Category: Advent Calendar

What is dark brown, crumbly, good for your garden – and completely free? No, it’s not chocolate cake. It’s leafmould, and today’s Green Tips Advent Calendar window opens to tell you all about it.

Leaves are lovely when left for wildlife – but they also make a fantastic natural soil conditioner. You can use all fallen leaves in the autumn. Even the ones with black spots. Running the mower over the lawn, with blades high, will shred the leaves and collect them in a mix of grass trimmings. These will rot down fast, especially when damp.

And you can just leave or add them to your borders and let nature do her thing, this will project the soil from the ravages of winter and will also help bugs, birds and worms. But if it’s not too late (you haven’t cleared them away already) you can save them to make something magical!

Leafmould is one of the best ways to mulch a soil. Mulching protects bare soil during winter rains. And during summer months it will smother weeds and keep the soil moist. You can also use leafmould as part of your homemade potting mix for seedlings.

How to make leafmould

Leafmould is so easy to make. Simply:

1. Collect fallen autumn leaves.
2. Pack them while damp into a container – a reusable bin bag or a wireframe.
3. Leave them for a year or two. You will have a lovely dark brown mix that supports your soil structure.
4. If you mix grass cuttings with the leaves you will increase the nitrate content of the leafmould.

Thick reusable bin bags or hessian sacks are ideal for a container, especially if you reuse old builders’ bags. They’re portable, allowing you to store them out of the way. Once full of leaves, make sure they are damp before tying the top. Pierce the bag a few times to help aerate the contents.

If you don’t want to use plastic, try making a simple heap contained by stems of clematis or recently pulled up runner bean stalks. You can also build a frame of chicken wire, held up by posts.

What makes Leafmould so good?

Autumn leaves are rotted down mainly by the slow, cool action of fungi – rather than the quicker acting bacteria that work in a compost heap. This is why autumn leaves in quantity are best recycled separately in a leafmould heap, where they won’t hinder the speedy anaerobic breakdown of your homemade compost.

Leaves contain up to 80% of the nutrients picked up by a tree. However, as they die, most of these nutrients are reabsorbed by the tree. What remains in the leaf is an important substance called lignin. It acts as a buffer for extremes of mineral flows within the soil, and can hold the soil nutrients in reserve.

Lignin is the fibre in the leaf’s cell structure, and is slow to break down. This means some leaves – which are higher in lignin – are slower to rot than others:

• Leaves which are higher in lignin and lower in nitrogen and calcium: beech, birch, hornbeam, oak, sweet chestnut and magnolia.
• Leaves which are lower in lignin and higher in calcium and nitrogen: ash, cherry, elm, linden, maple, poplar and willow.

How to use leafmould

Young leafmould (1 or 2 years old)

This is when leaves begin to break up and it’s easily crumbled in the hand. Use it to:

• Cover bare soil in winter. It will protect against winter rains, which can wash out the soil nutrients. It also provides excellent food for worms and other micro soil life.
• Mulch around herbaceous shrubs, trees, and vegetables in the summer to suppress weeds and keep the soil moist.
• Dig in as soil improver for sowing and planting, especially if your soil is heavy. It will help with drainage.
• Top dress lawns in autumn. This will keep the soil micro-life under the grass well fed. They in turn will help create a healthy, well-drained soil for the grass roots to thrive.

Well-rotted leafmould (at least 2 years old)

This is a dark brown crumbly material, with no real trace of original leaves visible. Use it as:

• A seed sowing mix – either well-sieved leafmould on its own, or mixed with equal parts sharp sand. This makes the perfect low nutrient, fine-structured medium to help seed germination.
• A homemade potting compost – mix equal parts well-rotted leafmould, sharp sand, loam (soil) and garden compost to give your potted plants a healthy well-structured mix to grow in.

Leave leaves for nature

Please don’t take leaves from woodlands. They’re an important part of the natural cycle, providing nutrition as well as habitat for woodland creatures. It’s also important to leave them under hedges. Not only are they good for the soil which feeds the hedge, but hedgehogs may be hibernating there.

Source: Garden Organic

Today’s Advent Calendar window opens to upcycle old pallets, because today, we had lot’s of fun upcycling some old pallets into Christmas Trees!

