Climate Action Oxfordshire
Visit a local eco Christmas fair, reduce waste and hire your party clothes and accessories. Read on for ideas to make this year’s festive season a sustainable one.
Visit an eco Christmas fair
A Christmas fair can get us in the festive spirit with mulled drinks, roasted nuts and the chance to buy unique presents for loved ones. How about visiting an eco fair this year and supporting some of our districts' fantastic sustainable businesses?
Oxford Green Fair
Date: Sunday 1 December, 10:30am – 4:00pm
Venue: Oxford Town Hall, St Aldate’s, Oxford, OX1 1BX
Browse festive and ethical stalls, listen to live music, enjoy the cafe and meet local community and charity organisations. Family friendly and everyone is welcome. A £2 donation will be collected on the door. More information here.
Earth Trust’s Christmas market
Date: Saturday 7 December, 10:00am – 4:00pm
Venue: Fison Barn, Earth Trust Centre, Little Wittenham, Abingdon, OX14 4QZ
Enjoy the cosy Fison Barn adorned with twinkling lights and festive décor and get into the festive mood with mulled wine, warm mince pies and by toasting a marshmallow or two on the firepit in the courtyard. Find the perfect eco-friendly gifts from a selection of makers, designers and crafters. Free entry and parking. More information here.
Reduce wrapping paper waste
Christmas morning can quickly cast you adrift on a sea of guilt-inducing wrapping paper waste, particularly if you have children. Most wrapping paper – that doesn’t contain foil or glitter - can go into your recycling bin to be collected at the kerbside after Christmas, but the following ideas are even better for the environment and can save you money too.
Use recycled materials
We all generally throw out lots of materials that could be used as wrapping paper – magazines, children’s pictures, colourful bags and, of course, old wrapping paper can all be great for wrapping. You can also use old fabric to wrap gifts, or even use a fabric which could be part of the gift (or reused again) like a scarf.
Customise your own wrapping paper
Plain brown paper roll is recyclable and doesn’t contain any hidden plastics. It looks good on its own, but it can be fun and easy to decorate. Here are a few ideas:
Tie dried orange slices, cinnamon rolls, pinecones, berries and other bits of green foliage to your package using string
Use stamps (you could even make your own potato stamps!) to decorate the paper
Make or buy some Christmassy templates/stencils or use a technique like paint splattering to make the paper extra festive
Eco wrapping accessories
The pictures on old Christmas cards make great gift tags – simply cut them out and use a hole punch to make a hole in them to tie string to.
Plastic sticky tape isn’t recyclable and, before you put your wrapping paper in the recycle bin, it ideally needs to be removed and put in the waste bin. The best alternative to plastic tape is gummed paper tape. You can find lots of patterned eco tapes too, but check they are made of paper and don’t contain added plastics.
Throwing a (more eco) party
If you’re having people round over Christmas and considering buying new things for your gathering, you may be able to borrow what you need from the Library of Things. Hire charges are usually for between 2-7 days. These are some of the things available for hire:
Disco light / glitter ball
Candy floss maker
Party kit
Air mattress
Drinking glasses
Chocolate fountain
Chocolate cocktail drinks maker
Fairy lights
Gazebo
Ice bucket
Portable DJ speaker
Table clothes
Water boiler urn
Library of Things locations
Bicester
Bicester Green lends out lots of items, including some party items such as glasses and items that may also be useful over the party season such as a highchair.
Kidlington
Oxford Party Library is run by Cherwell Collective. Visit their Facebook page to see what they have available to share for free.
Oxford
SHARE Oxford has a wide range of items available for parties, entertaining, and much more.
Wantage
Sustainable Wantage run a Library of Things from their town centre hub, The Mix. They have a large array of items to borrow, including some party kit.
Witney
Witney Eco Party Packs has a range of party kits available for residents in Witney and surrounding towns and village.
Make sustainable fashion choices
Hire your party clothes
Buying a Christmas party outfit that gets worn once can be a thing of the past now that hiring clothes is gaining in popularity. One of the great things about hiring a Christmas party outfit is that you can go for something sparkling and eye-catching without having to worry about how much wear you’ll get out of it after the festive period. There are lots of online outlets that rent party and special occasion clothes. Possible options include John Lewis(womenswear and menswear), Baukjen, Hurr (rent, lend, and buy), and One Hit Wonders.
Buy your Christmas jumper second-hand
Novelty jumpers are an easy impulse purchase at Christmas time, but why not save some money and be more sustainable too by buying one second-hand. You’ll find all the usual buying sites like Vinted, Depop, Facebook Marketplace, and eBay have lots available in the run-up to Christmas.
Another way to make your Christmas jumper more sustainable is to make your own. Take an old plain jumper and decorate it with baubles or create your own design out of buttons or similar. Pinterest has some brilliant ideas.
The problem with sequins and glitter
Christmas is the season of sequins and glitter, but both are damaging to the environment. They are generally made of plastic with a reflective metallic coating and, once disposed of, can remain in the environment for centuries, possibly fragmenting into smaller pieces over time and polluting waterways.
