en-form The Colchester Environment Centre

11/04/2026

Breaking news - Stop Feeding Birds.

Now that we have your attention, the guidelines for feeding wild birds have changed.
As with all things in life, there are good and bad issues that arise. Whilst it is great to help wildlife by feeding birds and giving us pleasure and helping our wellbeing by watching them, there are also disadvantages such as spreading disease.
6 new guidelines issued by the RSPB this week are:
🐦Feed seasonally
Stop filling your bird feeders with seeds and peanuts from 1 May to 31 October. This will prevent too many birds gathering in one place which is a disease hazard.
🐦Small offerings
You can still offer small amounts of mealworms, fat balls or suet (enough for 2 days at most) all year around.
🐦Clean your feeders
You should clean your feeders weekly to make sure they are hygienic and safe for birds to use.
Just one infected bird can turn your busy feeder into a disease hotspot.

🐦Move your feeders
If possible, move your feeders to a different spot in the garden after each weekly clean and clear up any bird food that’s fallen underneath.
🐦Retire bird tables
Stop using bird feeders that have any flat surfaces, including the traditional bird table.
🐦Clean water stations
Only offer water to garden birds if you’re able to change it every day and make sure it’s tap water.
🐦Bird baths should be cleaned weekly.
We at en-form have added one of our own –
🐦Plant wildlife friendly plants
Plant trees, shrubs and plants that offer natural food (insects, berries, seeds and nuts) and nesting sites.

Bird Feeding Facts:
🐦The spread of a disease called trichomonosis has caused significant declines in species such as greenfinches and chaffinches.
🐦Over 16 million households are thought to put out food on a regular basis, with an estimated one bird feeder for every nine birds that use them. That is more than the number of cafes per person in Colchester.
🐦It is estimated that we spend £380 million a year on bird food. More than 150,000 tonnes annually – enough to sustain three times the breeding populations of the ten commonest garden species if they relied on it alone all year round. So a lot is wasted or is helping to feed the local rat population.
🐦The new RSPB advice is to "feed seasonally, feed safely".

What do you think of the new guidelines?



https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2lwvz1pl1no?fbclid=IwY2xjawRHJBpleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETBIT0VhTlpQdUFpRmhOZm5Uc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHvBJZKFVpJ5N8h5yIExFAmggb6qPLBeS_T25RGYS7K-FtPRjNCzQYEooWjNd_aem_wwECejxxCQp2kouqscbXPw

The UK's largest bird charity has issued new guidance advising people to stop using feeders to help wildlife thrive.

14/03/2026

If you are thinking of getting Solar panels or a solar battery installed this year, it may be worth registering for the Essex County Council backed Switch Together Scheme. It is free to register and you will not be under any obligation. It could offer you a good deal or at least give you something to compare with other quotes.

The initial registration scheme is open until 27th March 2026.

If you have used the switch together scheme before, what was your experience.

https://switchtogether.co.uk/solar-and-battery/Essex?utm_source=email&utm_medium=main-button&utm_campaign=Rollover2

Solar Together is now Switch Together Solar☀️

The same trusted scheme, now doing even more for your home 🫱🏼‍🫲🏼

Making your home energy efficient shouldn’t be complicated or costly. That’s why Switch Together Solar brings homeowners together to unlock better rates on solar panels, heat pumps, and smarter energy tariffs, all through group buying, which gives you,

• exclusive group savings
• handpicked installers, suppliers and expert guidance
• a supported journey from start to finish

Essex is proud to partner with Switch Together Solar to help residents reduce their carbon footprint, save money, and switch to renewable energy solutions.

