TTT August 2010

You're receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to our mailing list. Not interested anymore? Please contact Vicky Briggs - shuunyanet@gmail.com. Thursday, 19th August August Transition Welcome to the August newsletter. Vic Watson (who has been putting the newsletter together for more than 2 years now) has stepped downfrom the mammoth task for the meantime and Vicky Briggs now collates and organises it. Thanks to Vic for informing us all in the last couple of years. I am hoping to include more news.... just what Taunton Transition Town have done but rememberyou can always catch up on the website - http://transitiontowns.org/Taunton/. There are some new ways to follow what we are doing. Join our Facebook Group , find out what we are up to on the blog, or follow us on Twitter. Events The rest of August is jammed packed with events.... join us next Tuesday to welcome the Transition Bard Steph Bradley to  Taunton, come along to help celebrate the opening of Longrun Meadow, and maybe get involvedin a volunteer event. Look out for plenty of workshops and events in September organised by our fellow Transitioners in the area, and remember to keep your diary free for 'Abundant Taunton' in October. Back to top News Hear about our Transition Together and Permaculture sessions, just whatis non'violent communication and how the farm volunteer weekends have been faring. Plus hear about sustainability leadershipand Learning from the Land courses, gardening clubs, grant money for solar energy, and much more. Back to top Transition Tales - 24th August Transition Tales in Taunton Venue: Friends' Meeting House, Bath Place, Taunton Time: 7.30pm WynnAlice aka Transition Network’s Steph Bradley, invites you to join her this spring and summer on a journey around the UK. Like the Pied Piper of Hamlin she is inviting people along her route to join her for a long or a short stretch; Steph Bradley will be walking from Bridgwater to Taunton along the canal on 24th August.Join her for part or all of journey. Find a map of the canal path on http://www.waterscape.com/canals-and-rivers/bridgwater-and-taunton-canal/map.Closer to the date we will send out times and places to catch up with the wandering bard. She asks to be met at the outskirts of each town by a local story teller, to meet herbalists and craftspeople and all those with an interest in working towards positive change for the future, and to be given a present of some craft object to offer to the following town - so get crafting! What is more Transition Taunton will be hosting a gathering at the Friends' Meeting House in the evening. Be prepared to share some food, some music and some stories. Please bring along seasonal food to share and enjoy. Wondering what to do with all those courgettes- make a dish to share with everyone. Find out more about Steph's travels on http://totnes.transitionnetwork.org/node/2251. Catch up with Steph at Hay-on-wye - http://totnes.transitionnetwork.org/node/2415 and follow her travels in her blog.... http://www.transitionnetwork.org/blogs/steph-bradley Back to top Transition Drop-in Cafe - 28th August Venue: Longrun Meadow and starting in French Weir, Taunton Time: 11.30am-5pm The Transition Cafe decamps to Longrun Meadow this month. Project Taunton are opening the new footbridge over the Tone from French Weir to Longrun Meadow. We will be there with information on Transition and pointers to all the exciting activities in the meadow. Make, Do and Mend will also decamp to this luscious haven for an afternoon of art and craft. Jefferson Horsley, the Mayor of Taunton, will be opening the bridge at 11.45 am and lead the procession over the newly built bridge to the new haven for art, craft and wildlife. Check out the Project Taunton site for all the latest... http://www.projecttaunton.co.uk/taunton-now/news/454-longrun-meadows-grand-opening.html Bring a picnic, bring the family and enjoy! Back to top Group Volunteer Event - Otter Valley Harvest Hub - Sun 29th August and Bank Hol Mon 30th We are holding a group volunteer event in the spirit of wwoof on Sun 29th August & Bank Hol Mon 30th at the Otter Valley Harvest Hub which is a walled garden project near Feniton, near Honiton. There is an emphasis on permaculture in the approach to the garden group activities and this is a good opportunity to learn more about the principles and practice whatever your situation. There will be evening food helped by a rocket stove and hay-box and followed by a permaculture film and discussion event hopefully using the on-site yurt space. Monday is an open day for the project and help is welcome for this too. People can arrive Saturday evening and stay over if they like or come just for the day. There will be some space available for staying over with two rooms in a house otherwise their is room for garden camping. Numbers are limited and bookingessential. Contact Oli Handscomb to find out more. Back to top Transition Minehead and Alcombe - Raft Race - Sat 4th Sep Transition Minehead and Alcombe have a stall on the Quay at the Raft Race on Saturday 4th September. The aim is to raise awarenessof Climate Change and Peak Oil with our display, leaflets and funfreebies. If you can help for any amount of time during the day (9 to 4.30) please contact Arthur on 01643 709478. Back to top Stories of Oil, Earth and Adventure - Saturday 11 Sep A Storytelling Workshop led by international storyteller and teacher Georgina Keable Many of us who are aware of mounting evidence of climate chaos and disaster have heard so many terrifying tales we may feel like exploding at times. How on earth can we manage to pass on this heavy burden? Perhaps its very weight makes people look the other way. We are thankful when The Age of Stupid, Al Gore or Rob Hopkins does the job for us. But we see that more stories are needed to engage the critical masses, not to mention the neighbours. Perhaps story has that extra ingredient of hope and vision which is needed to lift doomsday into an adventure which