The SWF u3a Eco Group held a successful “Let’s Get Green” event on 14th June at Champions Manor Hall as part of the national Great Big Green Week.
The Town Mayor, Cllr Alan Shearring opened the event for us and spoke about how the Town Council is becoming greener with an electric van and solar panels. He then visited the various tables and chatted with people there.
As well as a variety of displays on electric vehicles, recycling and plastics, eco-friendly household goods, vegan recipes, green travel and holidays we also had a slideshow of photos on green issues taken by the u3a Photography Group and paintings done by the u3a Paints and Pastels group. Children could give us their thoughts on climate change and also make paper plant pots and plant wildflower seeds. We were also joined by the Men’s Shed lads who had made bird boxes, bird tables, and planters for people to buy, Sue with her Open Gardens fund-raising for Farleigh Hospice and Kelly from Kinder Essex. Refreshments were served during the afternoon.
During the afternoon, Byron gave a talk on what you can do for hedgehogs in the garden, such as holes under fences, providing water and places where they can hide. South Woodham turns out to be a a good location for hedgehogs. We also watched a blog of our Cllr Terry Sherlock, Chelmsford’s Climate Ambassador, cycling round the cycle routes in South Woodham, a video about plastic recycling and one about Climate Justice. It was a very sociable and informative afternoon.
Ann Woolley
Ann.woolley.u3a@gmail.com