About thirty residents sat down June 16, 2022, for the first information evening on making homes in Gerwen more sustainable. Udo Holtappels of Group5700 chaperoned the evening and explained the topics that evening. Policy officer Barbara de Jonge of the municipality of Nuenen was the first speaker of the evening. She addressed the questions: why are we walking the sustainability path in the coming years? How can the municipality shape this together with residents? What can we offer? How can we help? Then Jos Habraken, promoter of sustainability at the municipality, gave an example of a neighborhood where people are already working on sustainability: the Boschhoeve. A request for help from the municipality has been converted into a support process to help the neighborhood to heat their homes without gas.

Sustainability is a puzzle

The evening quickly took on an interactive character because of the questions in the room. What is sustainability? Saving energy, climate adaptation or biodiversity, it's all of them. The road to making homes more sustainable is a puzzle to which everyone can contribute their piece. Not everything has to be done at once, but it can be done incrementally over the years. Everyone at their own pace. Technical solutions help, but changing our behavior is also part of it. Every little bit helps. Next to speak was energy coach Hans Hendriks. He is one of four volunteer energy coaches from Gerwen. He explained which services residents can use at the energy desk: Energiehuis Slim Wonen. The Energiehuis Slim Wonen gives independent advice to homeowners and tenants who want to save energy and work on their homes. Residents can get to know their own home better through, for example, a kitchen table meeting with an energy coach, a heat scan or through the quick scan on the website: www.energiehuisslimwonen.nl

Getting started yourself

There was a good response to the question of how people can get involved themselves. One suggestion was to restart the former eco-team. There were also enthusiastic responses to a conversation with an energy coach, which neighbors could also join. That way, becoming more sustainable also becomes fun! The next meeting is scheduled for September 15. If you also want to know more and want to get started with your home, reserve this date in your calendar. By the way, you don't have to sit still in the meantime. On the website of the Energiehuis Slim Wonen there are already simple energy saving tips and every Saturday morning there is a walk-in consultancy of the energy coaches from 11.00 to 13.00 in the library of Nuenen.