Upcycling, also known as creative reuse, is the process of turning unwanted or waste materials into new products that are of equal or higher quality. The goal of upcycling is to reduce waste and improve the lifespan of resources.

Upcycling can be done in many ways, including:

• Making new furniture
• Repurposing old dishes
• Using old fabric to make pillows, gift wrap, or art
• Repurposing old frames
• Transforming an old ladder
• Upcycling old light fixtures
• Repurposing items as planters

Upcycling is an important part of going green and reducing your carbon footprint. It helps to reduce the strain on resources like fuel, forests, and water supplies, and helps to safeguard wildlife habitats.

Making Christmas Trees!

We did this today by taking part in one of our ‘How to…’ sessions which was also one of the Wellingborough Community Action Partnership’s Sustainability Skills courses, lead by Emma, ably supported by Jonathan. This course was administered by Glamis Hall and funded by the UK Prosperity Fund that has been distributed locally by North Northamptonshire Council.

The point of this course was to share basic woodworking skills and to show how to upcycle something into something amazing!

Several pallets that were laying around at the allotment, were broken up first thing this morning in readiness for the session, which took place between 10am and 4pm at Alma Street Chapel Hall. Eight of us all made a tree, have a look at the video below to have a look at our creations! The day was also a great opportunity to have some fun and it included a free lunch made from some vegetables saved by Food Sharers.

We are also planning to do lots more upcycling in the New Year at our new workshop when it is completed at our Community Allotment. This too will be upcycled out of old pallets, just like the gazebo we have up there. What can you make out of old pallets?

We hope that we have inspired you to get creative. For even more inspiration please do have a look at our Eco-Crafters group. For more Sustainability Skills courses please do have a look at https://ticketmaster.co.uk/glamishall and for more information about our How to… guides and sessions see https://wellingboroughecogroup.org.uk/eco/how-to

Today’s Advent Calendar window opens to Save Our Trees, because despite the undeniable fact that trees are good for the environment, and that felling trees is one of the primary reasons as to why global warming is showing no signs of slowing down, hundreds of mature trees are felled in North Northamptonshire every year for developments, and despite many being planted over the last year or so, for every mature tree lost, hundreds of new ones are needed to offset their environmental benefit.

This window has been inspired by the continued efforts of Wellingborough Walks Action Group (WWAG) who had an information and fundraising stall in The Swansgate Shopping Centre today. Huge support for their Save Our Trees campaign was yet again shown, with the stall making nearly £750 from sales of their new mugs, their 2025 calendar and at their tombola!

The campaign continues despite winning the Judicial Review at The High Court, meaning that North Northamptonshire Council (NNC) are legally bound to not chop down the lime trees on The Walks if it can be avoided. WWAG have had plans drawn up that would Save Our Trees, so no trees should be felled; but NNC have repeatedly rescheduled planning and have as yet failed to comment of alternative proposals. WWAG’s solicitors are in correspondence with the council but of course this costs and is why WWAG are fundraising.

So why care about trees? Here are some of the benefits of mature trees outside of woodland: (source Woodland Trust)

• Absorbing air pollution – particulate matter (PM), NOx, SO2 , ozone, carbon monoxide, ammonia
• Removing dust and odour
• Producing oxygen
• Sequestering and storing carbon – directly and in soil
• Providing shade
• Reducing summer air temperatures
• Providing shelter from wind
• Reducing energy use
• Reducing glare
• Reducing rate and volume of storm water runoff
• Reducing flood risk
• Recharging ground water
• Enhancing water quality
• Reducing soil erosion
• Attenuating noise
• Screening unattractive or noisy places
• Supporting pollinators and other insects
• Providing habitat for birds and mammals
• Providing and enhancing landscape character
• Contributing to sense of place and identity
• Part of cultural heritage
• Enhancing aesthetics
• Benefiting physical health – reducing blood pressure, stress, asthma
• Speeding recovery from surgery and illness
• Enhancing attention and cognitive function
• Improving mental health and wellbeing
• Improving pregnancy and birth outcomes
• Reducing mortality rates – especially related to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases
• Encouraging physical activity
• Enhancing community cohesion
• Reducing aggression, violence and crime rates
• Increasing security
• Enhancing driver and pedestrian safety
• Reducing road traffic speeds
• Enhancing privacy
• Bringing people closer to nature
• Providing setting for outdoor learning
• Improving educational outcomes through improvements in concentration and performance and reduced time off for illness
• Enhancing quality of life
• Providing spiritual value and meaning

