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Good stuff coming in 2026

The Schwartzman Centre for Humanities

Happy New Year! We hope you saw out 2025 in style.

This week, in between rubbing my eyes and double-taking at the news on my phone, I was inspired by this newsletter from environmental action charity Hubbub. They captured well how much great stuff is going on in the world of climate and nature, even if it can get lost in confusing times. They describe well how we care about this, we are getting on with change, and we’re finding new ways to have a great time. It’s worth a read.

From our viewpoint as a community organisation here in Oxfordshire, this feels so true. We’re a small team and learning loads as we go. We’re always motivated to help people connect with projects in this space that excite and inspire them. With this in mind, here are a few bits and bobs we’ve been either involved in or inspired by in the last few months, and can’t wait to see go further in 2026.

From big beasts…

  • The University’s recently-opened Schwartzman Centre for the Humanities is potentially the largest building in the country to achieve Passivehaus. It’s been designed with a strong push for community connection as well as academic excellence and aims to be an open space for us all. I’m starting by trying out their café with our Chair of Trustees this week!
  • There’s exciting progress on community connection at the Engineering Department; Nikita Hari, who among her many roles, leads their work on “Engineering in Practice”, has run their first break-down sessions with students. In the coming months, we hope to team up with repair café volunteers. This could build community and help students take this thinking into careers designing and building the products of the future.
  • It was great to get to London in December to meet many inspiring people at the Green Alliance’s launch of this video series of circular economy success stories. A reminder of how much is going on around the country and beyond, and how we can get involved.

…to local heroes…

  • The huge new Humanities building reminded me, on a different scale, what a fantastic job Cherwell Collective have done with their WISH store refurb in Kidlington. It was a really welcoming, smart place for our recent WISH network meeting. It’s worth popping in and asking to check out the solar panels, heat pumps, re-homed furnishings and more that make a sustainable home for this group’s future.
  • Thinking of setting up for the future, it’s exciting to see the Getting Oxfordshire Online teams at SOFEA and Aspire moving to more self-funded model, selling a portion of donated devices to fund their work. This increases the service’s resilience to shifting funder priorities and offers a great new way to support them. If you are in the market for a computer or two, John and the team will help you get a great device and support your community in the process.
  • A new area for us to learn, our volunteer Molly helped us understand better how reuse fits into our mission and who we could collaborate with. As a first step, we’ve been delighted to connect up a local business with reuse charity KFR. Their team in Swindon have collected the first van-load of unwanted white goods from sites in Oxford to be refurbished, safety-certified and distributed.

…this is an amazing community

  • There was amazing energy in the room as we shared a meal at Makespace’s end of year party, reflecting all the progress they’ve made in building such a vibrant community. They’ve re-opened 31 buildings which host 276 organisations so far. It’s all underpinned by their powerful (re)founding work to stay focused on their mission to improve spatial justice.
  • The informal network of UK Libraries of Things has taken a great step forward this year. The re-organised WhatsApp community now includes many more groups and helps people like us discuss all the important things in life like insurance and Mailchimp subscriber limits. It’s also a great place to celebrate progress like Leamington Spa’s new LoT opening, and SHARE Skipton winning a North Yorkshire Community Impact Award.
  • Our Library of Things customers always inspire with the ideas they are trying out too. We meet people new to the city who are pleased that they don’t need to buy stuff. Others hire thermal cameras to find “quick fixes” to save energy. Some hire kit like beds for family visits, tackle those DIY fixes they’ve been meaning to for ages or create beautiful crafts. Your good nature and honesty also really helps us learn where we need to keep improving for our bit to work well (including apologies to those guests who wound up sleeping on a slowly deflating air bed this Christmas…)

With so many more great things going on than we’ve mentioned here, we hope you start 2026 energised to take next steps on the things you care about. If we can help in any way, please feel free to get in touch. Maybe we could link you up with Community Action Groups in your area, or you could pop in to chat through an idea with our staff and volunteers, feed back where you want to challenge us, share what’s inspiring you, or anything else.

And, of course, we’d love to help you start your year with some repairing, sharing or reusing at these upcoming sessions:

  • Monday 12th January – Tech Rescue to keep your IT working well, or help pass on your old gear if Santa brought a new laptop.
  • Sunday 18th January – Repair Café to fix electrical and mechanical things, bikes, clothes and this month even leather books.
  • Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays – the Library of Things is open as usual for early spring cleans, January birthdays, DIY projects and all your other brilliant ideas.

See you soon, and wishing you a wonderful 2026!

Categories
News & Impact Sustainable Living

Sustainable Fashion Week

When you open your wardrobe, what do you see? For many of us it’s a mix of well-loved favourites, a few forgotten impulse buys, and pieces that could use a little care. Sustainable fashion invites us to look at that collection differently. Instead of asking what’s missing, we can ask what more can I do with what I already have?

