Home with family and trees

 

This guide highlights a number of opportunities to support your local community and live a more sustainable lifestyle. 

Key contacts

Local sustainability groups

  • Hart Eco Hub - located in Hart Shopping Centre in Fleet, it provides a focus for people to find out more about how they can get involved in activity to address climate change or environmental issues at the local level
  • Yateley Community Climate Forum - meetings on a quarterly basis in the Tythings. These meetings are informal and open to all and focus on Yateley Town Council climate news and an invited talk from a community group or similar organisation.
  • Blackwater Valley Friends of the Earth - a local Friends of the Earth group who are enthusiastic volunteers concerned with conserving and improving the local environment of Hart, Rushmoor, Surrey Heath and Sandhurst.
  • People Planet Pint - why not meet up with others who are as passionate about climate change and the environment as you, over a cold or hot drink? Its mission is to bring people together in local pubs to start conversations about the world they want to live in – without lectures, judgment or jargon. 

 

Waste prevention: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Food waste reduction

Attend local drop-in sessions from 10-11am at Pegasus Court, Hartley Wintney every Tuesday to take food home that would otherwise be thrown away as waste, donated by local supermarkets.

Repair cafés

Across the district, volunteers at repair cafés breathe life back into many broken items. From toasters and clocks, to fixing a zip on a skirt, there are so many things the volunteers can do. In most cases there is no cost; unless extra parts are required - like that zip! Some café's may require you to book, so do make sure you check their website before you leave home. Find a repair café near you.

Fleet Repair Café

The first Saturday of the month at the Harlington Centre in Fleet. 

Fleet Repair Café website.

Farnham Repair Café

Just over the border in Surrey you'll find the Farnham Repair Café. 

Farnham Repair Café website

North Hampshire Repair Café

The North Hampshire Repair Café holds sessions around the district. 

North Hampshire Repair Café website

The Repair Café Yateley 

Find out all about the repair café, including their opening times and what types of items they can and cannot repair. 

Repair Cafe Yateley website 

Support the circular economy by keeping used products in circulation, such as clothes, nappies, toys and other goods.

Loan libraries

  • Farnborough Cloth Nappy Library (Hart Eco Hub, Fleet) - drop off reusable nappies, borrow nappy loan kits
  • Hart Sling Library (various locations) -  A sling library is a place where you can go to find out more about using a sling or carrier to hold your baby. You can try on as many different styles as you like to find the right one for you. Its main role is to loan out slings and carriers and offer advice and information on babywearing.

Toys, games, clothes and general bric-a-brac

Drop off used clothes, books, toys in good condition for resale.

  • Charity shops - some take general items, whereas some are geared towards specific audiences, such as ‘Just for Kids’ in Fleet.
  • Local events – a number of local events often ask for donations for their tombola/teddy bear stalls, such as The Scouts Association, churches, village halls and schools.
  • Charity bins – often located in car parks, they take certain items. Many clothing bins also accept shoes, even those in poor condition. Just make sure you tie them together or bag them up, first. Find locations managed by Hart District Council on their website: www.hart.gov.uk/waste-and-recycling-sites/recycling-sites

Second-hand books

As well as local charity shops, there are several ways to keep pre-loved books in circulation:

You can sell your books online on a number of sites or use doorstep collection services. Many of these support UK need, such as child poverty:

Larger items (sofas, etc)

A number of charities collect good condition furniture, providing it meets certain standards. For example, Sue Ryder, British Red Cross, Lions Clubs and St Michael’s Hospice in Basingstoke.

Medical equipment and supplies

The NHS Hampshire Equipment Service may collect larger items directly from your home, for free. Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital has dedicated bins for returning smaller items (crutches, walking sticks, etc) and you may be able to return some to locations such as Fleet Hospital. Always check first!

If you have good condition medical supplies that are not accepted by the NHS such as catheters, you can still donate to other locations, providing they meet certain criteria:

  • Hampshire Air Ambulance Donation Bin (Fleet and Elvetham Heath) - accepts items such as unused catheters that are safely bagged, sealed and clearly marked.

