Volunteering, learning and connecting with Cambridge's green community

Hi Everyone

We have an action packed fortnight ahead!  The excellent Open Eco Homes continues this week, with some expert panel events to help people focus on specific issues: on Thursday the topic is solid wall insulation - highly relevant given the volume of pre-war homes around Cambridge.  Come to this Saturday's Volunteer for Cambridge fair - meet up and connect with  hundreds of like minded people from the voluntary/charity scene and do something to make the world a better place! On Sunday the Empty Common Community Gardeners are doing their outdoors, nature and gardening thing, while on Monday 22nd there's a warm welcome at  our Communicating Transition gathering,  where we'll be exploring blogs and bulletins, and attempting to map Cambridge's written environmental scene. The <font color="#1155cc">Kids' Repair Cafe  is on Friday 26 October (morning) will is another brilliant take on the Repair Cafe phenomenon,  children can bring along broken toys, and watch films such as WALL-E. 

There are yet more ways to keep your lifestyle keen, green and clean: learn the dark(!) art of composting at venues around the city,  19-22 October; a parent and child worm discovery event for  half term  at the Nightingale Garden on 21st October, and a special Energy Group event on 6th November - what a sustainable economy might look like. 

CONTENTS

Transition News and Events

  • Saturday 20 October: Transition stall at Volunteer for Cambridge
  • Sunday 21 October: Empty Common Community Garden
  • Monday 22 October: NEW: "Communicating Transition" - get together and discussion
  • Friday 26 October: Kids' Repair Cafe
  • Tuesday 06 November: Energy Group with Cambridge 2 Environment - sustainable economy
  • 12 November 2018, 10 December 2018, 14 January 2019: Hub meeting
  • Volunteer Opportunities: Transition Cafe Coordinators
  • Events for your calendar

Latest on our blog

Community News

  • Plastic project box (or audio oscillator)
  • Three wooden project boxes (or kit-built hifi)
  • 240v to 117v (sic) 300vA transformer - free

Other News and Events

  • Monday 15 October: Getting Your Home Ready for Climate Change
  • Thursday 18 October: Talk: 'The Undiscovered Country of the Nearby: Walking into Wandlebury'
  • Thursday 18 October: Solid wall insulation choices
  • Friday 19 October - Monday 22: Composting workshops
  • Sunday 21 October: Nightingale Gardeners
  • Saturday 27 October: Abington Repair Cafe
  • Sunday 28 October: Go wild for worms - in the garden
  • Monday 29 October: Recital with a Conversation about Climate Change
  • Tuesday 30 October: Thermal Imaging Training
  • Saturday 03 November: Cottenham Repair Cafe
  • Saturday 17 November: Talk: 'No Dig Gardening' with Charles Dowding
  • Events for your calendar

Transition News and Events

Saturday 20 October: Transition stall at Volunteer for Cambridge

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.

Sunday 21 October: 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.

Monday 22 October: NEW: "Communicating Transition" - get together and discussion

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.

Friday 26 October: Kids' Repair Cafe

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.

Tuesday 06 November: Energy Group with Cambridge 2 Environment - sustainable economy

20:00-22:00, Pembroke College New Common Room

This will be a very special energy group meeting with students from Cambridge 2 Environment participating. The topic will be what would a sustainable economy look like. We will ask questions such as: Is it possible to decouple economic growth from use of energy and other resources? What would a sustainable economy look like - for example which sectors/technologies would have to shrink and which grow to make this work?

12 November 2018, 10 December 2018, 14 January 2019: Hub meeting

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!

Volunteer Opportunities: Transition Cafe Coordinators

Imagine a lovely venue with lively conversation, talks, films and presentations about all the things we're passionate about to build a great community in our city! A couple of new venue opportunities have appeared to make a monthly Transition Cafe possible... Could you join a coordinators' team to help organise cafe nights and bring a much needed sense of place to Transition Cambridge? Skills needed: Organising abilities, good networking and promotional skills. Time commitment: 1-4 hours per month plus cafe times tba. Contact:Liz for more information, or come along to the Volunteers Fair this Saturday 20th!

Events for your calendar

Community News

Plastic project box (or audio oscillator)

White plastic project box, 82mm high, 205 wide, 140 deep overall. Top & bottom halves, slots for front and back panels and two internal dividers. Presently occupied by an audio oscillator that wasn't a great success, but the instructions (Wireless World 1977) have survived and the major problem is understood. Free and delivered free in the Cambridge area. Contact Ken

Three wooden project boxes (or kit-built hifi)

Three smart, matching, wooden boxes. One piece sleeve top/bottom/sides: 73mm high (inc. feet), 390 wide, 171 deep overall. 48h, 372w, 160d internal. Intended to accept a slide-in folded tray and flat front and back panels. One is presently occupied by a stereo amplifier which was said to run hot, one is occupied by an FM tuner which looks a bit unfinished, one is unused. The kits were from Integrex, the designs perhaps from Wireless World in the '70s? Free and delivered free in the Cambridge area. Contact Ken

240v to 117v (sic) 300vA transformer - free

The transformer was previously used for American HiFi, and is presumably suitable for other imported consumer goods. 140mm high, 110mm wide, 135mm deep, about 8kg. Four apparently-similar windings, configured two primaries in series, two secondaries in parallel. Just the transformer: NOT in a safe enclosure. Photos available on request. Delivered free in the Cambridge area. Please email Ken if you are interested.

