Newsletter20120305

Hi everyone,

If you'd like to find out about off-grid electricity systems, come along to the Transition Cafe this Thursday! Also exciting news about a future Cambridge community bakery - come and find out more at the food group meeting next Tuesday. There are lots of other great events this week too, including a talk by Vandana Shiva on Wednesday evening entitled "Making peace with the Earth" as part of the Sustainable Development Lecture Series, and the annual Cambridge Science Festival starts this Sunday - book your events soon as some of them are already fully booked. 

CONTENTS

Transition News and Events

  • Wednesday 07 March: Energy Group Meeting
  • Thursday 08 March: Transition cafe: Off-grid renewable energy systems
  • Sunday 11 March: Romsey Community Garden afternoon session
  • Tuesday 13 March: Food Group meeting
  • Thursday 15 March: Growzones planning meeting
  • Permaculture Gardening course - fully booked
  • Community Supported Bakery

Community News

  • Vacancy with Cambridge and District Volunteer Centre
  • Looking for left-over wool insulation

Other News and Events

  • Wednesday 07 March: Making peace with the Earth
  • Thursday 08 March: Land Use in the Cambridge sub-region
  • Thursday 08 March: Prospects for economic CCS using mineral carbonation
  • Saturday 10 March: Recycle Your Read: CCF Book Swap
  • Sunday 11 March: Community Orchard Planting Day
  • Sunday 11 March: Orchard Session on Pruning
  • Sunday 11 March: Mad Hatter Tree Planting
  • 12 to 25 March: Cambridge Science Festival
  • Tuesday 13 March: Breaking Habits & Going For Green: a Carbon Conversations Taster Session
  • Wednesday 14 March: Community Composting training for local food growers
  • Wednesday 14 March: The next 40 years
  • Wednesday 14 March: Story of Stuff – The Next Chapter
  • Wednesday 14 March: HICCA Film Club screening : One Degree Matters
  • Thur,Fri,Sat Mar 15th-17th 7.30am to 3.30pm: Free Electrical and Electronics Recycling
  • Thursday 15 March: Film: Dive! (about food waste) - A Free Reels screening
  • Friday 16 March: Renewables versus fossil fuels: the global clean energy revolution

 * Monday 19 March: Resource constraints, economic growth and the future of society

  • Wednesday 18 April: Plant, Grow, Eat : an Introduction to Growing Your Own
  • Wanted in 2012: Toad spotters and bug hunters

Transition News and Events

Wednesday 07 March: Energy Group Meeting

20:00-21:30, Judith's house on Leys Road

We will be reviewing feedback from the forum on Wood Burning Stoves on 15th Feb, and discussing more blue sky initiatives. Contact Nicola for details of venue.

Thursday 08 March: Transition cafe: Off-grid renewable energy systems

19:30-21:00, CB1 Cafe, Mill Road, Cambridge

Have you ever wondered what it's like to live off-grid? Or perhaps you'd like to know how to fix up electricity on a boat or in a shed? Come and find out how to do it with Andy Rankin, member of the TC energy group and founder of local solar energy company Midsummer Energy. Andy has lots of experience of installing off-grid renewable power systems - from small systems powering scientific instruments in Antarctica, to medium-sized systems on narrowboats and yachts, to large solar arrays providing power to farmhouses that previously relied on diesel generators. The Transition cafe opens at 7pm, and the talk will start at 7.30pm, with lots of time for questions and discussion. Free.

Sunday 11 March: Romsey Community Garden afternoon session

13:00-16:00, Junction of Madras and Marmora Road

Help to prepare the garden for sowing in the Spring and give your ideas for what you would like to see in the garden this year! Wear wellies and bring gloves/forks/spades if you have them (we also have some you can borrow). Refreshments provided, and all ages welcome!

Tuesday 13 March: Food Group meeting

18:30-20:30, The Emperor pub, 21 Hills Road, CB2 1NW (upstairs room)

The meeting will start at 6:30; join us at 7.30 to discuss the exciting new idea of a Community Supported Bakery. Please come along if you are interested in locally sourced and co-operatively baked bread. All welcome!

