Transition Town Tooting

Author: Transition Town Tooting

  • What Might Trashcatching Look Like?

    A few excerpts from June’s Trashcatching Procession at the BATCA Funday

  • The UK Low Carbon Transition Plan Announced!

    Here is Rob Hopkins‘ excellent as ever analysis of The Government’s new UK Low Carbon Transition Plan, announced in the House of Commons by Ed Miliband the day before yesterday. Exciting that there is a (6 out of 10) Plan of sorts breaking down the practicalities of carbon emission reduction. But how half baked that, as Rob says, no mention of Peak Oil – rather like ‘the drunken ex-partner who turns up at the wedding, who everyone tries to ignore, but their being ignored doesn’t mean that they aren’t there’. With the role of community initiatives like Transition Towns being given increasing recognition, the balls are all back in our courts to come up with versions of what Jeremy Leggett has called the ‘scaleable microcosms of hope’. Positive, local examples of projects happening on the ground that make us all see, feel, believe deep workable change could come our way.

    Down Tooting way, Foodival vegetables are positively humming their earthy tunes; Trashcatching for Carnival 2010 is on the road and we say an affectionate cheerio to Sara who has worked tirelessly over the last year and takes up a scholarship to study ecology in Sweden and India over the next year. Cheerio Sara, be back soon, and deepest thanks. LN

  • A Few Interesting Things

    Here’s a free guide to Urban Fruit Harvesting which looks good.

    Here are some showings of climate films at the London Bridge Festival next week.

    And here is a an Earthwatch debate in November called “From Tsunami to Drought” where they are looking for an extra speaker aged 18-30.

    Meanwhile, Giles still needs your pictures of all things growing for the Foodival site and, demanding as he is, he now also wants pledges of what you will bring at harvest time … so please get pledging here !

    And Giles look >>>> these are going crazy! DT

  • Tooting Goes To Town!

    A Tooting team travelled up to town last night to hear the final results for the TippingPoint Commission on the roof terraces of the National Theatre on The South Bank. Out of 178 applications nationally the Trashcatchers’ Carnival in Tooting was one of 4 awards presented by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband, pictured here with (standing on the right of the picture, Lucy Neal, Hilary Jennings, (co-Chairs TTT), Indrajit Patel (Chair of the Tooting Partnership Board/Tooting Business Network), Audrey Helps (Tooting Town Centre Manager), Deb Mullins (Emergency Exit Arts), Faye Mayer (Tooting Community Programme Co-ordinator for Tooting Schools), Fabio Santos (Project Phakama), Ines Tercio (Project Phakama) and to Ines’ immediate Regis Gnaly (Project Phakama). Taking this picture was Mike Grenville who came up from Forest Row to represent the Transition Network, thankyou Mike.

    The award is thrilling. It gives £20,000 to Project Phakama and Emergency Exit Arts to lead a year long project in Tooting to use art, carnival, celebration and the collective ingenuity of all the community to create a large scale promenade on the 2010 summer solstice – from Trash! Using recycling as a metaphor, (and as piloted at June 13th Funday) we can build a vision of a low-energy future for Tooting and have a lot of fun in the process. We will post here soon national news about these prestigious awards, created by TippingPoint to encourage artists to introduce audiences to the imaginative thinking necessary to contemplate and inhabit a world dominated by climate change.
    Yes, that’s us! All would-be sewers, beaders, makers, designers, dancers, musicians, recyclers, cyclers, performers, costumiers, hairdressers, puppeteers and carnivalistas please step forward!
    LN

  • Trashcatching Pics

    Here are a few more photos of the Trashcatching and making at last weekend’s BATCA funday. Thanks to local photographer Neila (neila@hotmail.co.uk) for these.


  • BATCA Midsummer Funday

    This afternoon at the BATCA Midummer Funday, TTT helped Project Phakama, Emergency Exit Arts and a small army of Tooting kids turn TRASH into great CARNIVAL COSTUMES for a’Trashcatchers’ Carnival procession!

