AGM tonight and more...

Hi everyone,

Roll up for the Cambridge Transition AGM! Come and hear about the amazing range of things that are happening in this happening city - and have your say. Sadly the bakery project has not yet fully risen but you are still welcome to attend a little party on Wednesday. Or join the bio-char discussion with the Energy Group on Thursday. Our stall will be at the Apple Day in the Botanic Gardens on Sunday, too, so do drop by for a chat. The Other News and Events section is full to bursting with the Cambridge Festival of Ideas and more - this week (just a couple that caught my eye) find out first-hand about eco homes with Cambridge Carbon Footprint on Wednesday, or take part in a multi-faith walk on Friday for climate change. Prepare for a big week below...

CONTENTS

Transition News and Events

  • Monday 20 October: Transition Cambridge AGM
  • Wednesday 22 October: Not yet time for a community bakery...
  • Thursday 23 October: Admin group meeting
  • Thursday 23 October: Energy Group Meeting
  • Sunday 26 October: Apple Day
  • Tuesday 28 October: Food Group meeting
  • Thursday 30 October: Permies in Pubs (for people interested in permaculture)
  • Transition Cambridge Blog on the Restart Party
  • Transition Cambridge's new web-site
  • Events for your calendar

Community News

  • Free boxes and packing materials

Other News and Events

  • Sept 13 - Nov 23: Honesty Table Art Event
  • 20th October to 2nd November: Cambridge Festival of Ideas 2014
  • Wednesday 22 October: "From violinist to reducing climate changing emissions" GSI Seminar Series
  • 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month: 5 Rhythms movement meditation class with Ruth Hirst
  • Wednesday 22 October: Consumers or citizens? How do we make choices and why does it matter?
  • Wednesday 22 October: Open Eco Homes - Personal Stories
  • Friday 24 October: Gender and green governance
  • Friday 24 October: Faiths for climate action: multi-faith walk
  • Friday 24 October: A climate of conspiracy: a heated debate
  • Tuesday 28 October: Humanitas Lecture in sustainability studies
  • Tuesday 28 October: Exploring possibilities of creating a Cooperative, Supportive, Eco-community in Cambridge
  • Tuesday 28 October: Literature and conservation
  • Last Wednesday of the month: Nature Writing in the City
  • Thursday 30 October: The Game of Life
  • Thursday 30 October: "Climate action and engagement: the politics, the practitioners and the science"
  • Thursday 30 October: 'Reading the Anthropocene' - discussion
  • Saturday 01 November: Take it to the 'Bridge (A Deep Time Walk + day of creative connection)
  • Saturday 01 November: Extraordinary Environment Treasure Hunt
  • Monday 10 November: S T Lee Lecture by Dr Steven Chu
  • Greeniversity skillshares coming up
  • Events for your calendar

Transition News and Events

Monday 20 October: Transition Cambridge AGM

19:30-21:30, Friends Meeting House, Jesus Lane, CB5 8BA

The AGM is a great place to hear about the range of activities and projects that make up Transition Cambridge. Last year's AGM was very inspiring, and it was amazing to hear how much everyone had been doing! Everyone is welcome at this event (it is not just for members). It is also a great opportunity to meet people involved in the different Transition groups and projects. The formal part of the meeting, when only members can vote, is quite short. We hope you can come! Full info here, including the agenda, the minutes from last year's AGM, and last year's Annual Report and Accounts. More details here.

Wednesday 22 October: Not yet time for a community bakery...

19:30-21:30, 82 Akeman Street, Cambridge, CB4 3HG

Following several months of hard work by some very dedicated people, we've reached the conclusion that the time is not yet right to set up a community bakery in Cambridge. We thank everyone for their enthusiasm, ideas and offers of help! Unfortunately, there were still some big pieces missing, without which we didn't feel we could go ahead because the risk was too high. We had planned a meeting this Wednesday, and we will still meet then, but we will make it a little party to celebrate all that we've done so far, and to officially release this phase of the project for now (please let us know if you intend to come). However, the idea for a community bakery in Cambridge is still out there, and we hope that one day it will come to fruition! If you would like to take a lead on taking it to the next level, get in touch and we can brief you about where we got up to before we felt we had to make this decision. Once again, a big thank you to everyone who's been involved so far! And Cambake will continue to bake for fairs around Cambridge, and continues to welcome bakers - see the Cambake website here.

