Spring Rides and bright ideas for a resilient city

Hi Everyone

The annual Reach Cycle Ride on Bank Holiday Monday 7th May is on the horizon, it's a  leisurely group ride that starts from the city centre. Let's hope it's as blessed with sunshine as the Space for Cycling Ride was a fortnight ago!  In other Spring news, plots all over the place are thickening - with weeds, flowers and veggie seedlings! So weeders, seeders and diggers come along to the weekly Empty Common Community Garden session on Sundays or sign up to the next  fun on the farm work day -12th May- with Cropshare

On 14th May you're welcome to join regular Transition members at our monthly Hub gathering - now on 2nd Monday of the month - we'll be enjoying the garden space at 6 Bells Covent Garden: you-know-what permitting!

Still with the focus on things outdoors, can you imagine a car-free Cambridge?  Paris ran a day last year to highlight the polluting effect of cars in the city and there's a petition running to campaign for one here on 22 September - alongside London and other cities worldwide. Do please sign up so we can all have a taste of a  healthier, cleaner, quieter future! And finally, the Cleanwheels survey is still open - your chance to have your say on the possible role of an electric vehicle club in our city.  

CONTENTS

Transition News and Events

  • Sunday 06 May: Empty Common Community Garden
  • Saturday 12 May: CropShare - Be an organic farmer for a day
  • Monday 14 May: Hub meeting
  • Missed the Cleanwheels launch? See the slides.
  • We have updated our bulletin subscription list

Latest on our blog

What the Energy Group think about waste

Community News

  • Petition for a car free day in Cambridge

Other News and Events

  • Sunday 06 May: Royston Repair Cafe
  • Monday 07 May: Annual cycle ride to Reach
  • Wednesday 09 May: Climate Change and Inequality
  • Monday 14 May: ClimateKeys event - musical performance, talk and conversation
  • Tuesday 15 May: Thirsty Talks #4:' The good life'
  • Wednesday 16 May: Talk: 'The apocalypse: an update'
  • Sunday 20 May: Soham Repair Cafe #1
  • Saturday 02 June: Great Shelford Repair Cafe
  • 7th June to 28th June: CirculART Trail 2018
  • Saturday 09 June - Sunday 10: Cambridge Transport Hack
  • Saturday 23 June: Cottenham Repair Cafe

Transition News and Events

Sunday 06 May: Empty Common Community Garden

10:30-12:30, Empty Common Community Garden

There is generally a group of us in the garden on Sunday mornings from 10.30 am to 12.30 or later, and people are also coming and going during the week - you don't even have to garden just come and enjoy the space! More details here.

Saturday 12 May: CropShare - Be an organic farmer for a day

10:00-16:00, Willow Farm, Lode, Cambridge, CB25 9HF

Join Transition's community farming project, CropShare, to experience life as a real organic farmer for a day... This week we will be having fun helping out on the farm from 10:00am to 12.30pm, and 2pm to 4.00, sharing a lunch and a chat in between. You can join us for the morning or afternoon session, or both. Family friendly, everyone is very welcome! See our website 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. Please fill in this form if you would like to take part, and we'll also help you arrange travel to the farm. Hope to see you soon!

Monday 14 May: Hub meeting

19:00-21:00, 6 Bells Covent Garden

Join regular Transition members for a catch up and discussion of local events and developments that impact on our efforts to create a fairer, more resilient and earth friendly Cambridge. From incinerators and car use, to local and sustainability issues, you are most welcome to join us! we'll be in the 6 Bells this month, sampling local ales, soft drinks and hopefully some late Spring sunshine.

Missed the Cleanwheels launch? See the slides.

Thanks to everyone who came to the Cleanwheels survey launch on 9th April and contributed to the thoughtful discussions. In case you missed it, you can download some of the slides here: James' on how you can convert a lamppost to a charging point, and Alistair's on the benefits of car clubs generally. Also, if you haven't already done so, please do fill in the survey.. It will only take a minute.

We have updated our bulletin subscription list

We have now updated our bulletin subscription list, removing all old emails for people who have not confirmed. If you are one of these and you would like to resume, don't worry you can always sign up again We have done this because of recent changes in data protection laws that come into effect in May. They require us to be able to show that each of you has given us permission to use your email. Some of you subscribed for yourselves and some of you requested we add you to the list - but unfortunately we have not kept records. We do hope you find the news bulletin useful. If you have suggestions please let us know.

