Pumpkin Pop-ups, Energy Inspiration and more TC Cafe Nights

Hi everyone,

Pumpkin fun contines all this week with yet more squash and gourd related activities at Cambridge's first ever Pumpkin Festival. Events include feasts, pop-up restaurants and a kids' Disco Soup event. Tomorrow (Wednesday) evening sees another in the highly successful series of Open Eco-Homes presentations from Cambridge Carbon Footprint - to help you turn inspired ideas into practical solutions for renewable energy in the home - whatever your house state and budget constraints.  On Saturday,  grab your wellies and woolies for another day on the farm with Cropshare, and next Monday 9th  sees the revival of the Transition Cambridge Cafe Night with a welcome evening and screening of an inspirational Transition Network film, "In Transition 2.0".  The Cafe team would love to hear from a couple more would-be coordinators to keep your Cafe nights running into 2016. Wow- another full and varied week with something for everyone!

CONTENTS

Transition News and Events

  • Saturday 07 November: CropShare - Be an organic farmer for a day
  • Monday 09 November: Cafe night: "In Transition 2.0" film and welcome evening
  • Tuesday 10 November: Food Group meeting
  • Thursday 19 November: Transition Cambridge Special General Meeting and hub meeting
  • Monday 23 November: Cafe night: Direct democracy and sustainability, with Chris Forman
  • Tuesday 24 November: Plant swap + tips for growing
  • Cafe night ideas wanted!
  • Mill Road Winter Fair - ideas for Transition stall?
  • Minutes of Transition Cambridge's Annual General Meeting

Community News

  • Quince, anyone?

Other News and Events

  • All Week Sat 7th Nov: Cambridge's 1st Pumpkin Fest!
  • Wednesday 04 November: Open Eco Homes follow-up event: Renewables Plus
  • Friday 06 November - Sunday 08: Social Venture Weekend
  • Monday 09 November: Open Eco Homes follow-up event: Insulation
  • Tuesday 10 November: The biodiversity on your doorstep
  • Thursday 12 November: Sustainable societies: unusual questions / extraordinary answers
  • Saturday 14 November: Clothes Swapping Party (Swish)
  • Saturday 21 November: Can Politicians affect Climate Change? Discussion with Daniel Zeichner, MP
  • Monday 23 November: Talk: Nature, the Economy, and Human Well-Being
  • Sunday 06 December: The Empty Common Community Garden Party
  • Sunday 06 December: Mario Petrucci - Amazonia
  • Tuesday 08 December: Steve Waters - In a Vulnerable Place
  • Wednesday 09 December: Can ipods (and Chairs and Lampshades) Grow on Trees?
  • Buzz Tour film now available on-line (includes TC and CropShare!)

Transition News and Events

Saturday 07 November: CropShare - Be an organic farmer for a day

09:30-16:30, Waterland Organics, Willow Farm, Lode CB25 9HF

Join Transition's community farming project, CropShare, to experience life as a real organic farmer for a day. We will be having fun helping out on the farm from 9.30am to 12.30pm, and 2pm to dusk, sharing a lunch and a chat in between. You can join us for the morning or afternoon session, or both. See our blog to get a flavour of what workdays are like. It will be good healthy fun, a great chance to see our local countryside, and how food is grown on a large scale. Fill in this form if you would like to take part, and we'll also help you arrange travel to the farm. Everyone is very welcome! Family friendly. More details here.

Monday 09 November: Cafe night: "In Transition 2.0" film and welcome evening

19:30, Espresso Library, East Road (round the corner from the Fire Station)

If you're new to the Transition movement, or just fancy seeing this film again, come along to Espresso Library for our first cafe night of the Autumn! Film info: "In Transition 2.0 is an inspirational immersion in the Transition movement, gathering stories from around the world of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. You’ll hear about communities printing their own money, growing food everywhere, localising their economies and setting up community power stations. It’s an idea that has gone viral, a social experiment that is about responding to uncertain times with solutions and optimism. In a world that is awash with gloom, here is a story of hope, ingenuity and the power of growing vegetables in unexpected places." We'll also have some time after the film to discuss what Transition Cambridge is doing and ways to get involved. A big thank you to Espresso Library for offering to host these cafe nights! All are welcome, and this event is free.

Tuesday 10 November: Food Group meeting

18:30-20:00, Earl of Beaconsfield pub, 133 Mill Road (just across the bridge) CB1 3AA

Got an idea for a food event? A great film, an informative book, a succesful project to visit? Maybe you have skills to share or there's something you've always wanted to learn. The Food Group is putting together a programme of inspiring food events, so come along and contribute your ideas! As well as creating a programme for the coming months, we'll exchange news on food projects and initiatives in and around Cambridge. All welcome - we'll be in the back room, across the courtyard.

