Transition Town Tooting

Author: Transition Town Tooting

  • Construction Begins on the Insect Hotel!

    This week we embarked on our next garden-based project with Year 6 students and teachers from Gatton Primary School in Tooting. This follows the Rainwater Catchment and Cold Frame projects of last year, as reported in this blog and on the education page of Issue 6 in the Transition Free Press.

    What is an Insect Hotel?

    Over the next 7 weeks we will be making an Insect Hotel! Why? This particular project is interesting to us and the school because it turns our attention to creepy crawlies, master pollinators, mini beasts, ecosystem engineers! Essential members of the garden food chain, both up and down!

    We’ll be encouraging solitary bees, worms, ladybirds, invertebrates, centipedes and millipedes to move in – still doesn’t tickle your fancy? How about spiders and wood lice, lacewings and stag beetles not to mention fungi and bacteria. All essential for enhancing biodiversity in the garden as well as the health of our wider ecosystem – something we all need.

    It might look like this!

    How will we do this? We’ll focus on creating the habitats that they love to make a 5 Star, concierged, en suite bug palace. Who wouldn’t want to move in!

    The project engages carpentry skills, exploration into bug habitats, study into ecosystems, recycling and re-using of materials and will be an ongoing learning resource at the garden.

    This first week, our main task was to start cutting the uprights for the structure of the hotel, defining its height. For this, we’re re-using fencing timbers donated from our site at 5 North Drive.

    You can find out more at Inspiration Green’s Insect Hotels article and The Wildlife Trust Building an Insect Hotel Habitat

  • A Tale of Leaves, Compost and more – Sunday in the Community Garden

    Jenny and Rose hatched a plan to do a group effort on our leaves and compost: shift the heaps around, do some finicky work and try out ideas and new skills too.
    We did other jobs too – many thanks to all, and to Steph for cake. 
    However for photographing I was enchanted by just one story…..

        

    1 raking the leaves


    Once upon a time….
    
    18 people came along to the Garden.

    There was with an age difference of well over 60 years from youngest to oldest.


     
    

    2 making the rings
    of wire mesh


    
    

    3 weaving in sticks
    to hold it all together

    

    

    4 admiring the tower!
    5 adding the leaves










    Meanwhile, back at the compost heaps:
     
    All the separate bins were being sorted
    We were definitely doing things we’d never done before… 
     

    

    carefully removing
    ground elder roots
    older finished compost
    was put out on the beds








    And in another part of the garden, all was peaceful…

    It was a great couple of hours, and it’s not an urban fairytale:
    the story will be continued….
     
    All welcome to the Community Garden any Sunday 1100-1300
    We’re at 5 North Drive, SW16 1RN
    Notices and news on Facebook / Tooting Community Garden
    twitter: @TTTGarden

  • fanSHEN Tooting Walks

    Theatre group fanSHEN took centre stage at this year’s Foodival with their anarchic performance of the Applecart, which engaged young, medium and old alike.  They also sent at least 50 interested visitors around the local area on a guided Tooting Walk.  Two walks have been recorded and anyone can try them out: one a half hour loop from Samaj Hall and the other from Tooting Broadway to the Lido which lasts about 40 minutes.  Both walks are available for download at the fanSHEN site HERE.

    Applecart at Foodival, Sep 14th 2014

    fanSHEN director Dan Barnard says: “the sound files and route maps are free to download and you can either listen to them as you do the walks (which enhances the experience) or just listen to them as radio programmes, which works well too! You may recognise some of the voices! “

    Thanks to Dan and the team at fanSHEN for producing these fascinating and enjoyable trips round Tooting.

  • Tooting Constitutional Club Development

    Last year we were all coming together to save the Wheatsheaf with some success.  Now the latest community space that could soon be turned from public space into private flats and shops is the former Tooting Constitutional Club, just down from Sainsburys at Tooting Broadway.  On Wednesday evening there was a chance to peruse some proposed plans at the site.

    This thread at Tooting Online has some details and debate as does this one on Streetlife. 

    TTC as it is now

    On first impresssion, the proposed development does seem monstrously large in comparison to the current buildings and those adjacent, and while it does include a small unspecified “community space”, it is not clear at this stage what that might be.

    You can have your say on the plans, but be quick, you need to email comments by the end of Monday 20th Oct to stefanie.mizen@eu.jll.com

    What the streetscape might look like with a huge development of flats

    Tooting History Group say the building apparently dates from the 18th Century, and though the site evidently needs work, wouldn’t it be better if it was developed sensitively with the community and history foremost in mind?  Wouldn’t it be great if a site like this could be retained wholly or in part for use by a variety of Tooting’s myriad community groups?   TTT would certainly be interested in using, running or helping to develop such a space.   There’s also a bowling green at the back which will largely disappear under concrete if these plans go ahead. What could we imagine that being: a new community garden?  A revived bowling green?  A pocket park?