Recycle

There are many household items that can be recycled that are not included in the current bin collections, such as batteries, textiles and footwear.

Some supermarkets collect items such as batteries, whilst recycling bins are also located across the district. You can find a detailed list of locations and what they will take on Hart District Council’ website

Not sure what to do with a particular item?

Recycle Now is a great website for finding out how and where you can dispose of most household items. 

Many charity bins will also accept shoes in poor condition but please tie the shoes together or bagged so they aren’t separated.

 

Sustainable nature

Green growing

Allotments and local gardening clubs

  • Allotments have been set up across Hart for residents to rent a space and grow their own produce. The Here for Hart Directory provides a list of allotments and locations, as well as local gardening clubs and societies. 
  • Fruit and veg raised beds can be found front of the Hart District Council Offices in Fleet, available for the public to pick any seasonally available fruit and veg.
  • Hart’s Community Garden offers individual plots at Edenbrook Country Park and also encourages a community approach to gardening through regular gardening sessions, social events, workshops and wellbeing classes.

Practical nature conservation

Work on a site you love, or explore green spaces across the district, by joining other volunteers on an ad hoc or regular basis. Or consider signing up your work to a corporate nature day. Find out more on Hart District Council’s volunteering webpage

Other opportunities for local practical volunteering are listed in the Here for Hart Directory and include organisations such:

Species conservation

Use your skills to offer support in any way you can, whether that is desk-based website or admin support, engaging members of the public to spread messaging or active work in the field.

  • Bees (Fleet & District Beekeepers Association): Teach practical beekeeping skills and support others who are interested in bee keeping. They hold regular meetings and attend local events to promote the importance of bees, as well as selling local produce.
  • Badgers (North East Hampshire Badger Group): Join as a member and report local badger sightings, or get more involved with surveys, supporting membership growth or website development. 
  • Amphibians and Reptiles (Hampshire and Isle of Wight Amphibian & Reptile Group): Join as a member and report local sightings or help with pond surveys and reptile transects out in the field. 

Heath and wellbeing

Guided wellbeing activities

Get out into nature with free local wellbeing walks to support mental health and mindfulness.

  • Walk and Talk: 1-2-1 counselling sessions (Hart Voluntary Action): Counselling service that uses walking in nature to help people talk about difficult thoughts and feelings in a calming outdoor environment.
  • Walk and Talk: group sessions (Hart Voluntary Action and Hart District Council): Group walks to support mental health through a mindful sensory approach, encouraging interaction with nature and making it easier for people to talk about difficult thoughts and feelings.
  • Hart Health Walks (Hart Voluntary Action): Weekly low impact group walks across Blackwater, Crookham Village, Fleet, Hartley Wintney, Hook and Yateley.
  • Cycle rides (Fleet Cycling): Join cyclists of all abilities for some local cycling, normally departing from Hart Leisure Centre across the week. 
  • Rambler walks (Ramblers - North East Hants Group): Local group covering walks across Hart and Rushmoor, between 7-9 miles in length. 

Self-led nature walks

  • Mindful nature walks (Hart District Council): Download the guide or visit temporary on-site signed walks, around local country parks 
  • Find a local green space (Hart District Council)
  • Find other green spaces run by parish/town councils and conservation groups using the Here for Hart Directory:
  • Find parks and greenspaces within 10-minutes' walk of your postcode, through the Fields in Trust website 
  • Protect the Thames Basin Heath: The Thames Basin Heath Partnership provides locations of green spaces that encourage dog walking and provide safe circular walks, specifically designated to help protect the Thames Basin Heath from over-use.

Join the Impact Hart community

Join the Impact Hart community and help us continue to promote and protect Hart as a sustainable place to live, by:

  • taking advantage of the opportunities above
  • offering your time as a volunteer
  • sharing information with us to promote other local sustainability opportunities
  • working with other passionate locals to set up more sustainability activities within our community

To find your local contact, see the take action accordion above, or email Hart District Council's climate change team at climatechange@hart.gov.uk