Newsletter20121015

Hi Everyone

If you want to find out more about Transition, there is an opportunity to see the great film "The Turning Point" at the cafe on Thursday, as well as two exciting food-related opportunities this week: cropshare (apples!) and a Grow-your-own session. (And note the bursaries available for next week's "People and Permaculture" session.) If you feel like dancing, Cambridge Carbon Footprint, which often collaborates with Transition Cambridge, has a great ceilidh on Saturday night (with a caller, so don't worry if you don't know the steps!).

CONTENTS

Transition News and Events

  • Thursday 18 October: Film showing: The Turning Point
  • Saturday 20 October: Grow Your Own Session in Trumpington
  • Sunday 21 October: CropShare- Pick your own apples!
  • Tuesday 23 October: Food Group meeting
  • Friday 26 October: Talk and book launch: "People and Permaculture" with author Looby Macnamara
  • Saturday 27 October: People and Permacuture: Creating productive groups with Looby Macnamara
  • Wednesday 07 November: Permaculture Group Meeting: The Way Forward.
  • Thursday 15 November: Cafe night- woodland management
  • Bursaries for Looby MacNamara workshop: Creating Productive Groups
  • Events for your calendar

Community News

  • Carnival comes to Mill Road Winter Fair - find out more
  • Job vacancy: Cambridge Carbon Footprint are looking for a coordinator
  • Rooms to rent in Women's Housing Co-op
  • Festival of Ideas 2012
  • Yew tree clippings free for mulching fruit trees

Other News and Events

  • Saturday 20 October: Gamlingay Green Day
  • Saturday 20 October: Cambridge Carbon Footprint Ceilidh
  • Monday 22 October: Global Sustainability Institute lunchtime seminar
  • Tuesday 23 October: Garden Day in Abbey & Romsey
  • Wednesday 24 October: Future-Proofing for Climate Change
  • Thursday 25th October at 16.00 and 18.00: Carnival comes to Mill Road Winter Fair - free workshop
  • 6 weekends from 27th October 2012 to June 2013: Permaculture Design and Biodynamics Course
  • Saturday 27 October: Apple Day
  • Wednesday 31 October: Great Global Sustainability Treasure Hunt!
  • Microgenius for investment in renewables
  • Events for your calendar

Transition News and Events

Thursday 18 October: Film showing: The Turning Point

19:30-21:00, CB1 Cafe, 32 Mill Road, Cambridge

Come and see this great documentary about how a community in Scotland is making the transition to a more resilient and sustainable way of life. The film takes as its starting point an international conference on "Positive Energy: Creative Community Responses to Peak Oil and Climate Change", which took place at the Findhorn Ecovillage Community in Scotland in March 2008. It explores positive and practical solutions, with examples from the Findhorn community and Transition Town Forres that demonstrate how we can tackle food and energy production, transport, and wastewater treatment. It also shows how a local currency can help to boost the local economy. "This film is a great introduction to peak oil, resilience, and rediscovering community. It is a practical exploration of how to build resilience in a peak oil world, offering a glimpse of the possibilities of an economic, social and cultural renaissance that is just over the horizon." says Maddy Harland, editor of Permaculture magazine. The film will be followed by a short discussion (probably moving to the Six Bells Pub when the cafe closes at 9pm). Free, all welcome.

Saturday 20 October: Grow Your Own Session in Trumpington

10:00-13:00, Trumpington allotments

Join experienced allotmenteer Dave Fox on his plot in Trumpington. 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! In the October session we will again check progress of the polyveg, mulch beds and forest garden, tend brassicas, sow garlic and onions, and do some harvesting (bring a bag!). Join in here. Book soon as spaces are limited.

Sunday 21 October: CropShare- Pick your own apples!

10:00-16:00, Orchards, Reach TBC

Come and pick some apples with the CropShare crew from farmer Paul's orchard. Bring bags/boxes to take away your apples! Get in touch via email for directions to orchard and if you need a lift.