This year, Sustainable Fashion Week is happening across the UK, bringing communities together to explore creativity, sustainability, and mindful wardrobes. Oxfordshire joins the movement with events and exhibitions showing that sustainable fashion can be accessible, creative, and fun for everyone.

SFW: a National Movement for Change

Sustainable Fashion Week (SFW) is showing that changing the fashion industry starts at the community level. Now, in its fifth year and running from September 27th to October 5th, SFW brings together makers, designers, brands and local groups in a celebration of creativity, climate action, and collective effort. It’s not a traditional fashion week focused on runways and retail, it’s a community-led movement built around the belief that people and nature should come before profit.

Each year, the programme centres on a new theme. This year it’s “Fashion, Reclaimed”, an invitation to reclaim our style, our wardrobes and our relationship with fashion itself. Events across the UK, from sewing workshops and visible mending circles to clothes swaps and bold catwalk shows, explore how we can rethink fashion in ways that reduce waste and reconnect us to the clothes we wear.

This national effort is made up of dozens of local “hubs”, clusters of activity that anchor the movement in different communities. Here in Oxfordshire, Cherwell Collective runs our local hub, connecting the county’s creativity and community spirit to the bigger national picture.

The 2024 Sustainable Fashion Show at Blenheim
The 2024 sustainable fashion show at Blenheim

This week, together with CAG Oxfordshire, they hosted a clothes swap at Tap Social, with people swapping 248 items (66kg) and another 61kg donated to local charity the Gatehouse.

A highlight of the week’s programme was Wednesday’s Ripples of Change Sustainable Fashion Show at Blenheim Palace, where designers transform upcycled and unconventional materials into striking new looks. Oxford United football players Naomi Bedeau & Lucy Trinder even modelled unique designs designed from replica kits.

Learn about the Carbon Cost of Fashion

There’s still time to check out Cherwell Collective’s Carbon Cost of Fashion Exhibition, which is at Oxford Town Hall until 18th October (Monday to Saturday) before it returns to their WISH shop in Kidlington.

Cherwell Collective’s Carbon Cost of Fashion exhibition

It’s a one-of-a-kind interactive exhibition chronicling the impact of our fashion choices and sharing inspiring ideas for change, helping us reduce the UK fashion industry’s carbon footprint.

Feeling inspired?

If SFW 2025 has left you inspired, there are lots of ways to enjoy Sustainable fashion and local groups to get involved with!

Second-Hand, First Choice!

Our Secondhand September blog has tips and hidden gems for stylish, sustainable shopping. Shopping second-hand isn’t about settling for less; it’s about discovering more. Each piece comes with its own history, and finding it feels like uncovering a secret treasure.

Exploring these shops is not only about style. It’s also a way to support local charities, independent businesses, and community initiatives. Each purchase helps to fund valuable work while giving clothes another chance to shine. It’s shopping with stories attached.

Repair with Care: Learning the Joy of Mending

A missing button or small tear doesn’t need to spell the end of a garment. In fact, repair can be surprisingly rewarding. It’s not just about fixing; it’s about deepening your connection with your clothes and gaining the satisfaction of keeping something useful and loved for longer.

Our sewing team enjoyed making a feature of this repair

Oxford has plenty of opportunities to discover the art of repair. Repair cafés across the county add a friendly, social dimension too. They’re places where people gather not just to fix, but to share skills, swap tips, and cheer each other on. A mended jumper becomes more than clothing, it becomes a story of care and community.

And our next one is 19th October which you can book here.

Upcycling: Giving Clothes a Second Life

There’s something magical about looking at an old garment and imagining what else it could become. A shirt doesn’t have to stay a shirt forever, and a pair of jeans can carry many more stories than their first chapter. Reuse and upcycling invite us to see clothes not as fixed, but as materials for creativity. It’s about finding joy in transformation — whether that means a small tweak to refresh a favourite piece, or a bold redesign that turns scraps into something completely new.

Over at Orinoco, with their motto of “play, create, decorate” you’ll find sewing machines, fabrics, and all sorts of quirky offcuts and embellishments to experiment with. And if you don’t own a sewing machine, SHARE Oxford’s Library of Things lets you hire one whenever you need (see the catalogue here).

And the best part? Upcycling isn’t about perfection. It’s about experimentation, play, and putting your personal stamp on your clothes. Whether you patch a pair of trousers, add a statement trim to a jacket, or turn offcuts into something entirely new, you’re giving garments a second life. and creating pieces that truly belong to you.

Small Steps, Big Change

Repairing, reusing, and rethinking fashion doesn’t require a complete lifestyle overhaul. It can start with a single action: sewing on a button, swapping a jumper, or visiting a second-hand shop with a friend.