Trees are very effective at mitigating the effects of air pollution, primarily by intercepting airborne particulate matter, but also by absorbing ozone, SO2, NOX and ammonia. Trees, especially large ones, are able to store significant amounts of carbon. The two factors that most influence carbon uptake are growth rates and wood density, with considerable inter-specific variation. Total life cycle carbon sequestration in urban and roadside locations may be maximised by selecting tree species with high wood densities rather than growth rates.

Trees have a moderating effect on local climate, although tree location in relation to buildings and roads can have a major influence on impact. Densely planted tree belts can also reduce noise level. TOWs can also provide hydrological benefits in the form of avoided runoff and flood alleviation, and water quality enhancement.

In terms of cultural services, scattered trees and other types of trees outside of woodlands are a fundamental part of the cultural landscape of the UK, providing character and local distinctiveness. Within urban areas, people show a generally favourable attitude towards street trees, with the most highly rated benefit being visual attractiveness.

There is strong and growing evidence linking exposure to trees with enhancements in both physical and mental health and wellbeing. Benefits include – speeding recovery from surgery and illness, enhancing attention and cognitive function, improving mental health and wellbeing, improving pregnancy and birth outcomes, reducing mortality rates (especially related to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases), and encouraging physical activity.

In addition, evidence suggests that in urban areas the presence of trees can be used to deter crime and anti-social behaviour. Roadside trees also have an impact on road safety, reducing the frequency and severity of crashes, reducing traffic speed and enhancing pedestrian safety.

Taking planting and maintenance costs into account, urban trees deliver considerably more benefits than they cost. It is likely that overall annual costs including both planting and maintenance will be around £25 per tree in the UK, with £81 of benefits delivered. This gives a net benefit of approximately £56 per tree per year and a cost benefit ratio of 1:3.2.

As the world becomes more environmentally aware, the knowledge and awareness of practices such as tree felling has increased. Felling trees has become more and more unacceptable and of an important issue to people, particularly in Wellingborough. The Save Our Trees campaign has had a national impact in terms of planning to ensure trees are saved with their High Court victory; but the trees on The Walks are not saved yet, so please do support the campaigners at Wellingborough Walks Action Group. 2025 Calendars, new mugs and clothing is available, find out more on social media and at saveourtrees.co.uk

Today’s Advent Calendar window opens to repurpose the things you have but aren’t using. We all have things that just gather dust or are somewhere in the loft. To prove you can use things for different purposes, Emma, who runs Eco-Crafters and Sew Social, has repurposed Swap Shop clothes, cushions and toys for Wellingborough Eco Group’s entry at The Christmas Tree Festival this weekend.

So here’s the good news: repurposing is a real thing, the kind that turns your “maybe one day” pile into a treasure trove of creativity. Imagine transforming that old ladder into a chic bookshelf or an outdated suitcase into a charming chair.

When it comes to giving old items a new life, three terms often pop up: reuse, upcycle, and repurpose. They all involve extending the life of an item, each in their own way.

Reusing is pretty self-explanatory. It means taking something as it is and using it again for the same purpose. And while upcycling and repurposing may sound similar, they actually work in slightly different ways — one through artistic enhancement, the other through reinventing its functionality. To put it simply when you repurpose the item is just used differently.

Repurposing is about changing the function of an item to serve a completely different purpose from what it was originally designed for. This involves a significant functional transformation, like turning an old piano into a bookshelf or using a bicycle wheel as a clock. You’re not necessarily making it fancier, but you’re giving it a new purpose.

Let’s get Eco-Crafting!

Eco-Crafters are doing this all the time to make lovely new things out of unused old things. Join a group for crafty people who love to get creative and reuse or recycle to make new. You can bring your own projects or start something new with us. Join in 10-2 on Thursdays every week at Wellingborough Eco Group’s ECO HUB, Glamis Hall, or join us on Facebook and share your projects and ideas there.

