Frome Valley Environmental Network

21/10/2026

🌿🏡 Thinking about moving away from oil heating? You’re not alone! 💚

We had a fantastic evening at Hambrook Sports Club for our recent Oil Boiler Upgrade Workshop, and it was wonderful to see so much interest from our local community!

A huge thank you to Retrofit West for joining us and sharing their knowledge and expertise. 🙌

The evening was incredibly informative, with lots of interesting questions, helpful discussions and some really positive feedback from those who attended.

It was particularly encouraging to hear that even people who are only beginning to think about making the switch from oil heating found the workshop really useful. After all, understanding your options is the first step towards making the right decision for your home! 🏡

And here's a lovely real-life example! 📸

FVEN director Laura recently had an air source heat pump installed at her home and is absolutely delighted with it! Pictured here is her installer alongside the finished installation. It's wonderful to see greener heating solutions becoming a reality in our own community. 💚

Still have questions about heating your home, improving energy efficiency or exploring alternatives to oil?

We’re always happy to help!

Come and have a chat with our friendly team at the Warm Energy Helpdesk at our next Winterbourne Repair Café:

📅 Saturday 21st November
⏰ 10.30am - 12pm
📍 The Greenfield Centre, Winterbourne

Whether you’re ready to make changes or simply curious about what’s possible, we’d love to hear from you. No question is too small, and there’s no pressure or obligation. Just friendly, practical advice to help you explore your options. 🌿

19/10/2026

🌿♻️ A fantastic first Repair Café at the Greenfield Centre! 🎉🔧

We had a brilliant morning on Saturday celebrating the launch of Winterbourne Repair Café in its lovely NEW home!

We were absolutely chuffed to welcome almost 40 people, with plenty of friendly faces, happy conversations and a wonderful community atmosphere. 💚

And the RESULTS speak for themselves!

🔧 11 items successfully repaired – 7 electrical and 4 non-electrical.

♻️ 21kg of waste prevented!

🌍 An estimated 116kg of CO₂e emissions prevented – equivalent to growing two tree seedlings for 10 years!

🙌 13 fantastic volunteers making it all possible!

Among the repair successes were an orange lamp that arrived in pieces and left working again, and a broken electric drill given a new lease of life. A brilliant reminder of the difference a little patience, know-how and the right tools can make! 💡

🍂🎨 Our free leaf-printing workshop, led by a talented local artist, was a huge hit! So many people joined in, creating beautiful autumn-inspired bunting together.

🖨️ We also enjoyed a fascinating 3D printer demonstration, kindly brought along by a local parish councillor. The potential for creating replacement parts for broken items could be a fantastic addition to future Repair Cafés!

🍰 A special thank you to The Bakeshed for the absolutely delicious cakes and traybakes, which went down a treat alongside plenty of cuppas and friendly chats! ☕

A HUGE thank you to our wonderful volunteer repairers for generously sharing their time and skills, to everyone who came along and to the Greenfield Centre for making us feel so welcome in our new home.

Mornings like these remind us just how special our local community is. Every repair, however small, makes a difference! 💚🌍

We’re already looking forward to next month’s Repair Café and can’t wait to welcome everyone back! ♻️

12/10/2026

☀️ What a wonderful Winterbourne Harvest Day! 🌿🌾

The sun was shining on a beautiful, warm October Sunday as the community came out in droves to celebrate this very special annual event. The historic barn, the ferret racing, the Morris dancers and all the lovely music made it a day to remember. 🪘🪈

A big thank you to South Gloucestershire Community Energy Network for welcoming us onto their stall. There was so much interest, and we enjoyed lots of conversations about warm homes, green energy and solar power.

One family with two young children was especially enthusiastic. Their eldest, who must have been around nine or ten, chatted with Melinda for around half an hour and showed a fantastic knowledge of solar panels. It was a joy to meet a whole family so excited about green energy! ☀️

A huge thank you to everyone who helped make the day so special, and to everyone who came along to enjoy it. We truly love being part of this event. 💚

11/10/2026

What do you love about our area? And what really grinds your gears? We want your thoughts on what matters. Complete our survey (link in comments) and help decide what we work on for you: our community.

