~*~*~ Sat 18th Feb SPRING IS IN THE AIR, Stroud Green Library, Quernmore Rd, N4 4QR, 10.30-4.45 ~*~*~
All welcome, just drop in. Film screenings and seed swapping all afternoon. Bring your own mug, bowl & spoon. 10.30-12.30 'Knowing Thru Growing' Library garden tours & 'making a raised bed' hands on demo ... 12.30 soup - donation for expenses ... 1.00-2.30pm Low maintenance gardening talk with Urban Harvest: 'Know Your Alliums' ... 3.00-4.45pm Music and poems, Urban Harvest teas & cocktails - donation for expenses.
~*~*~ Sun 19th Feb, JUST DO IT, film screening, Green Lens Studios, 4a Atterbury Rd, N4 1SF, 4.30-6.30pm ~*~*~
Just Do It lifts the lid on climate activism and the daring troublemakers who have crossed the line to become modern-day outlaws. Documented over a year, Emily James’ film follows these activists as they blockade factories, attack coal power stations and glue themselves to the trading floors of international banks despite the very real threat of arrest. Only £3!
~*~*~ Mon 20th Jan, WOMEN'S CHOIR, St Thomas's Church, St Thomas's Rd, N4 2QP, 7.30pm ~*~*~
A fun, informal women's group. No experience is necessary and you don't need to read music. All that is required is an enthusiasm and joy in singing. Group led by Ann Flett, a singing teacher and local resident for 40 years. There will be a small charge of £1.50 per session to cover hall hire cost.
~*~*~ Tue 21st Feb HOW TO MAKE A FOREST GARDEN IN HACKNEY Passing Clouds, 1 Richmond Rd, E8 4AA, 7pm ~*~*~
From Transition Hackney & Hackney Forest Garden, an evening all about forest gardening. Forest gardens are designed to mimic forests by using different layers to provide food and other resources. Forest gardening principles can be applied in urban settings with the aim of producing food in a sustainable way with minimal effort. Food share to start. Speakers: Annie Chipchase from Hackney Forest Garden, Jo Homan from Edible Landscapes London in Finsbury Park. Screening of 'A Forest Garden Year with Martin Crawford'. Followed by small group discussions on starting urban forest gardens and seed swap.
~*~*~ Sat 25th Feb 11-3 (1 place left) OR Thur 1st Mar 10-2 (5 places left) TREE GRAFTING AND HARDWOOD CUTTINGS Edible Landscapes London, N4 2NQ ~*~*~
Course covers: plant propagation fundamentals; taking hardwood cuttings; some edible plant identification; tool care; whip and tongue grafting; saddle grafting; and site tour. Course handouts, refreshments and lunch provided, including samples of preserved local foods (e.g. pestos, fruit leathers).
Payment options: 1. £18 / £8 concessions (contact [email protected] to book) (£16/£6 for members of Capital Growth) ... 2. 1 day's volunteering and helping tidy up on the training day ... 3. 4 Timebank credits and helping tidy up on the training day (Haringey and Islington Timebanks) ... http://www.haringeytimebank.org.uk/ 4. 15 North London LETS pledges http://www.nllets.org.uk/
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~*~*~ APPRENTICE FOOD GROWER OPPORTUNITIES: Learn to grow food to sell locally and run an organic garden ~*~*~
Growing Communities is a social enterprise based in Hackney. We run a weekly Organic Fruit and Veg Box Scheme, the Stoke Newington Farmers Market and three Urban Market Gardens. We are recruiting four volunteer Apprentice Growers. The apprenticeship runs from April to October, one day a week, with additional monthly evening tutorials. Afterwards we aim to offer the apprentices the chance to grow their own produce on our Patchwork Farm in Hackney.
We are looking for enthusiastic people who are keen to learn about growing food in a sustainable way, and who enjoy working outdoors and cooperating with other people. We particularly welcome applications from sectors of the community at risk of social exclusion, including young unemployed people, refugees, and people with mental health problems. Closing date for applications is 5pm Monday 5th March. To apply please download the application pack from the Jobs page on our website: www.growingcommunities.org, or phone 020 7502 7588.
~*~*~ LONDON-WIDE TRANSITION TOWNS - monthly meeting trial, 3rd Mons, Blue Bar on Level 4, South Bank Centre, 6pm ~*~*~
Time to be split between a structured meeting and a social. Someone different will facilitate each one. Feb 20th, Mar 19th, 16th Apr. If you don't do pubs or alcohol, please don't be put off, although it's technically a bar area, it's more like a neutral meeting room with a discreet bar over to the side.
~*~*~ ANTI-FRACKING CAMPAIGN ~*~*~
Slightly edited email from [email protected] Let us know if you want to organise a screening of GASLAND at an N4 venue.
Hello, My name is Tisha and I am a member of Frack Off (London). As you may be aware, energy companies like Cuadrilla are currently looking to use the controversial gas extraction technique of hydraulic fracturing or 'fracking' in the UK. Specifically there are now plans to start exploring shale gas opportunities within the Home counties including in Balcombe, West Sussex.
The process has already been responsible for several earthquakes in the United States including a 4.0 earthquake in Ohio which was a result of re-injecting fracked waste water into the ground. Recent studies have also suggested that the use of fracking is not a suitable replacement energy source as it releases large amounts of fugitive methane gas into the atmosphere.
DECC predicts that the process is safe however all of their research on the process was done prior to the earthquakes in Ohio, prior to Cuadrilla admitting that the process causes 50 earth tremours and prior to the EPA confirming that it has poisoned water in Wyoming. To make matters worse, DECC has yet to meet with the Environmental Agency to discuss the environmental impact of fracking.
So I am writing to you in hope that we can work together to help inform the public about the dangers associated with fracking and to work towards implementing a moratorium (and hopefully a ban) on this process. We currently have a letter writing campaign encouraging everyone to ask their MPs to support EDM 2292 which currently seeks a moratorium on the practice. We are also trying to inform the public by hosting a showing of Gasland followed by a discussion about fracking and ways to campaign against it. We're also planning a 'frack mob' outside the next big shale gas conference in London. We're hoping that if we have a large show of numbers that we can put pressure on the government and act. Thousands of people took to the streets in Bulgaria and managed to have the practice banned there. We'd like to be able to do something similar here. Would it be possible for us to meet and discuss ways for us to work together to campaign against this terrible process? Kind regards, Tisha
