Free Workshops In Brighton & Hove Will Teach Residents Valuable Skills

A series of free to attend workshops for residents in Brighton & Hove are being offered throughout January, February and March.

People can learn new, valuable skills - from fixing broken items and learning how to repair household goods such as electrics, bicycles and clothing, to working with wood and textiles and taking care of your tools. 

Toys, gifts and clothes swap events are also taking place, providing an opportunity for unwanted items to be recycled and reused. 

The workshops are part of BLUEPRINT to a Circular Economy, which is funded by the EU Interreg programme, and provide practical solutions for reducing waste and lowering emissions by reusing, repairing and recycling existing resources.

A few attendees from recent Circular Saturday events shared their feedback:

“Naomi and Zoe from Fabric Godmother, were lovely and extremely helpful in helping me to repair a pair of jeans, I learned a lot at the workshop and managed to go home and use my new skills to repair a pair of my own jeans.”

“The course with The Wood Store left me with the knowledge and confidence to use a power sander for future jobs around house.”

“I’ve cycled for 25+ years until recently, but remained inexperienced at various skills including changing gear cables. So it was very useful to cover this in the class. I was happy to meet the volunteers from Brighton Bike Hub, and learn more about how it works. I will be buying a bike from it in future, and donating my current bike.”

The events are run by local organisations and individuals who have a special interest in the circular economy. Booking is essential.

Councillor Hannah Allbrooke, Deputy Leader of the Council, said: 

“These free workshops are a great way to learn how to be more sustainable - which helps not only the environment, but is also useful during these times of an increased cost of living.

"I highly recommend signing up for these free workshops – they are extremely popular with the public and get booked up quickly.” 

By attending any of these workshops, residents can earn an additional 150 points on the Betterpoints app. 

To take part and start collecting points, download the app from this page: https://moveforchange.betterpoints.uk/stories/make-materials-matter

For more information and to book a workshop place visit: Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/cc/circular-saturdays-1257089

Become a circular Economy Champion:  http://bitly.ws/z9pi

Visit the Champions WhatsApp group:  http://bitly.ws/z9pv

The BLUEPRINT to a Circular Economy Project has a total budget of 5.6m euros, 3.8m of which were provided by the European Regional Development Fund via the Interreg France (Channel) England programme.

More information on BLUEPRINT to a Circular Economy:  https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/rubbish-recycling-and-streets/recycling/circular-economy