we are all taking part in. This workshop will take place as part of an overland journey from Norway to England which includes walking with Transition Tales and taking part in Tales to Sustain, a group of artists working in this area. Find out more on the Taunton Transition Website 2 to 5 pm at The Williams Hall, Stoke St Gregory, Somerset TA3 6EU cost £25 - ENQUIRIES & BOOKINGS: Zita Tait 01823 491611 transitionazt@virgin.net Back to top The Work That Reconnects Workshop - Saturday 18th Sep Feeling overwhelmed and helpless in the face of environmental, economic and social challenges? The Work That Reconnects is an experiential workshop process that supports individuals to: connect to themselves, each other and the natural world, express feelings of concern for planetary issues and find ways towards a sustainable future. Developed by visionary ecologist elder Joanna Macy (www.joannamacy.net),it can transform worry and despair into creative, collaborative action with the aim of rekindling our joy and gratitude for life and our sense of purpose in the world. Facilitated by Fran Hicks and Sally Lever. £12 per person booking fee + optional dana (donation) on the day. Vegan soup and bread based lunch provided. Please bring a small vegetarian or vegan salad or dessert to share. Chairs available or bring your own meditation cushion or stool. Bookings and further information: Fran Hicks, 01823 333846. Back to top Governance and legal structures - 23rd September Taunton 23 September 2010 All events run from 9 am - 1 pm. Workshops are small and informal, and provide a great opportunity to share ideas and experiences with others, and to take away tools to build your enterprise. Governance and Legal Structures Are you trying to choose the right legal structure for a new social enterprise? Does your steering group or committee need to become incorporated as some kind of company? Does your charity or community group want to develop a trading arm? Enquiries: Marie White Business Services Tel: 0845 519 5759 Back to top Abundant Taunton - 2nd Oct Taunton Transition Town will be holding a special food event to celebrate the abundance of this time of year. Come along and join the guided walks for free, wild food. Fruit and vegetables gardeners' question time. Demonstrations and information on how to make and preserve your harvest. See how to cook by the power of the sun! Come and join in to celebrate the harvest. Anyone who can help organise the event please step forward now. This could be as little as manning a stall for an hour on the day, helping to set-up, or putting us in touch with people who may want to contribute (we are keen to include local food producers and suppliers). Please contact Vicky Briggs if you are interested. Back to top Transition Together Our first Transition Together sessions will be starting this week. Groups of friends, neighbours and colleagues are getting together all over Taunton to make simple and pratical changes to their homes and habits that will:  cut household bills  cut carbon emissions  cut reliance on fossil fuels These sessions are part of a pilot project that Transition Taunton is running arising from grant money from Taunton Deane Borough Council to help people through the recession. If these sessions go well then we will start a new set of sessions in the future. If you want to find out more, or start up your own sessions please go to http://transitiontowns.org/Taunton/TransitionTogether to find out more. Back to top Permaculture Transition Taunton have been running a set of Permaculture sessions of late. The last Drop-in Cafe had a permaculture theme and we ran a successful pratical evening session in a local allotment. The practical premaculture sessions offered helpful skills to survey the patch of ground you have for potential growing opportunities.Oli Handscomb our resident permaculture guru demonstrated measuring the contours with simple tools like an A-Frame or a bunyip (http://www.permaculture.org/nm/images/uploads The_Bunyip_Demystified_by_Tim_Murphy.pdf). We discussed simple solar surveying demonstrating a tool that you can easily put together at home and how to check what soil type you had; from looking at the weeds in your garden/plot (yes you can tell) to performing some simple checks. Find more resources on-line at http://transitiontowns.org/Taunton/Permaculture . Back to top Non-Violent Communication Workshop We ran a workshop on non-violent communication - a chance to learn to communicate more effectively with less misunderstandings and find more win-win solutions. So just what is it? "The objective of NVC is to create a relationship based on honesty and empathy." - Marshall Rosenberg, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life It’s a different way of communicating and looking at the world without judging or blaming but, instead, speaking and listeningfrom your heart. If you try to be a 'street giraffe' (a giraffe has a big heart to pump their blood around) and not a 'judgemental jackal' then you are well on the way for having better communicative relationships. Look up Marshall Rosenberg on Youtube for some inspirational interviews. Find more resources on our website.... http://transitiontowns.org/Taunton/Events Back to top Flaxdrayton Farm Work Parties All the fun on the farm and a little work. Peter and Christina from Flaxdrayton Farm hosted the 3rd group work party this year over the weekend of 7th/8th August. These work parties have been organised for people who want to learn at first hand about growing organic vegetables. The weekend included weeding onions (yes, weeding needs to done even on a farm), tidying the polytunnels and discovering all the abundant wildlife therein (we disturbed numerous frogs) and planting seeds for autumn vegetable production. A great chance to learn the work that goes into producing lovely, organic vegetables. These group activity parties will continue through the year. Look out on the website for the latest information on further opportunities in