Community News

Petition for a car free day in Cambridge

Traffic pollution is estimated to cause 40,000 premature deaths every year in UK. Cambridge Commons have started a petition for a car free day in Cambridge,as a way of alerting people to these danger. It will be a day of community celebrations and street parties. It will be a day when people gather outdoors and breathe fresh air. It will be a day to demonstrate a shared vision of a healthier, cleaner and greener future. We propose 22nd September, the same day as in London (see Facebook @carfreedayLDN). "We the undersigned ask the Mayor, Mr James Palmer, the Combined Authority and local authorities, to declare a Car Free zone in Cambridge on Saturday 22 September 2018 as a sign of their resolve to eradicate poisonous fumes from our urban areas" Please show your support by signing it. More details here.

Other News and Events

Sunday 06 May: Royston Repair Cafe

10:00-13:00, The Build Train, Unit 4 Lower Gower Road, Royston, SG8 5EA

If you have items that need mending what do you do with them? Take them to the tip? Of course not - you bring them along to Royston Repair Cafe - a free event where you can learn how to mend your broken items. It's simple - bring an item that you think still has life in it. The item will be assessed and, if it can be mended there and then, we'll show you how it's done! We're pleased to announce we are now able to offer book repairs thanks to the services of Dea Fischer. It's free but we ask you to book a place in advance and tell us a little about what you'll be bringing. This is to make sure we have a repairer available to assess your item. If there's a lot of interest in the event, we may have to allocate you a time slot to reduce queuing (although there will be tea, coffee, biscuits and chat so time will fly) For further information and registration visit the Eventbrite event page or Facebook page.

Monday 07 May: Annual cycle ride to Reach

09:00, Meet outside the Guildhall or start from Newmarket Road P+R

Camcycle organise this popular annual event and they describe it as 'A bike ride to an 800-year old fair with fabulous food, drink, entertainment, and of course, fellow cyclists!' It's a grand day out, with great views of open fen-edge countryside. The route is on National Cycle Network routes NCN 11 and 51; it's about 2 hours each way, a round-trip distance of about 29 miles. Reach Fair is over 800 years old - it's opened by the Mayor of Cambridge at noon. There are stalls, fairground rides, a maypole and morris dancing - plus food and drink tents. More info, the route and logistical details (plus photos and videos from previous years) here.

Wednesday 09 May: Climate Change and Inequality

18:30-21:00, Unitarian Church Hall, Emanuel Road, CB1 1JW

Free event - Everybody Welcome. Cambridge Labour Party Ethnic Minority Forum Cambridge Labour Party Women's Forum Climate Change and Inequality 6.30 pm Food (contributions to cost welcome) 7-9 pm talks and dialogue (and a drink) Asad Rehman, Executive Director of War on Want: Climate Change, Poverty and Ethnicity Susan Buckingham, Labour Party Women's Officer: Climate Change and Gender Asad Rehman, formerly Head of International Climate at Friends of the Earth, is passionate about a need to mobilise ambitious actions on climate change and address its unequal consequences. Susan Buckingham, professor of environmental geography, writes and researches on gender and the environment. She believes that solutions to climate change must address social injustice. Contact Tony if you have any queries.

Monday 14 May: ClimateKeys event - musical performance, talk and conversation

20:30-22:30, Trinity College (Old Common Room) Cambridge CB2 1TQ

Hosted by Trinity College Music Society, this concert is part of the international initiative, ClimateKeys, and will feature a performance by unaccompanied vocalists The Cantabrigians, a talk by Emily Shuckburgh and a conversation with the audience, on responses to climate change. "The premise of ClimateKeys concerts is for audience members to be able to talk about climate change without it being a Q&A session with a speaker. Music is played, ideas are proposed, and then the audience is actively encouraged to participate in a conversation." (Julia Marques) The Cantabridgians are a group of professional female singers based in Cambridge. Dr Emily Shuckburgh is a climate scientist based at the British Antarctic Survey. There she leads the Open Oceans research group, which is focused on understanding the role of the polar oceans in the global climate system. Free event (voluntary donations to Cambridge Carbon Footprint) more info and booking here. More details here.

Tuesday 15 May: Thirsty Talks #4:' The good life'

18:30-21:00, Thirsty, 46 Chesterton Road, Cambridge CB4 1EN

The organisers say: 'Growth, de-growth, green growth, post-growth, sustainable growth, prosperity without growth and no growth - a discussion that is easier over wine. Sarah Hafner and Dr Kat Buchmann will debate how we can survive in the future given resource constraints and climate change - with or without technology? With or without economic growth? If the former, with what type of economic growth? What will sustainable society look like in the future? Is the good life possible?' Free - booking here.