Thursday 15 March: Growzones planning meeting

19:30-21:30, Upstairs at CB2 Cafe 5/7 Norfolk Street CB1 2LD

GrowZones is a fun and practical way to help households grow food in their garden or allotment. It works by bringing around 6 households together to do some work on each other's gardens. It is open to all regardless of food growing experience or plot size. It is also a chance to learn about Permaculture which is a garden design system based on relationships seen in nature. This could be for you if you need help starting to grow food, are interested in permaculture and are free/can reciprocate in April and May 2012. Key dates: 15 March 7.30 -9.30 pm for a planning meeting for those who want to take part to agree the dates for working on each garden or allotment - upstairs at CB2 cafe 5/7 Norfolk Street CB1 2LD. The teams will be working on each others gardens on during April and May 2012. For more information contact Jane Brown on 0771 532 0886

Saturday 28 April - Sunday 29: Permaculture Gardening course

09:30-17:30, The Pavilion, Paget Road, Trumpington

Our permaculture gardening course is now full, and we have a waiting list. For more information on permaculture courses in the region follow this link. And if you'd like to hear about future events and courses, please contact us. More details here.

Community Supported Bakery

The Cambridge Transition Food Group is launching a project to develop a co-operative bakery using locally sourced ingredients and low carbon distribution. Please join us at 7.30 on Thursday 13th March in The Emperor Pub (upstairs room, 21 Hills Road, CB2 1NW). All ideas and know-how welcome!

Calendar of events

Community News

Vacancy with Cambridge and District Volunteer Centre

Cambridge and District Volunteer Centre are looking for a Supported Volunteering Worker. The successful applicant will develop and deliver a project to enable individuals who require additional advice and support to undertake volunteering. In addition to this the role will also require liaison with organisations requiring volunteers to help them recognise how they can become more inclusive in their work. This is a fixed term post for one year. 16 hours per week flexible salary scale NJC 5- £19,621 - £21,519 (under review) pro-rata. Applicants must have prior experience and knowledge of volunteering and also working with individuals with additional needs. An awareness of social exclusion, good literacy and IT skills and a commitment to equal opportunities are also essential. For further details and an application pack call Sarah Colwell on 01223 356549 or e-mail her. A downloadable application pack is available from the website.

Looking for left-over wool insulation

Message from Amy: "I am putting in sound insulation using wool and have run out. I wonder does anybody have any left over that would save me buying a massive roll? I only need to cover 1 wall so about 8-10 squares will do. If you have any spare, please contact Amy. Many thanks!"

Related News and Events

Wednesday 07 March: Making peace with the Earth

18:00-19:30, Engineering Department, Trumpington Street

A talk by Vandana Shiva, whose work highlights the fundamental connection between human rights and the protection of the environment. Dr. Shiva offers solutions to some of the most critical problems posed by the effects of globalisation and climate change on the poorest and most populous nations. She is a philosopher, environmental activist, and eco feminist. Part of the 10th Annual Sustainable Development Lecture series. More details here.

Thursday 08 March: Land Use in the Cambridge sub-region

18:30, Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Wilberforce Road

One of a series of public consultations in connection with the 2030 vision for the Cambridge sub-region, this evening considers the two questions: How do we accommodate the needs of housing and business? How do we keep the area attractive and interesting? Email or call 01223 243830x205 to register for this event. More details here.

Thursday 08 March: Prospects for economic CCS using mineral carbonation

19:30-21:00, Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QZ

Talk by Michael Priestnall, Cambridge Carbon Capture Ltd. Geological sequestration of captured CO2 is an energy intensive process and one that will also require large-scale integrated infrastructure. Mineral carbonation is the leading alternative to geo-CCS; it is also expensive and energy intensive, but can be applied stand-alone, and potentially profitably, at small scale. The process mirrors the spontaneous steps of the natural carbon-silicate cycle in which atmospheric CO2 dissolves in water and reacts with eroded magnesium and calcium silicate rocks and solutions to deposit magnesium and calcium carbonates. The key challenge to making mineral carbonation an economically feasible industrial process, at large-scale, is primarily the energy and/or chemicals input required to speed-up and make Mg/Ca available for carbonation – some of the approaches to address this will be described. At small-scales there are increasing business opportunities to drive economic feasibility through the value of materials and byproducts, and, as will be described, through, a novel combination of mineral carbonation with alkaline fuel cells. Light refreshments from 19:00. Free, all welcome. This talk is part of the Cambridge and Anglian Materials Society meetings series.

Saturday 10 March: Recycle Your Read: CCF Book Swap

13:00-16:00, Bharat Bhavan on Mill Road, Cambridge (at the foot of the railway bridge, big brick building with a red door).

If you like books and the planet, you’ll love a good book swap! Just bring one or more previously loved books to the swap and leave it on the appropriately labelled table (eg. science fiction, biography, etc). Then feel free to browse, chat and find some new books to take home with you. You’ll have a chance to tell others why you enjoyed your books and get some recommendations too. There is no limit to the number of books you can swap but we recommend taking away a similar number of books as you brought. Admission: £2/person if you bring books to swap, £5/person without books, Kids free; this helps us cover the cost of the venue, and helps our charity to raise a few funds. Any books left at the end of the day will be donated to Books for Amnesty in Cambridge. More details here.

