Introducing SFW Hub: Guildford
This year, we welcome Zero Carbon Guildford to our amazing list of Hub hosts! Steph from Zero Carbon gives us an insight into the team and the work they do around Guildford to tackle environmental challenges with practical, local solutions to make real change.
What is Zero Carbon? How did it begin?
Steph: “Zero Carbon Guildford is a community-led space that engages residents in reducing their impact on the planet through a variety of fun and educational projects. From giving free home energy surveys to Surrey residents, to testing our local waterways for pollution, and everything in between, there is always something different that brings people to ZERO.
The charity started during lockdown with the want to create a physical premises in the town centre that residents could come to for advice on climate change as well as to find community. After 5 years of bringing the community together, we have over 10 active projects running, over 150 volunteers, and have a won a national award for ‘Innovative Community Project’ by The Climate Coalition.”
Which projects do Zero Carbon run?
“We run the following projects in Surrey:
HEAT: Home Energy Advise Team that gives free home energy surveys to Surrey residents, with over 1000 surveys conducted last winter
Water Rangers: a citizen science project where we test our local rivers for e.coli and pollutants and upload our results to a national database to get a better understanding of the state of our rivers nationally.
Community Fridge: we’ve saved over 14 tonnes of food from going to waste by redistributing surplus food from grocery stores back into the community for free
Library of Things: now with over 200 items and 1000 users, this project (in collaboration with Guildford Library) is going from strength to strength
Rosamund Community Garden: a tranquil space where residents can reconnect with nature, garden and harvest
Sustainable Business Network: helping small to medium sized businesses decarbonise
Surrey Hills Baby Clothes Library: we hire out boxes of baby clothes for free to young families to promote a circular economy and save families money
Terracycle: we run a terracycle drop off point for residents to bring their hard-to-recycle items to us
Urban Greening: we partner with schools and businesses in the town centre implement green and blue infrastructure to improve air quality and biodiversity in our urban areas
Sustainable Fashion: our newest initiative to help create and support a fashion commons in Guildford.”
What brought you to SFW?
“Fashion is our newest passion with volunteers coming on board to really push this initiative forward. We have a collection of teachers, menders, dyers, designers and professionals all coming together to create a weeks worth of events to celebrate Sustainable Fashion Week and highlight the local need to not only change the fashion industry but address our behaviours when it comes to our fashion choices. By sharing knowledge, offering up alternatives and building a community to support each other on our sustainable fashion journeys, we know this ongoing project is set to make a difference.”
You can learn more about Zero Carbon Guildford via their website here.
View the range of activities from the Oxford Hub in the programme here.