Other News and Events

Monday 15 October: Getting Your Home Ready for Climate Change

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.

Thursday 18 October: Talk: 'The Undiscovered Country of the Nearby: Walking into Wandlebury'

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.

Thursday 18 October: Solid wall insulation choices

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.

Friday 19 October - Monday 22: Composting workshops

19:00-19:00, Storey's Field (19 Oct), Clay Farm Centre (20 Oct), East Barnwell (22 Oct)

Would you like to start composting at home but don't know how? National charity Garden Organic, in partnership with Cambridge City Council are offering free composting workshops for beginners to show you how easy it is to start and be successful. Once you've attended a workshop you'll be provided with information to access a subsidised compost bin and receive a copy of Garden Organic's Composting for Gardeners booklet, to help get you started. Also there will be three more workshops in other parts of the city in the spring. It's free - you can book here - scroll down for Trumpington and Abbey. Or contact David Garrett

Sunday 21 October: Nightingale Gardeners

14:00-16:00, Nightingale Garden

Regular, sociable, volunteer-led gardening sessions. Mostly flowers but some fruit and veg and a nature pond, bug hotels etc - we try to be sustainable and organic. In a fairly new community garden in a former bowling green in a corner of a City Council recreation ground/park, near Addenbrooke's Hospital. We meet every Sunday and Monday afternoon - with Gardeners' Tea at 3. Regular volunteers can earn Tempo time credits. Free. All welcome. Small cash donations to support the running costs of the garden are always very welcome. An outdoor activity so weather dependent - check the garden website if you are travelling far. We are insured for only adult volunteering but sometimes we have some tasks suitable for children if they are closely supervised by parents etc. The park, on Nightingale Avenue (CB1 8SG), also has a good playground - and toilets. More details here.

Saturday 27 October: Abington Repair Cafe

10:00-13:00, The Abington Institute

Repair Cafes match people who need help mending items - household appliances, electrical items, computers, mobile phones, jewellery, bicycles, garden tools, clothes and even books - with experienced repairers. Most things can be fixed, but there are no guarantees. It`s best to book a slot, but you might as well just drop in on the day, as there will be coffee and tea to make time fly whilst queuing. The event is free; however, donations are very welcome. To book a slot, please email us with as many details as you can find about you item to help the repairer assess it. More details here.

Sunday 28 October: Go wild for worms - in the garden

13:00-16:00, Nightingale Community Garden

Half-term activity. Bring and share lunch from 1 to 2 - volunteers will be using some of the community garden's produce. Worm-themed fun from 2 to 4. Learn about worms and composting from Garden Organic's Master Composters. Part of RHS' Wild about Gardens festival. Free. All welcome. Small cash donations to support the running costs of the garden are always very welcome. An outdoor activity so weather dependent - check the garden website if you are worried. Volunteer led so parents etc need to stay with their children. A former bowling green in a City park - near to Addenbrooke's (Nightingale Avenue, CB1 8SG)- with a good playground and loos. More details here.

Monday 29 October: Recital with a Conversation about Climate Change

20:30, Trinity College

Soprano Paula Downes and Pianist Clare Bullimore will be giving a Recital for ClimateKeys followed by a talk given by climate change expert Dr Hugh Hunt with retiring collections for Trinity College Music Society. 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.

Tuesday 30 October: Thermal Imaging Training

19:30-21:30, St Barnabas Church

Thermal imaging vividly reveals where building is leaking heat. These popular training sessions are for people wanting to borrow a CCF thermal imaging camera to examine their own homes, those of friends and others who've requested a survey. In the evening you'll learn how to use our two cameras and interpret their images. Then you can arrange to borrow them. Free, but Booking Essential. More details here.

Saturday 03 November: Cottenham Repair Cafe

10:00-14:00, Cottenham Community Centre Coffee Shop High Street 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 us an email or give us a call at 01954 253903. Repair Cafes match experienced repairers with people who need stuff fixing. More details here.

Saturday 17 November: Talk: 'No Dig Gardening' with Charles Dowding

19:00-20:30, Botanic Garden, 1 Brookside CB2 1JE

Join Charles, author and leading expert on Organic No Dig Gardening, for his advice on how to create healthy soil, reduce weeds and grow bumper harvests all year - without digging. This illustrated talk at the Botanic Garden will showcase Charles' creation of a productive garden, and ongoing trials at Homeacres in Somerset. Following the talk there will be an opportunity for questions and answers, to talk and to purchase books. More info about Charles here. Tickets are £10, booking here.

Events for your calendar

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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