Hi Everyone
Highlights this week include the Millenium Seed Bank talk which is part of Seedy Sunday this Sunday (bring your seeds to swap or just come along to find out about seeds and maybe take some away), a newcomers evening in the Transition cafe on Thursday when we'll be showing The Power of Community: How Cuba survived peak oil, as well as several talks and various opportunities. And congratulations to Stephanie Ferguson and the Growing Spaces project, which just won a big grant from the city council and was featured in the local news!
19:00-21:30, CB1 Cafe, Mill Road, Cambridge
Come and watch the inspirational film: "The Power of Community: How Cuba survived peak oil". This film is a great introduction to peak oil and to some of the potential solutions. We'll also give a short introduction to what Transition Cambridge is and does, and there'll be time for some discussion after the film. All welcome. Free. The cafe opens at 7pm, film to start at 7.30pm.
10:00-13:00, Trumpington allotments
Join experienced allotmenteer Dave Fox on his plot in Trumpington. Get stuck in as we plant, nurture and harvest veg and fruit. These sessions are ideal for novices and people with any amount of practical growing experience - it's more of a mutual sharing than a lesson! If you'd like to join in, see our web-page here, and book soon as spaces are limited.
13:30-16:00, Trumpington Village Hall
Come and swap unwanted seeds and get whatever seeds you need for 2012! There'll also be talks on GrowZones (a fun way of getting lots of people together to give your garden a makeover) and on how to set up a seed circle (another way of seed sharing), a demonstration of how to chit seeds to see if the seeds you have taken are viable, seeds for donation from the Heritage Seed Library, tea and cakes from Trumpington W.I., and Heritage Seeds for sale from Thomas Etty Heritage Seed Merchant. Transition Cambridge will have a stall there (let us know if you'd like to take a turn on the stall). This is always a great event, so come along and bring your friends! £1.50 entry. If you have seeds you have saved or packets you are unable to use up please bring them, but don't worry if you don't have any seeds to swap as there are usually plenty to go round. Full info here. Organised by Trumpington Allotments Society with help from Transition Cambridge. Poster here if you know of somewhere to put one up - thanks!
14:00-15:00, Trumpington Village Hall, High Street, Trumpington, Cambridge, Cambs CB2 9HZ
This talk (at Cambridge Seedy Sunday) will be given by John Dickie BA PhD Head of Botanical Information Seed Conservation Department, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Brought to you by Trumpington Allotment Society with Transition Cambridge. Entry fee (to Seedy Sunday event) £1.50 -- children free More details here.
18:30-20:30, The Emperor pub, 21 Hills Road, CB2 1NW
This is the food group's regular fortnightly meeting. We'll be talking about our current projects and plans for the future.
20:00-21:30, Judith's house on Leys Road
We will be making final plans for our forum on Wood Burning Stoves on 15th Feb, and discussing more blue sky initiatives. Contact Nicola for details of venue.
18:45-20:45, Cambridge Arts Picturehouse (St Andrews Street)
Transition Cambridge and Cambridge Carbon Footprint invite you to a showing of "The Economics of Happiness" at the Arts Picturehouse. The film will be followed by a talk and Q&A session with renowned economist Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta. “The Economics of Happiness” questions whether our current economic model is damaging our well-being. It explores the many negative consequences of economic globalisation – climate change, fundamentalism, economic insecurity and species extinction as well as the personal costs such as stress and depression. It then suggests a solution to these problems – economic localisation. Rob Hopkins (co-founder of the Transition Network) writes: "This passionate film presents a clear and articulate vision of what a shift in the scale at which we do things would look like... Very timely and powerful." The film will be followed by a question and answer session with Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta, who is the Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics and has written several books including "Human Well-being and the Natural Environment". Tickets will be available through the Arts Picturehouse box office. You can view the film trailer and learn more about the movie here.
19:30-21:00, CB1 cafe, Mill Road
What political context is Transition currently operating in? How do sustainability policies get made? and how can we influence them? What about local, national, EU and international policy-making? Leading this evening will be Phil Callaghan, OU lecturer and former senior government official working on sustainability and environment issues. Join us for a talk on sustainability policy making, followed by what we hope will be a lively discussion. Bring your questions - the gnarlier the better! Cafe opens at 7.00, the talk will start at 7.30.