The charity Oxfam surveyed 2,000 British women in 2019 and 40% said they would buy a sequined piece of clothing for the festive season. However, only a quarter were sure they would wear it again.
Christmas can still be bright and cheerful without the microplastics, so whether you’re buying clothing, cards or wrapping paper, try to steer clear of sequins and glitter for a really eco Christmas.
Stay warm and well this winter
Keeping warm
Helping yourself and vulnerable people to stay warm.
There is a direct link between cold winter weather and the higher number of deaths, heart attacks and strokes among older people and others in at-risk groups. Cold weather is also an issue for children and young people, and those with long-term health conditions.
Insulate and heat your home efficiently
The Better Housing Better Health website has free, impartial advice about:
cheaper prices for gas and electricity
discounts for insulating your home
managing debts from your fuel bills
repairing or replacing your heating
energy saving tips that save you money
other options for help and support.
Watch a one-minute explainer video which explains what BHBH can do:
If you work in the community
If you work for the NHS.
Find help and advice about keeping warm on Live Well Oxfordshire.
Financial help
You may be eligible for a winter fuel payment, warm home discount, or cold weather payment to help you stay warm in winter, especially during periods of very cold weather.
See our Sustainable Warmth Grants webpage for more information on local energy efficiency grants that might be available.
Information and advice to help you this winter on the Age UK website.
Other sources of help
For health information, head over to the local NHS page on staying well over winter.
To stay safe whilst out on the roads during the winter, check out the Fire and Rescuespages. You can follow the council's traffic X account here for the latest news on road conditions.
Find a local warm space and warm welcome. Many of these are your local library, and they are spaces where you can feel at home. They have more than books to while away the time, like board games and jigsaw puzzles.
For advice on homelessness and rough sleeping, if you're experiencing it or would like to help, head over to Homelessness Oxfordshire. This includes information on SWEP (severe weather plan), which is decided by each District or City council and is activated when there is a Met Office alert of severe weather.
Community resilience is supported by emergency planning. Find out more about planning for cold weather.
You can help us share information and advice by supporting our winter warmth campaign, which includes being able to order printed publicity materials.
Research and evaluation of Better Housing Better Health
We've worked with the NHS South West Central Commissioning Support Unit and the University of Salford to evaluate the Better Housing Better Health service's impacts on health and well-being. Read more about some of the findings.
Strengthening Family Relationships
All families disagree sometimes. You might have problems that are hard to solve, or things going on that cause you stress.
This Section of the Family Information Service website contains information and tools that can help reduce or improve conflict at home.
It includes:
An overview of parental conflict
Research
Common causes of conflict
Practical tools and resources to help
Important: Parental Conflict is NOT Domestic Abuse
Parental conflict is very different to domestic abuse.
When we talk about conflict we are working below the threshold of domestic abuse.
https://fisd.oxfordshire.gov.uk/kb5/oxfordshire/directory/families.page?familieschannel=900
World Bee Day 2024
It's World Bee 🐝 Day on 20th May, so we're buzzed to bring you some fun facts about the humble Bumblebee 🐝… It's no secret that bees 🐝 are hugely important for the eco-system, and in the UK alone we have 270 species of bee 🐝 ranging from the common Honeybee to the rare and elusive Shrill Carder Bee 🐝.
Bees 🐝 pollinate our wild trees and wild flowers, which then support other insects, which then support birds, bats, mammals and everything up the food chain with food and shelter.
The goal for World Bee 🐝 Day is to strengthen measures aimed at protecting bees 🐝 and other pollinators, which would significantly contribute to solving problems related to the global food supply and eliminate hunger in developing countries.
Hatching a plan for quacking learning with new feathery friends!
Here at Cygnets Preschool there has been no plastic or paper in sight... instead we have been thrilled to welcome some very different new arrivals – in the form of 5 fluffy ducklings!.
Our expert childcare team, guided by our student, Miss Yasmin “Mother Duck”, have been expanding their skillset and taking care of the adorable ducklings, which all hatched in our setting at the end of the April.
The children have been utterly enthralled to take part in the whole process and as always have been like sponges, soaking up lots of new information and learning egg-citing facts and this whole uniquely stimulating experience seamlessly links in with the government's Early Years Foundation Stage targets; with the ducklings' physical growth mirroring our children's emotional and intellectual development.
The children's curiosity was originally ignited by the presence of the eggs in the incubator, and they were using their observational skills - looking and listening - and waiting for that all important TAP, TAP, CRACK!
WATCHING & WAITING
The children experienced a sense of patience and anticipation with this activity. Sharing skills and inter-personal relationships have been developed as the children have taken turns to view the eggs, as it would harm the embryos to lift the lid off the incubator. Lots of questions were asked: What's inside the egg? Why do the eggs needs to be kept warm and humid? Why do the eggs need to be turned? How long will they take to hatch? What will the ducklings look like when they come out? Critical thinking galore!
CRACKING FUN
Levels of concentration reached an all-time high as soon as the first tiny cracks appeared! The children were engrossed and they learned about managing emotions... resisting the temptation to speed up the process and “help” the ducklings crack open the shell, as well as controlling feelings of over-excitement to ensure a calm, quiet environment for the hatching babies.
