HURST RETHINK
The Coronavirus pandemic has prompted many people across our country to rethink how we function as a society and to turn our focus to local affairs. So much so that we hosted a virtual debate on the topic as part of the Hurst Festival 2020.
Called ‘The Great Hurst Rethink’, the debate covered areas including sustainability, greener living, building a stronger community and protecting nature.
THE AIMS OF HURST RETHINK
The Hurst Rethink group was founded following the debate and is a sub-group of HKD Transition, focussed purely on initiatives in Hurstpierpoint. It consists of a dedicated team of rethinkers and a growing number of volunteers who meet via zoom every month.
Our aim is to encourage and help people to live more sustainably and also to help strengthen community bonds. Our work covers the following areas:
1. Biodiversity and Nature
Initiatives include Hurst Meadows volunteering and management, tree planting, rewilding and encouraging greener gardening. We urge people to question the use of pesticides and other chemicals and to think of wildlife when gardening or out in nature.
We encourage families and community groups to spend as much time as they can in nature and to nurture a love of the natural world.
2. Energy & Housing
Initiatives include the promotion of renewable energy, encouraging the uptake of solar panels and other sustainable energy sources, retrofitting of homes to be more energy efficient and sharing ideas to save energy & water.
3. Green Consumer
We encourage people to shop locally & seasonally, supporting local businesses and making healthier choices. We make it easier for people to recycle more using Terracycle and charity recycling schemes. We also encourage people to look at ways of reducing packaging and rejecting fast fashion.
4. Transport
We want to help create sustainable transport solutions for Hurstpierpoint such as cycle lanes, better school transport and encouraging electric car usage.
WHAT WILL WE ACTUALLY BE DOING?
Our work involves a mixture of hands on programmes that local people can get involved in (e.g recycling initiatives), working with local authorities to sway decision making in favour of sustainable solutions, lobbying our local MP and education to give people the information they need to live more sustainably.
If you’d like to get involved please get in touch - we would love to hear from you and we always need more help!
HURSTPIERPOINT SHOPPING DIRECTORY
Shop local and help our small businesses thrive! Hurstpierpoint is brimming with makers, crafters and small businesses. We've put together a directory of these businesses, so the next time you need to buy a gift or simply want to shop local, please check out this list and buy from one of them. If they thrive, so does our community and local economy.
If you know of a small business who should be on this list, please email us at hurstrethink@gmail.com