Green Gossip Spring 2006 Green Gossip Summer 2006 Green Gossip Winter 2007
Green Gossip Winter 2005 Green Gossip Autumn 2005 Green Gossip Summer 2005
Green Gossip Spring 2005 Green Gossip Winter 2004 Green Gossip Autumn 2004
Green Gossip Summer 2004 Green Gossip Spring 2004 Green Gossip Directory
Worcester
Green Gossip
Welcome
to the spring edition of this quarterly e-bulletin board for environmental and
social justice groups in and around Worcester City. Feel free to share the information within your own
organisation or with interested friends in any appropriate way, either by
attaching this document to e-mails, pinning on your notice board, or by cutting
and pasting all or part into your own newsletter.
The
information contained in Worcester Green Gossip is all in the public domain but
inclusion of items does not imply any link with, support of, or affiliation to
the Green Party. Nor do the views
expressed necessarily reflect Green Party policies.
If
you wish personally to receive Worcester Green Gossip by e-mail, or have items
for future issues, contact the e-mail at the top of this page.
Your e-mail address will then be held for this sole purpose and will be
removed from our distribution list at any time in the future at your request.
1.
Organisation
Worcester Green Party
There
will be a Green candidate in every ward!
In
the City Council elections in May, everyone in Worcester living in a contested
ward will have the opportunity to cast a green
vote. In the run up to the
elections our group will be running street stalls in the High Street and
distributing leaflets. Would
you like to get involved? We would
love to hear from you.
To read our manifesto and find out more about the Green Party in Worcester visit
www.worcestershiregreenparty.org.uk
For further information contact Robert Wilkins 01905 352065
E-mail
robert@wilkins130.freeserve.co.uk
2.
Organisation
Vegan3Counties
Livestock’s
Long Shadow
“The livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions
as measured in CO2 equivalent – 18% - than transport”.
This quote is taken from a report titled
– Livestock’s Long Shadow, by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations. The report goes on
to say that livestock production is at the heart of almost every other
environmental catastrophe confronting the planet – rainforest destruction,
spreading deserts, loss of fresh water, air and water pollution, acid rain and
soil erosion. To see the full report go to: www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000448/index.htmln
Grazing animals (mainly cattle) produce 65% of global methane
emissions, particularly destructive,
as methane is 20 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
(NASA Godard Space Flight Centre Report 2005).
The World Bank has admitted that the recent destruction of Amazon
rainforest has been “basically caused” by cattle ranching.
It
is not surprising that vegans are pleading the cause of a plant-based diet to
lighten our carbon footprints. Vegan
food is straightforward to make, healthy and above all, tastes great.
But if changing to a vegan diet for ethical, health, animal welfare or
environmental reasons seems daunting, help is at hand!
·
from practicing vegans living in
Worcestershire at www.vegan3counties.org.uk
·
by visiting www.veganbuddies.org.uk
·
by checking out products at www.isitvegan.info
·
by getting
in touch with Bruce Tanner at brucetanner@btopenworld.com
or telephone 01684 541808. Bruce
will give you details of our regular Vegan3Counties meetings and events here in
the county.
3.
Organisation
Greenpeace
This is the title for the
next big campaign from Greenpeace, nationally and here in Worcester.
It has urgency, as it appears the Labour Government is intent on pushing
ahead with Trident replacement with votes in early March 2007; this despite
strong opposition, even from among its own ranks.
Greenpeace is seeking to
persuade the UK government to take a lead in restarting international
disarmament by:
Look for the full
campaign details on the website www.greenpeace.org.uk
and, if you feel as strongly about this as we do, contact Worcester Greenpeace
to find out how you can help us put targeted and sustained pressure on
decision-makers to make non-replacement of Trident a serious option for the
Government.
Contact
Peter Robinson 01905 759402 or email robbos@cheerful.com
Better
insulation
The
current edition of this magazine – representing the interests of 47 local
Wildlife Trusts across the UK, offers advice on eco-options for roof insulation.
Many houses now fall short of the recommended 10inch/250mm thickness of
loft insulation. The advice is,
leave what is there, but add a top-up layer.
