February was a busy and exciting month! We’re excited to share news on the launch of the DIY Club and the upcoming Sponge City Planter workshops, where attendees will be building their own planters to grow fruit trees, bulbs and vegetables in Meadows streets and backyards.

Our Green Learning Coordinator Hannah feeds back the latest updates from the Eco Council at Greenfields Community School, and our Retrofit Coordinator Jake explains the final steps of the Meadows Energy Audit. With few houses remaining, we need your help!

Keep reading to find out what has been going on in the community.

Meet Jake: our Retrofit Coordinator - Help us complete the Meadows Energy Audit!

Hi, I’m Jake, the Retrofit Coordinator and Architectural designer on the Green Meadows Project. I focus on the Homes and Buildings aspect of the project and, over the past few years, I have been advising Meadow’s residents on making their homes more energy-efficient, comfortable, healthy, affordable, and with a reduced carbon footprint.

I love working at Green Meadows because I think it's crucial to protect our environment and communities from the threats of climate change. I began my career studying architecture in Brighton, and upon returning to Nottingham, I installed renewable technologies like solar panels and heat pumps in homes. More recently, I returned to architectural design and completed my master’s degree in Sheffield, focusing on socially engaged practice and climate justice. I work part-time at my architectural practice, FROMTHEGROUNDUP, a Nottingham-based worker cooperative that provides sustainable design services.

Joining Green Meadows was a perfect fit for me, getting to use my technical skills to help a local community.

I've been visiting homes in the Meadows to carry out Future-fit surveys, helping residents understand their energy use and discovering ways to save. During our hour together, I ask questions about how you use your home and your priorities, followed by measurements and an assessment of what it’s made of. I pay special attention to any defects, so I can suggest how they can be fixed before other works are done. Afterwards, I create a personalized guide called the Future Fit Home Plan, which I deliver to you along with one-on-one support and advice.

As well as the advice I provide, I am also using the data to build up a picture of how much energy all the houses in the Meadows use and how much could be saved if they were fully Retrofitted (upgraded to be as energy efficient as possible). This information is going to be vital for future research and to leverage future grant funding for the Meadows to carry out the work that needs to be done. We are calling this, the Meadows ‘Energy Audit’.

At the start of the project we mapped all the different types of houses, ‘Archetypes’, in the Meadows. There are 63 different archetypes! So far we’ve surveyed 43 Archetypes and are now trying to reach the final 16.

We need your help to do it! If you live in one of the Archetypes in the photos above, please get in touch.

As the data is going to be so important, we’re offering £25 Sainsbury’s vouchers to everyone who has a survey who lives in one of the 16 Archetypes we still need.

Call us on: 0115 718 2028, email admin@greenmeadows.uk or fill in a form

Greenfield Community School’s Eco Council

This month Green Learning celebrates Greenfields Community School's flying start to continue their Green Flag status, championed by their Eco Council and Carol Burnell who leads on outdoor learning.

This includes their on going inhouse events like their uniform and toy swaps and recent community actions like bulb planting by the river with the memorial garden volunteers.

Last term the group focused on renewable energy and held a whole school Eco Day. This was fantastic opportunity for Eco Council members to share what they do. Every class took part in a hands on activity ranging from making kites to melting ice, and a solar panel workshop led by the wonderful Monty Oakley! Discoveries made throughout the day were then celebrated in a whole school assembly!

Check out the lovely photos captured below

Launch of the DIY Club

The Green Meadows DIY Club launched successfully on the 21st February 2025. Thanks to the workshop space, available tools and each-other’s help, members repaired chairs, adapted kitchen furniture, and made plans for the construction of workbenches for the Meadows Men’s Sheds initiative. Some members found a common challenge in doing upholstery - to be able to make and repair furniture, and one has promised to do a course to be able to teach the others!

“I don’t consider myself a handyman, but it’s a treasure trove in here with all the power tools and everything you need to get jobs done, and people to help.”

— New Member, Mike

The DIY Club meet weekly, every Friday between 4-8pm. All are welcome to join!

Collaborate on community projects, learn & share skills, bring along something in need of a repair… register here!

Build a Sponge City Planter

Green Meadows and FROMTHEGROUNDUP are running a series of FREE workshops where you'll learn how to build water-retaining planters.

All planters will be made by and gifted to the community - installed on streets and available for personal use around The Meadows. We will plant them up with fruit trees, bulbs and vegetables and use compost from the Green Meadows Community.

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS:

CRATE PLANTERS FOR YOUR BACKYARD

With vegetables and bulbs!

Saturday 26 April - register here.
Saturday 24 May - register here.
Saturday 14 June - register here.
1-4pm (building + planting) at the NEP Climate Hub, 32 Turney St, NG2 2LG
BARREL PLANTERS FOR YOUR STREETS
With fruit trees
SUNDAY 16th March
10am-2pm (building)
1pm-3pm (planting)
Register here.