St John's Church Egham

Experience Hope

Virtual Discussion

VDD: Exploring the World of Bees

by

To return to the main schedule – click here
For an overview of the events – click here

Exploring the World of Bees

22nd July at 18:30-19:30 – Virtual Q&A Dinner Discussion

Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/740982944918213056/

In the ancient times, Exodus 3:8, NIV: God promised the Jews a land flowing with milk and honey. In Matthew 3:4, NIV John the Baptist was nourished with wild honey. Honey is a special food, in fact it is a super food!

Today we hear of bees dying and that our plants are at risks. So what is so special about the bees? What is the difference between bees and wasps? Will they sting me?

Come see bees at the Forestry Estate Community Hub

Richard Emmett is a local resident bee keeper with hives at a pub called The Beehive and at his local church The Journey. Join him for a discussion on bees and ask him any questions you may have to help you demystify the fact about bees. See here as The Journey Church follows his adventures with the bees.

To connect with us:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/StJohnsEghamEcoChurch

@StJohnsEcoChurch https://www.facebook.com/StJohnsEcoChurch

https://www.instagram.com/stjohnsecochurch/

@StJohnsEcoChurch https://www.instagram.com/stjohnsecochurch/

Email: StJohnsEghamEcoChurch@gmail.com

VDD: Nature in the Local Hood

by

To return to the main schedule – click here
For an overview of the events – click here

Nature in the Local Hood

20th July 6-7pm: Free Virtual Discussion – Ticketed Event

With wildlife and species declining globally, EarthWatch, an international environmental charity has created a platform called Naturehood to encourage the world to bring nature back into their local communities and gardens. This platform is an excellent resource for individuals, communities and families who are interested in nature and want to encourage rewilding to improve the life of our wildlife. Ben Williams who is the Programme Director for Naturehood will showcase the platform and answer any questions you might have in a live virtual discussion on Nature in our Local Hood.

Come join us in this live virtual dinner discussion and bring a picnic.

If you want to leave a question for this discussion please submit a question via our question form. Click here to access

To connect with us:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/StJohnsEghamEcoChurch

@StJohnsEcoChurch https://www.facebook.com/StJohnsEcoChurch

https://www.instagram.com/stjohnsecochurch/

@StJohnsEcoChurch https://www.instagram.com/stjohnsecochurch/

Email: StJohnsEghamEcoChurch@gmail.com

To return to the main schedule – click here
For an overview of the events – click here

VDD: Low Carbon, Low Energy

by

To return to the main schedule – click here
For an overview of the events – click here

Creating a Low Carbon Home

Monday 13th July 6-7pm: Free ticketed live virtual dinner discussion

Many of us are interested in reducing the pollution we generate directly , whether that is through transportation (see Xavier Brice’s talk on this subject and ask him questions on 15th July) or simply via the energy generation needed to run one’s household. 13% of the UK’s carbon emissions comes from mainly heating our homes due to draughts and cold spots. A low carbon home is a more comfortable home with cleaner air and a healthy indoor temperature.

What’s more exciting, is your home can become a virtual power plant providing electricity to heat your home, charge an electric vehicle or to store energy for use later on.  As the UK is moving away from coal fired power stations, the grid carbon factor has halved since 2014.  So electrification and moving away from gas is a really important part of creating a low carbon home.

The difficult part is knowing where to start, so we are inviting you to a free virtual dinner discussion with our expert, Leah Robson, who will answer questions to help you on the road to a low carbon home.  Leah has installed heat pumps and solar panels in over 50 local homes and businesses and is especially keen on a whole house approach to look at how insulation and different technologies can work together to reduce CO2 emissions.

Saving or reducing the energy used also means saving money. That can be as simple as changing a light bulb!

Leah & Mister Squeak Fire

Resources:

Leah, specialises in helping households to be carbon neutral. She will be running a live ticketed free virtual discussion on 13th July at 6-7pm. To join the discussion, register below and then be ready with questions and your dinner.

