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PS: Join this bee and visit the Community Garden! 11-1 on Sundays; public meeting Monday 8th October at The Selkirk – details in TTT mail
Author: Transition Town Tooting
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I Grew This …
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Together we grow this! A big thank you to all the donors of lovely fruit and veg at today’s Foodival. Don’t miss the cooked up dishes tomorrow at Tooting Market.
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Transition Network Conference 2012
Between the 13th and 17th September, the Transition Network Conference ran on Tooting’s doorstep at Battersea Arts Centre. The network links together more than a thousand Transition Town initiatives worldwide.
Designing a city with the enterprises we want As you would expect it was extremely full – with the different days focusing on different themes from early until late in the evening, and over 250 people coming along from all over the world for the parts of the conference they chose.
For me, the surprises were valuable – for example in one 2-hour period 60 self-selected small groups met for an hour each, having identified common topics of interest on the spot through ‘open space’.
We’ll share some of the details later, and how they can be valuable for our community in Tooting. In-depth reports from the conference are being posted now at http://www.transitionnetwork.org/news/conference-2012
Right now I want to share that four of us offered participants the chance to visit Tooting on the Saturday evening, and experience just a part of the Treasuring Tooting wellbeing walk that we hosted in full in May.
Vitality (at the Lido in the evening sun) With a small group, we visited the Lido, the Community Garden, walked through Tooting to the Broadway accompanied by a live story, and then enjoyed a dosa before getting the group back to Battersea for the evening’s session.
Change (3000 year old worked flint found in the Garden) With an appreciative audience, it was a pleasure to have the time to explore each place and the aspects of wellbeing it represents: we focused on Vitality, Change and Talents.
Using Talents (storytelling en route) More to share soon – and see you at the Foodival! – Charles
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Tooting Foodival Poster and Flyer
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Community Garden
The TTT Community Garden looked a hive of industry when I dropped by this lunchtime. As a result of our intrepid garden volunteers’ efforts lots of lovely-looking vegetables are ripening or already ready to harvest. Here we have potatoes, tomatoes, radishes and even wheat; could a Tooting loaf soon be a possibility?
There should be loads ready for September’s Foodival in only 4 weeks time. What amazing local dishes await us I wonder? Can’t wait.
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Foodival 2012
This year’s Foodival takes place over the weekend of the 22nd & 23rd September. As in previous years we hope all you local gardeners and food growers have been as busy as this bee and will be able to donate any surplus produce you can spare. Local chefs and restaurants will use your hard won local produce to cook up delicious local food. Watch the Foodival site for full details over the coming weeks.
Saturday 22nd – Food collection & Pop-up cookery demo at Mushkil Aasaan 11-4pm
Sunday 23rd – Local food from local restaurants, exciting stalls, live music & competitions at Tooting Market 12-4pm
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Sunday Lunch in 3 steps
Much too hot this weekend for a complex posting from us!
So…
Just in case anyone doubts the pleasure to be found in growing urban food: here’s three easy steps from the ground to the bowl today:
One…lifting These Desiree maincrop potatoes were planted during Treasuring Tooting in May, and this weekend they were calling out to be tested.
Come along the Tooting Foodival on 22 & 23 September to try them!
Two…ready to cook 
Three… add nasturtium: enjoy Plus: all welcome to come and join in at the Community Garden on Sundays 11:00-1:00. It’s behind the large house at 5 North Drive, on the south side of Tooting Common.
Email Adrian at adifalconer@hotmail.com for any more info.
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Sustainable Making and the Arts – on the map!
Following the success of the Trashcatchers’ Carnival in 2010, and a strong arts and making presence at the yearly Foodival and in this year’s Treasuring Tooting wellbeing walk, Tooting is gearing up to discover and acknowledge just how important arts and making is to Tooting’s transition steps.
Smart stands for Sustainable Making and Arts Tooting.We’re a branch group of Transition Town Tooting, and had our first meeting last week.
Mapping making and the arts in Tooting We shared some of our work, and then mapped out what we have happening in the arts in Tooting (which as you can see in the picture is rather a lot), and finished by imagining what we could do in the future and how we might achieve it.We will need to get making for this year’s Foodival which is on the 22nd & 23rd September.Smart are meeting again on the 16th August (venue to be announced), and if you think you would be interested to join us for the Foodival or beyond please drop an email to me: jeniannewalker@yahoo.co.uk– Jeni -
Eight days, six meetings
If good meetings take practice, then in the past week we’ve been rehearsing for a team yellow jersey with six meetings in eight days –sometimes an uphill climb, sometimes a sprint!
There was the last workshop of our sixth series of Carbon Conversations; our monthly TTT co-ordination get together; inaugurating the new ‘SMART’ artists’ group; streamlining our web presence and communications; Community Garden planning; prep for the fifth annual Foodival (22 & 23 Sept).
Our last TTT email out said ‘come and help us plan’…we will share more on the content later (& do come along next time to find out more).
For now, I’m simply sharing some images of people engaging, listening, challenging, laughing, connecting.
Sitting around tables may not sound like a priority when you think of the challenges we’re all facing – but while planning isn’t a goal in its own right, it’s so important to do it as well as we can, and enjoy it together! – Charles
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TTT Community Garden Activity 15th July!
The weather gods were kind and Sunday blessed us with a break in the endless grey skies and rain. Warm, sunny (at least some of the time) and gorgeous blue skies reminded us all what a summer day should be!
Ten of us met at the Community Garden to make the best of the sunshine. It was my first visit to the site and I’m very enthusiastic about the size, scope for doing lots of interesting things and what the group has already achieved in a little over a year. Lots of bodies and hands available so we got plenty done:
- Michael and his friend got busy doing the heavy work to dig a hole to install the pond – if the weather continues it should fill naturally with all the rain!
- Charlotte and Jenny planted seedlings including sprouting broccoli, squash and tomatoes – now all we need is the slugs to hold off and the sun to shine
- Adrian tackled the compost heap – bravely withstanding a flagstone and foot interaction!
- I sowed a few rows of radish, leeks, beetroot, carrots and dwarf beans in the hope we might get a quick catch crop before winter sets in
- We got creative and cut some spare plastic tubing down to enable to us drape netting over the freshly sown seeds while the local pigeons watched with interest
- We discussed sitting down and planning a herb garden in the quiet months over winter and whether we should have a go at growing over winter crops under some form of protection (Rocket, pak choi and komatsuna at christmas? Yes, please)!
Added excitement was provided by the small kitten who had scaled a nearby tree and refused to be tempted down by either the RSPCA or Fire brigade though I’m fairly sure he’s scampered down now and is settled back in a warm and cosy flat.
Then there was a picnic to celebrate the hard work. It was delightful! Astonishing how a little sunshine and working with people who have similar interests can suddenly make you feel so much better about life, the universe and everything. I came home full of energy and tackled some slightly neglected bits of my own small garden.