If you would like to see our Christmas Tree, the festival is at Wellingborough United Reform Church on the High Street (more commonly known as the Pork Pie Church) It is on this Saturday 10am-4:30pm and Sunday 10am-3:45pm. Entry is £2.

The fourth Green Tips Advent Calendar window opens to use less water, which can be an easy process. The smallest changes can make a huge difference overtime.

Today’s Green Tip comes via Freddie Harris from Wellie Wombles:

‘When washing the dishes and running the hot tap into water.
Fill a jug first until runs hot. Use the water for your next brew’

Now there’s an idea and simple to do! Here are some other useful tips for saving water from Water UK:

• Using a lid on a saucepan cuts down the amount of water lost in steam, so you needn’t use as much. Plus, your food will cook quicker!
• Try washing dark clothes in a colder wash. This saves both water and energy – and it will help keep your clothes their colour.
• Don’t over-do it! Only boiling the water needed in kettles could save the UK more than £1 million a week.
• Fill it up! If you have a dishwasher, try to fill it up before putting it on – wasted space is wasted water. Most dishwashers have efficiency modes, use yours if you can!
• Use a bucket of water, or a trigger-release hose to improve water efficiency when you’re washing your car.
• Watering your garden in the morning or evening, when temperatures are low, can reduce evaporation levels considerably.
• Can’t be convinced by a shower? By running your bath just one inch shallower, you can save around 5 litres of water.
• Put a large bottle or jug into the fridge to ensure cold water is available instantly. Waiting for taps to run cold can waste more than 10 litres every day.
• Reuse is a great way to save both water and money. If you wash up in a bowl, you can use the water for houseplants.

Did you know that around 25% of your energy bill comes from heating water? So using less water can help cut down on fuel bills too! Here are some more Green Tips for using less water, this time from Friends of the Earth:

• Save 6 litres of water a minute by turning off your tap while you brush your teeth.
• Every minute you spend in a power shower uses up to 17 litres of water . Set a timer to keep your showers short, sweet and water-saving.
• Washing a full machine load of clothes uses less water and energy than 2 half-loads . This means lower bills as well as saving water.
• Installing water butts saves up to 5,000 litres of water a year . And your plants will thank you for rainwater rather than treated tap water.
• The average UK household uses about 30% of all water used to flush the toilet . Modern dual-flush systems save huge amounts of water. They use just 6 litres – or 4 with a reduced flush – much less than the 13 litres for each old-style single flush.
• Got a dishwasher? Fill it up completely each time you run it and you’ll use less water than you would doing the dishes by hand. Yes, even if you’re using a washing-up bowl.
• Steam your food to cut water usage and retain more of the natural nutrients.
• If you do boil, try using the leftover water as a tasty stock for soups. Or let it cool and use it to water plants.

Thank you Freddie for your Green Tip! Please send us your green tips and we will add your tip to our Advent Calendar. Email info@wellingboroughecogroup.org.uk, message us via messenger, or call/text/WhatsApp 07311 705705.

There are many reasons to buy second-hand items, including:

– Cost savings: Second-hand items can be just as good as new but at a fraction of the price.
– Unique items: Second-hand stores offer a wide selection of items, including one-of-a-kind vintage pieces or little-known brands.
– Support local communities: Many second-hand stores are small, locally-owned businesses that contribute to the local economy.
– Sustainability: Buying second-hand helps keep clothes out of landfills and reduces harmful emissions.
– Express individuality: Second-hand clothing can be mixed and matched to create a unique style.
– Rediscover trends: Second-hand shopping can help you explore fashion trends from different eras.
– Support a good cause: Buying second-hand can help raise money for worthwhile causes.

