ELECTRICAL RECYCLING PROJECT 2024
This year we decided to undertake an audit of all our equipment and assets with a view to rationalising our belongings, both for the company and from a personal perspective. Sorbus Learning CIC has a sustainability policy that aims to follow the 8Rs of rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, refurbish, repair and recycle.
As a not-for-profit company with limited resources the best way forward was to initiate a community-based project by working in partnership with our local community and the WeeeCharity.
WeeeCharity is a registered charity located in Warrington, an industrial town in Cheshire, England. They are licensed by the Environment Agency to process electrical waste. Their employees, volunteers and trainees repair, reuse and resell items back to their local community.
We opened discussions with 4 old laptops to dispose of but to help ensure that our project was sustainable we needed to engage with family, friends and neighbours to collect their unwanted tech too.
You can see the outcome of that approach was successful in this image that shows the equipment we collected boxed ready to collect. So on 24th July we were able to hand over 19 laptops, 25 mobiles, 6 iPods, 8 power packs, 5 keyboards and a variety of leads and chargers; as well as other computer, telephone, television and gaming equipment.
WE ARE THE ARK – ACTS OF RESTORATIVE KINDNESS
As outdoor learning practitioners and exponents of lifelong learning we engage in continual professional development as individuals and a team. We read books and trade magazines, discuss new ideas and explore opportunities to improve our activities.
We have recently read books ‘We Are The Ark’ by Mary Reynolds (Timber Press ISBN: 978-1-64326-178-2) and larger ‘The Biodiversity Gardener’ by Paul Sterry (Princeton ISBN: 978-0-691-24555-3) that both encourage gardening for biodiversity.
Both authors also promote the concept of developing your outlook from a gardener to a guardian of nature. This sits comfortably with our outlook on nature conservation and belief that gardens offer a unique opportunity to improve local biodiversity.
As a community interest company we have now incorporated Acts of Restorative Kindness into our strategy, projects and activities as well as joining the international ARK Project.
GROW WILD – OUR PARTNERSHIP APPROACH 2024
For the last few years we have adopted a collaborative approach with the Grow Wild Team at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew to promote growing wildflowers, plants and fungi to enhance biodiversity.
Grow Wild UK is a national community outreach and learning initiative that offers grants and training sessions to community groups across the UK. The aim is to transform urban spaces, bringing people together to value and to enjoy UK native plants.
For a second year we are providing courses and workshops about growing wild plants and gardening for biodiversity to their members and community groups across England, Wales and Scotland.
HAMPTON COURT GARDEN FESTIVAL 2023
Sorbus Learning was privileged to be invited by the RHS to attend the Garden Festival at Hampton Court Palace Gardens, London. We were encouraged to arrive early and visit the stands and chat to designers of the display gardens.
I took part in a forum giving advice about recruiting volunteers into community gardens, such as the one we designed and built at North Downs Primary School in Brockham, Surrey.
I was very lucky to meet Carol Klein (BBC Gardeners World) and Asa Gregers-Warg (Head Gardener, Beth Chatto Gardens) to discuss and share ideas about gardening for biodiversity and opportunities to use more drought-tolerant plants and methods.
More recently we have been working with the Edibles & Seeds Team at RHS Garden Wisley to explore opportunities for them to introduce wildflower meadows and wildlife ponds into their orchards.