Tuesday 23 October: Food Group meeting

18:30-20:00, The Emperor pub, 21 Hills Road, CB2 1NW (upstairs room)

The Food Group's regular fortnightly meeting - we'll be discussing Food Sovereignty. See the <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WObBRchWNekbTk1dayokbUNsVumrFemHC3GPjV62YV8/edit">Nyeleni Declaration of Food Sovereignty</a>. The next meeting of Cambake (Cambridge's community bakery project) will be on Tuesday 6 November at the Emperor starting at 8.00pm.

Friday 26 October: Talk and book launch: "People and Permaculture" with author Looby Macnamara

18:30, Heffers Bookshope, 20 Trinity Street, Cambridge CB2 1TY

Looby will be talking about her new book People & Permaculture, the first book to explore the use of permaculture principles and design to enhance personal, social and planetary well-being. Please let us know as soon as possible if you would like to come to this, as Heffers need confirmed numbers to run the event. Please just send an e-mail with your name and names of any others who are coming to Penny. Thanks!

Saturday 27 October: People and Permacuture: Creating productive groups with Looby Macnamara

10:00-17:00, Trumpington Pavilion, King George V Playing Field, Paget Road, Trumpington, Cambridge CB2 9JF

A workshop with Looby Macnamara, author of People and Permaculture. We will explore group life and how to make the most of the group energy and people's skills. This will include decision-making, facilitation techniques and roles within groups. The workshop will be fun and interactive. Cost £55/ £45 unwaged but bursaries are available to Transition Cambridge members. For more information and to book contact Penny. More information about Looby Macnamara. Poster here.

Wednesday 07 November: Permaculture Group Meeting: The Way Forward.

19:00-21:00, Claire's House Trumpington. Contact ->https://www.transitioncambridge.org/mail-contact/sendmail.php?who=cpdm%5D%5D]] for more details.

The focus of this evening will be to discuss how we would like the group to proceed over the next year. The hope is to have a few larger group meetings that may include visits to permaculture sites, workshops, skill sharing events, and work party dates. This would be combined with a more regular, informal meeting group to focus on particular parts of permaculture practice and design. This is more specifically for people who want to meet for support and discussion regarding permaculture practice and its role in our everyday lives. It would be great to see lots of people there for some tea and cake and all contributions and ideas are welcome. We will also talk about the proposed Eastern Region Convergence next year, probably @ Ringfield 19th-21st July. More details here.

Thursday 15 November: Cafe night- woodland management

19:30-21:00, CB1 Cafe, 32 Mill Road, Cambridge

Vince and Louise, volunteer wardens at Hardwick Wood owned by the Wildlife Trust will come and tell us about their experience. They manage the wood to encourage wildlife and also produce a large amount of sustainable wood products. The aim is to replicate the traditional coppice management in parts of the wood, which makes it better for wildflowers, lots of insects, and a greater variety of birds and bats etc. They produce firewood, some charcoal, garden sticks and structures etc. and deliver to customers around the area to raise funds for the Wildlife Trust. There has also been some much larger tree-felling work by professionals to supply timber for buildings etc. Vince and Liz will also invite you to join them on one of their work days to get some practical experience. After the talk the next work days are 17th November and 1st December.

Bursaries for Looby MacNamara workshop: Creating Productive Groups

If you would like to develop your facilitation skills for Transition projects this workshop on 27th October is just the thing for you. The advertised price is £55/£45 for waged/unwaged but if you are a member of Transition Cambridge (i.e. you are active with one of the subgroups) and you would like to go but are put off by the cost then please let us know - the hub has agreed we will subsidise up to 3 places so that the cost would be only £10. We may ask you also to come to a cafe night afterwards or write us a brief review, telling us how it went and what you learnt that will be useful. It is important for us to understand what sort of training works best to make our Transition Cambridge projects more effective and enjoyable for everyone. More details here.