You can use mineral/glass wool, but although this is cheap, it is
produced at high environmental cost and is a major irritant.
Indeed, some countries, including Australia, class it as a carcinogen.
So,
although more costly, the magazine gives details of four good but more
eco-friendly options, based (in order of decreasing cost) on wool, hemp, waste
newspaper and waste cotton. For
more info, here are the contact details for the manufacturers:
·
Thermafleece (Wool) 01768 486285 www.secondnatureuk.com
·
Isonat (Hemp) 01248 388486 www.naturalinsulation.co.uk
·
Warmcel (waste newspaper) 01685
845200 www.excelfibre.com
·
Inno-therm (waste cotton) 0114
2499459 www.recovery-insulation.co.uk
Suppliers
include www.naturalinsulations.co.uk
01920 821069 or www.constructionresources.com
0207 4502211
Grants
may be available towards the cost. Contact
The Energy Saving Trust
020
7222 0101 or online at www.est.org.uk
Natural
World comes free every quarter when you become a member of Worcestershire
Wildlife Trust, plus you get the Trust’s own magazine too.
Plus you get the warm glow of safeguarding our own county’s nature
reserves. For details, contact:
Worcestershire Wildlife Trust, Lower Smite Farm, Smite Hill,
Hindlip, Worcester, WR3 8SZ or call 01905 754919
Real Food
Food
and farming in the UK faces a stark choice. Do we
continue to put profit first? Or adopt practices that safeguard the
future of what we eat - and those who provide it.
If we let them - the Government, biotech industry and supermarkets will
decide for us. It's time for a
change of direction. To see the
latest FOE thinking on the challenges ahead for food production in Britain, go
to www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/real_food/
To
get involved in campaigning on this and other issues vital to Worcester and the
world, why not come along to our regular meetings?
For details contact:
Rod
Howell, rod.howell@virgin.net
Tel: 01905 359004.
Events
& Courses – Spring & early Summer 2007
Welsh Borders nr Hay-on-Wye - in
association with Resurgence & Schumacher College
Gaia Exhibition & Lectures at Hay Festival
From May 25 to
June 3 Free entrance to
Exhibition; £7 each lecture
Sat 2nd
June 10 am
10.00 am; Stephan
Harding & Brian Goodwin: Gaia, the Living Earth
Stephan
Harding worked for
many years with James Lovelock on developments of Gaia Theory, and in spite of
the complexities of our planetary system, has a more optimistic view of our
prospects for surviving climate change. He
explains some of the extraordinary interconnected systems of Gaia in
language that is both accessible and humorous.
Brian Goodwin is a biologist and senior tutor at
Schumacher College with fascinating new insights into living systems, and
the implications for the future. Chaired by Elaine Brook.
Sat 2
June 4pm
Peter Harper; Eco-homes of the Future
Co-founder of the Centre for Alternative Technology Peter
Harper insists that the future is now -
we all have to adapt our lives to drastically lower carbon emissions in order to
avert climate change. While some
technologies have to be deployed on a massive scale, others work best in our
homes and communities. The good
news is that with even more fuel price rises on the way these measures can also
save money.
June 15 – 17 (& Aug 17 – 19)
Walking and Nature with
Richard Tyler
Richard Tyler
has many years experience as Wildlife Trust director, and is currently leading
an environmental tourism initiative in the Brecon Beacons National Park.
His experience of little-known routes with magnificent scenery and his
in-depth knowledge of wildlife and local ecosystems, brings an additional
dimension to a weekend of hillwalking in this beautiful part of the country.
Saturday’s 8-hour moderate walk has a half-day option for those wanting
something a little shorter.
£140
residential, £110 camping
These weekends
are an opportunity to relax and enjoy a holistic lifestyle including solar hot
water, swimming pool and solar electricity, home-grown organic food, and
beautiful country walks. Both
residential and camping options include all meals. Individual talks and
linked courses can be booked together with additional nights accommodation if
needed.
For
details of courses through the summer of 2007 to the Christmas retreat contact:
“The
future is local”
So says Rob Hopkins, peak
oil expert, in his article so titled, explaining how energy scarcity is an
opportunity for a better world. You
can find his article at the Soil Association web site; www.soilassociation.org
and follow the links from Home page>Consumer Guide>Living earth>The
future is local, or put Rob Hopkins in the site search engine.