Sunday 11 March: Community Orchard Planting Day

11:00-15:30, 1 mile south of Coton village: TL414577; post code CB23 7PZ

Cambridge Past Present and Future are planting 100 fruit trees to create various orchard areas at their Coton Countryside Reserve. Drop in any time between 11 and 3:30. Follow signs from Martin Car Park/Barn to current planting site (walk along permitted routes). Trees, gloves and spades will be provided — please bring sensible outdoor clothing and stout footwear - wellies recommended! This visitor car park is 1 mile to the south of Coton village (TL414577; post code CB23 7PZ). For more information about the event and the Reserve please visit www.cambridgeppf.org.

Sunday 11 March: Orchard Session on Pruning

11:00-13:00, Trumpington Community Orchard Project

The weather is looking towards Spring, and it is time to prune the apple trees at Trummpington Community Orchard. If you would like to learn more about pruning fruit trees, and help out at the monthly maintenance session do come: All tools will be provided. More details here.

Sunday 11 March: Mad Hatter Tree Planting

11:00, The Missing Sock

Hello to all ye faithful Mad Hatters, The time has come to put some trees in the ground. Next weekend, 10th and 11th March is just after the full moon and I invite those who have trees to donate to bring them to the Sock on Saturday where we will be getting ready to plant on Sunday. Anyone who would like to come and plant trees should come down to the Missing Sock on Sunday 11th March at 11am (wearing a silly hat!?). Please bring spades and empty plastic 2 litre bottles to be used as built-in watering aid for the trees. From 11-2 we will dig holes and plant and then stop to eat some hotpot (kindly donated by the Sock). At 3pm we will water in and mulch and then pack up. There shall be musical accompaniment throughout the day, nicely situated on the wooden boat which is in the garden. I am really looking forward to meeting up again to start this garden together and to make plans of what to do next. See you on Sunday, bye bye, love Rosie More details here.

12 to 25 March: Cambridge Science Festival

Cambridge Science Festival 2012 celebrates the Olympic and Paralympic Games with the theme ‘Breaking boundaries’. There are over 180 mostly free events to showcase the boundaries that are being broken in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Volcanoes, Antarctica, maths, nature, health, comedy, events for children and something for everyone. More details here.

Tuesday 13 March: Breaking Habits & Going For Green: a Carbon Conversations Taster Session

19:00-21:00, Wesley Church, Octagon Room

As part of the Cambridge Science Festival 2012, we’ll be offering a Carbon Conversations taster session. Carbon Conversations is a 6 week course offered by our charity which covers all aspects of a carbon footprint, including travel, food, consumption and home energy. In this session we’ll calculate your Carbon Footprint, and take you through some sample activities. A perfect opportunity if you are curious about Carbon Conversations but don’t want to commit to a group just yet. Numbers limited, pre-booking essential: please send email. More details here.

Wednesday 14 March: Community Composting training for local food growers

12:00-16:00, Hackney City Farm, London

The Community Composting Network have just started a project organising training for local food growers who are wanting to do some community composting. It's funded by the Local Food strand of the Big Lottery. They're running seminars to give information about the project and how people can get involved. The closest ones to Cambridge are at Hackney City Farm on Wednesday 14th March and Bury St Edmunds on Wednesday 4th April. The seminars run from 12-4, and include free lunch - you need to book. More info on the community composting website. More details here.

Wednesday 14 March: The next 40 years

18:00-19:30, Engineering Department, Trumpington Street

A talk given by Professor Jorgen Randers, currently Professor of Climate Strategy at the BI Norwegian Business School, where his work is concentrated on climate issues, scenario planning and system dynamics. He also serves on the sustainability boards of several companies. He has authored and co-authored several books and articles, notably the controversial The Limits to Growth (1972) with updates in 1992 and 2004. Part of the 10th Annual Sustainable Development Lecture Series. More details here.

Wednesday 14 March: Story of Stuff – The Next Chapter

19:30-21:00, Friends Meeting House, Jesus Lane, Aldren Wright Room

Cambridge Carbon Footprint is screening The Story of Stuff on Wednesday March 14th at 7.30pm at the Friends Meeting House. The Story of Stuff is one of the most watched environmental-themed online film of all time. It is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. CCF will be screening this film, then facilitating a discussion on what will be the next chapter for each of us in our own “stuff stories.” Visit our website for more info! Please email to book More details here.