Thursday 19 November: Transition Cambridge Special General Meeting and hub meeting

18:30-21:00, Nicola's house, on Chesterton Road

Alongside our monthly hub meeting where we coordinate Transition's activities, we will also have a Special General Meeting, which is required by our bank in order to update the signatories for our bank account. All members are invited to attend to consider and approve the resolution required by the bank for it to accept the changes. If you would like to vote you can do so in person or ask your group representative (or other attendee) to be your proxy (hub members will provide proxy voting papers to group members). Details of the resolution which incorporates standard text from the bank will be available at the meeting and on the proxy voting forms. The Hub meeting will follow at approximately 7pm and there will be more financial issues to discuss including new processes for applying for grants, and a process to allow people to be paid for Transition-related activities when these activities are funded through grants or generate sufficient income to make this possible (people would be paid on a self-employed basis). We will also discuss our stall at Mill Road Winter Fair. Contact Nicola for details of her address. All are welcome!

Monday 23 November: Cafe night: Direct democracy and sustainability, with Chris Forman

19:30, Espresso Library, East Road (round the corner from the Fire Station)

From a fundamental science perspective ecologies, economies and political systems are information processing systems. So can we use ideas about information to explain how our democratic organisation affects our economy, and our technology? Can we learn from biology to co-inspire compatible novel technologies and democratic processes that will yield a more sustainable Cambridge, and/or world? A free wheeling talk intended to help people think laterally and to explore their assumptions. Chris Forman works on naturally inspired manufacturing, and is involved in the local 38 Degrees group. This event is free and is open to everyone.

Tuesday 24 November: Plant swap + tips for growing

19:00-21:00, Ross Street Community Centre, Romsey, CB1 3UZ

Bring plants, swap plants, take some plants away...If you have some spare plants that could be planted now, bring them along to our plant swap. And if you'd like some plants for your patch, come and get some! Suitable plants would include herbs, veg including chard/spinach, fruit including strawberries, rhubarb and others...anything you think is ok to be planted now. And, if you can pass on tips for successful growing, that would be great. There will be tea and biscuits. We'd like donations (suggested £2-£3) to cover the cost of room hire if possible.

Cafe night ideas wanted!

If you have an idea for an event/film/talk as part of the Transition Cafe night series, then please get in touch! All topics are welcome providing they relate to local sustainability/Transition themes. Cafe nights are an essential part of what we do as Transition Cambridge, as they allow us to cover topics not covered by existing Transition groups, and to welcome newcomers. We'd also welcome one or two more cafe organizers (approx once/twice a month) - it's a great way to meet new people and get experience of organising small events. Let us know if you'd like to help!

Mill Road Winter Fair - ideas for Transition stall?

Mill Road Winter Fair is coming up soon, and we're looking for inspiration for our stall this year! Can you think of a good theme for our stall and some suitable activities that represent both the transition to sustainability and winter/Christmas? Send us your ideas! And if you'd like to volunteer for a couple of hours on the day, please let us know which of the following times you can make: 9-10:30 (setting up); 10:30-12:30; 12:30-14:30; 14:30-16:30; 16:30-18:00 (clearing up). We'll provide some notes on how to engage passers by and how to explain what Transition is about. Looking forward to hearing your ideas!

Minutes of Transition Cambridge's Annual General Meeting

The minutes of our Annual General Meeting are now available online here. They include our annual accounts and some interesting ideas that were generated during the brainstorming part of the AGM. If you have any questions or corrections, please get in touch.

Events for your calendar

Tuesday 17 November: Energy Group Meeting

Community News

Spare Quince, Anyone?

I am a quince cheese/jam/jelly/flapjack maker and looking for people with Quince trees or if any one knows where I can find some quince locally. Its been a really good year and I would really like to save any wastage, in exchange for some quince cheese! Please feel free to email me (Annabel Wightman) More details here.

Other News and Events

Fri 23rd Oct - Sat 7th Nov: Cambridge's 1st Pumpkin Fest continues!

19:15-19:15, Various venues.

It's the final week of Cambridge's 1st #PumpkinRescue Festival with a cornucopia of events (some free) for children and adults around Cambridge: Disco Soup, Pay-as-you-feel pop-up cafe, fabulous feasts, cookery workshops, pumpkin picnics, storytelling and lots more. It aims to draw attention to food waste in a fun and creative way. See here for more information, including event listings. Some events need booking. Look out for our beautiful brochures around town (Arjuna and St Paul's have them.) The Pumpkin Festival is organised by Cambridge Sustainable Food, a network of individuals and organisations who support local sustainable food. There are over 50 organisational members, including Cambridge City Council, Anglia Ruskin University Catering Department, colleges, schools, businesses, NGOs and community groups (including Transition Cambridge and Cambridge Carbon Footprint). More details here.

