Transition Town Tooting

Author: Transition Town Tooting

  • Apply for a role at Transition Town Tooting!

    Join an evolving and collaborative team making change in how we live, where we live, in light of climate change. 

    There’s a spirit of celebration and creativity in everything we do, be it south London’s biggest sustainable food festival, urban growing in the community garden, carbon reduction workshops, restart parties or neighbourhood planning. 

    We open up spaces for local people to connect with each other, imagine possibilities and make positive changes for the community and the environment.

    Want to get involved?

    Join in as a volunteer, join the Core Group who coordinate projects, or apply to become Co-Chair or Co-Treasurer and help shape and re-imagine our activities and impact over the next two years.  You’ll be joining a great team.

    Read on for more information about the Co-Chair and Co-Treasurer roles.

    To apply:

    1. Read the role description
    2. Ask a member of Transition Town Tooting to second you
    3. Send a note about yourself and what you’d bring to the group to transitiontowntooting@gmail.com by Saturday, 15th April, along with an indication of who is seconding you.
    4. If you’re not sure, but want to find out more, get in touch to meet the current co-chairs for a coffee.

    We’ll be voting in our new co-chairs at our Annual Celebratory Extravaganza in Tooting on Friday, 28th April from 7pm (location TBC).

    Current Co-Chairs, Richard Couldrey & Jenny Teasdale

    Co-Chairs

    The Co-Chairs are part of the Core Group. You will be supported by a Secretary and a Treasurer or Co-Treasurers.  10-15 people form the Core Group – a mix of project leaders, long-term volunteers and former co-chairs.

    The Co-Chair’s role has three key responsibilities:

    1. To over see ‘good governance’ of TTT activities i.e. to ensure and oversee sound practice legally and financially.
    2. To ‘hold’ and oversee the constitution, mission, purpose and vision of TTT.
    3. To ‘hold’ the organisation together and ensure it doesn’t ‘overstretch or spread itself out too thin’

    Other practical responsibilities involve:

    • Chairing of Co-ordination group meetings and TTT meetings such as AGM’s
    • Building good local relationships and maintaining good working links to wider community and groups
    • Liaison and good relationship with other co chair

    TTT activity is ever changing. Projects adapt to harness possibilities for wider social change. Most activities are run purely by volunteers. So it is useful for the Co-Chairs to recognise leadership of the organisation in terms of personal attributes.

    Attributes of the co-chair:

    • Honesty
    • Willingness to work transparently with the group and all TTT partners, making clear the overall purpose and mission of TTT all times
    • Willingness to build partnerships and recognition of the value of TTT’s work being represented by positive collaborations and willingness to work with others
    • Maintaining an ethos of ‘care of self; care of each other; care of earth’
    • As far as is possible ensuring that personal ‘values’ are in line with personal actions ecologically
    • Respectful attitude towards volunteers and members of the core group
    • Being mindful of the joy, pleasure, playfulness and enthusiasm
    • Valuing that the answer can be yes and enabling positive attitudes to new ideas

    David, current Treasurer and former Co-Chair

    Co-Treasurers

    Key responsibilities:

    1. To maintain sound finances as part of good governance of TTT
    2. Responsible for accounts and banking and overseeing matters relating to taxation and returns to HMRC etc. (as required etc) as well as reporting to core team and members
    3. To advise the Core Group and support the group in making sound financial decisions – highlighting funding opportunities, support in the development of funding bids, support in project forecasting, budgeting and reporting
    4. Ensure that the organization has adequate resources to carry out its purposes

    Other practical responsibilities involve:

    • Keep a back-up of all financial transactions (invoices, receipts, cash transactions)
    • Maintain a set of basic financial records for TTT inc Trial Balance, Profit & Loss Account, & Balance Sheet
    • Record spend against individual grants and report back to granting bodies as required
    • Manage Cash Flow
    • Act as a signatory on the TTT bank account
    • Authorize and send payments
    • Keep and manage petty cash
    • Liaise with bank when necessary
    • Setting up audit where appropriate
    • Giving clear instructions to all TTT group members on accounts system

    How to Apply

    To apply:

    1. Read the role description
    2. Ask a member of Transition Town Tooting to second you
    3. Send a note about yourself and what you’d bring to the group to transitiontowntooting@gmail.com by Saturday, 15th April, along with an indication of who is seconding you.
    4. If you’re not sure, but want to find out more, get in touch to meet the current co-chairs for a coffee.

    We’ll be voting in our new co-chairs at our Annual Celebratory Extravaganza in Tooting on Friday, 28th April from 7pm (location TBC).

  • Rewilding in Tooting – a new storytelling event to explore environmental thinking with children

    Children from 5 to 8 years old and accompanying adults are welcome to join this new event which explores rewilding and environmental thinking in a fascinating and participative way – right here in Tooting on Saturday 8th April.