    Developers will naturally always want to maximise returns from property investments, so it’s up to us as residents to speak up, put pressure on them and the Council to ensure that development is right for the community and the site. Why not send Stefanie some thoughts? stefanie.mizen@eu.jll.com

  • Furzedown Low Carbon Zone: Film Night 22nd Oct

    All welcome to a Film Night hosted by our sister project, Furzedown Low Carbon Zone.

    Date: Wednesday October 22nd
    Venue: The Furzedown Project, 93 Moyser Road, SW16 6SJ
    Timings: Doors open at 7:30pm, and the showing starts at 8:00
    Booking: Please book a ticket on our booking page here. Tickets are £5.00. Under-16s and over-60s are free (please book in all the same)

    We’ll finish by 9:30, but conversation can always move to the pub! 
    Film is better with tea, coffee and cake – and if you came to the Tooting Foodival you know we make some great cakes.

    We’re showing ‘Disruption’:
    a brand new film about climate change and community 
    organisation in the face of apparent poltical apathy 


    The film also covers the background to the New York City Climate March last month.

    As well as fundraising for our activities, we’ll be sharing the proceeds of the evening with Furzedown FACE, a group that supports the local community. 


    The ‘FLCZ’ has been active for three years now
    Furzedown Low Carbon Zone is a community association dedicated to reducing the carbon emissions of Furzedown and surrounding areas. You may have seen us at Furzedown Big Day Out, at Tooting Foodival or on the Climate March.

    Two earlier FLCZ projects were carried out with many local partners including South Thames College, Eardley School, Furzedown enterprises and Transition Town Tooting. Do watch the project videos:

    1 ‘The Greener Jobs Alliance’ – watch it here

    2 ‘Better Choices for a Better Tomorrow’ – watch it here

    We’re proud that our first project won the Green Gown Awards ‘Best Newcomer’ category  in 2012 from The Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges.


    If you’d like to find out about FLCZ activities, including our current focus on setting up a community renewable energy scheme, please contact us here.
    We look forward to seeing you.

  • A follow-up to the People’s Climate March

    A huge event worldwide – maybe the biggest of its kind, ever.

    Here’s a map from 350.org, one of the 
    campaign partners:

    The march in New York City:

    What’s happened afterwards (so far)?
    This article gives a good view from the UN:  ‘Five ways Ban Ki-moon’s summit has changed international climate politics forever’ http://gu.com/p/4xp6f

    Please join us to carry out relevant, rewarding and practical local activities together, here in Tooting.  
    Do get in contact with your ideas.

  • People’s Climate March, London Sept 21 2014

    Why take part in the Climate March?

    With strong arms, one inspired person can achieve a lot!

    By joining Transition Town Tooting, the Tooting Community Garden, and Furzedown Low Carbon Zone, and Transition Wandsworth together all under one banner – we can share the work and achieve even more.


    Why take part…?
    Young people can express themselves, we can all be inspired…
    We can get talking to others by showing off our banner (thanks loads for making it, Alice).


    Today’s march was worthwhile for the sense of connection within a common cause, the conversations, the contacts made.

    And some extra learning? Have longer bamboo poles next time..

    All welcome to join us in Transition Tooting or the Furzedown Low Carbon Zone to get involved with practical community projects on food, growing, energy, air quality, sustainable living and more.
    Together we’re all contributing creativity and some local solutions to the global challenges we all face, whatever group we belong to.

    There’s a good new film: ‘Disruption’, reminding us why climate change is so significant: watch it here online for free.
    And you can hear Naomi Klein (details here) talk about her new book ‘This Changes Everything: Capitalism against the Climate’ on October 6th in central London.

     
    Please join in!

     

  • Thanks for being part of a wonderful Foodival!

    We had a great weekend, then a much-needed couple of days to relish the whole experience. Now, our Foodival wrap-up report is ready – it’s one click away on the Foodival page here

    We hope you enjoy reliving last weekend!

    Thanks to all from the whole team at Transition Town Tooting.
    We can’t wait for the eighth annual Tooting Foodival in Sept 2015!
    We’re very keen to get your feedback on Foodival. Either pop a comment on the blog below, get in touch or fill in our survey here.

  • Foodival Day One

    A great day collecting fruit and veg at Foodival. Hope to see you tomorrow at Samaj Hall.

  • So Much On At Foodival 2014!

    The 2014 Foodival looks set to be the biggest yet. In its seventh incarnation, Foodival now involves a presence at both the BATCA Funday and Foodcycle (both on Saturday 13th) where you can drop off food donations, have your photo taken in our photo booth and maybe be a late entry for Top Tooting Cook.

    On Sunday 14th at Samaj Hall, 26b Tooting High St, the line-up of bands and performers is incredible and we are really grateful for all of their offers to entertain us.  Similarly we are very grateful to the particpating restaurants cooking up your donated produce, the fabulous array of local groups who will be there, not to mention the special input of fanSHEN, Mark Watson and Tooting’s Phantom Knitter.

    Follow these links to head over to the Foodival website for more details.

    We hope to run into you enjoying yourself this weekend in the cultural food village that is Tooting.