Hi everyone,
There are lots of exciting things going on over the next couple of weeks! Firstly, come and help us celebrate 10 years of Transition Cambridge at our AGM next Tuesday (9th) - it's a chance to catch up with old friends/meet new ones and to hear more about some of our projects, and there's sure to be cake! (Full info here.) There are also opportunities to volunteer at Empty Common Community Garden (this Sunday, off Brooklands Avenue) or CropShare at Willow Farm (the following Saturday 13 Oct, near Lode), or to get involved with our communications team (Monday 22 Oct in the evening). And the Kids' Repair Cafe on Friday 26 October (morning) will also be great - children can bring along broken toys, and watch films such as WALL-E (more details here).
Other great events related to Earth-friendly living include Open EcoHomes (visit the homes this Saturday, plus more events over the next couple of weeks), various Repair Cafes around Cambridge (e.g. in Soham this Sunday and then in Royston the following Sunday), a climate change themed music recital (this Saturday) and many more events - see below!
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.
19:20-21:30, Ann Docwra Room, Friends Meeting House, Jesus Lane, Cambridge
It's time to celebrate and review what we've been doing in Transition! Our forthcoming AGM is a bit special this year as we celebrate our 10th year of sustainable community activities and friendship. It's a great opportunity to catch up with friends, hear more about the projects we're excited about and share ideas and suggestions as we move into our second decade. All are welcome to come along; however only members can vote (a member is someone who's done some volunteering in the last 12 months). As we're a volunteer organisation, donations are welcome. There will be tea and, of course, cake! More details here.
20:00-22:00, Judith's place on Leys Road
At this meeting the main topic will be Carbon Offsetting - paying for carbon saving projects to offset your own carbon emissions. How much does it cost? What sort of projects are funded and how do we know they really do save carbon? Is it better to fund projects in developing countries or closer to home? Is this a valuable strategy or just an excuse to delay doing sustainability properly? We will also catch up on energy related news. All welcome, Contact Nicola for venue details. More details here.
09:30-16:00, 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. If you can't make this Saturday, the next CropShare dates are 13 and 27 October. Hope to see you soon!
11:00-16:00, The Guildhall,Market Square CB2 3QJ
Volunteer for Cambridge is the annual volunteering fair, co-organised by the City Council and Cambridge Student Hub. Many of the voluntary groups in the city attend - last year there were 300! It's all free and a great way to find out what's going on in the volunteering sector, and sign up (if you want to). Drop by the Transition stall to meet some friendly faces and find out about our opportunities and projects in sustainability and the environment. And if you could take a turn on the stall for an hour or two during the day (that'd be great!) contact us. More details here.
20:00, 6 Bells Covent Garden Cambridge
This get-together will provide a space to discuss how to better communicate what Transition is about, and a chance for all of us already involved in doing this (writing the bulletin, updating the web-page, writing blog posts, posting on social media, writing press releases etc) to meet each other. All are welcome, whether you are already involved in Transition Cambridge, would like to be, or you're just interested in how to better communicate with people about making the transition to more sustainable ways of living. NB: we'll probably be in the back room of the pub.
09:30-12:30, Arts Picturehouse
Cambridge is hosting its first ever Repair Cafe that's totally focused on fixing children's games and toys! The event is tying in with the screening of WALL-E. Repair Cafes are free events that match experienced repairers with people who need stuff fixing. Children are invited to drop-in to see one of our repairers before or after one of the films, anytime between 9:30am and 12:30pm. The hosts, Cambridge Carbon Footprint and Transition Cambridge and the 38th Cambridge Film Festival look forward to welcoming all during half-term. Please note, children need to stay with their parent or carer and sit with the repairer during the fix. No booking required, you may have to wait and it's limited to one item per child. Love toys, hate waste.
19:00, 6 Bells Covent Garden Cambridge
Our monthly gathering over a drink of choice to share news and developments from Cambridge's environmental scene, plus making plans and hatching collaborations. All welcome! We usually meet in the back room, or the snug if it's chilly!
11:30-12:30, Palmerston Room St John's College Cambridge CB2 1TP
Enough plastic is thrown away every year to circle the world four times - and at the current rate, plastic will outnumber fish in the ocean by 2050. We might have thought that the problem would be solved by corporations and policymakers, but change isn't happening fast enough. Rather than flailing in despondency, we need to take individual action - and Lucy Siegle wants to give us the tools to make this decisive change. It's time to turn the tide on plastic; join Lucy to find out how- In conversation with Rob Cameron, Chief Executive, SustainAbility. Cambridge Carbon Footprint and Transition Cambridge will have a stall at this event. Registration required. More details here.
Newly formed organisation, Carbon Neutral Cambridge has published a poll on candidates in the recent Petersfield by-election. The poll gathered the candidates' views on climate change and its effect on our city and region, which you can read here. Kelley Green (Labour) won, so the composition of councillors on the city council is 26 Labour, 13 Lib Dem, 2 Independent and 1 Green. Carbon Neutral Cambridge's aim is to help the Cambridge region transition to being greener, cleaner, healthier and carbon neutral by the 2030s. They are keen for people to join in. Visit this link to sign up to their mailing list to be kept informed and help with campaigns. More details here.