10:00-16:00, Trumpington Allotments.
We will be planting a living willow hedge to make the bees fly upwards when leaving the hives on the site. We will also be laying some more of the hedge which will improve biodiversity.
19:30-21:30, Emmanuel United Reform Church, Cherry Hinton Road, Cambridge
The next Transition Cambridge Energy Group forum will be on wood stoves - how to be warm, cosy and economical from local resources. We will let you have more details when we have them. Here is a fact sheet we have prepared on wood-burning stoves. More details here.
We're getting lots of requests for Transition stalls at various events - would you like to help with this? It's usually a couple of hours on a Saturday or Sunday. Our stalls are usually quite relaxed, and most of the people we meet are enthusiastic and interested. We'll organise a session on the sorts of things that people ask and some possible replies. Stalls coming up include one at Seedy Sunday this coming Sunday (29th Jan), one at the Alternatives to Economic Growth conference (18 Feb) and a stall as part of the university students' Green Week (10 Feb). It'd be great to get together a team of us to share doing these! Get in touch if you're interested.
Growing Spaces was in the news this past week! We were one of seven recipients for a Sustainable Cities grant and had the chance to talk to the Cambridge News and BBC Radio Cambridgeshire: Growing Spaces on BBC Radio Cambridgshire Breakfast Show (interview begins 1 hour 49 minutes in; available until tomorrow (Weds)) and Cambridge News article here (scan down to find Growing Spaces; 19th January, 2012). Find out more about the Growing Spaces project, and get in touch with Stephanie if you think you have a potential space in your neighbourhood!
Transition Cambridge is nearly 4 years old and has accomplished so much already. To keep us moving forward and working effectively, it would be beneficial to develop a long-term vision and strategy for our role in building local resiliency and sustainability in Cambridge. I am therefore looking for other members of Transition Cambridge who would be interested in leading this initative. Generally it would involve organising backcasting sessions, gathering visions and ideas for a future Cambridge into a document, and working with TC groups and projects to develop their strategies for contributing to and achieving this vision. What would eventually result would be an Energy Descent Action Plan for Transition Cambridge, hopefully to be approved by the next AGM this September. If this sounds like something you would passionate about and able to commit to for the next 8 months or so, please get in touch with Stephanie so we can get started.
From John Peck, Community Brain Injury Advisor, Headway Cambridgeshire: "We have an allotment at Headway Cambridgeshire which we are trialling with our clients. Our clients have all had a brain injury of some sort (stroke, brain haemorrhage, tumour, car accident, assault etc) and vary in terms of their problems because of that, but normally include memory problems, emotional problems, fatigue, disinhibition, impulsiveness, and impaired judgement. We are looking for a potential volunteer to help us to run the Allotment Project on Friday mornings, 10.30-12.30. The volunteer would need to be an experienced gardener and would ideally have some experience of working with vulnerable adults/be able to demonstrate an ability to relate to vulnerable adults. There is potential it could be a paid position for the right candidate." Please contact John for further information (e-mail, phone: 01223 576550).
Local photographer Wesley Stanford is looking for a bit of land, somewhere he could live for a few months as sustainabily as possible. It could be on someone's farm or in a big garden. Please get in touch with him if you could help!
19:00-21:00, St Paul's School, Coronation Street, 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… This dance session takes place every Wednesday evening, and 5 Rhythms sessions also take place on Fridays with a range of teachers, same venue, same time. For further details, email David Ellis or visit http://www.cambsdance.org.uk.
17:30, Jesus College, Upper Hall
Professor John Ellis MA Dipl Arch AIA RIBA, The Sir Arthur Marshall Visiting Professor of Sustainable Urban Design, will be giving a series of lectures on Sustainable Urbanism on Thursdays, 11am - 12pm, in the Dep't of Architecture (Classroom) on the following topics: West Coast urbanism from Vancouver to San Diago (26th, 2nd Feb), European Examples (9th), The evolution of British urbanism, theory and practice (16th, 23rd), Planning for the future: The next generation of cities (1st March), and China: The emergence of mega cities (8th March). This lecture series is organised by the Dep't of Architecture (more details here).
