The Green House is a volunteer led community eco hub based in central St Albans that officially opened its doors to the public back in May 2024. Situated above the ethical and sustainable Jefferson eco shop on London Road, The Green House is committed to promoting sustainability, caring for our local wildlife, and helping those living and working in the district to reduce their carbon footprint.
The team at the Green House have told us their story, what excellent actions they have taken since their launch and what they have planned for 2025.
‘It has been a very exciting first nine months from our launch party back in May to receiving funding for a Library of Things in December. We have endeavoured to offer something to everyone that will help them tread more lightly on our Planet and connect people in a way that fosters collaboration and strengthens our community.
We have learnt so much over the past year, met so many interesting and caring people and connected with so many climate focused projects!
Below is a summary of the work we have been doing over the past 9 months and some of our hopes and plans for 2025.
The hub itself is a warm and safe space for meetings and conversations. We have displays relating to sustainability, a free eco library, access to Ethical Consumer, (the leading magazine for green consumer advice), information on local green spaces and projects and we are the drop off point for hard to recycle items such as printer ink cartridges, dental care items and selective e-waste.
We have also held events across the year that encourage and support behaviour change, from zero food waste and composting workshops to butterfly walks and emotional resilience talks as well as establishing an eco book club and ‘What Next? Wednesday’ advice sessions.
Specific Projects
We are very excited to have set up a monthly sewing repair café where our lovely volunteers help to stop clothes ending up in landfill and also save people money. Places at the repair café can be booked via Eventbrite or through our website. Such projects help to raise awareness of how to reduce our carbon footprint and also contribute towards creating a more caring and sharing community.
We have fostered engagement with our local schools through collaboration on art projects and visits from school eco councils.
Our monthly junior Climate Club on Saturday mornings has focused on reducing, reusing and recycling plastic and is spreading the word through the school community. We have also set up a birdwatching group for young people aged 18-30.
We run a monthly drop -in session offering wildlife gardening advice, signalling local projects and groups such as Wilderhood Watch and have had displays focused on topics such as plastic free gardening and supporting swifts.
A large part of the work we do relates to reducing our energy use at home. We hold monthly Meet The Expert sessions whereby people can book a 1:1 session with an expert in their field to find out more about projects such as installing solar panels, insulating their homes, buying a heat pump etc. During 2025 we will be out and about in the district too, with an information stall helping to give advice and support to those wishing to make their homes warmer, cosier and cheaper to run. Look out for us at places such as St Albans’ Central Library on the second Friday of the month. We will also continue to run events on home energy issues, from easy hacks to sustainable insulation, aimed to help us all reduce our carbon footprint.
We are also very excited to be launching a project to set up a Library of Things in 2025. A library of things is a way of borrowing items you may need for a home or garden project from time to time, maybe a sewing machine or a hedge trimmer, something you use occasionally but don’t want to buy or store at home. Borrowing from a Library of Things is kinder to our wallets and to the Planet as it saves money and resources. Sharing things in our community brings us together too. What’s not to like?
We look forward to welcoming you.’
If you have not yet visited The Green House at London Road. They are open throughout the week, and you will find volunteers at the hub on most days, usually between 11am and 3pm. You can check out and book onto the upcoming events at The Green House on their website If you would like to meet with one of the Green House team in person you can contact them by email at info@thegreenhousestalbans.org.