At Cocklebury Farmhouse Homes, Green Week is a really important milestone in the calendar as it is an opportunity for the people we support to learn about environmental sustainability and how each person can have a positive impact.

Green Week is the UK's largest celebration of community-led action to tackle climate change and protect nature. This year's event, held from 6th–14th June 2026, gave us another fantastic opportunity to work alongside the people we support to explore practical ways of living more sustainably.

Putting People in the Lead

As with all of our projects, Green Week was shaped by the people we support.

Stephanie, our Director of People and Culture, spent time during housemates' meetings and individual one-to-one sessions asking people what activities they would most enjoy. We reflected on last year, looking at pictures and discussing what we did and didn’t enjoy. We also discussed what new ideas we could try this year - reflecting on the good practices we put into place over the last 12 months, and what new things we would like to try in 2026.

When we talked about what we learnt last year, Ann said “Being good not wasting things”, and Dougie said “We picked up rubbish. We don’t throw rubbish on the floor”.

Together, we created a programme that reflected people's interests whilst encouraging everyone to try something new. Each person had something they wanted to do individually, as well as a few group activities that everyone wanted to participate in.

This person-centred approach meant that everyone had the opportunity to get involved in ways that were meaningful to them.

Caring for Our Local Community

One of the highlights of the week was our community litter pick.

After the success of last year's event, everyone was keen to do it again, this time choosing the Donkey Fields near Sheldon instead of Monkton Park. Working together, people helped make the local area cleaner whilst recognising the positive impact that even small actions can have on the environment.

It was so successful that we did another round of litter picking around Cocklebury Farmhouse. We collected a whole bag of rubbish during one walk.

Discovering Seasonal Food

This year we introduced a brand-new activity by exploring seasonal, locally grown fruit and vegetables.

Renae enjoyed visiting the local fruit and vegetable shop, SK Fruits, to learn what produce was in season and grown locally. Jeffrey and David also took part in seasonal food shopping on behalf of Cocklebury Farmhouse, and everyone came together during housemates' meetings to taste different fruits and vegetables, share their thoughts and discover the benefits of buying seasonal produce. A big thank you to Dom who helped prepare all the fruit and vegetables in the kitchen with Maria - learning what to do with each different type.

The strawberries were a big hit with Adam saying they were “Brilliant” and Ann saying they were “very nice”, the nectarines however were not as popular with Adam stating “no thank you” and Ann stating “I didn’t like them”.

We also looked at seasonal vegetables and discussed what we could do with them for tea. Phillip said he liked his potatoes mashed, but Tony prefers his roasted. One of our favourite moments was when we discussed the courgettes and what we could do with them for dinner. Tola’s reply was “dustbin”!

The seasonal food session also benefitted supporting individuals who often say no to certain fruits due to the sensory aspect, we found many people trying the fruit as part of the activity and sharing comments such as “nice” and “ok”.

Following the workshop, Jim was inspired to grow vegetables at home, so planted tomato plants in the garden. As part of the process he got to learn about growing food at home and caring for plants.

Our seasonal exploration was a great way to encourage healthy eating whilst supporting local businesses and reducing environmental impact.

Getting Creative Through Recycling

Green Week also encouraged creativity through upcycling and recycled crafts.

There were some fantastic creations throughout the week:

Jim and Christopher designed and built buses using recycled materials.
Tola created a colourful collage using recycled items.
Adam gave his desk a new lease of life by upcycling it instead of replacing it.

These activities demonstrated that everyday materials can often be reused in imaginative and practical ways rather than being thrown away.

Choosing Greener Ways to Travel

Using public transport, instead of our vans, was another important theme of the week.

Several people chose buses and trains instead of travelling by car, helping to reduce their environmental impact whilst building confidence using public transport.

Highlights included:

Christopher, Ann, Dougie, Andrew and Phillip enjoying a bus trip to Malmesbury.
Karen taking the bus to donate unwanted clothes to a local charity shop.
Ann travelling by train to Weston-super-Mare.

These journeys not only supported environmental sustainability but also promoted independence, travel confidence and community inclusion. On reflection, many of the people we support said that they would like to swap van trips for public transport moving forward.

Giving Unwanted Clothes a New Home

Many people also took the opportunity to sort through their wardrobes and donate clothing they no longer needed.

Rather than sending unwanted items to landfill, clothes were donated to charity, allowing them to be reused while supporting worthwhile causes within the local community.

Ann cleared her wardrobe and gave the clothes to Cancer Research, to support her Race for Life mission this year.

Small Swaps, Big Difference

Throughout Green Week, staff continued to use Active Support to help people learn about recycling, reducing waste and making greener everyday choices. Whether recycling household items, choosing seasonal food, using public transport or finding creative ways to reuse materials, every activity reinforced the message that small changes really can make a big difference.

Looking Back

Green Week 2026 was another fantastic success.

It demonstrated how environmental sustainability can be embedded into everyday life in enjoyable, meaningful and person-centred ways. Most importantly, it showed that when people are given choice and control, they become passionate about making a positive difference to both their local community and the wider environment.

We're incredibly proud of everyone's enthusiasm, creativity and commitment throughout the week, and we're already looking forward to seeing our new habits being embedded into everyday life.

Green Week 2026: Small Changes Making a Big Difference