    All welcome to come and explore our themes:

    Play – Learn – Dream 

    We’re thrilled that Andres Restrepo and Emily Duizend are running this imaginative free event based in the Tooting Community Garden.
     

    We hope you‘re intrigued and want to join us on the first weekend of the Easter holidays. Adults welcome if accompanying children, and together we’ll be look at nature, use our senses and imaginations, focus on what’s special about our surroundings, appreciate Tooting as a place – all from angles that may be new to us.
    When? Saturday 8th April, from 11:00 to 1:00. And it’s free
    Where? Tooting Community Garden, 5 North Drive SW16 1RN
    For who? Children aged 5 to 8 years old
    Details? Children need to be accompanied by an adult
    Flyer? Click here for a copy of the flyer
    How to book? Contact Andres by email to book and for more details

    We want to inspire children and adults to 

    explore how the outdoors can be experienced right here in the city
    All welcome on Saturday 8th April – please book in and we’ll see you there!

  • Restart and Sewstart – fixing and mending on Saturday 1st April

    Do you have electrical or electronic items that you don’t want to throw away?

    Or a sewing machine that is broken or you’re not sure how to use? 

    Have a favourite piece of clothing that needs mending or altering and you’d like to learn how?

    Or simply good at fixing and mending stuff?

    Maybe you just fancy a cup of tea, a piece of cake and a chance to find out more about Transition Tooting and what we get up to?

    Come and join our next fixing and mending workshop on 

    Sat 1st April – 2.00 – 5.00pm

    Mushkil Aasaan, 220 – 222 Upper Tooting Road, SW17 7EW (next to Nando’s)    

    If you can’t make it in April put these dates in your diary for future events…
    Wed 19th July –   6.30 – 9.00pm
    Sat 21st October – 2.00 – 5.00pm
                                                            
    (Restart Parties are a community self-repair space where you take responsibility for your own gadgets and data, so please don’t forget to take any back-ups beforehand, if relevant – and if possible arrive during the first two hours to allow time for fixing!   More info about Restart including details of regular skillshares at www,therestartproject.org)

  • Design Workshops for Pollinator Paths Wandsworth project went well – thanks to all!

    Twenty people joined in this partnership project’s Design Workshops held on 10 & 11 March: connecting, analysing, sharing, debating.

    We did just what we needed to do. We were a mixed group of experts, the interested and novices navigating explanations, challenges, concentration, humour and insights:

    We analysed the diverse settings that local gardeners are using – from back gardens to paved patios to balconies.

    We explored the potential benefits to pollinators
    “Would the planting make a difference to individual targeted species or should we focus on a broad group of pollinators?”

    We shared our own knowledge and experience about the pollinating plants to select for the different settings – and we found new resources too.

    We met new colleagues and connected across the borough  “I never knew there were so many other people locally who are interested in the same things as me…”

    We looked forward at the shape of the project, and some new opportunities – for example “shall we include making the planting containers using re-purposed materials?”

    We finished the second workshop feeling optimistic together about the project, with plenty of homework from the 2 afternoons and much to plan.

    Thanks to all including the visiting experts, plus Lizzy and Hannah from London Sustainability Forum for facilitating.

    The next formal event is the distribution of plants in May at the hub gardens – accompanied by creative and fun activities as part of the Wandsworth Fringe.
    Before then we will be reaching out to find gardeners who want to take part. Please email us anytime if you would like to join in.

    All welcome to join the Pollinator Paths Wandsworth Facebook page for info and updates.
    Or email Charles at TTT to get involved.

  • Pollinator Paths Wandsworth – Design Workshops Friday 10th & Saturday 11th March

    Are you looking forward to gardening for wildlife in 2017?
    We recently announced the exciting new Pollinator Paths Wandsworth project, and we’ve been posting updates on Facebook and tweeting.

    The next step is to run the two free Design Workshops this week  One this Friday, one on Saturday. This is where the discussion will take place about what insects the project will aim to benefit, and therefore what plants to recommend to encourage them. And more about plant habitats and microclimates.


    The workshops are not identical – there will be a flow over the two days, and they will also work as stand-alone events. All welcome!

    Once ‘beneficiary bugs’ (actually, probably moths and a bee species) and forage plants are agreed, then the later process of enlisting local people to grow them on and observe can start. Plant distribution will be May 21st in the Tooting Community Garden (and at other local gardens on other weekends). We hope that lots of novice and expert gardeners will to be involved over the summer! 


    Here’s the flyer including info with the Design Workshops at the top:

    Tooting Workshop timings and location:
    2:00 – 5:00 pm on Friday 10th March at Mushkil Aasaan, 222 Upper Tooting Road SW17 7EW

    Wandsworth Workshop timings and location:
    2:00 – 5:00 on Saturday 11th March at Penfold Centre, Neville Gill Close, Wandsworth SW18 4TJ

    And the poster for the whole project:

    We look forward to seeing you at the design workshops – let us know if you are coming by signing up here.  

