Shining a Light on the Landscape of Sustainability

We recognise that this past year has been hard for many, so with this in mind, we’d like to promote some other incredible initiatives working to create stronger, cleaner, and more sustainable communities. Each month we will be promoting a location that is home to one of our repair cafés, celebrating the many other inspirational, forward thinking organisations that strive to make Wales, and the world, a better place.

This month we are showcasing Ruthin, the historic market town cwtched between the Hiraethog Moors and the Clwydian hills of north east Wales. Whilst the location of this small market town may historically have presented a strategically ripe opportunity as a brutal and bloody battleground, there is a now a new battle taking place, as the local community fights against the ever-growing climate emergency, championing kindness, community cohesion, and a cleaner, greener environment.

Ruthin and District U3A

Ruthin and District U3A are an educational charity set up for people no longer in full time work, or no longer seeking full time work. With no lower age limit however, this charity is all about inclusivity and self-help, encouraging its members to share skills and interests amongst their community. Numerous and varied interest groups have sprung from the establishment of the Ruthin and District U3A charity, including a Low Level or Hill Walking group, a Poetry for Pleasure group and a Sustainable Living group that supports those who would like to reduce their environmental impact, but are not quite sure where to start. With something for everyone, Ruthin and District U3A is an organisation striving to facilitate a community that works hard to promote social inclusion, champion health and well-being, and one that nurtures the environment they live in.

To find out more about how to get involved with Ruthin District U3A, or any of their interest groups, you can visit their website here.

Clocaenog Red Squirrels Trust

Clocaenog Red Squirrels Trust is a voluntary organisation working to protect and conserve red squirrels in Clocaenog Forest. Working as a community group and with partner organisations such as Natural Resources Wales, CRST are doing incredible work, engaging both the local and wider community in nature and heritage conservation, whilst supporting scientific and ecological research aimed at ensuring the survival of the red squirrel population, but also at assisting wider conservation work in Clocaenog Forest. Each week, their dedicated volunteers routinely visit the forest and work hard to ensure the happiness of Clocaenog Forest and its red squirrel population. This happy habitat is maintained by undertaking practical tasks such as placing and monitoring over 80 trail cameras around the forest, building and filling feeder boxes, building nest boxes, monitoring the health and welfare of the red squirrels using radio tracking collars, and working alongside ecologists and conservation professionals to support the forest and its squirrel residents. Besides the red squirrels, the forest is also home to a wide range of other wildlife species, and boasts a public footpath, or a cycle path if you’d prefer, with spaces to stop and enjoy a picnic with the family.

For more information on Clocaenog Red Squirrels Trust, you can visit their website here.

Naturally Ethical

Naturally Ethical is a family run, independent shop based in Ruthin specialising in eco, ethical and organic products. With both an online shop and a town centre presence they provide a straight-forward approach to guilt free shopping, stocked with a range of delightful merchandise which you can be sure, has been researched thoroughly, and will only have come from the most ethically minded suppliers. Online you will find a range of clothing, toys, gifts and toiletries, packaged to post using only recycled materials, whilst the high street shop also offers a vegan and vegetarian café where you can stop by and enjoy a fair-trade, organic coffee, whilst the children have fun in the play area. If all that wasn’t enough, they also provide a refill service and organic food and veg boxes! An enjoyable shopping experience, easily accessed, and above all – ethical, this shop is naturally a fantastic addition to the Ruthin community.

To find out more about Naturally Ethical, or to browse their selection of ethical products, you can find their website here.

Ruthin Friends of the Earth

Ruthin Friends of the Earth was initially established by four friends meeting in a local pub to discuss their vision of a plastic free Ruthin. Since that meeting, those four friends have initiated a movement in Ruthin, attracting over 300 local social media followers, and encouraging dozens of their community members to take action in the fight against plastic. Now an official Friends of the Earth group, these community members attend a monthly meeting to initiate and support community projects designed to lower their collective environmental impact, whilst enhancing community resilience. Current projects that Ruthin Friends of the Earth are undertaking include a local ‘library of things’, enabling people to borrow instead of buy household items such as drills, gazebos or board games. Still working towards their vision of a plastic free Ruthin, they are making huge steps towards a plastic free community status, encouraging local schools and businesses to use less single use plastics, whilst also supporting the Dwr Cymru refill scheme that enables shops to offer free water refills to those carrying reusable bottles.

To find out more about Ruthin Friends of the Earth, or how you can get involved, you can find their website here.