Environmental art and message ocean bomb Horsham District

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Horsham Carfax Bandstand

Horsham District was bombarded with environmental art and activity on Saturday 6th July. Volunteers from the Horsham Repair Café and Sussex Green Living, an environmental awareness and educational network, provided a dazzling array of ‘environmentally friendly’ stalls at their second Share, Care and Repair Fair, this year within Horsham Market. It was part of the Horsham District Year of Culture 2019 and Horsham Festival.

In the run up to this unique Fair nineteen locations – shops, salons, sports centre, Horsham library and the Carfax bandstand, had surprize eco ocean art installed with environmental messages, plus a display at the Fair. This Community Eco Ocean Art project, sponsored by Biffa, was the brainchild of the founder of Sussex Green Living Carrie Cort. Carrie said “People are so worried about plastic pollution and the plight of the planet, I thought this would be fun for anyone of any age to get creative around communicating the problems and solutions”. She continued “Their art had to be made of unwanted materials or acrylic wool. Acrylic wool is a problem because it is synthetic, plastics, which means it will take decades to completely break down”.

Pam Tedder one of the Horsham Repair Café volunteers co-ordinated the yarn or ocean bombing of the Carfax bandstand.  Pam says “It was a wonderful intergenerational community project predominately the contributions for the bandstand were from the Horsham Normandy WI, supported by knitters from Broadbridge Heath, Horsham North Heath, Roffey Greenfields and Mannings Heath WI Groups, plus a Knit and Natter group, friends and a year two child from Kingslea School even knitted a fish”. Pam continues “The WI of course are well known for yarn bombing”.

The Share, Care and Repair Fair was opened by Councillor Kate Rowbottom and Jeremy Quin MP who acknowledge the urgent and important work of these environmental voluntary groups. Kate, the new Chairperson of Horsham District Council told the crowds that Horsham District Council are discussing the possibility of 2020 being a Horsham District Year of Green Action.

The Fair included a pop-up Horsham Repair Cafe, Sussex Green Living’s sustainable fashion display, upcycled craft stall, advice on climate action and switching to clean energy, the South East Climate Alliance stand. Plus WSCC Waste Prevention Team, Marine Conservation Society, Wikaniko, Fairtrade Horsham, Tropic World and Earthkind ‘plastic free pantry’ offering dry, loose and organic food. The Horsham based English folk dancers Magog provided colourful and joyous music and dancing.

A Community Eco Ocean Art Trail was launched with 19 public locations, 14 in Horsham, 3 in Billingshurst, 1 at Bluecoats Sports at Christs Hospital and 1 in Southwater. Members of the public are invited to visit all the art installations, collecting a letter displayed on the art trail posters (the bandstand is a green heart rather than a letter), unscramble the letters into three eco words, email to , certificates for all participants and a box of green living goodies will go to one name pulled out of the hat.

Download a Community Eco Ocean Art Trail here  https://www.sussexgreenliving.org.uk/event/oceanbombed/. See more photos of the Share, Care and Repair Fair here. View the gallery of Community Eco Ocean Art here.

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2019 Share, Care & Repair Fair opening

For more information contact

Carrie Cort

07768 212833 

About Sussex Green Living

Sussex Green Living (SGL) is a social community environmental awareness initiative. Our mission is to make the world a better place and to educate and inspire people to take action to reduce their impact on the Planet. We want to share practical ideas to help people to reduce the effects of climate change, to reduce their carbon footprint and to live in greater harmony with the planet now and for future generations.

Our aims

  • To help create a vibrant, sustainable and environmentally aware community in West Sussex, though the work of SGL founder Carrie Cort, volunteers and followers.
  • To inspire, motivate and equip people with practical and creative solutions, to take small steps to a more sustainable and adaptable way of living.
  • To help people make the connections between their actions and global climate change.
  • To developcollaborations with other environmental groups, for example Transition and 10:10 groups locally; and Climate Reality Leaders around the World.
  • To inspirepeople to refuse, reuse, remake, redesign and repair, through workshops and events.
  • To develop a ‘Green Inspiration through the Arts’ programme across the county, in partnership with other organisations, community groups and not-for-profit initiatives.
  • To develop enterprise through reuse – diverting waste resources from landfill and into a Sussex Greener Living recycling scheme, and in the process raise money for charities both at home and abroad.
  • To promote and facilitate a transition to 100% renewable clean energy, working in partnership withhttps://bigcleanswitch.org/sussexgreen/, offering a simple and quick service to secure cost comparisons and switch to clean energy.
  • To raise additional income through sponsorship and grants in order to achieve our aims.
  • To encourage individuals and groups of all ages, abilities, communities, beliefs, and ethnicities to engage with the Sussex Greener Living campaign.
  • To sow seeds of hope for a more sustainable future.

Sussex Green Living, Carrie and her 11 year old son have won the following awards:

  • Business Matters – won the Going Green Award  in 2012 and 2013
  • Southern Business – Highly Commended for the Going Green Award 2012
  • BBC Surrey & Sussex Community Hero – Green Champion 2015.  Listen to the BBC interview and event proceedings here
  • WWF Earth Hour – shortlisted as their Community Hero 2017, Adam won the KS2 Climate Challenge poster competition, resulting in attendance at the WWF Earth Hour Parliamentary reception
  • Business Green Leaders Awards – Shortlisted as NGO of the Year 2017
  • P.E.A. (People, Environment & Achievement) – won Greenest Family Award 2017
  • West Sussex County Times Community Awards – Adam and Carrie won Friends of the Environment 2017
  • South East Energy Efficiency Awards – Energy Efficiency Champion 2018
  • Better Energy School Awards – Southern and Central Region Totally Scientific category William Penn School 2018
  • Climate Coalition Award in 2018 and 2019 – shortlisted

In  2012 Carrie Cort and Jill Shuker (co-founders of the Horsham Repair Cafe, supported by the Horsham Quakers and lots of volunteers) trained as WSCC voluntary Waste Prevention Advisors, in October 2017 they launched the Horsham Repair Cafe, subsequently Repair Cafes have been set up in Chichester, Worthing, Adur, Chailey, Dorking and Haslemere.

​March 2016 Carrie was invited by Al Gore to attend his Climate Reality Leadership Corp three day training programme in Manila, Philippines. The programme was delivered by Al Gore, leading Climate Change scientists and communicators. Carrie now delivers Al Gore’s Climate Reality communications with adults and a portfolio of climate change awareness activities for children.

For further information on the work of Sussex Green Living please see www.sussexgreenliving.co.uk.