If you’ve been inspired by Sustainable Fashion Week, our volunteers are always keen to help you take your next steps, whether helping with a repair or upcyling project or recommending a group near you to get involved with. You can always get in touch at hello@shareoxford.org

Categories
Repair & Reuse

End of 10 – it’s time (maybe)

A windows 10 computer reminding you it doesn't need to be binned!

The clock is ticking… On 14 October 2025, Microsoft will officially end support for Windows 10. That means no more security updates, leaving your computer increasingly vulnerable to bugs, viruses, and other security risks.

If you’ve been following SHARE Oxford, you’ll know that our Tech Rescue team are here to help you keep safe and save your old PC from the bin!

As we approach the deadline, there’s some good news if you’re not ready to move yet, and a reminder of how we can help.

Another year, for free

If you’re still running Windows 10, Microsoft are now offering a free additional year of updates if you enrol in the “Extended Support Updates” programme. You’ll need a (free) Microsoft account and to be backing up your computer to OneDrive. You might need to pay for enough OneDrive space but, in short, if you don’t have too many files or you already pay for Microsoft Office, you should be eligible.

Learn how to enrol for extended updates

There’s plenty of life in the old PC yet

If Extended Support isn’t an option for you or you want to make the change, our detailed blog talks through your options including:

  • clean-installing Windows 11 on your older computer
  • Google Chrome OS Flex or Linux
  • Cheap secondhand Windows 11 PCs
Check out your options if your PC won’t run Windows 11

Need a hand?

Writing that blog taught us how much there is to consider! If you’re daunted, our Tech Rescue volunteers can help you explore your options or guide you through the process.

Book a Tech Rescue SEssion

Donate Your Old Computer

If you decide it’s time for a new machine, don’t let your old one gather dust. You can give it a second life through Getting Oxfordshire Online, a fantastic local initiative that securely wipes and refurbishes computers for people in need.

We can even help you transfer your data and prepare the device for donation. Book a session with our Tech Rescue team and we’ll guide you through every step.

Donate unwanted tech to Getting Oxfordshire Online

Categories
Sustainable Living

Your Guide to Second Hand September in Oxford

Secondhand September

Who doesn’t love shopping for clothes? The thrill of finding something new is exciting. But what if fashion could be fun, affordable, and kinder to the planet too? This September, a UK-wide campaign is challenging us all.

Second Hand September, initiated by OXFAM in 2019, encourages people to buy pre-loved clothing for the month of September and to raise awareness of the fast fashion industry’s environmental impact. Let’s join thousands across the UK in saying no to new, and yes to a more rewarding way to refresh your style. By choosing second-hand, you can refresh your wardrobe, save money, and reduce waste, all while supporting local charities and building a more sustainable Oxford.

Why Second-Hand?

The fashion industry is one of the world’s biggest polluters. In 2022, the clothes and textiles we used in the UK produced the equivalent of 32.9 million tonnes of carbon emissions, and used 5 billion cubic metres of water. That’s a huge footprint just to produce what we wear. Even more shocking, over half of all post-consumer textiles ended up as landfill or incineration waste. 

But there’s good news, about 30% of used textiles are now being diverted away from landfill through resale, reuse, and recycling. Charities are a significant part of this. Selling approximately 185.5 kilotonnes in store or online, showing just how mainstream pre-loved fashion has become (according to the report from WRAP published on 31 March 2024).

How to have Fun, Affordable, and Rewarding Fashion this September

The Thrill of the Hunt: Discovering Unique Style

Think about shopping as a treasure hunt! Instead of seeing the same fast-fashion items on everyone, you get to find one-of-a-kind pieces that truly reflect your style. How would you feel after discovering a hidden gem in the shops? Oxford is also full of brilliant second-hand stores from charity shops to curated vintage stores to help you mix and match your look. And best of all? Second-hand is often much cheaper than buying new, so your wallet benefits too.

Unlock Your Creativity: Repair and Restyle

Every piece of clothing often comes with history, from the moment you bought it to the adventures you’ve had in it. A simple tear or missing button should not be a reason to discard them. What if you could learn to fix them? We regularly get lovely feedback from our repair cafe guests who have learned basic sewing skills to patch a hole, sew on a new button or learn how to handle that tricky hem. And if you are ready to take on a creative project, restyling that tired-looking shirt maybe, we have sewing machines for hire in the Library of Things

Here are some of the many Repair Cafés happening this September:

Join a Community : Swap and Share 

Fashion doesn’t have to be a solo activity. A clothes swap is like shopping with friends, but without the cost. It’s a great way to try new styles and pass on items you no longer wear. You can join the upcoming local swaps below, or even host with your friends and family!

The Joy of Letting Go: Donating with Intention

Second Hand September isn’t just about shopping, it’s a chance to look inside your own wardrobe first and rethink fashion altogether.