Thursday 23 October: Admin group meeting

19:30-21:00, CB2 Cafe (upstairs), Norfolk Street

If you'd like to help with the various admin tasks that keep Transition Cambridge running, please come along to this meeting, where we'll discuss ideas about how to keep everything going smoothly. There are also various tasks that need doing but for which you wouldn't need to come to meetings. Please get in touch if you'd like to help. A big thank you to everyone who has volunteered so far! (Sorry for the clash with the energy group meeting on biochar - that should take preference as there'll be plenty more admin meetings to attend!)

Thursday 23 October: Energy Group Meeting

20:00-21:30, Judith's house

Our main topic will be biochar. Bill will introduce the discussion. Biochar is a soil improver based on organic carbon. It is made rather like charcoal, by heating biomass. Bill visited Uganda recently and saw a stove that makes biochar as a by-product - video here. NIcola has posted previously on this subject in her blog here. All welcome. Ask Nicola for details of the venue. More details here.

Sunday 26 October: Apple Day

10:00-16:00, Botanic Garden - entry via Station Road and Brookside

This day is a celebration of all things apple! Visit the Transition stall for apple-related activities from the Fruit Harvest project; the Cambake stall will be selling bread too. You can get your apple variety identified by experts from the East of England Apples and Orchards project, as well as tasting different varieties. If you can help out on the day, please contact Jacky Cost is £3 + normal garden admission - you can buy Apple Day tickets in advance for 'fast track' entry on the day. More details here.

Tuesday 28 October: Food Group meeting

18:30-20:00, Earl of Beaconsfield pub, 133 Mill Rd, Cambridge CB1 3AA

Note new venue!! We'll be in the billiard room/library, which is at the back of the courtyard. At this meeting we'll hear about the conference hosted by Incredible Edible Todmorden, as well as updating on other projects. Join us - all welcome!

Thursday 30 October: Permies in Pubs (for people interested in permaculture)

19:30, The Six Bells Pub, Covent Garden, off Mill Road, Cambridge.

A chance for all those interested in Permaculture to meet up and discuss matters permaculture related or ask questions. All welcome from beginner to expert. At this session, Dave Jackson will also tell us about the recent Permaculture Convergence. We meet in the small room just behind the main bar, and there will be one or two permaculture books on the small table to make it clear where we are.

Transition Cambridge Blog on the Restart Party

Kate Boursnell, one of the Restart Party organisers, has written a blog post about the event here. There are also a few photos here, and here's the TV clip about it that was on Anglia news (made by Stuart Leithes). A big thank you to the Centre for Computing History for hosting it and the Restart Project for the idea and coming along to support us! Do get in touch if you'd like to help organise the next one!

Transition Cambridge's new web-site

We have a beautiful new web-site - we hope you like it! A big thank you to Anna Williams, who designed it (and also our logo), Clara Todd, who has spent a huge amount of time implementing the design within pmwiki, and of course Nicola Terry, who set up the web-site in the first place and who keeps it all up and running. Feedback is very welcome (as is help keeping the web site up-to-date!) (Please note we are still working on it so some pages have yet to be updated, and we also intend to update some parts of the structure and content, but we haven't started on that part yet.)

Events for your calendar

Community News

Free boxes and packing materials

We have a ton of used boxes and packing paper in very good condition that we'd love to have someone else re-use. We have 11 big boxes that are 26" tall x 14.5" wide x 18" deep. And we have 6 boxes perfect for books that are 13" tall x 12" wide x 15" deep. No delivery available. We're right along Parker's Piece. Contact Cherie_Gregoire for more information or to arrange pick-up.

Other News and Events

Sept 13 - Nov 23: Honesty Table Art Event

Kettles Yard

Karen Guthrie and co artist Nina Pope have a show at Kettles Yard Gallery Sept 13 - Nov 23 and it includes a piece called the Honesty Table, essentially an adhoc 'shop' which sells local produce and small craft items contributed by anyone interested to do so, without commission taken. It's unregulated and though we encourage honesty (!) and you can price your goods, there are no guarantees! Visitors help themselves and pay for the items through a slot in the table. The Table is smallish so goods should take that into account - e.g jams, home-baking, small bags of spare produce (apples, potatoes etc) and nothing very perishable or in vast quantities please. We've shown the project before and it can be seen online here Contributors should be aware that it's up to them to be at the gallery in normal opening times (11.30 - 5, Tuesday - Sunday) to re-stock or collect their income. If you have something to spare for the Table - *Before Sept 12 - please get in touch After Sept 13 just come in and ask a member of gallery staff for assistance. More details here.

