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. Make sure you put the follow-up meeting in your diary now - Wednesday 21st April - time and venue to be confirmed.
For more information check out our Transition Bookham page.
February 13, 2010 15:58 by
dereksThis is the first of two reports on what Transition Ashtead is up to. We have started two action groups, one on Home Energy and one on Food. The food group is really an umbrella group for sub-groups on different aspects of the subject, and we have called our first sub-group ‘Grow Your Own’. As the name implies its aim is to encourage people in Ashtead to grow more food. This group has met three times and will soon be launching ‘Ashtead Garden Share’. This will link (a) people who have a garden but cannot manage it themselves with (b) people who want to grow fruit and vegetables but haven’t the space. When we find a match we will help them draw up a garden share agreement which will answer questions like:
- on what times and days will the gardener have access to the garden?
- what part of the garden constitutes the garden share plot?
- who decides what is grown and where?
- how will produce grown on the plot be shared?
We’re planning to start publicising the scheme in week beginning 22 February, but we’ve already had offers of gardens without really trying. There are plenty of big gardens in Ashtead!
Once the garden share is up and running we will look seriously at having a Community Garden, but whether this happens will depend on finding the right site and finding enough people who want to participate. Finally we’re planning a public event in May or June on the theme of turning Ashtead green.
If anyone is interested in learning more about any of these activities you can ring me on 01372-378914 or email foodgroup@ transitionashtead.org.uk
Derek Smith
When Cuba lost access to Soviet oil in the early 1990s, the country faced an immediate crisis — feeding the population, and an ongoing challenge: how to create a new, low-energy society. Cuba transitioned from large, fossil-fuel intensive farming to small, less energy intensive organic farms and urban gardens, and from a highly industrial society to a more sustainable one.
The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil tells the story of the Cuban people’s hardship, ingenuity and triumph over sudden adversity — through cooperation, conservation and community, told in their own words. As the world approaches Peak Oil, Cuba provides a valuable example of how to successfully address the challenge of reducing our energy use.
“Everyone who is concerned about Peak Oil needs to see this film. Cuba survived an energy famine during the 1990s, and how it did so constitutes one of the most important and hopeful stories of the past few decades. It is a story not just of individual achievement, but of the collective mobilization of an entire society to meet an enormous challenge.” – Richard Heinberg, author of The Party's Over and Powerdown
Transition Bookham is intending to screen this film as part of it's launch event. Date, time and venue to be announced soon.
(Updated flyer to show the correct mobile 'phone number of 079 4234 4801)
As a follow-up to their screening of 'The Age of Stupid', which explores the effects of climate change, BBC4 are broadcasting 'The Environment Debate' on Tuesday 15th December at 10pm. In this half hour programme, a panel of invited guests will discuss the issues surrounding Fanny Armstrong's film.
Further to my entry on Friday 13th November, I can confirm that the BBC will be screening the movie 'The Age of Stupid' on Monday 14th December 2009 at 10pm on BBC4. Please get everyone you know to tune in or set their recorders!