    There are grand plans for 2010 but in the meantime here is a selection of photos from today. We should be able to post some film up too shortly.

    Imagine if you saved every bit of rubbish for a year what you could make at the end of it?!!! Hmm now there’s an idea!

  • Send in Your Photos for Plant of the Week!

    As part of the build up to this year’s Tooting Harvest Foodival on Sunday 27th September Giles wants your entries for Tooting’s home growing plant of the week! The Foodival now has its own webpages here. Mail your photos to Giles asap for a chance to win … er … well at least the honour of sharing your home or garden with a Plant of the Week! Some early contenders …


  • Tooting helps pull off National TT Conference!


    Need to pause to take stock of the last few weeks before getting ready for exciting summer of events coming up….. The National Transition Conference held at Battersea Arts Centre 2 weeks ago was a spectacular success.

    Transition initiatives from all over the UK and those from further afield. Our own Sadiq Khan was heard to declare in this interview that ‘Transition has legs’ – that’s good! It was Sadiq with help from local Councillors and Transition team Tooting that were responsible for getting the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Milliband, to make an appearance at the Conference on Friday May 22nd. Milliband duly joined the 350 transitioners present to discuss over 100 issues – from the current state of oil depletion to building resilient local economies to how to run food growing workshops.Listen to his interview with Rob Hopkins and Peter Lipman here.
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    Sounds like he’s pretty interested in the Transition experiment. Team Tooting then pulled out all the stops for the 2 Hour Energy Descent Action plan which with help from a total team of 40 dramatised the ’12 steps’ of transition around the Grand Hall.
    Film coming shortly. There was SO much to learn from others present at the conference about how other communities are managing this extraordinary process of changemaking at grass roots level. It was affirming to read Madeleine Bunting’s views the next day on how the Transition movement is a positive force to be reckoned with looking peak oil and climate change squarely in the eye…
    Tooting’s next steps for a summer of events over the next few weeks are ready to go: the piloting the Trashcatchers’ Carnival at the Midsummer Funday in Tooting on June 13th 12-4.30pm; screenings of Age of Stupid (7pm on June 18th, The Bedford on Balham Hill; June 29th at Springfield Hospital and July 3rd Tooting Graveney School). And hurray we finally have a leaflet to hand around. The Tooting Town Centre manager has also asked us to take care of one of the Town’s noticeboards so people can pick up on what’s happening as they stroll around….Lots going on and elderflowers to be picked for cordial making next weekend as well..

  • Launch of Tooting Harvest Foodival 2009!

    Transition Town Tooting are busy organising this year’s Harvest Foodival taking place on Sunday 27th of September and are looking for all growers great and small to join in.
    The event is a celebration of all things green and growing in the town and restaurants down the high street from Tooting Bec to Broadway stations will be cooking up locally grown fruit and veg on the day so locals can sample the true tastes of Tooting! Along with the cooking will also be a number of walks to venues near the high street where food is already being grown above and around shops with talks on urban growing and the possibilities for broadening Tooting’s food production.
    At the end of the day there’ll be a fantastic finale event including a growers competition with a category for “Fruit or Veg that Most Resembles a Celebrity” – truly a must win event! So we’re encouraging everyone to get growing and be a part of what looks set to be an amazing day that celebrates Tooting’s rich food culture with more than a sprinkling of fun!
    For more details on how to be part of the event or to be emailed updates on what’s happening when and where, please contact Giles Read at giles@cen.org.uk or on 0773 892 8215.

  • Transition Town Meet-up

    TT Tooting members were involved in a successful 21st Century Network Transition Towns meet-up at EnlightenNext in Islington on Wednesday (13th May). Lucy was speaking along with TT Brixton’s Duncan Law and TT Forest Row’s Mike Grenville while David was facilitating. Loads of good ideas appeared in the breakout discussions and I personally was particularly taken with the idea of giving my garden shed a green roof – something like this one perhaps. This group has someone with a good camera taking pics at every event that provide a good record. I think TTT could endeavour to do the same? Any Tooting Annie Liebowitzs or David Baileys out there?