Page 12 - Oxted Local July 2025

12 July 2025 • Oxted Local 
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On the theme of taking care of the environment
some members have joined the local Friends of the
River Eden Ecosystem which flows through our area
and they have been trained to undertake monthly
water sampling and testing.
Keen to encourage recycling one of the Eco team
undertook a survey of all the people and places
locally that collect items for re-cycling, ones that
would not go into the local Council’s kerbside
re-cycling bins. A list emerged of over forty
organisations or individuals who collect niche items
that can be re-cycled and this has been shared with
all the church communities of Churches Together
in Oxted and District and through the Council to
all businesses. In addition recycling bins for paper,
glass, cans and cardboard have been placed in
Church and in The Space which is St. Mary’s part of
the Community Hall, and food recycling bins placed
in all areas where food is served. Efforts are made to
ensure that refreshments served by church members
are eco-friendly and responsibly produced.
Responsible use of heating has been considered as
a result of which the late afternoon Café service has
been moved to The Space for the winter months
to save heating a large church building all day
long whilst we have
focused heating the
Church building to a
comfortable level ready
for the 8am said service
and this is continued
on to the main 9.30
Communion or family
service.
On a smaller scale
table tops in The Space
have been upcycled to
save replacing them
and ferrules put on the chair legs in
the Tower Vestry where there are vented central
heating channels rather than having to replace
the chairs. More recently an Eco church leaflet has
been produced which gives hints on how to live
sustainably without causing too much harm to the
planet.
As a result of all these efforts an Eco Silver Award
was awarded to St. Mary’s Church in January 2025
so we are now going for Gold!
By Valerie Adamson