As one of the most under-served communities in the South East, Hastings is no stranger to promises of transformative funding from central government. But campaigners hope the community involvement and strong green element mean the new Hastings Town Deal will be different. This blog by Thalia Griffiths looks at their plans.
more “Hastings hopes to be South East’s first Garden Town”
The printed programme is hot off the press! Look out for it around town over the coming weeks or download a PDF version here. SoS_Programme_digital Download
With more than 60 events and activities across 9 days the festival spans Hastings and Rother, from Winchelsea in the East to Bexhill in the west.
With each event taking a different approach to promoting a sustainable future the programme has something for all ages and many activities are free to attend.
Highlights include the Car Free Day street party (Sunday 22nd September, 12pm until 6pm) as Hastings marks the international event for the first time, turning the seafront road into community space for socialising, alfresco dining, entertainment and play.
The festival culminates in The Big Green Fair at the Stade (Sunday 29th September, 11:00am – 6:00pm) bringing together a wide range of local stallholders in an ethical marketplace, a programme of talks on sustainability issues, craft and culinary workshops, great food, entertainment and info stands for various local environmental campaigns.
There is now limited time left to add your project, event, action, offer to our sustainable festival programme for free! Register today at www.sustainabilityonsea.org.uk/register-your-event
Check out events so far at www.sustainabilityonsea.org.uk/events
SOS 2019 takes place Sept 21-29 across Hastings/St Leonards/Rother.
#Hastings #bexhill #stleonards #sustainability #community #actlocal #thinkglobal #climatecrisis #transition #transitiontown #2019 #SOS #festival
We had some great feedback on the beach walk on June 3rd where locals looked for things to draw for the mosaic design.
Here are a few photos and a poster with the times and dates of the mosaic making workshops.
We hope to publish the design developed by Emma Harding very soon.
The time has come for businesses and local groups to get involved with our eco-friendly festival: Sustainability on Sea
The theme this year will be “What we can do” showcasing the meaningful things we can all do to live more sustainably.
Last year we had a whole mix of events from speaker events, beach cleans, walks, bike rides, work- shops and family fun days.
It’s a chance for individuals to share their interests and get others involved, for businesses to organise events to bring new customers through the door and for green organisations to showcase what they do.
We welcome all ideas! Here’s some more inspiration:
What people thought of last year’s Sustainability on Sea Festival:
“Well organised lots of information” “Great! Lots of useful info, goodies and optimism” “
We’ve had an extremely positive response to our call out already. Local people are very aware of the issues around climate change and are keen to get involved in the festival.
To get involved please email: info@sustainabilityonsea.org.uk or call Kate on 07840 485344. Or simply sign up today:
Deadline for inclusion: 20th July 2019
The new growing season is upon us and we are looking for keen volunteers to help the team at the community garden in St Leonards Warrior Square train station.
The garden has raised beds for vegetables and lots of fruit tress and bushes where we are growing food that the public can help themselves to. We want to improve the area around the station as well as show how you can eat more sustainably by growing organic foods collectively in the local area.
Generally, we alternate weekly between Saturday (10-1) and Sunday (3-6) but always check the events page before coming to a session!
The Sustainability on Sea (SOS) festival acts as a showcase for local projects inspiring local residents, young and old, to learn, explore and try the latest in all things environmentally friendly, whilst also having fun.
After a successful pilot of SOS Festival in September 2018, Transition Town Hastings, along with other local partners, have started planning for this year.
The festival will take place between Saturday 21st–Sunday 29th September 2019, tying in nicely with World Car Free Day (Sep 22) and culminating with an all-day Big Green Fair on the 29th. The Green Fair will have stall holders, information stands, talks, activities for children and entertainment.
The theme this year will be What we can do, encouraging everyone to live more sustainably, in small or big ways.
We invite you to take part in one or all of the following ways:
How to get in touch
info@sustainabilityonsea.org.uk
SOS
is a Transition Town Hastings project in partnership with Hastings Furniture
Service, Energise Sussex Coast and the Bexhill and Hastings United
Nations Association.
Visit the website to see last year’s programme and to find out more.www.sustainabilityonsea.org.uk
Being a seaside town, Refill Hastings is very conscious of the issue of single use plastic. It washes up on our beaches on a daily basis.
In the past Hastings has had a reputation for being a down and out seaside town but it is now experiencing a bit of a resurgence. It is a very creative and somewhat eccentric place and also has a very socially and environmentally aware and active community.
The Refill scheme was initiated by Transition Town Hastings and the local Green Party along with support from Surfers Against Sewage. These local groups (as well as the Marine Conservation Society) carry out beach and street cleans and often collect a lot of plastic waste.
We’re a small group of volunteers and, so far, we have signed up over 50 venues in the local area to be Refill Stations.
We launched the scheme at the Ocean Symposium at St Mary in the Castle in September 2018.
Julia Hilton of Hastings Green party said:
“The UK currently uses 13 billion plastic bottles every year, but only 7.5 billion of these are recycled with the remaining 5.5 billion either landfilled, littered, or incinerated but we are also lucky enough to have some of the best quality tap water in the world — and with the Refill app it’s easier and cheaper to carry a bottle and refill it than to constantly buy new bottles. We can help make carrying a bottle the norm and make sure people know how easy it is to find their refill.”
Visit our facebook page or join the facebook group to get involved.
From local, organic food grower Pea Pod Veg‘s Abby Nicol…
“It’s time to amend the agriculture bill. Click on the link below to write to your MP and share the news far and wide. In the face of devastating climate change and widening inequality in society we need a agriculture bill that is progressive and serves everyone and looks to the future. We need to be able to shout about how the solutions exist and not feel embarrassed about calling for agroecology, organic farming, nature based farming, farming jobs, rights for rural workers and more. We need farmers 3 times a day, we must stand up for them and fight for a truly sustainable food system.”
So please take a moment to check out the Land Workers’ Alliance website and have your say before its too late.
Transition Town Hastings and Energise Sussex Coast are jointly coordinating a new festival all about sustainable practices in the local area.
Join us on Sept 21-30 for some inspiring events including nature walks, talks, demos, debates and tips on reducing plastic, a DIY solar workshop and more. We are also proud to promote events by local groups such as Sussex Wildlife Trust, Surfers Against Sewage, OVESCO, Hastings Furniture Service and Pier to Eternity.
The aim is to promote a sustainable future encouraging positive behaviour change and supporting and promoting those who are playing their role towards this goal.
The festival finale event is a Big Green Fair on the Stade Open Space, Stade hall and Classroom on the Coast. The day will include talks, demos, art workshops, food workshops, bike checks, music, local information stalls and eco products for sale. Not to be missed!
See www.sustainabilityonsea.org.uk for more details.