On Wednesday 21st April 2010, Transition Bookham held a meeting as a follow up to the launch event in March. With an attendance of about 25 people, we all first introduced ourselves and gave brief(ish) reasons for why we'd come along. These were numerous, at different levels of awareness but, clearly, we all had a shared purpose.

We then reviewed the jottings that had been done, for possible groups, at the launch (food, recycling, make do and mend, conservation, energy, transport). This raised numerous questions and started lively discussions, and also highlighted areas of overlap.

Out of this brainstorming came the realisation that more awareness of existing resources was desperately needed - for example, what facilities exist for passing on unwanted items (Freecycle, Freegle, LETS, St Nicolas church, etc.), or recycling things that the council don't already take.

We are fortunate to have lots of existing groups and organisations in Bookham, and it was felt that collaborations could be initiated to pool resources and people. Don't forget you can subscribe to receive email updates from the Green Mole Forum.

Food featured highly, with one person mentioning that they had underused greenhouse capacity! Capel Goes Green, who very successfully raised funds by collecting unwanted apples and selling them back as juice, was mentioned. Esther is keen to hold an informal get-together, as now is the time to start any planting. She'd especially love to hear from anyone interested in garden sharing schemes.

It was agreed that a local swap day would be a good first event to involve the whole community and raise publicity (possibly Swap It September - paying homage to Swap It Surrey which closed on April 30th, or D³Day - Don't Dump Donate!) a day to allow people to give away/swap anything (at a venue, like the barn hall, and/or at the kerbside - a Bookham-wide garage sale). Large items requiring collection could be advertised on a noticeboard.

There was lots more to cover, but, as is always the way, we ran out of time. Thanks to everyone who came for being part of this exciting new venture. The next meeting will be on Wednesday 26th May, 7.30pm in St Nicolas Church Room (hall attached to the church, path behind the clock tower), when we will establish flexible working groups. Please consider being part of the steering group and find out more about Transition Towns.

As part of The co-operative's Plan BEE campaign, to help combat the effects of Colony Collapse Disorder and varroa mite infestation, the co-op are giving away packets of seeds for wild flowers that provide essential nutrition for bees. Don't forget to pick yours up from the Bookham branch whilst stocks last!

During April 2010 Mole Valley District Council will be removing all its bottle banks. According to waste and recycling manager, Steve Strickland, the move is in order to save money, and residents will need to use their green recycling bins. Unfortunately the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), in Randalls Road, Leatherhead, can't separate bottles by colour, so they're crushed and used in construction, rather than being recycled into new bottles.

Glass is 100% recyclable, can be endlessly recycled with no loss in quality and recycling two bottles saves enough energy to boil water for five cups of tea. For every tonne of recycled glass used, 1.2 tonnes of raw materials are preserved, which would otherwise have to be quarried from our landscape. On average, every family in the UK uses around 330 glass bottles and jars each year.

The one benefit from this move is that, with the space created, there's room for collecting items not currently taken in household green bins. Steve hopes that, in partnership with other organisations, additional recycling will be made available.

Transition Ashtead Home Energy group is having its first public event on 7 April - see the advert below.  Also in my blog on 13 February I mentioned that we had applied for a Surrey County Council grant to fund our planned programme for the rest of the year.  We've recently heard that our application was successful and so we're pretty pleased with that.  First thing to buy are some display boards I think.

Derek Smith

Secretary, Traansition Ashtead Home Energy group

You are invited to find out how to save energy & money in your own home

A presentation by Russell Smith of Parity Projects

8 pm Wednesday 7th April,

Ralli Room, Ashtead Peace Memorial Hall

No entry fee. Tea/coffee and cakes available

With 27% of all energy in the UK consumed in domestic housing and 85% of our existing housing stock set to still be with us in 2050, we all need to act now to reduce our carbon footprint, and reduce our energy bills.  Russell’s company Parity Projects offers the full range of services required to reduce the energy use and the environmental impact of existing buildings. He won the DIY category in the Observer Ethical Awards 2008. He also won Building Magazine’s 2007 Award for Sustainable Refurbishment. The Observer Award judges said: “Russell and his company Parity Projects stood out from all the other nominations for their new way of engaging with the public, giving them the tools to reduce their house’s carbon footprint in an innovative and inspiring way.”

In addition to the presentation there will be:

A display and demo of domestic power monitors

A display and demo of thermal draught detector

Displays of energy saving products

Advice on government grants and the new feed-in tariffs

Information about domestic combined heat and power units (soon to be introduced in UK)

Hope you can make it!

