inspired and informed on the exciting technologies available for home energy. Have an opportunity to speak to genuine accredited installers of Solar Panels, Batteries, Air Source Heat Pumps and Zero Emission Boilers. There will also be a national insulation company, who can advise on government grants. All companies come with recommendations from villagers, and most are themselves local.
Cookhams Footprint (part of the Climate Community in Windsor & Maidenhead) is a community energy group encouraging villagers to insulate and ultimately move away from gas. Volunteers visit Cookham homes offering free thermal imaging, explaining EPCs and how to improve their insulation.
The team includes a professional retrofit Surveyor advising on all aspects of energy & homes. He’s given many well-attended talks on Air Source Heat Pumps and how to go carbon neutral. People really appreciated an informal chat from someone with his enthusiasm and expertise.
Also there, Draughtbusters, whom many of you know is a volunteer group who will fix the draughts in your home for FREE, so you should feel warmer and reduce carbon emissions. A trained local resident will come and survey your property and undertake basic draughtproofing.
In these turbulent times, join us and experience the power of coming together to explore how we can act in service of all life on Earth – with a workshop that helps in “Exploring the ‘Spiral’ of The Work That Reconnects”
We are living through crazy, uncertain times. Everywhere we turn, we see evidence of the Great Unraveling of our society and our world: armed conflicts, global climate change, poverty, systemic racism, mass species extinctions, and the collapse of familiar institutions and support structures.
To remain conscious and engaged in these times can be heartbreaking, and the fear, grief, anger, and helplessness we feel can often seem unbearable – because it’s not just our personal pain we’re experiencing, it’s also the collective pain of all life on Earth.
Join us in this workshop as we explore together ‘The Spiral’ of The Work That Reconnects, a body of work created by deep ecologist, activist and beloved elder, Joanna Macy.
Over the 4 hours we’ll create space to tap into the deep well of our gratitude, resourcing ourselves so that we can turn to honour our pain for our world, and speak honestly of the unravelling we are experiencing in our communities and living systems.
In confronting these sorrows we’ll connect to the depths of our caring, recognise and appreciate our radical interconnectedness with all peoples and species, and understand that our flourishing is collective.
We’ll emerge energised, more able to go forth with newfound clarity about our role in The Great Turning, and with greater conviction and courage to join together to act in service of all life on Earth.
PLEASE BRING: To ensure you can enjoy the workshop, please wear comfortable clothing, and consider bringing a layer you can pop on if you get cold. Bring a refillable water bottle to keep hydrated. Bring a packed lunch/something to eat in the lunch break. The ECO Hub has a cafe, so you can also bring a refillable cup for hot drinks.
PAYMENT: We have set a donation option to reduce your ticket fee cost. The donation amount is £20, so please enter that amount to purchase your ticket. Any tickets booked below the indicated donation amount will be refunded immediately. If ordering more than one ticket please adjust accordingly e.g. 2 tickets @ £40, 3 tickets @ £60 etc. You will only receive 1 ticket in this case but we can see how many you have purchased by the amount you have paid.
Come and join the conversation in the Hub on Saturday 12th October from 11:00 – 12:30.
Our new MP Joshua Reynolds will be in the Hub to talk with you and take questions on his plans for eco actions for Maidenhead, for the country and for how he and the Liberals may best influence the green economy. And to get his support!!
??Greenpeace (1), The Climate Coalition and Eco Action, are organizing a National Day of Action. Our shared goal is to ensure every MP engages with you as Climate Voters. We hope you’ll be there. It’s inspiring when communities come together to make a difference! ??
We’re building our ECO Cafe in the ECO Action Hub ‘now’: We’re opening very soon. The coffee’s going to be great and the cakes & snacks are fantastic!
HOLD THE PAGE: We’ve had some great response to this post – we might have someone working with us soon … we’ll let you know when you can come and have the first coffee!!
Due to illness, we URGENTLY need someone to help prepare for and set up our new café. This would suit someone who is organised and able to investigate things.
This is a few days PAID work starting immediately. The work can be done mostly at home.
If you’ve an interest in climate & the environment AND COFFEE, we’d love to talk to you. Come into the Hub, reach out to us here, or come to one of our events and see us!
One of our ECO Action Team has recently returned from a trip from the UK to Denmark by train! An experienced rail traveller, they prefer trains to planes because they are committed to reducing their carbon footprint. and they enjoy the journey as part of the holiday!
Have a read of their experiences in the document below. It might give you idea and motivation to change the way you travel – and replace the plane with the train!
Our Journey
For our 2024 holiday we wanted to visit family in Denmark. The first thing we did was consult the excellent ‘man at seat 61’ (www.seat61.com) for various sustainable options on how to get to Denmark. Rather than an early start for the Eurostar we decided to try the overnight Stena ferry from Harwich. We understand that Stena is pretty good on the sustainable front.
Most of our Danish family live in Aarhus, so that was our first destination. They wanted to take us to their summer house on the tiny island of Stryno. After that we would want a train to Copenhagen to see more relations and have two days exploring that city. Then returning via Hamburg and the Eurostar from Brussels.
Next we chose somewhere to stop enroute to explore a new place. Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Hanover or Hamburg? And on the way back? Hamburg looked to be so interesting we decided to stop there on both journeys including a day excursion to Stade, about 1 hour from Hamburg, as it looked stunning with 17th century houses built during the prosperous Hanseatic period.
So, how did we do and what was it like?
The Ferry: It was a comfortable crossing with helpful staff and we had a nice cabin with a free mini-bar! I was able to watch the Wimbledon Ladies Doubles on the TV which pleased me greatly. We had a good breakfast and arrived in the Netherlands on time at 8am. Changing trains in Amsterdam we had time for a coffee overlooking the canal and cyclists (own cycle lane!).
Hamburg: an impressive train station with a welcoming committee sitting on the 1st floor balcony! Our family had come to meet us!
A large city but very attractive, built on the river Elbe with a buzzing port area (great to walk along and have a cruise around it which included the old renovated warehouse area).
They have a newish, spectacular Elbphilharmonie building dominating the port area.
Our relations had enthused about Hamburg’s Miniature Wonderland so on our return trip we visited and discovered that it is similar to our local Bekonscot but indoors and enormous! It was stunning and we spent several hours looking at places we have visited and the miniature interpretation of them.
There was also a Greenpeace boat approaching a Russian ship near the Antarctic – which ticked the box for us! Also in Hamburg I was very pleased to find an exhibition of the famous photographer Henri Cartier–Bresson whom I admire.
Stade: even better than expected!
Trains: all worked as expected. The station platform displays were helpful to inform where to board when you have seat reservations.
The scenery isn’t as spectacular as other train journeys we’ve done such as through the Alps, but our return train from Copenhagen to Hamburg goes over a very long bridge between Jutland and Funen.
Next year we are thinking about travelling to Croatia for two weeks, by train of course!
We’ve been pushing marketing outreach on social-media, email-newsletter and our website for months. Our marketing team work well – but now we need someone to help us grow more: social / digital marketing, newsletters and all other communications!.
We’re looking for someone with ‘any’ level of marketing skills to join our volunteer team. Could that be you?
If you’ve an interest in climate & the environment, want to ‘do something that makes a difference’ and have even some marketing skills & capability we’d love to talk to you. Come into the Hub, reach out to us here, or come to one of our events and see us!