Events for your calendar

Community News

Carnival comes to Mill Road Winter Fair - find out more

The spirit of carnival comes to Mill Road this year as the Winter Fair hosts a spectacular parade guaranteed to get your feet tapping! And everyone aged from 5 to 105 is invited to take part. Renowned carnival artist Ali Pretty and her company Kinetika plan to help the people of Cambridge celebrate in style, creating a fabulous carnival parade that will have us all dancing in the streets. Working in partnership with the Parkside Federation, we aim to involve at least 200 local people, ranging from school children to professional artists, OAPs to local musicians. Whether you have a particular skill to offer, would like to learn some new ones, or just fancy doing something different, we’d be happy to hear from you. To find out more, come along and meet Ali and the rest of the team, or sign up for a FREE workshop at Coleridge School on 25th October from 4 till 8pm. To find out more, contact Kay Blayney.

Job vacancy: Cambridge Carbon Footprint are looking for a coordinator

CCF are looking for a coordinator to be at the hub of the organisation and to

  • have oversight of CCF and coordinate some of the projects
  • manage the office and develop and run CCF's systems

3 days per week, £19,500 pro rata (ie £11,700)

working alongside the Events and Volunteers Organiser

Closing date for applications: 12 noon Wednesday 31st October

Interviews on Monday 5th November. Please email your CV and letter of application (2 references will be needed) to Elizabeth Bruce (elizabeth@cambridgecarbonfootprint.org). Phone 01223 301842 with any queries. Cambridge Carbon Footprint, Future Business (Cambridge City FC), Milton Road, CB4 1UY. For more details, see here.

 

Rooms to rent in Women's Housing Co-op

A good sized bright room is available in our house, and is part of Paradise Women's housing co-op. Housemates are friendly and encourage a positive, co-operative living environment. Active participation in both the running of the house and the co-op is essential, and is required as part of the tenancy agreement and is a rewarding experience. It is is a large Victorian house with a big garden, and is close to town and the river. The room is unfurnished, but the rest of the house is fully furnished. The rent is affordable and we aim to be as sustainable way as possible.. This accommodation is women only and there is a minimum six month stay. If you are interested please contact us to arrange a viewing by email.

Festival of Ideas 2012

Explore the big ideas in the arts, humanities and social sciences for free at the 2012 Cambridge Festival of Ideas, from Wednesday 24th October to Tuesday 4th November. Speakers include China expert Martin Jacques, Radio 4 Controller Gwyneth Williams and Executive Editor of The Economist, Daniel Franklin. The debates cover issues as wide-ranging as the aftermath of the Arab Spring, the future of the BRICs, the social impact on the West of the rise of China and the US elections. For more information and a programme, please call: 01223 766766 or visit their web-site.

Yew tree clippings free for mulching fruit trees

Jade Cawthray has some yew-tree clippings for mulching fruit trees, free to anyone who would like to collect them on Friday 19th or Sunday 21st October. Email Jade to arrange a time.

Other News and Events

Saturday 20 October: Gamlingay Green Day

10:00-14:00, The Ecohub, Stocks Lane, Gamlingay

Stalls, talks and displays from local wildlife organisations and green energy businesses. find our what you can do to save energy and save money. Refreshments provided by the Crafty Cupcake People. Lots to see and do. Free entry. More details here.

Saturday 20 October: Cambridge Carbon Footprint Ceilidh

19:30-20:00, Arbury Community Centre,Campkin Rd, CB4 2LD

Come along to the CCF ceilidh fundraiser, which will feature a raffle, food and drinks, as well as our main event, the ceilidh! We are delighted to say that the Cambridge University Ceilidh Band have offered to play for us and there will be a caller, so no need to worry if you don’t know the steps! Children are welcome. As this is a fundraiser, we are selling tickets, but because we don’t want to exclude anyone for financial reasons, we have two prices: £5 and £10. You choose which you pay. The ticket includes entry to the ceilidh, some (vegetarian) food and one drink – other drinks will be available on the night. To book, contact us by email or phone: 01223 301842. More details here.

Monday 22 October: Global Sustainability Institute lunchtime seminar

13:00-14:00, Lord Ashcroft Building 222, Anglia Ruskin University, East Road

Aimee Roberts, Ella Wiles and Lydia Wade will each give a short talk: "What do Students, Farmers; Scientists and Sceptics have in common? Talks by the GSI summer research assistants."

Lunch will be provided. See here for details of future seminars and events.