FLUFFY FRIENDS
At 2 days old the ducklings were at last ready for a cuddle! The children had their senses of sight, sound and touch fully engaged – hearing the chirps, practising gentle handling of the bundles of soft fluff, feeling the soft fuzziness compared to the hard beak, and seeing and touching the tiny webbed feet.
The children have expanded their vocabulary and knowledge: “hatch”, “humid”, “incubator”, “webbed feet” “temperature”, and “waddle”. A great science lesson on life cycles!
GROWING UP
Keeping the eggs and ducklings warm, fed and safe and helping them grow reflected the exact experience of the children in our nursery; the children can relate to the baby ducks and feel a sense of security, confidence and belonging in their surroundings. The children also learnt about hygiene – keeping the ducklings' housing clean, and self-care with hand-washing after handling them.
Early Years Alliance
Family Corner: helping our families to develop positive home learning environments
There is a range of exciting FREE sessions for parents and carers coming up, click on the link:
Songs, stories and rhymes - supporting early communication
Wednesday 24 April 1pm - 2pm
In this session we explore the importance of speech and language development and how you can support your children’s early communication. Join us to explore why communication and language development is so important in the early years, and how you can encourage this at home with songs, stories and rhymes packed with lots of information, ideas, and tips!
Tuesday 7 May 6.30pm - 7.30pm
This session will share tips and ideas that will support you and your child in preparing for school. We will discuss some fun learning activities that can be easily replicated at home to support your child’s learning and development, as well as discuss some top tips in helping your child’s transition to school to run smoothly.
Supporting children's emotional wellbeing
Monday 3 June 1pm - 2pm
Parents provide the main support to children’s emotional development. We will discover how you can help your children as they become people in their own right; learning to walk, talk and master other routines of daily life and how to help you manage children’s moods. Join us to understand what children need emotionally, and how best to encourage healthy emotional development.
And if none of these are for you, take a look at some of our regular offerings:
Family Fun at Hill End
FEBRUARY HALF TERM FAMILY FOREST DAYS
A wonderful day out exploring the 67 acre Oxfordshire site with family and friends.
The theme this half term is ‘bird nesting’ – Make your own nesting box, feeder or bird watching binoculars. Create your own giant nest in our den building area, follow a trail for interesting bird facts, visit our bird hide, play and enjoy our space, woodlands and wetlands.
The tickets are £9.50 per adult and £9.50 per child, which includes a jacket potato or soup and a hot drink and run on Wednesday 14 February, 10am – 2pm and Thursday 15 February, 10am – 2pm
Book here: https://hill-end.org/activities/upcoming-events/
FAMILY BUSHCRAFT SATURDAYS
Learn how to survive and thrive at Hill End! These fun monthly sessions change with the seasons.
Learn how to select and use natural materials to live sustainably in the woods. Activities might include: Foraging - Camp cooking of breads - Stews, grills etc (including stone-age ‘no pot’ methods) - Fire lighting methods and fire management - Woodwork; making tools such as butter knives, mallets, and pot hangers - Tracking and trapping - Shelter building - Knots, basketry, and cordage.
Sessions cost £12 adults / £8 children and run from 10am – 12pm on the following dates: 16 March 20 April 18 May 15 June Book here: https://hill-end.org/activities/upcoming-events/
Supporting parents to 'make the most of every moment'
As the Governments new 'Little Moments Together' campaign launches, free help and support for Parents across England is now available at local family hubs in the 75 local authorities involved.
The Start for Life campaign aims to 'provide free resources and advice to help parents make the most of every moment - even waiting for a bus or shopping together - to further their child’s development.'
With around £300 million being invested in the family hubs and new campaign, parents will be able to access services such as, advice and support, early language and communication support, and mental health and wellbeing support from fully trained staff. The aim is to enhance support and Start for Life services for families with children aged 0-19 years, and 0-25 years for children with SEND, across the country.
New findings from an online survey which took place in November 2023 have revealed that 83% of parents are unaware that their child’s brain is 90% grown by the age of five, shedding light on a critical gap in parents’ understanding of the impact they can have in these crucial early years. It is hugely important that this is therefore being recognised by the government with support and investment.
Early learning and development - Start for Life - NHS - NHS (www.nhs.uk), sets out the importance of early brain development and shares lots of ideas, easy tips and activities you can do together with your child.
Helping to support your children's communication and language?
The Early Years Alliance will be running their free online family festival, Home is where the start is, for the second year running!
During this fun family event, which will take place via Zoom, they will share information and advice about how parents and carers of under-fives can support children’s learning and development at home through lots of exciting sessions for them and their children.
This year's event will focus on how parents and carers can support their children's communication and language development, and will include sessions on bilingualism, Makaton and music, movement, rhythm and rhyme ... and and much, much more.
The three-day online festival will run from Thursday 22 February to Saturday 24 February 2024, and parents and carers can book to attend as many or as few free sessions as they like.
Families can sign up for their free sessions at bit.ly/FamilyFestivalEYA2024