Do you travel in and around Cambridge - by cycle or otherwise? We want to hear from you. Please complete this survey about cycling in Cambridge. More details here.
10:00-17:00, Across Cambridge, Girton, Impington and Grantchester
Open Eco Homes 2018 opens 11 new and renovated homes across Cambridge and surrounding villages on September 30th and October 6th. Open Eco Homes provides a fast track for people who want to make their homes cosier and more energy efficient by giving them access to householders who have already built or renovated an eco-home. For more information about the hosts and their homes, and to book one or more one-hour tours go to www.openecohomes.org. Booking essential. Bookings open August 20th. More details here.
19:30, Friends Meeting House, Jesus Lane
Camcycle invites you to our October monthly meeting with special guest Tom Daly from St John Ambulance, the nation's leading first aid charity. The use of specially-designed bicycles by the emergency services has grown rapidly over the last few years, with all the main services making use of them in various ways. The nation's leading first aid charity, St John Ambulance, is no different, and in recent years, the sight of advanced first aiders and paramedics cycling to incidents has become fairly commonplace in towns and cities around the country, with NHS trusts and St John Ambulance running their own fleets of bikes. Tom Daly, Regional Operational Cycling Lead, will be giving a talk on how St John Ambulance use cycles to carry almost everything an ambulance can hold, and how they save lives by cycling. More details here.
13:00, St Clements' Church
Soprano Paula Downes and Pianist Clare Bullimore will be giving a Recitals for ClimateKeys followed by a talk given by climate change expert Dr Hugh Hunt with retiring collections for Cambridge Carbon Footprint. ClimateKeys is a series created by composer pianist Lola Perrin to stimulate conversations about Climate Change. Climate Change expert, Dr. Hugh Hunt will be speaking and facilitating an audience conversation, following a performance of music by world-renowned composer, Andrew Downes. Andrew Downes' music has been influenced by the Pueblo Indian belief that 'we are part of, and belong to the Earth, as opposed to the very aggressive materialistic ideas of the West in which the Earth and its resources are seen as belonging to us, allowing us to exploit it to its and our destruction'. More details here.
10:00-14:00, Soham Library
Soham's second Repair Cafe - a free event - bring along your broken item, be it a kettle, torn jeans or even a smashed phone screen (with a replacement screen of course!) - our experienced repairers will try their best to help give it a new lease of life. There will be plenty of cake and tea for sale in our pop up cafe to keep everyone refreshed. We welcome all items within reason as long as it can safely sit on a standard table in the library. More details here.
10:00-13:00, Buildtrain 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 the Royston Repair Cafe - a free event where you can learn how to mend your broken items. It's simple - bring an item (we might be able to look at a second) 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! Note: this is a clinic not a hospital - if it needs more attention we'll refer you to a local repair business - we are not a replacement for the professionals. For further information and registration visit the Eventbrite event page or Facebook page. More details here.
19:30-21:30, St Barnabas Church, Mill Lane, CB1 2BD
Climate change promises an increase in the frequency of extreme weather events such as heatwaves, heavy rain, flooding and droughts. This workshop offers retrofit ideas that help you adapt your home to the new climate reality. The speakers are Nicola Terry - Environmental Consultant, Anne Cooper - Architect and Tom Bragg - Open Eco Home host. Part of a series of five workshops making up Eco Homes for All - a month long festival of green ideas for home makers, incorporating Open Eco Homes. September 18th - October 18th. More details here.
19:15-20:15, West Road Concert Hall 11 West Road Cambridge CB3 9DP
Join award-winning author Robert Macfarlane and local charity Cambridge Past, Present & Future, in a celebration of Cambridge's natural environment. Dr Macfarlane will discuss how the landscape of chalk grasslands and woodlands across the south of the city has influenced both his writing and wider culture in Cambridgeshire and beyond. Tickets are £10 (full price), £7 (concessions) and free for members of PPF. Book via Eventbrite here. All proceeds towards protecting Cambridge's green landscape. More details here.
19:30-21:30, St Barnabas Church, Mill Lane, CB1 2BD
Solid wall insulation can transform a home but there are lots of choices. Internal versus external? Natural versus man-made? Come along and find out what's best for you. Our experts will help you make the right choice. The speakers are Jason Palmer - Author of Solid Wall Insulation, Tim Acheson - Green Hat Construction and Margaret Reynolds - Architect. Part of a series of five workshops making up Eco Homes for All - a month long festival of green ideas for home makers, incorporating Open Eco Homes. September 18th - October 18th. More details here.
Hope to see you at some of these events!
Anna and the bulletin writing team (who always welcome new members! Come along on Monday 22 October to find out more... )
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.