    All welcome!

  • New series of free Carbon Conversations workshops starts April 20th

    All welcome to join our Tenth Series of free local Carbon Conversations!
    Do you want to make some changes to reduce your carbon footprint, save energy and save on your bills, but you’re not sure how or where to start?

    Join a group of local residents in a series of 6 meetings to explore how small changes can make a big difference.
    You’ll assess your own carbon footprint, then together we’ll look at home energy, transport and travel, food, consumption and waste to help you make changes that fit your situation. We’ll help you make an action plan of practical steps to take. The workshops are free.

    When?

    • Sessions will take place on Thursdays between 20th April – 25th May 2017
    • Specific dates are 20th April, 27th April, 4th May, 11 May, 18 May, 25th May
    • they will run from 7:00 – 9:00pm

    Where?

    • At 96 Besley St, SW16 6BD

    What do we do in the sessions?

    For a start, they are enjoyable!
    We discuss what’s important to us about ‘low carbon living’ – our values as well as technicalities. We’re meeting in the home of one of the facilitators, so it’s a friendly atmosphere and you can bring cake or samosas…!

    We play some creative and instructive games, which lead to more discussion and planning. This one is about making travel choices.

    We look at technical information, too. 
    In this example we’re exploring where heat loss occurs in a normal house.

    For all the info on the workshops, download the series flyer

    Please email Ben to join in, express an interest, or ask any questions. 

    We ask for a voluntary contribution of £16.00 per participant to cover the direct cost of “In Time for Tomorrow?” the excellent Carbon Conversations handbook published by The Surefoot Effect.

    To read personal blog posts by participants in an earlier series of meetings, click here and scroll down all six (they are in reverse order as we posted them live after each session).

    All welcome – you do not have to be an expert!

  • Gardens of Refuge project – February 2017 monthly update as we start with a Family Activity Day

    After the long haul of communicating near and far for voting in the Aviva Community Fund last year, winning funding in January, and getting on with the planning for 2017…we’ve begun the project!

    Our first session with the CARAS refugee and asylum-seekers has been a Family Activity Day on Valentine’s Day..
    It was a familiar mother-and-children event like many repeated all across Britain when it’s half term, and that everyday normalness was exactly the point: creating a safe and friendly space for some fun and practical family time together as a community.
    That’s the purpose of Gardens of Refuge: to create with asylum-seekers and refugees a therapeutic sense of wellbeing and feeling at home, plus growing activities and meeting members of the wider local community.

    Run by CARAS staff and volunteers, plus more from TTT, by 11:30 the church hall at All Saints Tooting was transformed with friendly faces and drop-in games and toys for all ages.

    Egle from CARAS ran a 90-minute programme while lunch was being prepared:

    • In a circle of chairs: welcome, introductions & ground rules for inclusion and safety.
    • In a big burst of energy – playing ‘fruit salad’ to get us all interacting, adults and children alike.
    • At 3 tables: looking at images from the Tooting Community Garden and saying which kind of activities individuals would like to try out this year- gardening, picnicking & cooking on a fire; garden crafts; and enjoying nature. Everyone had 5 votes to distribute using sticky stars…results to be shared.
    • Continuing at the tables to decorate flower pots using stickers, feathers and pipe cleaners.
    Carefully writing a plant label
    • Transplanting growing pots of supermarket herbs (donated by Waitrose Balham). Each pot was divided into 5 or 6 smaller pots, so the roots of basil, parsley, coriander, and greek basil have room to grow on windowsills back at home, and so they could all be shared out between 45 people.  
    • Meanwhile lunch was being cooked by Rama, one of the Chickpea Sisters, plus Georgie and Sara from Abel & Cole (who donated fresh salad).
    • To really get an appetite, we played another active circle game: ‘change places if you are wearing stripes…’
    • Then everyone sat down together to enjoy a hot meal.
    • Departure at 2:45 was a balancing act as there were a lot of plants to carry home – some families had three buses to catch – and another time we’ll bring some extra paper bags.

      Thanks to the CARAS volunteers: Rama, Vicky, Ruby, Susan, Nadia.
      And to the TTT volunteers: Resina and her children, Rose, Georgie, Sara, Chuck and Chris from the Royal Horticultural Society. Chris helped us through 2015 and 2016 with ‘Rooting in Tooting’ our first project with CARAS, and is continuing as a mentor in 2017.

      We’re making plans for Gardens of Refuge activities both with the CARAS Women’s Group and the Youth Club. Yesterday we met the Club’s Youth Council to see how they can be involved in guiding the project. The Council is great – 8 young people from 3 countries who are gaining experience of leadership, communication and self-confidence. More on that group later.