If you want to leave a question for this discussion please submit a question via our question form. Click here to access

To connect with us:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/StJohnsEghamEcoChurch

@StJohnsEcoChurch https://www.facebook.com/StJohnsEcoChurch

https://www.instagram.com/stjohnsecochurch/

@StJohnsEcoChurch https://www.instagram.com/stjohnsecochurch/

Email: StJohnsEghamEcoChurch@gmail.com

To return to the main schedule – click here
For an overview of the events – click here

VDD: Reduce Your General Waste

by

To return to the main schedule – click here
For an overview of the events – click here

Church of England’s Prayer

The Journey to Zero Waste & Litter Free Environments

24th July 6-7pm: Ticketed Virtual Q&A

Shannon and Iris regularly plog the streets of Chertsey

Handling & processing waste costs money. Waste that is not recycled is incinerated, which means a resource is burned forever.

Check your knowledge of the waste terms here

Metal is the only material that can be recycled nearly an infinite amount of times. Recycling glass requires very high temperatures (over 800 degrees celcius which is higher than the temperatures of the incinerators) and materials like plastic and paper are downgraded with each “recycle”. I hear some of you saying “My council recycles plastic”, and some of you demand that “More plastic should be recycled”

When plastic is recycled, it can be recycled on average 6 times before it is deemed useless. Since September 2019, virgin plastic has been cheaper to purchase than recycled plastic.

To reduce the amount of waste that is processed, there are a number of initiatives from BYOR (Bring Your Own Reusable), Repurposing, Upcycling, and Reusing. Charity shops, preloved sites and freecycling are great ways to reuse items that are in good condition. Upcycling or repurposing using crafting methods has a finite number of times you will be able to divert your rubbish from the general waste. Our Eco-Brick project is a way to repurpose bottles and upcycle plastic rubbish we would otherwise have to put in our general waste. Another way is to find a Zero Waste / Refill shop in your area.

Mel from Bare + Fair, a Zero Waste shop, will be at the discussion

BYOR is a great way to refuse purchasing single use bags, coffee cups, take away containers and more. Some of the take away shops will use your containers if you ask them. Cups in Egham used to provide a 20p discount off your purchase if you brought your own container.

Neil has been campaigning and helping lead governance changes

There are many more ways to reduce waste and we have brought together a panel that actively reduces waste from a business/organisational perspective, resident perspective, and a political perspective

  • Iris and Shannon – Chertsey residents whose challenge is to pick up litter every day in their daily walks and have an Instagram account @RubbishADay
  • Neil – from Zero Waste Europe promotes and supports societal moves to zero waste, and the need for change at political and corporate level to enable that change at a personal level.
  • Mel – runs Bare and Fair, a refill shop in Woking to enable sustainable and low-waste living a realistic option

Come join us for a free live virtual dinner discussion on going zero waste on the 24th July 6-7pm. Register for a ticket below:

If you want to leave a question for this discussion please submit a question via our question form. Click here to access

To connect with us:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/StJohnsEghamEcoChurch

@StJohnsEcoChurch https://www.facebook.com/StJohnsEcoChurch

https://www.instagram.com/stjohnsecochurch/

@StJohnsEcoChurch https://www.instagram.com/stjohnsecochurch/

Email: StJohnsEghamEcoChurch@gmail.com

To return to the main schedule – click here
For an overview of the events – click here

VDD: The Food Waste Cycle

by

To return to the main schedule – click here
For an overview of the events – click here

Make Food Last & Eat Great Food

17th July 2020 7-8pm – Free Ticketed Virtual Dinner Discussion + Q&A

The average UK household throws away £355.68 worth of food every year, equating to a startling £9.7billion across the country annually.

According to the research collated in February 2019, 65 per cent of UK adults admit to buying too much food that ends up being thrown away, with London and Newcastle reporting the highest rates of food waste.

Source: https://resource.co/article/study-reveals-uk-wastes-97-billion-food-each-year
Advocacy | FEBA
Image from: https://www.eurofoodbank.org/en/advocacy

As Christians we give thanks for our food and pray it blesses our bodies. However, there is a great deal of confusion about how long food can be kept safely.