20th October to 2nd November: Cambridge Festival of Ideas 2014

09:00-09:00, Several venues around Cambridge

With hundreds of free events held over two weeks, the Cambridge Festival of Ideas is one of the most exciting and dynamic occasions in the Cambridge cultural calendar. The Festival includes debates, workshops, talks, exhibitions, and performances, celebrating every aspect of the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Transition related events include "Consumers or citizens? How do we make choices and why does it matter?", "A climate of conspiracy: a heated debate" and others - check out the programme of events! Featuring researchers from the University of Cambridge, local public figures, and renowned guests, the Festival is guaranteed to have something for everyone! Visit the Festival of Ideas website for more information and to download the free Festival app. Online booking opens 22 September. Follow us on: http://www.facebook.com/cambridgefestivalofideas and http://www.twitter.com/camideasfest #cfi2014 More details here.

Wednesday 22 October: "From violinist to reducing climate changing emissions" GSI Seminar Series

17:30-19:30, LAB 215 Cambridge, University of Anglia Ruskin

Our seminars cover a range of topics related to sustainability; their aim is to engage Anglia Ruskin students and staff, and members of the public, with the sustainability agenda. The speaker is Aubrey Mayer, Global Commons Institute. Free event. Organised by the Anglia Ruskin Global Sustainability Institute, contact Julie-Anne Hogbin at 0845 196 5108 or visit GSI for more information.

2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month: 5 Rhythms movement meditation class with Ruth Hirst

19:00-21:00, St Paul's CofE Primary School, Coronation Street, Cambridge CB2 1HJ

Looking after our well-being is an essential part of the Transition to a more sustainable way of life. 5 Rhythms is a powerful dance and movement meditation practice that can help us to become more present in our bodies and wake up in these changing times. Come and channel your passion for the earth and for this life into your dance and see what happens. 5 Rhythms is a free form of movement meditation to music that anyone can do, whatever their age, gender, mobility or fitness level. No prior knowledge is needed and there are no steps to learn. Price £12, or £10 low income, or £6 benefit receivers. Dance sessions take place fortnightly on Wednesdays, and every week on Friday evenings with a range of teachers. The Wednesday class is with 5R-accredited teacher Ruth Hirst and there is a loyalty card that gives your 6th session free. The next session is on 22nd October. All welcome! For more info please visit http://www.cambsdance.org.uk or contact Cambsdance. More details here.

Wednesday 22 October: Consumers or citizens? How do we make choices and why does it matter?

19:30-21:30, Friends Meeting House, Aldren Wright Room

Many of us are aware of climate change and the need to act on it, but are confused about what that might involve. Can you see yourself adopting a low carbon lifestyle? What would it be like to live more sustainably? This workshop with Cambridge Carbon Footprint explores the way in which our identities are bound up with our patterns of consumption and also with our other values. Participants are invited to reflect on low carbon choices. What are these choices, at the most practical level? And how would making them tie in with our sense of who we are and what we care about? Would it be difficult to make them - or perhaps surprisingly easy and rewarding? This event is taking place as part of the Cambridge Festival of Ideas 2014. The event is free and pre-booking is required. To book your place, please visit www.festivalofideas.cam.ac.uk or call 01223 766766. More details here.

Wednesday 22 October: Open Eco Homes - Personal Stories

19:30-21:30, Friends Meeting House, Jesus Lane, CB5 8BA

Sometimes being interested in eco-renovation or building a new eco-home isn’t enough to make a start. Often the problems aren’t just technical, first you need to figure out what you really want. Three homeowners will share and discuss their stories of how and why they now live in beautiful, energy-efficient homes. Find out what motivated them to renovate or purchase their homes, what the process was like and what they might do differently and what the benefits are. More details here.

Friday 24 October: Gender and green governance

16:30-18:00, Little Hall, Sidgwick Site

The University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute is pleased to host an evening workshop based on Professor Agarwal's recent book 'Gender and Green Governance'. As part of the event, a panel of four academics whose research is on gender and environmental issues will address Professor Agarwal's work following her own presentation. This event is taking place as part of the Cambridge Festival of Ideas 2014. The event is free, but pre-booking is required. To book your place, please visit www.festivalofideas.cam.ac.uk or call 01223 766766. More details here.

