Sustainable Silchester

About

Sustainable Silchester encourages and supports people in the village to take practical steps towards living more sustainably and improving biodiversity. It is part of the Greening Campaign, a Hampshire-wide organisation, and a working group of Silchester Parish Council. The group has run a wildlife survey with the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, a group buy on compost bins for Silchester and Pamber Heath residents, evenings with energy experts, thermal imaging of residents' homes to identify heat loss, and a litter pick with the parish church. A good deal of the nature side is about Silchester Common, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and some of the last remaining heathland in the country. They are also delighted to support other village initiatives, such as the litter picks around the village organised by the parish church and the Buy Nothing Silchester Facebook group.

What they do

• Greening Silchester, part of the Hampshire-wide Greening Campaign
• Community Garden - come along and enjoy gardening in company, to grow your own food
• Bee hotels and wildlife patches to help support pollinating insects
• Thermal imaging of residents' homes to help them make their homes warmer and cheaper to run
• Wildlife walks around the common, including the glow worm hunt, and a bat walk
• Events with energy experts
• Guidance on cutting waste at home
• Clothes-swap evening to help reduce waste
• Recycling collection of ink cartridges and batteries at the village hall
• Wildlife surveys with the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust
• A Sustainability Brownie Badge, completed by Silchester Brownies and many other units around the county