18:30, Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA
2030 Vision is an ambitious two-year project to look at what we want Cambridge and its surrounding area to be like in 2030 and to ask what we need to put in place now to achieve that. The aim is to develop a vision that local authorities and others can take into account in their statutory processes. What is the value of green spaces? How do providing green spaces and growing enough of our own food go together? Come and give your views, with the help of introductory talks by Catherine Cairns (Cambridgeshire Green Infrastructure Forum Chair) and Elizabeth Ranelagh (Farm Conservation Advisor – Farming & Wildlife Advisory Group). More info here and here is some background to this project. Please email to confirm that you are able to come or call Nigel Bell on 01223 243830 x 205. Soft drinks and nibbles will be provided. A limited amount of parking is available on site; please let us know if you need a space or have any other special requirements. Organised by Cambridge Past Present and Future.
17:30-18:30, Lady Mitchell Hall, Sidgwick Avenue
Robert Macfarlane is a local author on nature, as well as being an academic. He is the author of 'The Wild Places' (Granta: 2007) which starts in the beech wood near Fulbourn. This lecture is part of the Darwin College Lecture series. More details here.
14:30-16:00, Jane's House (near Train Station/Hills Road)
Love fab new clothes but not the price tag to your wallet or the planet? Swishing parties are the answer! If you’ve never been to one before here’s how it works: Attendees bring nice, clean, presentable clothes that are lurking unloved in our wardrobe, and other women fall in love with them and give them a good home. We’ve all bought things in the past that we’ve never worn or have outgrown one way or another, and now’s the time to swap them for something that you’ll love to wear! Event free and open to all, but numbers are limited so booking is essential! To book please contact the Cambridge Carbon Footprint office. The full address of the event venue will be given upon booking. More details here.
19:30-21:30, Friends Meeting House, Jesus Lane
Cambridge Carbon Footprint is teaming up with the Cambridge World Development Movement to host an Evening with Danny Chivers. He will be presenting ‘Some good news about climate change,’ a fun interactive session for up to 40 people, looking at the latest climate science and politics but with a focus on the positive. It is still possible to achieve climate justice, and this session will help you to work out what role you can play in making it happen! Booking essential – email to book or call 01223 659962. Admission free but donations always welcome. More details here.
10:30-16:00, The Guildhall, Market Square, Cambridge, CB2 3QJ
This event includes lots of talks and cookery demos, including: 11am-11.30am: Five Easy Steps to Going Veggie, with Kat Affleck; 11.45am-12.15: Everything You Wanted to Know About Tofu but Were Afraid to Ask!, Jane Easton; 12.30pm-1.20pm: Saving the World With Your Knife and Fork, Tony Wardle; 1.30-2.10: Mood Food, Helen Rossiter; 2.20pm-3pm: Why You Don't Need Dairy, Tony Wardle; 3.10pm-3.50pm: 'Cheese-free' and Delicious, Jane Easton. Full info here. Entry to show, talks and cookery demos is free (there is space for 45 people at each talk/demo). Organised by Viva!.
10:00-16:00, Sproughton Tithe Barn, Ipswich, IP8 3AA
The Making Local Food Work Food Co-ops and Buying Groups project presents it's 2nd East Anglian conference. This event is for you if you grow food on an allotment, community garden, or smallholding; or buy produce through a food co-op or buying group; or even forage wild food or scrump urban fruit! The theme this year is how we can link up the supply chain between our community-scale producers and our community-owned buying groups - in what novel & innovative ways have groups across the UK managed to get community-grown fresh produce into local residents' hungry mouths? Market stalls outside social centres selling allotment surplus, peddler's carts giving scrumped apples away for free, looking after a flock of chickens one day a week, specialising in one particular product, supplying a restaurant with all their salad leaves... Full info about the conference here. The event is free but you need to book: contact Gemma or ring 07971 863586.