Wednesday 14 March: HICCA Film Club screening : One Degree Matters

20:00-22:00, The Stable Rooms, St Andrew's Church, Histon

Join us for a screening of 'One Degree Matters' - a film following social and business leaders as they travel to Greenland and experience for themselves the dramatic effects of the melting of the ice cap. With the latest scientific results from the Arctic, the film highlights how a further rise of global temperature of one degree really does matter. The screening will be followed by an active discussion and review, with tea or coffee and cakes. Free Admission. More details here.

Thur,Fri,Sat Mar 15th-17th 7.30am to 3.30pm: Free Electrical and Electronics Recycling

07:30-15:30, Sidgwick Site Car Park CB3 9DD

Do you have some broken electrical and electronic stuff you have been meaning to deal with? Something with a plug or a battery? Here is an opportunity to recycle it free of charge and safely. Computers, mobile phones, video players, games consoles, microwaves, dishwashers, electronic toys, power tools, kettles, TVs, electric heaters, radios, MP3 players and more are all accepted. This event is sponsored by Cambridge City Council, Recycle for Cambridge, Love Cambridge, European Recycling Platform and the University of Cambridge. It is open to all residents, companies and organisations in the Cambridge area.

Thursday 15 March: Film: Dive! (about food waste) - A Free Reels screening

20:30-23:00, Graduate Union Cafe, 17 Mill Lane 

Inspired by a curiosity about people's careless habit of sending food straight to landfills, the multi award-winning documentary DIVE! follows filmmaker Jeremy Seifert and friends as they dumpster dive in the back alleys and gated garbage receptacles of Los Angeles' supermarkets. In the process, they salvage thousands of dollars worth of good, edible food - resulting in an inspiring documentary that is equal parts entertainment, guerilla journalism and call to action. The power of the film lies in its ability to motivate: it will move you to question the manager at your supermarket; it will move you to learn about food waste and its role in your community. In the end, you might even find yourself in a dumpster (aka large rubbish bin!). This film showing is free, all welcome. More info here.

Friday 16 March: Renewables versus fossil fuels: the global clean energy revolution

17:15, LAB 003, East Rd Campus, Anglia Ruskin University

Charles Perry (co-founder of SecondNature - www.secondnaturepartnership.com - with a long track record in sustainability and climate change, working to transform organizations including Tesco, Barclays, ArjoWiggins, Lafarge, BP, GE, H&M and the UK government) will give the lecture; Dr Julian Huppert MP will respond; event hosted by Professor Michael Thorne Vice Chancellor. More details here.

Monday 19 March: Resource constraints, economic growth and the future of society

19:30-20:30, Anglia Ruskin University, East Road, CB1 1PT

Join Aled Jones to explore: how do limits in the availability of certain resources impact on governments and business and what does this potentially mean for society, our pensions and our savings? This is a Science Festival event. More details here.

Wednesday 18 April: Plant, Grow, Eat : an Introduction to Growing Your Own

19:30-21:30, Ross Street Community Centre, Ross Street, CB1 3UZ

If you’ve never grown your own food but would like to start this year, this is the workshop for you! Join expert grower Keith Jordan in this workshop that will teach you what will grow best in your particular space – no matter what that space is – and tips on how to do it. You’ll come away from the workshop with a plan for your new garden, allotment or patio filled with containers and growbags, plus, ideas for what food crops will best suit both your kitchen and your plot. Growing your own has never been more hip, fun or important! Don’t delay, book today! Limited to 15 people! Email the CCF office or call 01223 301842 to reserve a place.

Wanted in 2012: Toad spotters and bug hunters

Here at The Wildlife Trust, February is fast becoming our favourite month; we have dusted off our New Year blues, love is in the air and we are excited to announce the launch of our Garden Watch survey for 2012. We need local residents to start or renew their nature quests in their gardens, allotments or on their balconies to report to us the whereabouts of certain species throughout the year. To kick start this year’s survey, we have chosen the common toad as the species to seek in February and March. As February warms up, the courageous common toad will wake up from its winter slumber in its cool dark home and begin the perilous and daring journey to the nearest pond to find a mate. Once they arrive, often en masse, the males will warm up their voices to gently coo at the females to find a mate. To find out more information on this fascinating creature and to submit a sighting, please visit the Garden Watch webpage or call the Wildlife Trust on 01954 713500. In 2011, we received thousands of new wildlife records which helped the Trust immensely in its work to map the distribution of species and their movements across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. Later in the year we will be asking for records of butterflies, birds, mammals and spiders so keep an eye on the website for the latest news. To find out more about the Trust please visit www.wildlifebcn.org.

So lots on over the next few weeks - hope there's something of interest, and thanks for continuing to send in events and news items!

Anna

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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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