The freely downloadable book Sustainable Energy - without the hot air, by David JC MacKay, is a ‘straight-talking book about the numbers’ which seeks actions that really make a difference when it comes to sustainable energy. For more information, check out David’s website.

On the evening of Saturday 13th March the launch event for Transition Bookham (part of an international initiative to help communities to reduce their carbon emissions and prepare for the decline in fossil fuel availability) was held, at Bookham Baptist Church.

Trevor Sokell, of Bookham Vision, started by updating us on a Survey of Bookham residents taken last year. It was clear that not only did people participate in 'green' activities, but there was also an interest in doing more. Approximately 100 respondents had ticked a box for transition/greening initiatives.

There followed a screening of the movie The Power of Community: How Cuba survived Peak Oil, a fascinating look at what happened when the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 left Cuba with limited supplies of oil. The movie highlighted just how much modern society relies on fossil fuels, from transport to food production, manufacturing to heating.

Cuba is being studied as a blueprint for how the rest of the world will cope, as supplies of easy to access fuel peak. A return to local, sustainable, organic food production, the use of permaculture, public transport and  bicycles, an increased number of local, national health and educational institutions, renewable energy in remote areas and, most importantly, community initiatives, helped Cuba survive its Special Period.

After the movie we discussed it's significance to the issues we face, we heard examples of what Transition Dorking has been up to and took questions with answers given by members of Transitions Ashtead, Bookham and Dorking and The Green Mole Forum. The evening was rounded up with a chance to contribute ideas towards possible groups, ie. food, energy, recycling, transport, etc.

A follow-up meeting is to be held at St Nicolas Pastoral Centre, Bookham, on Wednesday 21st April from 7.30-9.30. This will look at the group ideas and take the viable ones forward. Subjects will include car sharing for school runs, community gardens and garden shares, a solar club and recycling beyond that which the council already provides.

Precycling is all about cutting down on unnecessary waste, so you don't need to dispose of, or recycle, as much, thus saving resources, energy and the need to collect, sort and process recyclables.

Compost Works' Hugh Baker is holding a meeting at 7.30pm on Monday 15th March at 8 The Drive, Fetcham KT22 9EN, to plan for the year ahead.

Open to all, whether you'd like to volunteer to help at one of their events, want to get advice for your group or to find out how composting might fit in with your activity, or you're simply interested in composting.

With local food production being a key issue of Transition Town and Community Garden groups, Compost Works plays a vital role by providing expertise. On a more practical note, it's shredder hire service continues to be a boon (and money saver) to those of us who like to prune!

We have decided to screen The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil as part of Transition Bookham's launch event. This will take place at Bookham Baptist Church on Saturday 13th March from 7.30pm. Here is the evening's agenda, do come along -

• 7.30pm Bookham Vision to introduce Transition Bookham
• Outline of programme for the evening and introduction to the film
• The Power of Community - How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
• Briefly explore film's message and relevance
• Local Transition group members share their experiences
• Question and answer session with 'expert' panel
• Outline some possible interest groups within Transition Bookham
• Contribute to possible groups by jotting down ideas and doodling!
• 9.30pm Finish

As you can see it's quite a full schedule, so we'll have limited time to explore all aspects of Transition and will only scratch the surface. The follow-up meeting will be on Wednesday 21st April, from 7.30pm, at the St. Nicolas Pastoral Centre.

For more information check out our Transition Bookham page.

AGM on Thursday 25th March at 7.30pm in the Friends Meeting House.

Capel Goes Green warmly invites you to join them for their Annual General Meeting and viewing of In Transition.

They shall conduct the usual business (review of  the past year, election of officers) briskly and then enjoy the screening of a film In Transition which tells the story of the rapidly growing movement across the world, in both towns and villages, to develop resilience in local communities and to cut back on energy use. The film is particularly dramatic is showing our profligate use of oil.

The film will be followed by refreshments and discussion of the film.

They shall then develop a programme of events for the coming year. So far there have been ideas for a vegetarian lunch, a visit to the Mole Valley recyling depot, a Green Gazebo at the Horticultural Show in August (instead of a separate Green Fair in September). You may have some splendid suggestions to add to these.

Meanwhile the Temple Lane Allotments Society is meeting regularly as a  separate body, putting in applications for grants,  completing planning permission documents and getting estimates for fencing, car parking hard-standing, and a multi-purpose shed with lockable storage, social area and even a composting or camping toilet!