Some believe we have been programmed to use an artificial date as a means of when to dispose of food products, instead of relying on our natural senses to look, smell and taste. When we grow our own food, we rely on those senses to tell us when food is inedible. Fruit, vegetables and freshly laid eggs taste so much better when you’ve grown it yourself, looked after chickens.

Heather will be sharing tips about growing your own

The Use By Date and the Best Before Date have different meanings. A Use By Date is about safety and a Best Before Date refers to the quality and shelf life of an unopened food product.

Every year, we throw away 7.2 million tonnes of food and drink in the UK, most of which could have been eaten. So think carefully before throwing away food past its “best before” date. The food will be safe to eat after this date but may not be at its best in terms of flavour, texture and nutritional value.

Suzanne from EdAbles Social Kitchen will sharing tips on cooking great food with food that may seem old

For more about food labelling see here: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/food-labelling-terms/

For handy tips on reducing food waste see here: https://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/

Janet loves her veg

At the live Q&A session the panel consists of people who are dedicated to reducing food waste from purchasing, to cooking, to preserving to growing your own.

  • Suzanne from EdAble Social Kitchen: her social enterprise creates meals from food that would otherwise be wasted
  • Heather is a professional gardener who will be able to tell you about plants and composting
  • Janet is a veg lover who enjoys cooking and growing veg

Come join us for a free live virtual dinner discussion on making food last and growing food on the 17th July 7-8pm. Register for this event below:

If you want to leave a question for this discussion please submit a question via our question form. Click here to access

To connect with us:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/StJohnsEghamEcoChurch

@StJohnsEcoChurch https://www.facebook.com/StJohnsEcoChurch

https://www.instagram.com/stjohnsecochurch/

@StJohnsEcoChurch https://www.instagram.com/stjohnsecochurch/

Email: StJohnsEghamEcoChurch@gmail.com

To return to the main schedule – click here
For an overview of the events – click here

VDD: Cycle-Ability

by

To return to the main schedule – click here
For an overview of the events – click here

As I ride on my bike
I ride by faith and not by sight
While the wind blows in my face
I think of His Amazing Grace
Lord protect me as I ride
For I know that you will be by my side

AUthor Unknown

Cycle Ability

15th July 6-7pm – Ticketed and Free Virtual Discussion: Everything to know about cycling
25th July 10am-4pm – Cycle Repair and mini craft market at St John’s Church grounds

During lockdown, I was sent an email from a large sports shop in Staines saying that they had run out of bicycles! Who would have thought that? Who has bought a bicycle recently? I have certainly seen a lot of newbie cyclists out on the road and parents taking their children out for a cycle. On the one hand it is a wonderful thing to see, but at times it has been scary to watch!

The Eco-Church team have teamed up with the charity Sustrans, whose mission is to make it easy for people to walk and cycle. We are fortunate to have Xavier, a local who lives in Runnymede and who heads Sustrans, available to conduct a:

  • Free live Q&A session on “Everything you wanted to know about cycling” on the 15th July between 6-7pm so come armed with questions! Register for your free ticket on EventBrite below.
  • Free cycle repair on the 25th July at St John’s Church grounds along between 10am – 4pm. Talk to Xavier on the 15th to book a spot with him. There will also be a small craft market. So bring your bicycle over if you want him to have a look at it, and browse the craft market while you’re waiting.

If you want to know what Xavier thinks about the future of transport, you can watch his free webinar here. A quick word from Xavier about the session.

Before attending the sessions we have put together a number of resources to help you get started. There are tips on teaching children good cycling practices, as well as advice for anyone who would like to cycle to work. Have a watch and read of them if you’d like to find out more!

Cycling for beginners:

https://www.sustrans.org.uk/our-blog/get-active/2020/everyday-walking-and-cycling/cycling-for-beginners/

https://www.cyclinguk.org/article/campaigns-guide/cycling-tips-24-essential-pieces-riding-advice-beginners

Teaching your child to cycle:

Cycling to work:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-53143359/want-to-start-cycling-to-work-here-s-how

Resources for families to entertain/educate kids:

https://www.sustrans.org.uk/campaigns/outside-in#:~:text=Sustrans%20Outside%20In%20activities%20include,walking%20and%20scooting%20themed%20fun. 

