Welcome to our Autumn Newsletter

The season of mists and mellow fruitfulness is here, and as the nights draw in, it’s the perfect chance to slow down and reflect.

Autumn is a season of harvest and it’s also an opportunity to come together and embrace more sustainable choices in our community.

That’s why we’re delighted to invite you to our Harvest Event in Rickmansworth this Sunday, 28th September, where you can sample the produce of the Community Garden. It’s a free event - read on to find out more.

In this edition of our newsletter, you’ll also find:

• Practical tips for avoiding food waste

• A guide to birds to look out for locally this autumn

• Opportunities to experience the wellbeing benefits of forest bathing

• Easy changes you can make to help respect and restore our planet

The news can often feel dark these days, but together we have the power to take small actions that add up to lasting change. By coming together in our community, we can celebrate the autumn, support each other, and strengthen our shared commitment to a more sustainable future.

Enjoy the read, and let’s keep sowing the seeds of a greener future.

With Our Best Wishes

The Sustainable Three Rivers Team

PS If you don’t already, please do follow us on Facebook and Instagram to see all our latest news.

Please come along to our free event in Rickmansworth this Sunday. There’s no need book - just come and find us at the Community Garden.

You can combine it with a visit to the monthly Rickmansworth Market!

Autumn is a time of change and migration for the birds in our local area. Read our latest blog to find out what to look out for this season.

From redwings (shown above) to departing swallows and house martins, there’s always something to see. We’ve also got tips for how you can help garden birds thrive as we head into the colder months.

Harvest, Waste Not, Want Not

September is a bountiful time of year, and at the Ricky Community Garden, we're getting ready to harvest the fruits of our labour.

This got us thinking about food waste at home. It’s a huge issue, but making a few small changes can have a big impact. We've all been there — that soft bag of spinach or the bananas that have turned brown on the counter. While this feels bad, the truth is, a staggering amount of food is wasted long before it ever reaches our homes.

The good news is that by making a few small changes, you can cut down considerably on the amount you waste, saving both your wallet and the planet.

Guided Sessions in the Local Area

If you’re looking for a way to restore calm, deepen your awareness and reconnect with nature, forest bathing could be just what you need.

The practice is simple yet profound: slow down, breathe deeply and immerse yourself in the sights, sounds and scents of the woods.

You don’t need to travel far to experience the many benefits of forest bathing. Local company Heart & Earth, established by S3R co-founder Gillian Lipton, now offers guided sessions the Three Rivers area.

Halloween celebrations can be great fun for us but not always great for the planet.

Millions of decaying pumpkins after the event contribute to harmful methane emissions as they decay in landfill.

See our blog post for ideas on cooking and eating your pumpkin instead. But if you don’t fancy your culinary skills, Woodoaks Farm are collecting pumpkins after Halloween for composting.

Visit an Inspiring Exhibition this Autumn

In the Three Rivers area, we’re lucky, of course, to have London within easy reach. If you’re looking for inspiration - and entertainment - this autumn, there are plenty of eco-themed exhibitions to visit in the capital. Here are a few suggestions:

Visions of Nature at the Natural History Museum A new mixed reality experience that imagines a possible future 100 years from now.

Fixing Our Broken Planet Gallery at the Natural History Museum Packed with contemporary science from world-leading researchers, this new gallery explores practical, nature-based solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing the planet today.

More than Human at the Design Museum A major exhibition bringing together art, science and radical thinking to ask how design can help our planet thrive by shifting its focus beyond human needs.

The Society of Wildlife Artists - The Natural Eye 2025 at the Mall Galleries The Natural Eye, the annual exhibition of the Society of Wildlife Artists, showcases the very best of fine art inspired by the natural world.

Wildphotos at Wildscreen London The one-day event will feature a world-class line-up of 14 award-winning nature photographers, sharing the stories, craft and impact behind some of the most recent iconic wildlife photography. 

Autumn Gardening Tips

● Make use of fallen leaves. Clear them from lawns, paths etc, then add small amounts to your compost heap and let the rest rot down for leaf mould. Brilliant for your soil!

● Leave some windfalls for birds and insects as decaying apples and other fruit are valuable energy rich food.

● Why not also leave sunflowers and teasels for goldfinches and other seed-eating birds. They will really thank you for doing this.

● Replace your pollinator friendly summer bedding plants in hanging baskets and pots with spring bulbs and autumn/winter interest plants such as pansies, violas, hellebores, ivy and heathers. Replace compost or add a fresh top layer. Why not come along to our hanging basket workshop on Thursday Oct 16 and make your own basket - great fun and you’ll learn so much! See flyer below.

● Divide established rhubarb plants, chopping into decent sized pieces and replanting with added compost.

● Clean bird boxes, using a brush and boiling water. Avoid chemicals. Dry them afterwards.

● Get some garlic going! Choose a sunny site, place individual cloves flat end down with the tip 2.5cm below the surface. Space 15cms apart with 30cms between rows.

● Move houseplants closer to the light, now that light levels are dropping. Keep away from any cold draughts and clean both leaves and windows to allow as much light as possible to get to them.

● Chop up spent vegetables and summer bedding, then add to a compost heap.

● Remember to mulch bare ground with organic matter such as leaf mould and compost, ready for planting next year.

Just One Sustainable Thing…

Big change starts with small steps. Here are some ideas for you to try this autumn:

• Eat seasonally and locally There’s so much beautiful British produce available at this time of year, try to buy locally and eat seasonally if you can. Make sure you check the labels in the supermarket to see where your fruit and veg is coming from. You could try a seasonal veg box from companies such as Riverford. Or better still, visit Ricky’s Alkaline Garden at Woodoaks Farm!

Sustainable Three Rivers is a Community Interest Group founded by local residents. Our aim is to help people in Three Rivers make lifestyle changes to protect the planet. 

If you’ve got any ideas for sustainable solutions, or questions about any of the points we cover, we’d love to hear from you!

You can email us at hello@sustainablethreerivers.org

Please click the link below if you’d like to donate to our cause.

As a Community Interest Company, everything we do is for the benefit of all of us in the Three Rivers area. We run community events and other initiatives, including investing in our flourishing Community Garden. We rely on grants and donations to keep funding all of this. If you can spare anything to help us keep our community thriving, we’d be incredibly grateful. Thank you in advance.