Wednesday 04 November: Open Eco Homes follow-up event: Renewables Plus

19:30-21:30, Friends Meeting House, 12 Jesus Lane, CB5

Expert talks on choosing renewable energy and efficient heating to suit your home and budget. How to get the most from solar panels, heat pumps and other technologies like combined heat and power (CHP). Cut your energy bills and carbon emissions, while avoiding scams! Solar PV - the latest choices - Own Morgan, Cambridge Solar Heat pumps, micro CHP, heat recovery - Pete McKeown, Cernunnos Getting the best from solar & heat pumps - Nicola Terry Subsidies update - Feed-in Tariff, Renewable Heat Incentive - Justin Smith, City Home Energy Officer Chair: Tom Bragg, Open Eco Homes Manager and Host All welcome to this free event. Donations appreciated. One of a series of events on putting home-energy inspiration into practice. More details here.

Friday 06 November - Sunday 08: Social Venture Weekend

16:30-17:30, tbc

Got an idea for a social venture and in need of some support? Social Incubator East is dedicated to supporting social ventures to grow. Their programme runs over a 12 month period providing a range of tailored support specifically focusing on Business Advice, Connections, Finance and Training. Each cohort is recruited after a Social Venture Weekend of training provided by Cambridge Judge Business School (CJBS). They say, 'No matter what stage you’re at with your business, the weekend will help you refine your thinking, develop your business plan and pitch it. You’ll also have the opportunity to share and test your ideas with others and learn from the experiences of successful social entrepreneurs.' More info and how to apply via the website

Monday 09 November: Open Eco Homes follow-up event: Insulation

19:30-21:30, St Luke's Church, Victoria Church, Cambridge CB4 3DZ

How much heat is your house losing in winter from poor insulation? What about heat gain in summer? What are the pros and cons of different types of insulation, and will savings on bills pay for the works? Open Eco Homes host Margaret Reynolds will set out the big picture, followed by our three expert speakers. A HOT topic! As usual there will be plenty of opportunity for your questions - and we expect another heated discussion! One of a series of free events on putting home energy inspiration into practice. More details here.

Tuesday 10 November: The biodiversity on your doorstep

19:00-20:30, Salisbury Arms, Tenison road

Have you visited Cambridge’s local nature reserves? Discover these important areas with ecologist Guy Belcher, Biodiversity Officer at Cambridge City Council. Learn about habitat creation, swift towers, bat hotels, and find out how you can help to protect local biodiversity.

Thursday 12 November: Sustainable societies: unusual questions / extraordinary answers

16:00-18:00, LAB 006, Anglia Ruskin University, CB1 1PT (nearest entrance on Broad St)

A series of activities and games bringing new perspectives to sustainability, accompanied by tea and cake! Try sensing energy, explore how money makes the world go round, debate your right to decide how we use resources, and see 'natural' landscapes differently. More information on speakers and activities on our webpage. The event is open to everyone, and we are particularly keen for teenagers and their families to come along. Please book in advance, although you can turn up on the day. For more information ->https://www.transitioncambridge.org/mail-contact/sendmail.php?who=rs.r66%5D%5D]]. Hosted by the Global Sustainability Institute as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science. More details here.

Saturday 14 November: Clothes Swapping Party (Swish)

14:00-15:30, Unitarian Memorial Church, 5 Emmanuel Rd, Cambridge CB1 1JW

CCF are partnering with Ladybirds WI to bring Cambridge it’s very own Clothes Swap party. Bring your unloved garments and swap them for some pre-loved treasures on Sat 14th November. Bring your items in at 2.00pm and enjoy tea and cake whilst a team organises a swapping bonanza that’ll kick off at 2.30pm. 2.00pm: Drop off your clothes, shoes, accessories 2.30pm: The swap opens and will end at 3.30pm Entry is free – though donations are very welcome . This event is a fundraiser for the CCF, the Ladybirds WI and their partner charity Cambridge Women’s Aid. All excess goods will be donated to charity. More details here.

Saturday 21 November: Can Politicians affect Climate Change? Discussion with Daniel Zeichner, MP

19:30, Michaelhouse, Trinity Steet

This discussion is part of an evening event at Michaelhouse entitled "Climate Change: Politics and Theology". The event is in two halves, and you can attend either or both. The discussion session with Daniel Zeichner, MP for Cambridge, forms the second part of the evening. Daniel Zeichner will be answering questions from the audience on "Can Politicians affect Climate Change?" The aim is to be thinking about what we can do as individuals to challenge, motivate and support MPs, rather than abstract debate about global politics. Daniel Zeichner is a vice-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Climate Change Group. Everyone is also welcome to attend the first part of the evening (from 5:30 to 7pm), which focuses on the theological aspects of climate change with a talk by theologian, Prof Richard Bauckham, on "Reconciling a Wounded Planet - Christian theological reflections". At 7pm there will be light refreshments.