No booking necessary, but if you would like to confirm your attendance or get any other information, contact Rosie Robison by email or phone 0845 196 5107.

Tuesday 23 October: Garden Day in Abbey & Romsey

11:00-21:00, Various: East Barnwell Community Centre, Tree Walks & Ross Street Community Centre

A day focusing on local gardens and trees. ‘Gardeners’ Coffee Morning’ (11am-12) at East Barnwell Community Centre, Talk (12-1pm)Restored 'Lost' Garden of East Barnwell, Abbey Tree walk (2-3pm), Romsey Rec Tree walk (4-5pm). Evening at Ross Street Community Centre: Seaside-themed garden open (6.30-7.30pm) followed by special talk by the Head Gardener of Clare College (7.30-9pm). In collaboration with the Abbey Action Project, Romsey Garden Club and the University of Cambridge. More information: Keith Jordan Tel. (01223) 517259 or Email

Wednesday 24 October: Future-Proofing for Climate Change

17:30-20:00, Cripps Court, Magdalene College, Chesterton Rd

Cambridge Architectural Research is hosting this event exploring how designers and planners have a duty to take climate change impacts into account. Doing so will help protect human life and comfort and conserve limited available resources and biodiversity. How can we ‘future-proof’ our built environment, particularly when it is impossible to precisely predict changes? Environmental architect Sofie Pelsmakers will set out some practical and robust design solutions and practices which should be practised today for a sustainable tomorrow. You MUST register with Maria by Tue 23rd if you wish to come.

Thursday 25th October at 16.00 and 18.00: Carnival comes to Mill Road Winter Fair - free workshop

16:00-20:00, Coleridge School, Radegund Road

Renowned carnival artist Ali Pretty and her company Kinetika plan to help the people of Cambridge to create a fabulous carnival parade for Mill Road Winter Fair on 1 December, involving at least 200 local people, ranging from school children to professional artists,OAPs to local musicians. Whether you have a particular skill to offer, would like to learn some new ones, or just fancy doing something different, we’d be happy to hear from you. To join in, you can sign up for this FREE workshop, which runs from 4pm to 8pm. Contact Kay

6 weekends from 27th October 2012 to June 2013: Permaculture Design and Biodynamics Course

10:30, The Apricot Centre, 83 Hungerdown Lane, Lawford, Essex. CO11 2LY

A new Permaculture design course is starting at the Apricot centre on October 27th 28th, and will be held one weekend a month until June 2013 .... this year we have added a new strand of Biodynamic systems to be held at Lauriston Farm in Maldon - giving a unique opportunity to see both sustainable food production systems working on commercial farms - and all in Essex ! The courses can be taken together or separately, the teaching team is creative and fun, we aim to be practical and accessible in our approach. More details here.

Saturday 27 October: Apple Day

11:00-13:00, Rock Road Library, Rock Road, CB1 7UG

At this Apple Day in the Library Garden (which is now also a small orchard), there will be plenty of apple activities for the whole family including the community apple press (bring your own clean apples and juice containers), apple identification, apple bobbing, storytelling, cake stall, apple crafts, apple and spoon races, a William Tell shooting gallery and more! Come dressed as an apple or a character from an apple story to get a prize. Free, but donations to the Library will be appreciated. Organised by the Friends of Rock Road Library.

Wednesday 31 October: Great Global Sustainability Treasure Hunt!

13:30-16:00 Mill Road Cemetery

As part of the Festival of Ideas, the Global Sustainability Institute at Anglia Ruskin University is running a sustainability-themed Treasure Hunt for families. There will be treats for all teams!

Microgenius for investment in renewables

Microgenius is a new way to raise funds for small community energy projects or to make small investments. It works nationally but it was developed and is based locally. Currently it has 3 community energy projects on its books: a hydro-electric power installation, a company for turning tree trimmings into useful stuff and a company installing wood fuelled boilers. Take a look, if you would like to invest or if you would like some inspiration. More details here.

Events for your calendar

That's all for this week! I hope you are nice and cosy in your homes as the weather gets colder!

Bev

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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