He explains how the challenge “…of building an economy, in the next
10 years, able to withstand the impact of peak oil, is, according to Lester
Brown of the Worldwatch Institute, akin to ‘wartime mobilisation’.”
It is a thought provoking
article and already Rob Hopkins has been influential in establishing the concept
of Transition Towns – first at Kinsale, Ireland, and more recently in
September 2006, at Totnes in Devon. The
essential concept is for a local community to develop an Energy Descent Plan
that can be implemented over time in such a way that it combines a “soft
landing” with creation of a better place than the present, with a higher
quality of life.
At the heart of his vision
for a low energy world within the next 20 years, Rob Hopkins sees a revitalised
rural economy, where mixed farms would be a central hub for local activity,
producing local seasonal food for local markets as well as high value timber,
firewood, gas through wood gasification or methane digestion.
At some stage, as the cost of oil and natural gas soars, organic food
could become cheaper than non-organic, so he advocates a wide-scale transition
to organic farming.
Among other initiatives, he
also sees the need to support
All challenging stuff for
an agricultural county like Worcestershire, but as he says, the alternative is
to blunder headlong into an increasingly uncertain future.
For more information visit
www.transitiontowns.org and www.transitionculture.org
If Totnes can do it, what might an Energy Descent Plan for the Faithful City and its surrounding countryside look like? Who might get involved? Anyone interested in meeting to discuss it? Any ideas? Ed.
About GreenSTAT
Your local park...
Litter-strewn or litter-free?
Brilliant or boring?
A no-go area or a safe place to
be?
...what would make it better?
Now's the time to have your say...
Parks are very important to our everyday
lives and people should be involved in their future. Whether it is to kick a
football around, take the dog for a walk, play with the kids or just relax, away
from the pressures of everyday life, we all use parks and are best placed to say
what is good, and bad, about them.
Take part in an online survey and our views
will be entered onto the national database, forming a nation-wide picture of
what we think about our local parks.
www.GreenSTAT.org.uk
is a new local web site that gives us the opportunity to comment on the quality
of our open spaces and how well they feel they are being managed and maintained.
It also provides Worcester City Council with feedback about who is using
parks in the local area, and also what can be done to encourage new visitors.
Developed
by GreenSpace, GreenSTAT is designed to allow local authorities to compare the
results with others up and down the country to give a truly national voice of
what we think about our parks and open space.
The majority of parks, open spaces and play areas across the city are
listed and if one isn’t you can add it. You can be anonymous if you prefer
when filling in a questionnaire.
If you
would prefer to fill in a paper version just contact the City Council Parks on 01905
722233 and one will be posted out to you.
Do please take part - Bob
Jenkins
News
from the Centre
The New Year sees The Pump
House Environment Centre celebrating its 3rd year situated across
from the Barbourne Brook close to the Severn in Gheluvelt Park, Worcester. It is
the home to the Duckworth Worcestershire Trust and a Visitor Centre which has a
permanent display on environmental issues such as waste and energy.
The Pump House Environment
Centre also offers the only Ecover Refill service in Worcester City, which has
recently been publicised in the local press.
It offers refills from 25 litre containers of Washing Up liquid, Non Bio
Laundry liquid, Multi Surface Cleaner and Fabric Softener; allowing you to
minimise your waste and maximise your potential as an ethical consumer!
Not only that, we stock a range of eco friendly household products from
companies such as Faith in Nature and Sodasan.
The Environment Centre is open Wednesday to Saturday 10am – 4pm. For
more information please phone 01905 734 934.
During spring, The Pump
House will be hosting its first Seed Swap Gardeners’ Group, meeting in the
Visitor Centre monthly on Thursdays. On
Saturdays, Worcester’s new recycling knitters’ forum, ‘United in
Knitting’ meets from 11 until 1pm. More details can be found at www.dwt.org.uk
.
The
UK’s Best Value Conference Centre
Volunteers Wanted!
Each summer we build and run
the only tented Eco-conference centre in Europe and provide facilities for
conferences, workshops and other group events.