Monday 23 November: Talk: Nature, the Economy, and Human Well-Being

13:00, Michaelhouse, Trinity Steet

Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta is Emeritus Professor of Economics in the University of Cambridge. He organised a conference in the Pontifical Academy in the Vatican City in 2014 entitled Sustainable Humanity, Sustainable Nature, Our Responsibility. Among his publications are Human Well Being and the Natural Environment (Oxford University Press 2004). This event is presented by Great St Mary's Church.

Sunday 06 December: The Empty Common Community Garden Party

12:00-16:00, Empty Common Community Garden, Brooklands Avenue Cambridge, CB2 8BG

Share the beauty and community spirit of a special public garden. This winter fireside party for the whole family includes acoustic music, storytelling, a polytunnel gallery, a talk on Peak Soil by sustainable gardening enthusiast Charlotte Synge, and the unveiling of a new shed mural by artist Rebecca Lindum Greene. Free Event - All Welcome More details here.

Sunday 06 December: Mario Petrucci - Amazonia

19:00-21:00, Espresso Library, 210 East Road Cambridge, CB1 1BG

Can poetry help lead us to a more sustainable conception of ourselves? Be prepared to find out, as you immerse yourself in the sounds and colours of the Peruvian rainforest with poet Mario Petrucci and his short film, Amazonia. Multi-award-winning poet, ecologist and Selwyn physicist, Mario Petrucci is renowned for his groundbreaking poetry projects and powerfully engaging books. Shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award, he composed the Arvon-winning Heavy Water, a collection that became a rare bestseller for poetry and, more significantly, foreshadowed Fukushima. For this Pivotal - The Cambridge Festival of Change event, Petrucci reads an eco-conscious selection of poems, and also screens the short poetry film Amazonia, commissioned by the Natural History Museum. Both book and film convey piercing perspectives on Climate Change, and there will be ample opportunity to discuss them with the poet during the evening itself. More details here.

Tuesday 08 December: Steve Waters - In a Vulnerable Place

19:30-21:30, Cambridge Junction, Clifton Way Cambridge, CB1 7GX

In 2009, acclaimed playwright and teacher Steve Waters saw his climate change play, The Contingency Plan, produced to glowing reviews. "Finally, a good play about climate change," one reviewer commented. But what was the personal reaction to climate change that inspired him to write in the first place? Six years later, he asks the question, "Has the world changed or have I changed?" in a moving, funny and troubling monologue about his journey into a changing climate. Performed by the writer, In a Vulnerable Place takes us from the Broads of Norfolk to the Steppes of Mongolia to ask what is happening to the natural world and to the human heart. For Pivotal, Steve will also be on hand after the performance to take part in a open audience discussion about the climate, the art of playwriting, and the intersection of the two. "massive achievement... [Steve Waters has] made the most important issue of our times into engrossing theatre." Guardian review of The Contingency Plan. More details here.

Wednesday 09 December: Can ipods (and Chairs and Lampshades) Grow on Trees?

19:00-21:00, Cambridge Junction, Clifton Way Cambridge, CB1 7GX

What might commerce in a greener world look like? Can biology solve the problem of sustainable manufacture? Can today's entrepreneurs can move forward with clean technology and commerce? Join two pioneers in green manufacture as they rethink the way we make objects. Gavin Munro, an artist and designer, constructed buildings and furniture with materials from driftwood to straw bales before he had an epiphany - why wait 40 years for a tree to grow big enough to make furniture? Why not just grow a chair? Chris Forman, a post-doc whose background is in theoretical physics, biophysics and nanotechnology, uses the idea of iPods growing on trees to explain how biology makes its own versions of batteries, displays and processors, using tiny nanoscale components. More details here.

Buzz Tour film now available on-line (includes TC and CropShare!)

It’s out! You can now watch the Buzz Tour documentary on-line, which traces the journey of the Buzz Tour as Eve and her companions walk 1,300 miles around England to interview local communities about their work to protect the environment. Their journey took them through Totnes, Bristol, Cambridge, Norwich, Manchester, York and Berwick-upon-Tweed. The documentary is 1 hour long and is an inspiring insight into a whole range of different projects - highly recommended!

That's all for this week - have a good one,

from Jacky and Team TC Bulletin

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Transition Cambridge aims to help Cambridge make the transition to ways of life that are more resilient in the face of rising energy prices and a changing climate.

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