Friday 24 October: Faiths for climate action: multi-faith walk

18:00-19:30, Beside Riverside Bridge, next to the Museum of Technology, Riverside CB5 8JB

Join a movement of people from all different faiths in Cambridge, to take a walk celebrating unity between religious identities in the face of climate change challenges. A move towards low-carbon lifestyles to reduce human impact on climate change raises deep questions about the nature of truly fulfilling lives and design of flourishing societies. To reduce carbon emissions at the level that is required to impact climate change, radical rethinking of our personal, social and economic actions is needed; this can be informed by spiritual and faith identities. This family-friendly walk will go along the Cam to finish at Jesus Green by 7pm, where walkers will gather to light flashlights, symbolising hope in the face of climate change challenges. A brief message and musical piece will end the event. Bring a flashlight and appropriate outdoor clothes. More details here.

Friday 24 October: A climate of conspiracy: a heated debate

18:00-19:30, Mill Lane Lecture Rooms

The climate change debate, like many political controversies, is riven with accusations of conspiracy. While climate conspiracy theories may seem a distraction from the challenge of dealing with a changing global climate, they provide a starting point for an exploration of a related burning issue: the state of democratic politics today, and the hopes we invest in it. This lecture will begin with an impersonation: a double-act. Two members of the University’s Conspiracy & Democracy research project, Professor David Runciman and Dr Alfred Moore, will represent two very different types of climate conspiracist. This event will be taking place as part of the Cambridge Festival of Ideas 2014. The event is free, but pre-booking is required. This can be done through the Festival of Ideas website (www.festivalofideas.cam.ac.uk) or by calling 01223 766766. More details here.

Tuesday 28 October: Humanitas Lecture in sustainability studies

17:00-18:30, Lady Mitchell Hall, Sidgwick Site, Sidgwick Avenue, CB3 9DA

Johan Rockström, the Humanitas Visting Professor in Sustainability Studies for 2014, will give a series of three public events entitled 'Earth Resilience and World Development: Pathways towards global sustainability in an era of rapid global changes' and participate in a concluding symposium on Friday 31 October. Johan Rockström is Professor in Environmental Science with emphasis on Water Resources and Global Sustainability at Stockholm University, and the Executive Director of Stockholm Resilience Centre. University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute and the Cambridge Conservation Initiative are delighted to co-host with CRASSH, this public lecture. Free - book via Eventbrite More details here.

Tuesday 28 October: Exploring possibilities of creating a Cooperative, Supportive, Eco-community in Cambridge

17:00-19:00, The Therapy Room 25 OXford Road Cambridge CB4 3PH

Are you interested in being involved with a project to build your own home as part of a community on the Cambridge fringe? The project will be based on the principles of Permaculture - Earth care, people care, fair share, and decreasing consumption, and will be shaped by its members. Designed to be a model of community self sustainability, whilst also providing affordable homes, for the first and future residents. Please join us to discuss this exciting project, and what shape it may take. We have produced a Vision document (thanks to Rajiv Chelani) to help guide the discussion. We will send this on to anyone who is attending. Contact Damien for more information and see here for some more information.

Tuesday 28 October: Literature and conservation

19:30-21:00, Little Hall, Sidgwick Site

The University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute is delighted to host a evening with the writer and broadcaster, Richard Mabey; poet and writer, Blake Morrison; and Dame Fiona Reynolds, ex-Director General of the National Trust, who will be discussing literature and poetry in relation to the natural environment and conservation issues. This event is taking place as part of the Cambridge Festival of Ideas 2014. The event is free and pre-booking is required. To book your place, please visit www.festivalofideas.cam.ac.uk or call 01223 766766. More details here.

