“There is no more important journey we can undertake than the transition from our current fossil fuel dependency to locally based economic resiliency. This book is the ideal companion for that journey—optimistic yet clear-headed; informed by experience yet playful and encouraging. Hopkins’s wisdom, creativity, and gentle humor pervade each captivating page”.
About the new Transition Companion book - Richard Heinberg: Senior Fellow, Post Carbon Institute, author of The End of Growth
Events
Transition Drop-in Café - 22nd October
We have an energy theme this month with some videos about renewable energy. Want to know if photovoltaics are for you or how ground-source heat pumps work then come along. And of course there is always tea and cake!
Time: 10.30 - 12.30
Venue: Friends' Meeting House, Bath Place, Taunton
Here is a little taster:
Apple Day – Sunday 23rd October
Time: between 2.00pm and 6.00pm
- Have fun pressing your own apples with your friends and neighbours! (and remember to bring some empty bottles to carry home your juice!)
- Enjoy a mug of hot soup, a slice of home – made cake and a glass of Mulled Apple and Ginger round an autumn fire – and take home the recipes!
- Enjoy the live music from your local community choir and play games with an “appley” theme!
- Find out about how to plant your very own community apple tree in that little green space in your village – and learn a little more about the Blackdown Transition Group.
- Make “Wishing Leaves” and “Lucky Apples” to hang in the trees !
ADMISSION APPLESOLUTELY FREE !!
a small charge will be made for refreshments
Organised by the Blackdown Hills Transition Group Visit: www.blackdownhillstransition.org
or tel:Trudi on Honiton (01404) 861421
Apple Pressing in Priorswood - Tuesday 25th October
After the success of our Abundant Taunton event outside the Brewhouse on the 1st (read about that later on!) we will be continue to press apples at Priorswood Community Centre and St. Peters Church Hall from 10am to 1pm.... this is all part of the community cooking event.... http://www.priorswoodcommunitycentre.co.uk/Events.php
Remember to come along and bring apples and get some very excellent fresh apple juice!
Can We Live Better With Less - 11th November
A free, thought-provoking evening with Stewart Wallis, Executive Director of the New Economics Foundation, a leading independent 'think-and-do-tank' that inspires and demonstrates real economic well-being.
- What is wrong with economics?
- Why do we need a Great Transition?
- How can we have a better future?
West Somerset Community College, 7pm.
Admission free.
For more information visit www.transitionmineheadandalcombe.org
email Hester on TMA2009@hotmail.co.uk or call Sally on 01984 631478
Solar Powered Bath and Wells Environment Gathering - Nov 12th
There is a unique chance for environment enthusiasts to come together on Nov 12th.
Bishop Peter of Taunton will be the key-note speaker. The venue is St Michael’s, Galmington,in south Taunton where you can view their array of photovoltaic solar panels....
The aim of the gathering is to bring together those who may currently feel isolated and the latest findings of the recent Churches Environment Survey will be shared, with feedback to Bishop Peter and David Maggs, Social Justice and Environment Adviser.
It is a chance to become more involved and better supported at a local level through an Environmental Champions Network. There will be information about the Diocesan loan scheme for the fitting of pv panels on church roofs.
The Energy Saving Benchmarking scheme will be launched.
Venue: St Michael’s Church, Galmington
The gathering will start at 9.30 (tea and coffee from 9.00) and finish by
12.30.
Please indicate your interest in attending by emailing Pete Hawkins - petehawkins.environment@gmail.com
News
Abundant Taunton
Hundreds of people got the chance to taste freshly pressed apple juice outside The Brewhouse last Saturday (1st October). Taunton Transition Town's group of "low carbon" volunteers took advantage of the glorious weather to invite people to bring their windfalls for pressing by the traditional method.
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| Apple Press in Action |
"We wanted to show just how easy it is to use the abundance of apples we have in this part of the world that would otherwise go to waste.It is also a great way to get children involved, they love working the hand cranked apple press." Vicky Briggs
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| Frankie showing off the grapes that will soon be pressed - and yes the grape juice was fabulous |
It was certainly quite a day for Frankie, whose Dad Stuart chanced by in the morning. Dad was so impressed he came back again later on - with two big buckets of grapes from his back garden for pressing. "This is the best day of my life" said Frankie, as he tucked in to crackers and home made jams, part of a display of seasonal fayre brought along by Priorswood Allotment Plot secretary Bob Rawle.
This is the second year that we have run an Abundant Taunton event and is something that we will continue for years to come.... especially if we have such bumper years for apples! And remember that we are not the only people offering out free freshly squeezed apple juice... plenty of community groups are doing exactly the same. Check out our events listings....
Low Carbon Conversations at the Genesis Centre
Taunton Transition Town has teamed up with the Genesis Centre at Somerset College to run a monthly programme for people who want to do more to cut their carbon emissions as well as their household bills. Similar to the Transition Together project, people will discuss topics such as energy and water use in the home, the relationship between food and carbon, and how to minimise waste. It is different to Transition Together (which happens in people’s homes) in that it takes place at the Genesis Centre, an amazing building showcasing different sustainable building methods as well as examples of home energy generation technologies. Each session will be led by facilitators, and the programme will also draw on the expertise of the Centre’s renewable energy expert to answer course members’ questions.
The course is on Thursdays, either 2-4pm or 6-8pm. It starts with an introductory session on Thursday 24th November, and then 6 sessions on the 2nd Thursday of each month starting on Thursday 8th December and finishing on Thursday 10th May 2012. The course fees are £70 and to book contact Yvonne Mackeson on 01823 366756 or email her ypm@somerset.ac.uk.