Wednesday 16 May: Talk: 'The apocalypse: an update'

18:30-19:30, Anglia Ruskin University, East Road CB1 1PT

Don't be put off by the gloomy title! This is the inaugural lecture by Dr Aled Jones, head of the Global Sustainability Institute at ARU - his nickname is 'Dr Apocalypse'...The organisers say: 'The world faces increasing social, environmental and climate pressures. Projecting forwards, the cascade of risks we face could easily trigger economic, environmental and social collapse. How do these trends link together and reinforce each other? What types of cascading risks could damage our societies first? However, the flip side of these risks represent opportunities for us to address these challenges and unlock an energy and financial transition to a more prosperous future. The current debate around the form of these transitions face the significant political barrier of short termism but there are glimmers of hope that the world is at a turning point that will create sustainable prosperity for all.' More info and booking here.

Sunday 20 May: Soham Repair Cafe #1

10:00-14:00, Soham Library, Clay Street, Soham CB7 5HJ

Not sure what to do with that broken lamp or those torn jeans? Bring them along and our experienced volunteers will do their best to fix them whilst you watch & learn, it's free! Donations are welcome & you can buy a cuppa & cake at our pop up cafe To book in your item you can fill in this Google form or email us or call Anwar, 07902 316088 (office hours) or just turn up (may be longer wait). More details here.

Saturday 02 June: Great Shelford Repair Cafe

14:00-16:30, The Scout and Guide Headquarters, Woollards Lane, Great Shelford, CB22 5LZ

With the support of South Cambs' Sustainable Parish Energy Partnership (SPEP), Transition Cambridge and Cambridge Carbon Footprint, 2G3S are pleased to announce our second Great Shelford Repair Café. It will be held at The Scout and Guide Headquarters, behind the Memorial Hall, Woollards Lane, Great Shelford, from 2-4pm on Sat 2 June 2018. It's a free event (donations very welcome) where we match amazing repairers with people who need stuff fixing. Bring along items to be repaired and to pick up repair skills. This time we are also offering a book repair service, so if you have books with broken spines or damaged/loose pages, we can look at those too. You can turn up with your broken item on the day, but as we expect to be very busy it's best to book it in, either by email or by visiting the link below. Bookings open in May. Repairers are brilliant and can fix most things but there are no guarantees. Lots of tea and cake available of course! More details here.

7th June to 28th June: CirculART Trail 2018

09:00-09:00,

This year, Cambridge Carbon Footprint is hosting the third edition of CirculART, a project in which the work of local artists who work with repurposed materials is showcased in the windows of Cambridge's finest charity shops. For 3 weeks from the 7th June 2018, you will be able to pick up a CirculART Trail map from participating shops and other select locations around Cambridge. Using the printed trail map or its online version you can follow the CirculART trail, visiting charity shops around Cambridge and enjoying beautiful artworks, all made by recycling, re-purposing and reclaiming. In the 2016 edition there were 20 artists and charity shops involved. More details here.

Saturday 09 June - Sunday 10: Cambridge Transport Hack

09:00-18:00, Institute for Manufacturing (IfM), University of Cambridge, 17 Charles Babbage Road CB3 0FS

The organisers describe Cambridge Transport Hack 2018 as 'a competitive team hack event, aiming to produce solutions to transport problems for Cambridge and beyond. The two days over the weekend will culminate in the teams pitching to a panel of judges. You can see an overview video of the 2017 event here and a gallery of photos here. We're signing up participants (hackers) and helpers - judges, mentors, subject matter experts, data specialists and more. Please choose the right category when you sign up here!'

Saturday 23 June: Cottenham Repair Cafe

10:00-14:00, Cottenham Community Centre Coffee Shop, High St, Cottenham, CB24 8RZ

Repair Cafes match experienced repairers with people who need stuff fixing. You can bring along the following to be repaired and to pick up repair skills: small household appliances and electrical items, computers, mobile phones, bicycles, clothes (clean clothes only please) and general bits and bobs. Booking is best, but you can just turn up on the day too. The repairers are experienced and can fix most things but there are no guarantees. This is a free event. However, donations to cover venue hire and other costs are very welcome. To book, please send an email More details here.

Our Mission

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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