Last Wednesday of the month: Nature Writing in the City

18:00-20:00, the back room at the Earl of Beaconsfield 133 Mill Road Cambridge

A series of 9 monthly creative writing workshops with poet and writer Clare Crossman, beginning on 29th October. In each session we'll examine the relationship between people and the natural world. All sessions will begin with looking at existing texts as inspiration for writing and There'll be plenty of time for your own writing and projects. Price: £10 per session, £90 for the whole series. For further info contact Clare Crossman or visit www.clarecrossman.info

Thursday 30 October: The Game of Life

11:00-13:00, University Centre, Granta Place, Mill Lane, CB2 1RU

University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute is hosting an interactive event for teenagers along with Professor Johan Rockström, the Humanitas Visiting Professor in Sustainability Studies 2014. Participants are divided into teams of 4-5 and using simple tools to represent renewable resources, this activity will hopefully inspire understanding and discussion on the different strategies people use to manage resources in the real world. Suitable for ages 15+. Free, book via Eventbrite More details here.

Thursday 30 October: "Climate action and engagement: the politics, the practitioners and the science"

13:00-14:00, LAB 005 Cambridge, University of East Anglia

Our seminars cover a range of topics related to sustainability; their aim is to engage Anglia Ruskin students and staff, and members of the public, with the sustainability agenda. The speaker is Candice Howarth, Global Sustainability Institute. Free event, sustainable lunch available at 1pm. Organised by the Anglia Ruskin Global Sustainability Institute, contact Julie-Anne Hogbin at 0845 196 5108 or visit GSI for more information.

Thursday 30 October: 'Reading the Anthropocene' - discussion

17:30-19:00, GR06/07, Faculty of English, 9 West Road CB3 9DP

In the 2000s, scientists suggested that with the escalation of mankind’s influence on the planet, we have we now entered a new geological era, that of the Anthropocene. Whilst scientists are continuing to debate when this era began, if it has done at all, literary critics, theorists and environmental philosophers have already adopted the term in order to think about the challenges ahead of us, and the changes needed to meet them. BBC New Generation Thinker and Cambridge Lecturer in Literature and Film, Dr Sarah Dillon, joins Quaternary geologist Professor Phil Gibbard and writer and environmentalist Tony Juniper, to discuss the significance of the idea of the Anthropocene across disciplines and culture. Free, booking details here

Saturday 01 November: Take it to the 'Bridge (A Deep Time Walk + day of creative connection)

09:45-16:00, Friends Meeting House, 12 Jesus Lane, Cambridge, CB5 8BA

This Saturday marks the annual visit of the Be The Change Initiative community to this corner of the UK. This will be a day of three parts. (1) A Deep Time Walk in nature in the morning - taking us 13.8 billion years in less than a mile. (2) A Pot Luck Lunch. (3) An afternoon of connection and reflection. As ever, our aim is to create an inspiring day that helps foster deeper connections – with each other, with nature and with our own sense of personal possibility - that will continue long after the day itself. Cost is by donation. We’ll meet at 9.45 for a 10.00am start to our Walk together. More details here.

Saturday 01 November: Extraordinary Environment Treasure Hunt

14:30-17:00, Mill Rd Cemetery, Mill Rd, CB1 2AW

This hands-on outdoor treasure hunt will get kids thinking about how their everyday activities - from travelling to school, to eating their lunch - relate to the environment and the idea of 'sustainability'. Hunters will solve the puzzles and clues to unearth secret treasure! Organised by the Global Sustainability Institute and Anglia Ruskin University. Book and view info here.

Monday 10 November: S T Lee Lecture by Dr Steven Chu

17:30-18:45, Robinson College Auditorium

Dr Steven Chu, former Energy Secretary under President Obama, will deliver the 2014 S T Lee Lecture. Science and technology such as the industrial and agricultural revolutions have profoundly transformed the world. In his talk, Dr Chu will first discuss an epidemiological approach of assessing the risks of climate change, and then provide a perspective on how we can mitigate the risks with science, technology and policy, so that sustainable energy becomes the low cost option. More information and to register Organised by Energy@Cambridge.

Greeniversity skillshares coming up

Upcoming events advertised via Greeniversity in Cambridge include “Cambourne Community Orchard Apple Day 2014” on 25th Oct, “Dormice and their reintroduction into Brampton Wood” on 29th Oct, and “Fascinating fungi - an introduction to mycology” on 26th Nov. See the Greeniversity web-site for more information on these and other events in and around Cambridge. If you are organising a local skillshare, you can advertise it via the Greeniversity web-site, which also provides a booking system if you would like to use it. Events should be free, by donation or very low cost, and should be in some way "green" i.e. environmentally aware or related to sustainable skills.

Events for your calendar

Enjoy!

Hannah

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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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