In Wellingborough we have lots of great places to buy anything from pre-loved toys and entertainment, to antique furniture and vintage clothes, here are some of them:

Ace Reuse, Recycling Centre, 63 Park Rd

YMCA Shop, 260 Northampton Rd

RSPCA Retro Rooms & Boutique, 1 Silver St

British Heart Foundation, 9 Market St

The Salvation Army, 28A Market St

CeX, Unit 9, Swansgate Shopping Centre

Old & Quirky Antique Shop, 22 Silver St

Mercy in Action, 5 Grafton Cl

The Air Ambulance Charity Discount Store, 15 Market St

YMCA Wellingborough Charity Shop 54-55 Cheese Lane

Barnardo’s, 106 Gold St

Daylight Shop, 2 Cambridge St

British Red Cross shop, 25 Silver St

Wilfords Auctioneers, 74-76 Midland Rd

Wellingborough Eco Group also has Wellingborough Swap Shop at ECO HUB, Glamis Hall, where you can bring in your items you no longer need to swap them for items you want. Everything is also available for a small donation to the group and it now includes a school uniform bank and a new toy section for the children too.

Start saving money and reducing your impact on the environment, there are so many benefits to shopping second hand. You’ll be taking a stand against the damaging impact of fast fashion, while hunting down unique treasures that show off your distinctive personal style. Do visit your local vintage, antique, recycling, swap and charity shops or auctioneers, and choose a fairer way to shop.

Today’s Green Tips Advent Calendar Window opens to Grow Your Own. Growing your own vegetables isn’t just a good way to save money, it’s also a great way to cut down your carbon footprint and be environmentally friendly. Plus you will know where your food has come from and it tastes better!

Don’t have any outside space?

Windowsill boxes are a great way to brighten up your view, filter the air coming into your home and offer plenty of space for herbs and small vegetable patches.

Grow together:

Allotments are a great place to grow vegetables, plus there’s the benefit of having people around that might be able to give you some tips. We do this together at our Community Allotment, where you can join in for free on most Mondays 10-2. Join our Facebook Group to find out more ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/communityallotment ) or have a look at our website https://wellingboroughecogroup.org.uk/eco/community-allotment/

For beginners:

In partnership with Wellingborough Community Action Partnership and Glamis Hall, we have two free courses for you in the New Year. How to Grow Fruit and Vegetables, and How to Set Up An Allotment. The latter will be on Saturday 1st February and Saturday 1st March at Ladywell Allotments and we will transform an empty plot into a usable growing space. Tickets available soon at ticketsource.co.uk/glamishall

Need seeds:

There are lots of places to get seeds, but at Northampton Seedy Saturday and at Wellingborough Swap Shop you can swap seeds or get them for pennies. Sharing seeds not only saves you money but also saves on packaging and transportation.

More Green Tips on tomorrow’s Advent Calendar, please do send us yours too!

This month we have featured lots of great community and eco-friendly services available in and around Wellingborough on our Advent Calendar. It has been a real treat being able to talk to so many amazing people, and it’s been a pleasure sharing their groups, charities and businesses with you. For those that may have missed some of our Advent Calendar windows, here are all of them:

1. Winter Warm Space at ECO HUB
2. Christmas Tree Festival at High Street Church
3. Christmas Market, Wellingborough Town Council
4. Christmas Tabletop Sale at Hemmingwell Community and Skills Centre
5. Kwanzaa Greetings, Made with Many
6. Christmas Festival at Glamis Hall
7. Warm Wednesdays at St Mark’s Church
8. Repair Café at ECO HUB
9. Daily Bread Co-operative and Christmas Craft Fair
10. Christmas Party at Victoria Centre
11. Redeem Funds Christmas Winter Warmer
12. Wellingborough Library
13. Wellingborough Swap Shop at ECO HUB
14. Our Special 24 Advent Days
15. Bee Buffet, North Northamptonshire Council
16. Teamwork Trust
17. Toy Amnesty, We’re All In. Northants
18. Co-op Christmas Winter Warmer
19. L.I.V.E. Team
20. Wellie Wombles
21. Food for Thought
22. Christmas Appeal, Animals in Need
23. Iris-May Butterfly Kisses
24. Full Circle, North Northamptonshire Sustainable Food Network

Many of the above and more are on Wellingborough Eco Map where you can discover more ‘eco-friendly’ services available locally. Local services are also on the Wellingborough Organisations website. Please do support them or use their services, and share our blog posts and videos to promote them. Our videos are also available on our YouTube channel, look out for all of this year’s videos on the Advent Calendar 2022 playlist:

We would like to thank you all for everything you have done for us and for our community this year. We wish everyone a very happy and healthy Christmas.