the near future. http://transitiontowns.org/Taunton/FutureEvents Back to top Sustainability Leadership Course Daniel from the Otesha Project Uk is launching a sustainability leadership course for those individuals who want to green up their workplaces / homes / neighbourhoods but don't know where to begin. In partnership with the 10:10 campaign and hosted at Fforest Camps along the Welsh coast, we've schemed up a jam-packed 10 days. The tour will be full of interactive learning about sustainability, hands-on volunteering, action planning, team-building, inspiring speakers, a cycle along the Welsh coast plus loads of tips on how  to go away and green up.The program is designed to inspire and train 'green champions' to lead change within their lives. More information can be found on the website: http://otesha.org.uk/10daytours Enquiries: Daniel Herpai Otesha Project UK Unit 4 Huguenot Place 7a Heneage Street London E1 5LN (+44) 0207 377 2109 www.otesha.org.uk Twitter: @oteshauk Facebook: http://is.gd/8FDr4 Back to top Gardening Club – Halcon Link Centre Join us every Tuesday morning between 10 and 12.30 for work in the abundant Halcon Link Centre garden. Learn how to grow fruit and vegetables in a relaxed and easy-going atmosphere from experienced growers. Back to top GE and Solarcentury to get UK schools generating £68,000 from solar power GE has formed a partnership with Solarcentury, to provide financial services support for its Solar4Schools programme. The programme, which has already installed solar electric systems in over 250 schools across the UK, aims to introduce solar power to hundreds of schools across the nation over the next two years. The Feed-in tariff, launched by the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change in April 2010,  pays those with solar electric systems a premium on all of the electricity they generate for a guaranteed 25 years. Solarcentury’s Solar4Schools aims get schools generating income from the tariff and taking full advantage of the scheme. For schools and local authorities looking to make savings and hedge against rising electricity prices, GE Capital, the financial services arm of GE, is offering an exclusive and unique financial package for schools. This initiative could enable schools to save up to £840 a year on electricity bills and generate an income of over £3,000 a year, without the full upfront cost of buying solar. The school will simply pay back the equipment cost over 15 years using income generated from the recently introduced solar feed-in tariffs. Over a 25 year period a typical secondary school could see income and savings of around £68,000. Unlike other school solar initiatives, where a utility or equipment provider owns the system, GE’s scheme will mean schools or local authorities own their equipment once the lease is repaid, enabling local communities to benefit from the full feed-in tariff payments from year 15 to 25 of the scheme. GE will pay the cost of installing the solar technology, starting at £16,000, with either local authorities or schools typically funding a small initial deposit. Solar4Schools encourages education in environmental issues and renewable energy, providing lesson plans and a teacher kits to schools with its solar power. Also, the amount of electricity generated and C02 savings is shown on a display in school with system data available online. Currently there are over 29,000 schools without any renewable energy source. Schools can apply for funding via www.solar4schools.co.uk Back to top Learning From the Land Courses Learning From the Land have a whole range of courses available now They are now able to do BESPOKE courses at very reasonable rates for professionals (one to one), DIY-ers or beginners (small groups from 4 minimum to 15 maximum). If you know a bunch of people who would like to learn a practical skill, then get in touch and they will help you to organise a course. This can any length you want. They can also arrange accommodation nearby if you need it. Something different for a BIRTHDAY GIFT, a GET-TOGETHER or a WORKS DAY OUT. They are also working in SCHOOLS, bringing the following workshops into schools to teach practical skills, teamwork, fun and sustainability: -How to Build a Pizza Oven -Building a Plastic Bottle Greenhouse and -Building a Cardboard Tube house They will also be participating in the Sunrise Off-Grid Event so go along and say hello. For more information visit www.learningfromtheland.co.uk Back to top Reduce Plastic Bag Usage Cara Naden from the Somerset Waste Action Programme has packs for community groups to work with the shop keepers in their area to reduce/remove plastic bags. Download the poster from here to print out and display. You can get a pack from Cara with information and tips, four posters, badges and two till talkers. Also Cara offers, as part of my outreach work, talks on waste  reduction/recycling,reusable nappies, plus other eco friendly living advice. Cara Naden Community Outreach Somerset Waste Action Programme cn.swap@carymoor.org.uk www.somersetwaste.gov.uk Back to top Food Mapper http://www.foodmapper.org.uk/ Starting in summer 2010 Somerset Land And Food and partners in other South West counties will be working with community researchers to map all the land that is currently being used by the community to grow food – this includes allotments, community gardens and orchards, Community Supported Agriculture schemes, school growing projects, apiaries and chicken and pig co-ops – in fact any land, beyond private gardens, where people are growing food! We at Taunton Transition Town have been slowly gathering information about all the allotments, and food growing areas in and around Taunton. But we need help. If you can spare an hour of your time to pop into your local allotment and gather the necessary information we would be most grateful. Please contact Vicky Briggs (shunnyanet@gmail.com) to help out and gather the information we need to get more land for growing in the local area. Back to top