We’ve all had those moments staring at a closet full of clothes and feeling like we have nothing to wear. Instead of seeing it as a problem, you can turn it into an opportunity. Think about Marie Kondo and her concept of “sparking joy”. Go through your wardrobe, take a moment to hold each item, and then ask yourself: “Does this piece of clothing truly spark joy in me?”

By making this a mindful process, you’re not just decluttering. You are curating a wardrobe that makes you feel great every day. For the items that no longer “spark joy”, you can thank them for their service and let them go with a purpose. You’re not only simply clearing space, you’re also giving someone else the opportunity to fall in love with a piece and give it a second life. You can donate to any of the charity shops in Oxford we’ve listed above. 

Let’s Make A Difference in September

At SHARE Oxford, every item hired from our Library of Things means one less item potentially bought unnecessarily. Every repair at our Repair Café is about more than just fixing. It’s about building a community of empowered individuals. We believe that by learning basic repair skills, you can save your favourite clothes from landfill, extend the life of broken things, and feel the satisfaction of a job well done. It’s exciting to see initiatives like Second Hand September growing each year, building the circular economy we do our bit for.

Taking part in Second Hand September can start with just one simple action: donate, repair, rewear, or restyle. Every step you take helps cut waste, reduce emissions, and keep clothes in use for longer. And our small actions add up to big change.

What will your Second Hand September story be? We’d love to hear about it! Share your story with us in the comments, tag us on social media @shareoxford, or send us a photo! Your creativity might just inspire someone else to take the leap as well.

#SecondHandSeptember #SustainableFashion

Categories
Borrowing & The Library Sustainable Living

Summer Fun on a Smaller Budget

summer fun on the budget with SHAREOxford
The secret to Summer fun! Save money and reduce waste with SHARE Oxford, borrow what you need from party gear, camping equipment, and more.

The British summer is passing fast, but there’s still time to enjoy a BBQ in the garden, kids’ birthday parties, and outdoor adventures. But there is one nagging question: do you really need to buy all that summer gear? 

We get it! The cost of summer fun can add up – buying everything brand new can also feel overwhelming (and expensive). That’s why more and more people in Oxford are choosing to hire from the Library of Things at SHARE Oxford (or another of the growing number of hiring or borrowing options in the county). It is a simple idea but smart for your wallet: hire what you need, when you need it, and return it when you’re done.

Inspired by your Adventures

People enjoying summer parties and camping in the UK by hiring equipment from SHARE Oxford's Library of Things in Oxford.

We love hearing how hiring from our Library of Things helps create unforgettable summer memories. Take Katherine and her family on their camping trip to the Lake District: they borrowed a bike rack, a camping stove with gas canisters, and sleeping mats. “I honestly felt stunned, then increasingly excited at the different types of gear on offer from the Library of Things. We had the best weekend exploring nature, all possible thanks to SHARE Oxford!”, said Katherine. 

Philippa used our tablecloths for a family birthday, then came back for hotplates and saucepans to host a winter gathering. “Such a brilliant, practical service!” – Philippa said.

These stories show the heart of what we do: helping you save money, reduce clutter, and help Oxford become a bit more sustainable.

Our Top Summer Hired Items 

These are the most hired items from our Library of Things in the past two months. Maybe these could inspire you to plan your next summer activities!

The top 10 hires from SHARE Oxford in June and July
  1. Gazebo: Essential for a UK garden party – rain or shine. Our gazebos helped with Julia’s party for her mum’s birthday. 
  2. Bunting: Add some unique handmade colour to your party.
  3. Carpet and upholstery cleaner: Give your home a freshen up before guests arrive. 
  4. Strimmer: Perfect to get the garden neat after No Mow May.
  5. Pressure Washer: Get your patio, deck, or garden furniture sparkling clean and guest-ready before a get-together.
  6. Tarpaulin: Ideal for camping, festivals or projects. 
  7. Drill: DIY essential for your home or garden project.
  8. Projector: How about a movie night for friends and family?
  9. Garden game: Perfect for birthday parties or community events – we have lots of classic garden games available!
  10. Board game: Host a chill game night with friends.

Ready To Hire This Summer?

From birthday parties to camping holidays, or just enjoying the last of the summer sun, we’ve got you covered with our Library of Things! We have all sorts of categories to hire that you might not imagine, from a ukulele, electric hand mixer, to a popcorn maker!

Choose to borrow, not buy, and enjoy a greener and smarter choice for your wallet and our planet with SHARE Oxford. And do get in touch – we always love hearing your stories of summer adventures with the kit you hired from us!