We attract organisations that work for social and environmental renewal,
and other organisations wanting to make positive changes. People come to us because they know they do better work at
Green & Away, and because they know they’ll have a fantastic time!
This year we are on a new site in Worcestershire on
the banks of the Teme. For our
season in July and August 2007 we are looking for willing helpers to work with
us to build, operate and take down the Green and Away conference centre and
village.
In return for your
enthusiasm, goodwill and hard work, you will have the chance to live in
beautiful countryside among friendly people, eating excellent vegetarian food,
and making an important contribution to the work of the environmental and social
change sector. In the evening enjoy
socialising in the bar you will have helped build! There are opportunities to help us with setting up the Green
and Away conference centre and village, running the camps, and taking everything
down at the end of the season.
This year, we will start building the centre in
late June and will need help until mid to late August.
If you would be interested in joining us, visit www.greenandaway.org
and then contact Mike Munro Turner on 01684 893380 or at mike@greenandaway.org
Spring
events
Sunday 1st April 2-5pm – Easter Extravaganza
Family
Fun Event - Free entry
At
Lower Smite Farm – a chance to see the Trust’s headquarters, celebrate
spring and join in our Easter activities. Meet the families of some farmyard
animals.
Contact Gill Evans at WWT 01905 754919
Sunday, 29th April 11am to 5pm The Knapp and Papermill
Open Day
–
stream, meadows, orchards and woodland - visit one of Worcestershire Wildlife
Trust’s most popular reserves. Guided
walks, displays, stalls, refreshments and fun and activities for
children.
Meet
at: The Bransford to Alfrick Pound road off the A4103 between Worcester and
Hereford. GR SO 751522.
Contact:
Worcestershire Wildlife Trust on 01905 754919
Charge:
Adults £3, children £1
Sunday 6th May, 10am – 5pm Tiddesley Wood Open Day
–
one of the Trust’s beautiful bluebell woods.
On the nature reserve: art & craft stalls, demonstrations, guided
walks, activities for children, live music, home made refreshments, ample free
parking
Meet
at: Tiddesley Wood, signed on Besford/Croome Road (B4084), Pershore. GR SO930462
Contact:
Bob Gillmor WWT SE Worcs. Group 01386 556685
Charge:
Adults £3, children £1
Know your wildlife
The
Trust is running a series of courses through the year, on subjects which will
appeal to beginners and specialists. First
step courses during the spring and early summer, costing £5 per person, include
winter trees, otters, bats, wetland birds, pondlife and gardening with wildlife.
Those who already have some background knowledge may be drawn
to the £15 per person courses on wildlife photography, ancient trees, water
voles, and slow worms. Watch out
for further summer courses in the next Green Gossip.
Contact Julie Clark, Access to Wildlife Officer, for more
information and availability.
Tel: 01905 754919 or email juliec@worcestershirewildlifetrust.org
12.
Organisation
Worcester City Council
These
were featured in the very first Green Gossip in the spring of 2004.
With the current focus on “food miles” and healthy eating, it is
encouraging that allotments are in high demand in the city.
There are about 800 plots on 26 sites around the city but most are taken
at present. However, there are a few still to be had, particularly for
those prepared to take on the challenge of one of the more overgrown plots.
For
details contact the Administrative Officer on 01905 722315
For those intrigued by item in last Green Gossip
Vey Straker from Hereford writes:
You can now access a CRAG carbon
calculation spreadsheet here http://www.carbonrationing.org.uk/how
. See where it says ‘carbon
conversion spreadsheet’ in the fourth point.
If you would like to find
out more about CRAGs please contact Vey Straker, (Hereford CRAG) Broadhill, Little Dewchurch, Herefordshire,
HR2 6PR.
Tel: 01432 840955
Email: vey.straker@virgin.net
Is Green Gossip useful and
informative? If so, e-mail it on to
your friends! Have you suggestions
to improve it? Do you want
something included?
Would you like
a letters page?
Enjoy the spring and please
let me have text by email for the summer edition by early
May 2007.
Contact Name
Robert Wilkins
E-mail
address
robert@wilkins130.freeserve.co.uk