      PS – CARAS and TTT both share other updates on our respective facebook pages and on twitter – do follow if you want to be closer to the action! And, do get in contact by email if you want to offer volunteering time or resources – or ideas – to the whole project; we’d love to hear from you.

      In the kitchen
      Our motorscootering mentor

    • Pollinator Paths Wandsworth – a new project for 2017 linking gardeners across the borough to experiment with planting that benefits insects

      This is a new and imaginative project that is being launched now and will run throughout 2017.

      Pollinator Paths Wandsworth is all about encouraging local gardeners to establish small patches as wildlife havens. Several community gardens are involved, so there will be plenty of support. It’s going to be a good project to strengthen growing links across the borough.

      We’ll encourage many gardeners to grow selected varieties of plants which in turn are good forage for insects.
      Spinach moth image by Roy Leverton, Butterfly Conservation.

      We’re mixing growing with citizen science: we’ll research the ‘microclimates’ of London plots, balconies and windowboxes both for growing and for insects, we’ll share the results and we’ll take part in a fascinating and fun practical experiment together.

      Individuals, families, schools can get involved – anyone with a plot even if it’s small – and beginners are welcome as we’ll share all the how-tos.

      Why benefit insects? Maybe it sounds backwards to plant for the benefit of insects, but suitable habitat and forage are both reducing across London. Click here for the flyer.

      The project programme:

      • The first phase is research into city microclimates, what insects to support and what to grow. 
      • That will happen in 2 free public workshops on Friday March 10th and Saturday March 11th – all welcome to join one of the events on whichever date suits. More info to come; the Friday 10th workshop will be in Tooting and the Saturday 11th workshop in Wandsworth Town, both running from 2:00 to 5:00.
      • Then we’ll resource the plants that we select to grow.
      • The young plants will be shared out in May to those who are taking part. You’ll get support from several community growing spaces in Wandsworth. Tooting Community Garden’s plant-sharing day is Sunday May 21st
      • In summer we’ll all be growing the selected plants at our different sites: noting what does well, what crops we get, what insects find the plots and sharing information on facebook

      How to get involved?

      • You can sign up that you are interested via this online form – no commitment.
      • You can email us at TTT or talk to us at the Tooting Community Garden or another TTT event

      Plus: There’s an extra ingredient of creativity being stirred into the pot. The plant-sharing in May will be part of the Wandsworth Arts Festival Fringe, and as part of the Fringe there will be free family arts events linked to Pollinator Paths at each of the gardens.

      The project has been put together by London Sustainability Exchange working in depth with the various gardens. TTT is thrilled to be in this partnership.

       
      We hope that you will be interested to take part in this fascinating 
      growing and biodiversity project this year – all welcome.

    • Love Wandsworth Food free & fun family event Tuesday February 14th

      All the family is invited:

        
      All invited to this  fun half-term event on Tuesday 14th February, 2:00pm-4:30 pm.
      Location is The Venue, Park Court, Battersea SW11 4LD
      Please sign up on Eventbrite for free here: https://love-wandsworth2017.eventbrite.co.uk

      There will be lots of activities and good ideas to share on the day, all about locally grown food, eating well and reducing waste.
      You can read and download a pdf of the event flyer by clicking here

      TTT celebrates local food and participation in our weekly sessions at the Tooting Community Garden, and of course at the annual Foodival

      This year it’s going to be our 
      tenth Tooting Foodival!
      Sept 16th & 17th in the heart of Tooting
       

      We’re planning now, and if you have ideas you’d like to try out, or resources you would like to contribute, or if you would like to volunteer, come and help make it special:

      • we can chat at the Fun Day on Feb 14th
      • come and chat at the next Tooting Green Drinks on February 15th, 7:30-9:30pm at The Selkirk, 60 Selkirk Rd,  SW17 0ES
      • come to our monthly open meeting on February 23rd, 7:00-9:00 at Al Farah Cafe, 137 Mitcham Rd, SW17 9P
      • or email us at transitiontown tooting@gmail.com 
      We’d love to hear from you

    • Vegetanuary

      Chuck’s Kale

      So some of us went vegetarian for the month of January and, for me, it proved surprisingly fun to try an alternative, more mindful way of feeding myself. 80 people shared experiences and recipes on the Vegetanuary facebook group and a celebratory feast was held at Vegan Express last week. 

      Vegan Express Celebration
      Dipa’s vegetable pastilla with feta

      It would be great to try this again, maybe even risking Veganuary or Veganpril and I am sure there must be a recipe collection in here somewhere???  It’s also a great way to kick off thinking about the 10th Foodival later this year.  

      Well done Richard for organising this inspriring initiative and thanks to everyone who or joined in. Not sure I’ll ever salivate over a bacon sandwich in quite the same way again!