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Sustainable Living

Your Plastic-Free Toolkit : Reduce, Refill, Repair & Reuse

plastic free toolkit
Living plastic-free in Oxford: borrow, refill, and repair

With our focus on sharing and repairing, Plastic free July is a great reminder of how all these little changes in our lives make a difference. Our team has helped explore some fun sustainable options here in Oxford!

Reduce: Borrow Instead of Buying – Cut Plastic Waste Before It Begins

Buying something new often means more plastic. Every new item bought, especially those laden with plastic, adds to a cycle of production, packaging, and pollution that contributes to our planet. The fold-up chair for the BBQ? The camping stove? The box of plastic cups? Chances are, they’ll be used once or twice and end up stored or binned, these are contributing to a cycle of overconsumption and plastic pollution. 

Our Library of Things and the others across the county directly reduce the demand for new production and unnecessary plastic packaging, playing a part in Oxfordshire’s circular economy. You can borrow what you need — for your party, your holiday, your home DIY — and return it when you’re done. 

Explore our inventory at Library of Things: Discover everything from summer essentials to tools for DIY projects that help you avoid plastic, whether you want to have: 

  • Gazebos, bunting and cooking gear for hosting summer parties
  • Camping stoves, bike racks for sustainable (and cheaper) holidays
  • Carpet cleaners, bulky gardening equipment, drills, and tools for one-off jobs 

Refill What You Need – Shop Without the Plastic Burden

While borrowing is fantastic, sometimes you do need to stock up on everyday consumables. This is where Oxfordshire’s incredible refill shops come in, revolutionizing the way we shop and significantly reducing single-use plastic. Here are some that our team love shopping at and some offer doorstep refill or delivery. If we’ve missed you, please shout and we’ll be pleased to add you in!

Repair Instead of Replace – Give a Second Life to What You Already Own

Many items, especially those with plastic components, are often discarded at the first sign of trouble, contributing to landfill or CO2 from incineration and driving demand for new, often plastic-intensive, products.

CAG Oxfordshire’s report states that 30 groups organised a total of 350 Repair Café events in the last year, This is a doubling of the number of events since 2021, highlighting a significant and growing shift towards a repair culture in Oxfordshire that directly reduces waste. 

This is where SHARE Oxford’s Repair Café fits in – doing our bit to build this “fix not bin” culture. At our monthly Repair Café, volunteers help fix electricals, clothes, bikes, kitchen gadgets and more. Rather than bin another broken item, bring it in. You might be surprised how much our volunteers can fix, giving things another life and saving you money.

Our Repair Café runs every third Sunday of the month. You can book your slot here. We hope to not just get your stuff fixed but help you build your skills and confidence to fix more yourself at home. 

Redistribute and Pass On – Keep Plastic in Circulation

Beyond borrowing, refilling, and repairing, selling or giving away your secondhand stuff is a great way to help others avoid buying new plastic. Got items in good condition that you don’t use anymore? Don’t let them gather dust or, worse, end up in landfill. Pass them on! Donating items to charities, participating in swap shops, or finding new homes for unwanted goods all contribute to a vibrant circular economy.  

Check out the WISH team’s Sustainable shopping map if you need inspiration of where to buy or sell.

Recycling – The Last Resort

Despite our best efforts to reduce, reuse, and repair, some items will inevitably reach their end-of-life. Recycling of course plays its crucial part in the waste hierarchy: Reduce, Reuse, Repair, then Recycle. Especially when it comes to plastics, recycling can be complex, with different types of plastics requiring different processes, and contamination often leading to materials being rejected.

At SHARE Oxford, our primary focus is on preventing waste from being created in the first place, or giving items multiple new lives through borrowing and repairing to lessen the burden on our recycling systems. For those items that cannot be given another life, check out Oxfordshire recycling guidelines.

Or check out what items you can recycle and where the nearest location you can recycle them here on Recycle Now.

Small Actions Add Up to Bigger Impact

CAG Oxfordshire’s Annual Report 2024-2025 showcases the incredible collective power of our local groups. With nearly 120 community action groups working to make Oxfordshire “greener, fairer, safer, and more sustainable”. Along with all the other community and environmental activities these groups take on, we’re seeing the impact of how borrowing instead of buying, refilling instead of binning, repairing instead of replacing can help you reduce plastic and contribute to a healthier planet, and of course, save you money. SHARE Oxford is proud to play our part in that and help build a cooler, cleaner future for our lives.

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Community & Volunteers Events & Workshops

Good times at Great Big Green Week

Montage of Great Big Green Week activities

Thank you to everyone who helped make this year’s Great Big Green Week our best yet! We loved meeting new people, trying new skill shares and checking in with the ever-growing energy in our community as we explore new sustainable ways of living.

Great Big Green What?

In case you missed it, The Great Big Green Week started in 2021 and has grown to be the UK’s biggest celebration of community action to tackle climate change and protect nature, with more than 600,000 people involved last year.

