News All welcome at Maidstone’s Eco Hub
Maidstone’s Eco Hub is now open in the town centre. Situated in The Mall Shopping Centre, the Hub is staffed by the Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) Climate and Biodiversity Team along with volunteers who will be on-hand to help visitors with information and advice about how to become more sustainable and eco-friendlier.
The Eco Hub is a pop-up information centre which is open three days a week between 10am-4pm until 8 September. It will help to support people live more sustainably, save money and reduce their carbon footprint.
Events at the Hub include Energy Saving Talks, Children's Craft Workshops, Money Saving Grants, Eco Hub Art competition, Recycling Games and Activities, Waste Clinic’s, Sustainable Living Events, Freecycle Swap Shop, Insulation Ideas, Water Saving Devices, Wildlife Friendly Gardening Tips, Active Travel Advice, and much more.
Commenting on the opening of the Maidstone Eco Hub – MBC Leader, Cllr David Burton said:
We know how important it is for all of us to look at ways of becoming more eco-friendly and reduce our carbon footprint.The Council team hosted a similar project last year in The Mall which proved a great success with visitors and we are delighted to be able to help our residents and businesses providing them with information and tips on how to be more sustainable.
There is loads to see at the Hub and lots of activities to take part in. People can bring in any unused items they might have at home as part of a freecycle swap shop. They can swap them with other clothes and household items available in the store, take a look and see if there is anything you would like to swap. For children the arts and crafts table provides a place to sit and decorate a butterfly seed bomb and take part in the Eco Hub colouring competition. Children can also take part in recycling games to guess the items that can be recycled and have a go at the free prize wheel to win one of the great prizes on offer.
The MBC Climate Change and Biodiversity Team has worked with Bearsted Climate Action Network (CAN) to hold an art competition in the Hub entitled ‘The Environment, Maidstone and Me.’ It will focus on 'How we can help Maidstone be sustainable - stop wasting and start changing.'
Members of the Bearsted CAN created a huge plastic-free fish which will be in the Eco Hub with members of the group to help people understand more about how they can be more sustainable. The group is made up of volunteers from the Bearsted community who have a number of initiatives including moving towards making their village plastic free by working with communities and businesses.
Duncan Edwards from Bearsted Climate Action Network (CAN) said:
We created a piece of artwork - the huge fish to help demonstrate the pollution in our seas and by gathering facts and figures about the effects this has, for example ‘A crisp packet can take 75 years to break down in the ocean’. We have called him Nemo and cycled him from Bearsted to the new Eco Hub in The Mall.As a group we wish to raise awareness that everyone can help improve the effects of climate change and every little bit makes a difference. We started the group following COP26, The United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2021 and have grown from there, we are very happy to help any other areas in the Maidstone borough to set up their own local action network, please email us: Bearstedcan@gmail.com
The MBC Eco-Hub can be found in The Mall on the upper level of shopping centre, next door to Vision Express.
For more information visit: Maidstone Eco Hub or email: climateandbiodiversity@maidstone.gov.uk
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