19:00-22:00, The Graduate Union, 17 Mill Lane, Cambridge
Is it possible to feel rich without possessions? Can you live happily without money? In the documentary “Living Without Money”, we meet the German woman Heidemarie Schwermer (68) who made a deliberate choice to live without money 14 years ago. One day she gave up her flat, donated all of her belongings and started a new life based on exchanging favors – without the use of money. Her experiences totally changed her outlook on life. Today she is living an interesting and adventurous life, which is very much related to living in the moment without worrying about the future. She is constantly on the move and always trying to help others find their path towards a more simple and harmonious life. She gets a variety of reactions to her way of life: while some get angry and call her a parasite, others think she is a visionary and a great source of inspiration. The film considers the themes of materialism and over-consumption - how money influences our way of thinking, living and acting – and the consequences this has on our life, health and the environment. The film is 52 minutes long, and was directed by Line Halvorsen. This film showing is a Free Reels Cambridge Screening. Full info here, and more info about the film here. Other interesting links include the "Life is a gift (Cambridge)" facebook page here, the Cambridge Freecycle group and the CamLets group (a local exchange trading scheme).
12:00-13:30, Parkers Piece
The students of Cambridge University have launched a campaign called Energise Cambridge (www.energisecambridge.org), which aims to engage students on climate change in a creative way and, ultimately, to persuade the university to switch their energy source to renewable energy. We are having a rally on Friday 10th Feb at 12pm, as part of Green Week celebrations, where we will gather on Parkers Piece and form ourselves into a huge shape that will be photographed from the roof of the University Arms Hotel. All welcome and bring your friends! More info. (They have also asked if Transition Cambridge can bring a stall to this - please let us know if you could help with this. Thanks!)
10:00, St Paul's Centre Hills Road
Chaired by Tony Juniper and featuring, in the morning session, prominent speakers Molly Scott-Cato, Rupert Read, Miriam Kennett and a voice from the New Economics Foundation. How can we escape the dependency of a system based on continuous economic growth? What alternatives are there? The afternoon session will turn to grass roots initiatives (contributions invited) and an inspirational Open Space workshop to stimulate thought and action. More details here.
Defra are funding several pig-keeping and goat welfare workshops around the country over the next few weeks - full details here: Defra hobby pig keeping workshops and Defra Goat Welfare Workshops. Organised by ADAS.
Do you want to make the world a better place this summer? Silly question, here’s your chance to become part of a sustainable mobile community. Pedal across the UK visiting schools and youth clubs, organic farms, fascinating sustainability projects and plenty more. Join an inspirational team of other volunteers, excited to share and learn all about environmental and social sustainability. Get skilled up in everything from bike maintenance to consensus decision making and learn lots about sustainable and group living. This year we’ve got three thrilling tours including Tastetastic! – a three week food-themed extravaganza open to anyone over 18. Totally Coastal and Western Quest will spend six weeks on the road in the classic performing, workshop facilitating and cycling Otesha style (age 18-28). Find out the what, when, where, why, who and how – and apply here. It’s first come, first served for these tours, so get your application in soon to avoid disappointment! Also Tour Liaison Internships: We're also on the look-out for six dedicated, organised, fun-loving tour liaisons. These fabulous folk will have some extra responsibilities, for things like team dynamics, ensuring performances and workshops are as good as possible, and health and safety. They'll also get a couple of weeks' office experience, helping with some last minute tour planning. The deadline for this internship is 27th January at 5pm. Contact Iona Collins for more information and an application form.
The People’s Supermarket (in Hackney) wants to provide a more ethical alternative to the big boys. They offer the convenience of a normal supermarket but in all their activities they want to have as positive a social and environmental impact as possible. For example in their ‘people’s kitchen’ they make takeaway meals from food past it’s sell by date (but which is still perfectly fine!). The kitchen also provides training and vocational experience for members of the local community. They want to raise money to upgrade their kitchen (at present they are still using a donated domestic kitchen!). They also want to install a lift and disabled access toilet. This will make the members area more accessible and help them to be a more inclusive community. Can you help them with a donation? Anything from £5 to £25,000 would be amazing and would really help them build on their success!). Donate here.
Although completed in 2003 this feasibility may still have some relevance. "Wood heating for homes: a local feasibility study". It examined whether it is feasible to operate a biomass heating scheme that enables households that are off the gas network to switch to high-efficiency wood-fuelled heating systems. I would be interested in any other research or other feasibility studies. Peter Bates Email: peter@the80percentcompany.com More details here.
From Dave: "This programme is a must listen for all those interested in alternative models of food production." Listen here.
Congratulations for making it through to the end of this week's bumper newsletter! And thanks for continuing to send in interesting news and events for us to include here!
Anna
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.