In Oxfordshire, the Community Action Groups, supported by the County Council’s Climate Action Oxfordshire initiative, have done a great job of bringing us together, offering small grants to help groups like us get out there and try new stuff. This year, their grant funded our pilots of more skill sharing, with Lu’s tool sharpening workshop, Piotr’s bike repairs and Tony & Peter’s electrical repair skills demo.

We are also grateful to WISH, the network hosted by Cherwell Collective and funded by the National Lottery Community fund, who enabled us to put together stands at THRIVE Oxfordshire and Oxford City Farm, meeting our community and spreading the word about SHARE and our partners!

How Big, how Green?

It was great to get out and about, meeting new people and partners, and of course talking about our library of things, repair cafés and tech rescue and community sharing projects like Getting Oxfordshire Online.

THRIVE Oxford’s Community Climate Hub kicked the week off with some beautiful designs (and a few political statements!) with our badge making kit and lots of great conversations at a lively event which attracted more than 300 people.

Thank you Wilson-Cook Photography for sharing your photos of the day

Maryline and Anna finished up the week at Oxford City Farm for their WISH celebration event, again attended by around 300. Maryline has developed the perfect technique for our crêpe maker which was very well-received and Anna helped lots of people bring their badge creations to life whilst the chickens and goats looked on!

Sharing skills and learning

We’re really grateful to all the volunteers who helped us try out new skill sharing ideas as our focus for this week.

We had great feedback from our guests, and useful lessons learned for us on the difference between a straight “learning” session on a focused topic such as Lu’s and events which blend fixing and learning on a wider area, as we did with bikes and electricals.

These sessions were a good reminder that learning skills is an important part of all our repair cafés. There’s no better incentive to learn than having something you want to fix or maintain, but we always welcome people who just want to watch, ask questions of expert volunteers and be inspired by the community.

Keeping learning every day

We finished Great Big Green Week fired-up by everyone we met and better-prepared to offer skill sharing and outreach events. Thank you to everyone who helped make this week happen including funders, volunteers, partners and guests.

Thinking of what’s next, if you’ve got any questions on sustainable skills, interested in sharing your knowledge, have ideas for an event or more, do get in touch and we look forward to seeing how we can work together!

Categories
Uncategorized

Great Big Green Week 2025

Great Big Green Week Learn Sustainable Skills

Since 2021, Great Big Green Week has given communities across the UK the opportunity to celebrate and join in with activities that help reduce waste, protect nature, and tackle climate change. This year, the focus is on swapping – swapping stuff like clothes and books, but also plants and seeds, and even skills, helping people save money, extending the life of the things we use, reducing the amount of waste going to landfill, and bringing communities together.

“Let’s swap together for good”

Swapping is at the heart of what we do at SHARE Oxford: not only with our library of things to give people the opportunity to borrow items rather than buy them, but also repair cafes, where our lovely volunteers bring broken things back to life. For this year’s Great Big Green Week we want to focus on sharing skills – helping people develop new skills and the confidence to use them to fix their own stuff, and maybe even find a new hobby!

Learn sustainable skills this Great Big Green Week

If you’re keen to learn something new, here are some of the skills-focused events taking place in and around Oxford during the week:

Makespace Oxford Living Fibre weaving – Saturday 7 June, 10am – 12pm – part of a series with Fred Branson learning how to forage natural fibres, work them into cords and weave beautiful natural creations.

Tech Rescue – Monday 9th June, 11am-3pm – our volunteers can help you keep your old IT working smoothly, help you manage the move on from Windows 10 or prepare to pass on your unwanted devices to the community.

Woodwork tool sharpening with Lu from Oxford Furniture Makers – Thursday 12th June 11am-12:30pm – learn how to keep your tools in perfect condition and explore traditional woodworking techniques with Lu from Oxford Furniture Makers – bookings opening 19 May

Bike repair basics with Piotr from EOF Hackspace – Saturday 14th June, 11am – 2pm – Piotr will take you through the basics of servicing your bike and managing simple repairs so you have the confidence to keep it in great condition.

Broken spoke bike repair workshops – there are all sorts of options for learning bike repair with Broken spoke including slots during the week, or it’s a good option if you can’t make our session this week! 

Electrical repair basics at our repair café – Sunday 15th June, 2-5pm – alongside our usual “bring your stuff to fix” offering, our electrical repair team will be demonstrating some of the key steps for successful electrical repairs – eg opening things up carefully so they can go back together, checking for electrical continuity and the key basics of electrical safety. Check for the “electrical repair demo” slots at 2pm in our booking form.!

And the SHARE Oxford team is out and about

Our team will also be pleased to see you and talk about all things sharing and repairing at these events:

Makespace Oxford plant swap – Saturday 7 June, 11am – 2pm – bring along your plants and seeds that you want to swap with other growers. Also swap stories and knowledge of growing the plants you love.