To find out more, visit the link in our bio 🔎

11/03/2026

Some good news. The large tortoiseshell butterfly which was previously declared as extinct in the UK is beginning to make a comeback and has been reclassified as a breeding species. 🦋

25/02/2026

Free trees for schools and communities.
Any educational establishment and all kinds of local authorities and not-for-profit community groups, including resident associations, sports clubs, local councils, faith groups, scouts, guides and many more can get free trees from the The Woodland Trust ❤

We’re giving away hundreds of thousands of trees

23/02/2026

Spring will be sprung next week and our local amphibians will be working on producing the next generation, if they haven't started already.
If you spot any frog or toad spawn please report it to Pondnet 👉 https://freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/.../pondnet-spawn-survey/.
Has anyone spotted any yet?

Help map amphibian breeding across the UK with the PondNet Spawn Survey! 🐸

Freshwater Habitats Trust is looking for sightings of common frog and common toad spawn. Whether you spot them in garden ponds, ditches, puddles, or out in the countryside, your observations help scientists understand how amphibians use different habitats to breed.

The survey is open until 31 May 2026. Add your sightings and see the map of all records here 👉 https://freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/advice-resources/survey-methods-hub/pondnet-spawn-survey/

📸 Don’t forget to share your sightings on social media with !

05/02/2026

Peregines are an asset to the ecology and it is great that some have decided to make their home in Colchester. As we enter the house buying season in the next few months let's hope they like the newly built home on the Town Hall and move in shortly.

30/01/2026

We are happy to confirm that we have received a grant from the Love Essex Fund which will help us to provide repair workshops at the Colchester LEAF: Your Climate Community Centre over the coming months.
Do you have things that need repairing or want to update your skills? Keep your eyes peeled for dates.
Of course, you can also make use of the Repair Cafe that operates from Colchester LEAF: Your Climate Community Centre on the last Saturday of the month.
And if you have some repairing skills you could als volunteer as a Repair Cafe volunteer.

Another Love Essex Fund round is complete! 🥳

In December, we provided 15 Essex-based projects with a micro-grant of up to £2,000. These projects were awarded funding for their efforts to promote repair in their communities. 🪛💚

We received so many fantastic applications. If you were not successful this time, please look out for the next funding round.

Read more about the successful projects at: www.loveessex.org/news/2026/love-essex-fund-granted-15-community-projects

A Thread Above The Rest Bridgeway Mission en-form The Colchester Environment Centre East Essex Hackspace The Enterprise East Group CIC Frinton WI Harwich Festival Little Canfield Men’s Shed Mae Kandoo Radwinter Recreation Ground and Pavilion The Active Wellbeing Society Trust Links Eco Days

23/01/2026

Every year we enter the Benefact group Movement for All Lottery.

It gives en-form The Colchester Environment Centre the chance to win £1000.

It only takes a minute to nominate and as always we can always do with an extra £1000.

If you click on this link, our details should already be filled in. Please take a minute to nominate us now.

We could receive a £1,000 donation with your help throught the Movement for Good Draw.

04/12/2025

Our recycling efforts reduced dramatically over the past 12 months due to changes in recycling facilities.
However, we still managed to recycle 46kg over the year including this batch of recycling weighing 17.5kg November.
Thank you to everyone who brought in their hard to recycle items that we can still recycle.

28/11/2025

A badly needed good news story, and it has happened in Essex.
The soil excavated from Crossrail was used to create a wildlife habitat on Wallasea Island which is now thriving with 39,000 wild birds recorded last year.
In addition the Island has helped with things like erosion and flood defences.
We need more stories like this.

An island, transformed into a nature haven thanks to millions of tonnes of earth from a major engineering project, is thriving with record numbers of birds.

Rachel Fancy, site manager at RSPB Wallasea Island, said: "It's been really good and an amazing project to be a part of."

08/11/2025

We need your metal based Pringle tubes (no other brands). We have been collecting Pringle tubes for recycling for which we receive a small donation.
Most Pringle tubes are now made entirely from cardboard which can be recycled through kerbside collections, however the older metal based tubes cannot. We are a bit short of the minimum weight required to send these off for recycling.
So if you have any of the metal based tubes we would be grateful if you could pop them into our office at 15 Church Walk so that we can achieve the minimum weight for recycling.