Community Land Trust Plans Ecological Refurbishment of Landmark Taunton Building
The Somerset Co-operative Community Land Trust outlined their plans for a refurbishment of Hertford House - a prominent neglected building on Billetfield in Taunton. Their intention is to use it for a combination of social housing and supported workspace for community enterprises.
"This exciting project means that a landmark building will be taken into community ownership and developed as a showcase for affordable, sustainable technologies. It will address three linked crises: the transition away from oil and fossil fuels, the shortage of affordable housing and the loss of trust in profit driven business. This is our first project, but it paves the way for many more."
Fran Hicks, the Chair of the CLTThe Community Land Trust is appealing for support from the local community. It needs volunteers to help with the renovation, social investors willing to accepts a mix of financial and social returns, and local people willing to help the committee plan and develop future projects.
Of course it is also keen to hear from people who are in housing need, or at risk of homelessness, and would be interested in being tenants for such a ground-breaking project.
Alex Lawrie, a development worker with Somerset Co-operative Services CIC, said "Community share issues have been used to great effect by community shops around Somerset; this is the first time they have been used to develop social housing. With interest rates at an all time low, and widespread awareness of the problems caused by unaffordable housing, this will appeal to many people keen to make a social investment.
An oped day is planned at the nearby St Georges Hall on Saturday and everyone is encouraged to come along and find out more about this innovative project.
More information is available from www.somerset.coop/landtrust. Enquiries can email landtrust@somerset.coop, or write to Somerset CCLT at the Hot House, Wellington Road, Taunton, TA1 5AX or phone 07963 917472.
Transition Together
We are currently looking for new groups of neighbours, friends or colleagues to take part in the exciting Transition Together course.... It is a way for you to cut your carbon and your bills (something we all are very keen to do). You might have read about it in this week's Somerset County Gazette.
In July last year, we launched the pilot project and got six groups together who met each month and looked at topics such as energy and water use in the home, and how to minimise waste amongst other topics. Each group member received a copy of the Transition Together handbook filled with carbon saving tips. Each group also received a small grant of £10 per household to spend together as a group on something that inspired them.... So far, this has included fruit tree planting, purchasing vegetable seeds and buying materials for building a hen coop!
A year on and participants agreed the project had been fun, and community building. Deb Howell's Galmington group have changed their driving habits to conserve fuel, cut their food waste and saved up to two-thirds on water bills!
"We're doing a community gardening scheme based in my garden. We all share the produce and I have help to be more ambitious with what I grow." Deb Howell
If you are interested in starting up a group in the Taunton Deane area and share in the community building, carbon cutting, bills busting project then please contact Chrissie Godfrey of Taunton Transition Town by emailing chrissie@visionjuice.com or calling on 01823 321731.
The Magdalen Project - Help with Growing Food
Have you ever wanted to set up your own allotment, growing space or smallholding but are not sure where to start? The Magdalen Project in conjunction with Somerset Community Food are looking for 42 families from the South West who want to produce their own healthy food yet helping to save money.
The “Learning for Growth” initiative is being funded by the Adult and Community Learning Fund and is offering a FREE place to each family as a way to get started. The program starts with either a weekend at Magdalen on Food Growing and Livestock Management or a day focusing exclusively on Fruit and Veg Growing. Experienced tutors will then be on hand to offer a mentoring service into the growing season.
“This is a unique opportunity to get free help and advise on how to create your own growing space and to plan and produce your own food” – Martin Biss, Magdalen Farm Manager.Somerset Community Food is a grassroots charity established in 2001 which aims to re-connect people with the social, health and environmental effects of growing, buying, preparing and eating local food.’ The Magdalen Project is an environmental education charity based on an organic farm who aims to encourage all to learn new skills and enjoy new experiences whilst developing a more sustainable approach to life.
Residential weekends are either 20th to 22nd January 2012 or 27th to 29th January 2012 with the Fruit & Veg day scheduled for 4th February. Spaces are limited and booking essential. Whilst the course is free we do ask minimum £10 donation towards course notes. To find out more about what we are offering please contact Lisa Herbert at Magdalen on 01460 30144 or visit our website at www.themagdalenproject.org.uk.
The Magdalen Project
Winsham
Chard
Somerset
TA20 4PA
Half UK Homes 'Not Properly Insulated'
New figures released by the government show that around half of our homes in the UK do not have sufficient insulation.
The report found that just 57 per cent of lofts are properly insulated and 58 per cent of cavity walls are filled.
By not having basic insulation, the government claims households are leaking £100 in wasted energy every year.
Other energy efficiency measures such as upgrading inefficient boilers for a high efficiency condensing boiler and improving heating controls can save up to £225 a year, the Energy Saving Trust says.
Draft-proofing and double gazing can also lower energy bill costs and reduce the carbon emissions of a property.
Transition Stroud have this excellent video all about internal insulation....
If you are not sure just how energy efficient you are then make use of Taunton Deane’s free Energy Auditing Team who will come around and give you advice and tips on how to save money on your energy bills.
Contact: dess@hotmail.com
The Transition Companion - Out October 27th
As I write this the new transition book has been launched in London, Totnes and on Twitter - The Transition Companion: Making Your Community More Resilient in Uncertain Times. The Transition Companion draws on over three years’ experience of the worldwide Transition movement and gives a new, easily accessible approach to creating change. It builds on the success of the bestselling The Transition Handbook (over 25,000 copies sold in the UK) and is packed with inspirational stories, photos and illustrations.
You can pre-order it now at: http://transitionculture.org/shop/the-transition-companion/ .
Here is Rob Hopkins talking about the book....