THRIVE Oxford with Oxford Climate Collective – Saturday 7th June 10am – 4pm – a celebration of sustainable community showcasing local initiatives around the themes of food, travel, energy, nature and reducing waste. 

Oxford City Farm’s Great Big Green Week Celebration – Saturday 14th June 10am – 2pm – we’ll be with our friends from the WISH network sharing all sorts of activities and updates from across the network as we work to build a circular economy for Oxfordshire.

So much going on across the county!

You’ll find lots going on across Oxfordshire on the Great Big Green Week website and CAG Oxfordshire’s pages. Maybe it’ll inspire you to host something yourself. If you’d like us to help you put something on or spread the word, do get in touch.

Categories
Uncategorized

Annual Report for 2023-4 out now

Repair cafe guests with fixed Things

We’re pleased to share the annual report for our most recent financial year to June 2024.

Opening three days a week helped drive a 30% increase in activity at our Library of Things, the repair team fixed more than 1 tonne of stuff, and we continued to develop partnerships and new activities, including all things Circular Economy with the WISH network and saving IT from the bin with Tech Rescue.

Whether you’re a volunteer, customer, partner or funder, thank you for the part you played in making it happen!

Read the full report here, and as ever, do feel free to get in touch with any questions or feedback.

Read our 2023-4 annual report
Categories
Uncategorized

No need to chuck that Windows 10 PC

windows computer transferring to chrome os

Windows 10 users will doubtless have seen warnings that Microsoft are ending support in October. If your computer isn’t modern enough for Windows 11, there are some great options to keep it useful for longer. These solutions often work well if you have an older Mac too. Our tech rescue volunteers would be happy to help you work out what’s best for you and make the move.

The challenge

“End of support” for a Windows system means that Microsoft stop providing updates. Your computer will continue to work, but there are two issues which both become more of a problem over time:

  • Security updates stop – Microsoft won’t fix any new security holes that are discovered, leaving you increasingly exposed to malware and viruses
  • Newer software and websites won’t work – as software and websites are updated, they’ll gradually stop designing to be compatible with this version of Windows. At some point, the internet security certificates may also expire so you’ll lose access to websites.

Options to consider

It may be the right time for you to replace your computer for something speedier and the latest Microsoft tools, but if you can’t afford to right now or don’t feel you need the latest and fastest, there are some great options which are free or much cheaper than a new computer. You’ll just need to make sure you can run all the key apps you need and take care with your data if you’re switching.

  • Windows 10 extended security updates – Microsoft do offer an option of paying $30/yr to continue to receive security updates for Windows 10.
  • Update October 2025 – we now understand that for many users, this year-long extension can be free! Find out more here.
  • Windows 11 clean install – with their latest release, Microsoft have enabled Windows 11 to work on older computers. In our testing, this only seems to work on older PCs if you back up your data, wipe and reset your computer, and there’s a risk certain features like webcams may not be 100% compatible, but it’s great to see more computers should keep working. There’s a fairly simple installer from Microsoft to help you set up the USB stick you’ll need to do this.
  • Google Chrome OS Flex – this free system from Google is our favourite; we run everything on it at SHARE. It works particularly well if you already do almost everything via the browser. You’ll find your computer a lot faster as well as keeping those security updates going. With a free web-based version of Microsoft Office available as well as cloud storage and the Google Play store, you might be surprised how much you can do. It’s free to download and set up a USB installer.
  • Linux – another free option, Linux is more flexible than Chrome OS and has come a long way from being just for hardened techies. There are many distributions to suit different users. I’m a fan of Ubuntu, which is easy to install, feels familiar to anyone who’s used Windows or a Mac and has features like an App Store to make downloading software easy. If you want to keep a really old PC going, distributions such as Linux Mint Debian Edition are even still supported on 32-bit computers. For more advanced users than me, there are even tools like Wine which let you run Windows software.

A quick internet search will show there are other “unsupported” approaches to get older computers onto Windows 11 or patch Macs to run the latest macOS. These might work for you but we’re not recommending them as they will be unpredictable and possibly break terms of the software licenses you’re signing up to.

All good for Apple Macs

The good news is that most of this article’s advice applies to Apple Mac users as well; Chrome OS and Ubuntu installers will work on almost all Macs with intel chips.

Need help deciding?

Here are a few key points comparing these options:

OptionProsCons
Windows 10 Extended SupportKeeps your Windows 10 computer secure if you’re not ready to change. No need to move your data.Costs $30/yr, possibly just a 1-year option
Windows 11 clean installKeep going with Windows and the apps you need (so long as you can reinstall them)Windows 11 is slow on older PCs. You’ll likely need to wipe your computer and move your data.
Google Chrome OS FlexFaster than Windows, Synchronises Chrome Browser passwords and links, easy to use with a google loginYou’ll need to migrate your data to the cloud and it may not run the apps you use today. DVD drives not supported.
LinuxFlexible with plenty of tools and still works with DVDs etc. Can work on very old computers.A little more complex than Chrome OS.