Repairing a puncture:

Register at EventBrite for a ticket:

If you want to leave us a question for this discussion please fill in our question form. Click here to access

To connect with us:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/StJohnsEghamEcoChurch

@StJohnsEcoChurch https://www.facebook.com/StJohnsEcoChurch

https://www.instagram.com/stjohnsecochurch/

@StJohnsEcoChurch https://www.instagram.com/stjohnsecochurch/

Email: StJohnsEghamEcoChurch@gmail.com

To return to the main schedule – click here
For an overview of the events – click here

VDD: Green Discussions to Build Back Better?

by

To return to the main schedule – click here
For an overview of the events – click here

Green Discussions:
How Can We Build Back Better?

31st July 2020 at 6-7pm – Free Ticketed Virtual Discussion + Q&A

In Genesis God gave humans a responsibility: to look after the Earth on God’s behalf, to enjoy it and rule it in the way that God would.
Psalm 24:1: “The Earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it”

The covid19 lockdown has provided us a glimpse of the benefits of how an improved natural environment affects our own wellbeing. Globally, many comments have been made on social media from societies in lockdown about how much better the environment has been – from the reduction in litter to the birds singing and the clear skies. Below is an example of one of the many posts and comments where our community in Runnymede Borough have recognised our newfound harmonising with nature.

Posted in May on the Neighbourhoods platform

With the improvement in our natural environment, University College London found there was an initial overall improvement in our society’s mental wellbeing. (Ref: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2020/apr/stress-over-covid-19-keeping-fewer-people-night ). How can we ensure this continues to be our new normal as we continue with the shadow of the pandemic plus the economic downturn? (Ref: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/disability-53092833).

In this final session, our agenda is to discuss and find potential solutions for how our economic and environmental sustainability can evolve together without losing our newfound awareness of our natural world. Come join us to discuss:

  • How can we retain the positives of an improved environment alongside rising demands to return to our disposable society?
  • How do we enable people to travel via low carbon means when many are concerned about the safety of using public transport?
  • How can our towns better support our communities in the new ways that we shop, work and interact?
  • How can businesses evolve so that general waste is reduced and businesses are made to be responsible for own their own single-use / disposable packaging?
    (Read up on the current packaging responsibilities: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/packaging-producer-responsibilities)

Runnymede Borough, like some other boroughs in the UK, is upgrading their tired looking towns and cities, and have an opportunity to recreate how our societies interact with each other and how we interact with our natural environment.

Come join our discussion with Runnymede Borough Councillors and an EarthWatch specialist in Climate-Proofing towns and cities to gain ideas and create a collaboration amongst all stakeholders to improve the way we integrate with our environment. We hope to nurture collaboration between all stakeholders in Runnymede Borough and beyond and hope sustainability champions will come forward across different sectors to continue to inspire, encourage and lead to make our borough(s) greener and cleaner.

We are pleased to have attending this event the following RBC councillors:

  • Cllr Don Whyte
  • Cllr Isabel Mullens
  • Cllr Mark Adams
  • Cllr Michael Brieley
  • Cllr Robert King
  • Cllr Sylvia Whyte

And Louise from EarthWatch who’s specialty is in climate-proof cities and nature-based solutions. This is a free virtual ticketed event with a limited number of places available. Please register below if you would like to attend.

If you want to leave a question for this discussion, please submit your question via our question form. Click here to access

To connect with us:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/StJohnsEghamEcoChurch

@StJohnsEcoChurch https://www.facebook.com/StJohnsEcoChurch

https://www.instagram.com/stjohnsecochurch/

@StJohnsEcoChurch https://www.instagram.com/stjohnsecochurch/

Email: StJohnsEghamEcoChurch@gmail.com

To return to the main schedule – click here
For an overview of the events – click here