2024

Both events during the weekends of 15 th  & 22 nd June were really well received by residents. They were so much fun to run, owing in no small part to the fantastic engagement from members of our community who rolled up their sleeves and worked hard to make delicious meals, together with ClimateYouChange members and volunteers. There was such a lovely feeling of camaraderie!   We were lucky to be helped by CYC member, Mandy whose experience as a chef really helped make the fi

We had a fantastic time over two separate afternoons in the main hall at the Katherine Road Community Centre with two community sustainability fairs. Each event had different zones which introduced members of our community to affordable, practical, and creative ways in which they can lower their carbon footprint. We offered a variety of free product samples and initiatives which really helped demonstrate ways to combat climate change at a household level. Residents took advan

Course attendees were talked through different techniques to impart textural elements where desired. This led to the inclusion of a few final design elements.   Everyone was inducted in machine sewing thanks to the lovely making-volunteers. Participants were provided with plenty of one-to-one time during their forays into machine stitching. Confidence levels markedly rose as attendees found their feet and realised that they could comfortably sew when provided with good suppor

With the work beginning in earnest, course participants were able to roll up their sleeves and get stuck in. With assistance from the course tutor and volunteers the attendees were helped to change garment proportions and discover how to fit the upcycled designs around their body shapes and proportions. Consideration was given to how to work towards the desired end results, allowing for changes to be made according to design-led whim! ​ This is where a bit of staying power pa

Course participants were given technical instruction, arming them with factors worthy of consideration before embarking on the cutting and sewing leg of their upcycling journey. This was done to provide basic cutting and stitching instruction alongside helping the attendees avoid certain making pitfalls, to work towards the best finished pieces! Participants were advised on which upcycled design elements they might wish to avoid for complete beginners, to aid them in creating

Group founder, Celia Wain-Heapy has been invited to represent ClimateYouChange within the Newham Council Communiy Changemaker programme. According to Newham Council: ‘We are relaunching our ‘Changemakers’ programme to celebrate people who go above and beyond to improve the health and wellbeing of their communities in Newham. This will be a constantly growing community, where people can meet, share ideas and inspiration, network and make connections. Changemakers will be celeb

We are now moving on to upcycling and deciding on personal projects. This is a stage which cannot be rushed! Everyone is encouraged to play with fashion, to discard previous notions of what fashion should be and how clothes ‘are intended to be worn’. We are not looking for crazy and out there but rather upcycled styles which reflect the true spirit of the wearer and their individual creativity. The fashion volunteers and tutor were on hand to help with ideas and pinning! Guid

The Shape Newham project, launched in 2019 to make improvements to the public realm * has now reached its conclusion in the Green Street area.   As a reminder from our 4 March 2020 news update, group member, Celia attended a series of workshops held across the London Borough of Newham.   She took part in exercises designed to choose locations and priorities for each project, always with a view to promoting those which were most likely to achieve favourable outcomes for clima

This is where the fun begins! The next stage of our time together focusses on harnessing our creativity. This was a chance to see that everyone has a well of creativity that they can tap into; to understand that it is not just the designers and artists in society who have access to this precious commodity.  Before moving onto upcycling and making we needed to first look at how to wear and style clothes differently to reinvigorate the pieces already owned. The short course tut

In July 2021 ClimateYouChange was approached by Nicola Mackie from Newham Council in her previous role as the East Ham Neighbourhood Community Ward Manager. Nicola asked for advice on what would be best to plant in East Ham’s Gooseley Playing Fields where it borders the A13. We gave the only sensible answer...Miyawaki! We couldn’t in good conscience recommend that food be grown close to a busy motorway but could suggest a way of achieving incredible levels of carbon drawdown

We had a good first session with lots of positive engagement from the course participants.  Everyone shared their expectations and motivations for being there. A number of the workshop attendees came with the desire to make a difference to their carbon footprint by seeing how they could keep garments in their wardrobe for longer. Everyone wanted to increase their skills and creativity.  We had a packed, hands-on session where participants learnt different mending skills. We d

After all the wet weather from the site preparation days, we had good weather for our first planting day. Throughout the day we welcomed over 20 volunteers to help start the planting of the Food Forest.  After the health and safety briefing, we ran through how we were transferring the scaled planting plan to the membrane-covered area and how to plant the different varieties.  You can view the planting plan portfolio here: CYC-PPP-Food_Forest_Planting_Plan [PDF, 1.3MB] ​ Every

After strimming the site in the days beforehand, we had a successful site preparation day with over 15 volunteers turning up to help clear the site of brambles and litter. Everyone powered through despite rain and the increasingly muddy conditions. One high point of the day was winning the battle with a very stubborn old tree root that was growing under the concrete fence between the community centre and the school next door.  Eventually we were ready to install the biodegrad

Thank you to members of our community who participated in the food forest planning consultation that we held at the Katherine Road Community Centre. It was a well-attended event with positive contribution from local people.  We kicked off by outlining what makes a food forest, explaining the benefits, why they should be included within our green spaces, the advantages over conventional food growing and how they combat climate change.  We discussed how we make the space work,