Making your plan

If you’re interested to try any of the options other than paying the $30/yr to keep Windows 10 going, you’ll be wiping your computer. Let’s make sure you’re ready to go:

  • What applications do I use? – there are online versions or equivalents for almost everything these days such as Microsoft Office, Google’s many tools for Office work, photos and more, to Canva for graphics etc. Go through the Start menu on your computer and note the software you are using. You can try out the online versions straight away before changing anything on your computer to make sure you’re happy with them.
  • What files do I have? – as well as the documents, photos and music folders, you will find documents on your desktop, downloads folder, maybe elsewhere on your C: drive. Make sure you’ve found everything you want to keep.
  • Plan for your files – as well as deciding which files to keep and where to store them, this is a good moment to check if any of them need special software on this computer to open. What will you do with those old study notes from years ago on your new computer?
  • Backup, including cloud storage – cloud storage like OneDrive, Google Drive, DropBox can be a great option to get all your files safely uploaded before wiping your PC. Log into the webpage for your cloud storage (say dropbox.com or office.com) and make sure you can see everything there so you know you’re ready to go. If you have so many large files that cloud would be expensive, you’ll want to buy a hard disk or USB stick to copy everything onto.
  • Which system will suit you? – looking at your applications and files should help you decide which system you’d like to migrate to – fresh Windows 11, Chrome OS or Linux?
  • Choose your browser, sync your passwords and links – if you’re moving to Chrome OS, get set up with Google’s Chrome browser and make sure you’re signed in and you’ll be ready to go with your new setup. FireFox is a great choice for Linux as it’s generally built in from the word go, although Google Chrome is also available for many distributions. You can migrate your browser data from Microsoft Edge to either of these ones, ready to sync to the cloud.
  • What passwords do you need? – make sure you’re set for your email, any Google or Microsoft accounts and key software subscriptions you use, such as DropBox.
view of secondhand laptop sales website

If you do need to upgrade, secondhand is a great option

If, looking at your needs, you decide to upgrade your computer to something Windows 11 capable, there are some great-value refurbished resellers out there. I’ve used Stone Refurb and Blackmore IT before and they’re offering Windows 11 laptops from £170.

We would also be happy to help you pass on your old PC. We accept old laptops, tablets or phones for our partners Getting Oxfordshire Online where they are securely wiped and passed on to groups supporting people in need. If you have a desktop you need to shift, for £20 we can take it off your hands, securely wipe it and we’ll either sell it or Freecycle it to keep it in use even if it’s not got any value.

Before you make the leap

We’re conscious it’s a big step to wipe your computer, and we’re keen to help where we can. Here are some ideas:

  • Work in your web browser – both the Chrome OS and Linux options often work well doing as much work as possible in the browser. You can give it a try for a few weeks in Chrome or Firefox browser on your existing Windows 10 PC to make sure everything’s working well.
  • Try out a SHARE computer – we have both Chrome OS and Linux computers here at SHARE so do feel free to book yourself in for Tech Rescue to have a go with our computers and ask any questions. If you’re planning to use Chrome, you can even log in with your google account and make sure everything’s ready as you’ll want it on your new computer.
  • Is it worth buying secondhand then selling yours? – if you’re worried about getting something wrong and losing everything, a secondhand PC could offer a good security step. You can get it all set up and check you like the new system you’ve chosen before wiping your data from your old PC, then give away or sell on one of the two. Secondhand non-Windows-11 computers are great value and we can offer Chrome OS or Linux desktops from £30-80. We’re also considering hiring laptops for this purpose so please get in touch if interested.
plugging a USB stick into a computer

The time has come

Your data’s ready in the cloud or on your external hard disk, you’ve decided on a plan for each app you use, you’ve trialled working in your browser or on a second computer… it’s time to get your PC wiped and reset.

DIY: you’ll just need a USB stick at least 8GB in size, that you’ll wipe to make the installer. Here are download links and instructions for the installers we’ve mentioned:

Or Tech Rescue can help: we have the relevant installers with us at SHARE, so book yourself in for a Tech Rescue session if you’d like us to do this step with you. We have screens and keyboards if you’d like to bring your desktop computer in.

Read more

It’s great to spot more campaigns out there as national and international groups are sharing knowledge and helping people find local experts. You can read more at:

Questions?

If you’ve got any questions or suggestions, please do get in touch with Ben at hello@shareoxford.org. He would be happy to discuss our options for help via Tech Rescue or otherwise.