Find information about groups or societies/facilities that support ethical or environmental causes. Get involved and help our town be a fair and sustainable place to live.
1. Fair Trade Town
Sawbridgeworth Town Partnership hopes to lead Sawbridgeworth towards achieving Fair Trade Town Status. The award, granted by the Fair Trade Foundation will demonstrate the town and its residents' commitment to sourcing ethical goods. To gain this important award Fair Trade must be embraced by all aspects of the town: business, community - for example churches and schools, and council.
Churches and schools in the town are already embracing Fair Trade. Some businesses and traders in the town, including cafes and restaurants are already offering Fair Trade goods for sale for example Full of Beans, the White Lion and Budgens.
If you support the idea of Sawbridgeworth becoming a Fair Trade town and would like be part of this initiative, please contact us via our website www.sawbridgeworthonline.com
The Town Council owns and manages 91 allotment plots on 4 different sites. The locations of the sites are:
Bellmead Bullfields Southbrook Vantorts Plots are available for rent at a current cost of £2.50 per rod per annum with concessions for pensioners and registered disabled persons. There are currently waiting lists for all our sites, but please send us an application form if you are interested in future vacancies.
Please contact the Council for further information
The Rivers Nursery Site & Orchard Group, made up of local people, have carried on the work, restoring and preserving the rich heritage and valuable national horticultural contribution of what remains of the world famous Rivers Nurseries of Sawbridgeworth. Thomas Rivers, born at Sawbridgeworth in 1798, was responsible for consolidating the reputation of the nursery that his grandfather founded. Although renowned for rose culture, Thomas Rivers major interest was fruit production and the breeding and introduction of new varieties, particularly during the period between 1850 and 1875. He was responsible for the introduction of 31 peach and 16 nectarine varieties for glasshouse production, over 20 plum varieties, 6 pears and various apricots, cherries, raspberries and strawberries. He remains famous for his plums today. Unfortunately, the nursery closed towards the end of the 1980s.some of the land went for development and today The Thomas Rivers Medical Centre occupies part of the site of the former nurseries. The Executive Committee of The Rivers Nursery Site & Orchard Group represent the interests of the Community of the Sawbridgeworth area at large and all of the supporters of Rivers Nursery Orchard in particular in preserving the nursery and orchard site as an historic orchard and a managed green space
The aims of the group:
To focus on preserving and revitalising the existing orchard remnants in line with best management practice of old/historic orchards. To formalise a lasting robust statutory protection of the orchard within current demarcation lines. To strive towards the growth of the current archives and find a permanent home, befitting of their cultural, scientific, historic, local and national importance
Work also continues to develop the site as a Community Orchard. Improving the meadow areas for wildlife and providing a community and educational resource for local people. The Rivers Nursery site is private land owned by East Hertfordshire District Council. Access to the site for activities organised by the Rivers Nursery Site & Orchard Group is by invitation of the District Council as landowner, and no public rights of access are implied.
PLEASE SEE OUR WEBSITE(LINK BELOW)FOR FULL DETAILS OF UPCOMING EVENTS
Connecting people with the Stort Valley. An informal working group delivering activities and projects within the Stort Valley focussed on biodiversity, landscape, heritage access, recreation and education The partnership publishes the activities and dates of meetings of local environment volunteer groups around the River Stort and how to get involved. NEW Jan 2010! Download the new info brochure from the attachment link below. Look out for new website coming soon.