10/10/2026

🌾 TOMORROW: Winterbourne Harvest Day! 🌾

Come along to the Winterbourne Medieval Barn tomorrow, Sunday 11th October, for a lovely day of harvest festivities!

There’ll be Morris dancers, live music, children’s entertainers, local traders and even ferret racing - something for all of the family. 🎶

We’ll be there by the entrance, ready to chat about community energy and the Frome Valley Growing Project. Do come and say hello! 🌱💚

🕚 11am - 4pm
📍 Winterbourne Medieval Barn
🎟️ £7 for adults & £2 for children (tickets on the door)

There’s free parking and a free shuttle bus from Winterbourne Academy School.

10/10/2026

🌿🌿 TODAY! Frome Valley Growing Project Open Day! 🌻

Looking for something lovely to do?

The Frome Valley Growing Project is opening its gates in just a couple of hours, and everyone is welcome!

It’s a wonderful opportunity to explore this lovely community growing space, meet the people involved and discover what’s happening right on our doorstep. 🌱💚

📅 Today, Saturday 10th October
⏰ 11am - 3pm
📍 Swan Lane, Winterbourne

Why not pop along, have a wander and show your support for this fantastic local project? 🍂

09/10/2026

🌿 TOMORROW! Come and explore the Frome Valley Growing Project! 🌻

Looking for something lovely to do this Saturday? 🍂

Why not pop along to our Open Day at the Frome Valley Growing Project and discover this wonderful community growing space right here in Winterbourne!

🌱 Explore the growing project and see what’s happening as autumn gets underway.

🌼 Meet the people behind the project and find out how we’re growing food, supporting biodiversity and bringing our community together.

💚 Whether you’re a keen gardener, curious about growing your own food or simply fancy spending some time outdoors, we would really love to welcome you!

📅 Tomorrow - Saturday 10th October
⏰ 11am - 3pm
📍 Frome Valley Growing Project, Swan Lane, Winterbourne

Everyone is welcome, so come along, have a wander and see what we’re all about! 🌿

06/10/2026

If you rely on OIL to heat your home, this workshop is for you!

Only a couple of days left to book! Don’t miss this opportunity to get independent advice about the £9,000 oil boiler upgrade grant, how to apply and what upgrading to a heat pump could involve.

Homes of ALL ages and types are welcome. The poster calls this the Heritage Home workshop, but we’ve changed the format so you don’t need to live in a heritage home to attend.

📅 Thursday 8th October, 7pm
📍 Hambrook Sports Club

Scan the QR code on the poster to book your place. Please share with anyone who heats their home with oil!

05/10/2026

WINTERBOURNE REPAIR CAFÉ HAS A NEW HOME! 🎉♻️

Winterbourne Repair Café is delighted to be opening in its BRILLIANT new home at The Greenfield Centre on Saturday 17th October.

To celebrate, we’re making it a special Community Morning. Alongside our usual Repair Café, there’ll be:

🔧 Our brilliant volunteer repairers, ready to help give broken household items, small electricals, clothes and textiles a new lease of life
🎨 An artist leading a craft workshop
🍰 Delicious traybakes from The Bakeshed
🗳️ The chance to vote on local community, climate and nature ideas

So whether you have something in need of repair, want some home-energy advice, fancy a cuppa and piece of cake, or would just like to come and see what’s happening - everyone is very welcome. ☕️🧁

A huge thank you to Winterbourne Parish Council for enabling us to use this fantastic new venue. We can’t wait to welcome you there!

📅 Saturday 17th October
🕥 10.30am - 12pm
📍 The Greenfield Centre, Winterbourne

05/10/2026

Just a few spaces left for homeowners on oil in South Gloucestershire. 7pm at Hambrook Sports Club. Get questions answered. No sales pressure, just free, independent, expert advice.

The price of heating oil is only going up. Learn about the Government's £9k oil Boiler Upgrade Scheme your traditional home is eligible for at an independent Q&A.