Transition Town Tooting

Tag: Outdoors

  • Growing Community across London – Part 2

    Our previous blog post describes Growing Community Part 1 – and to recap in the last week of July our long-planned collaboration between Ravenstone School and Tooting Community Garden offered two interlinked local ‘Growing Community in the Heart of the City’ workshops as part of The Mayor of London’s National Park City Festival

    The common green thread running through both events was celebrating city growing and the outdoors, creating an environment which is good for ourselves, for the community and for nature.

    Blog post Part 1 describes the Ravenstone School event on July 22.
    Here we’re sharing what we did together in the second of the two events, the Tooting Community Garden open day on July 28th.

    The garden team of a dozen volunteers met early (no Sunday lie-ins) to put up signs, hang our TTT bunting, set up activities and then provide a warm welcome and an invitation to join in the day in any way people wished. We wanted to demonstrate that being outdoors together is accessible and enjoyable.

    Over 80 people came along on a Sunday with an on-off forecast for rain. We decided to not put up gazebos, and we were all rewarded with a lovely afternoon.

    The welcome table gave a focus for saying hello and having a chance to talk with visitors who either explored the garden, relaxed or joined one of our fun and practical activity workshops:

    1. Creating vertical wall planters with Paul: sharing environmental, DIY, creativity and urban growing benefits.

    2. Being guided by Sharon to select plants and re-purposed containers to take home – building growing skills and wellbeing.

    3. Joining Jane’s ‘Drawn to Nature’ drawing workshop: enjoying taking time to observe and be present, with wellbeing and drawing practice benefits.

    4. Annie’s creative workshops in the family zone: sharing benefits of creating together in unusual ways across generations or with people new to you and learning fun techniques to take home.

    Feedback from visitors included:
    ‘A lovely place, and lovely people’ ‘A lovely celebration of nature and community spirit’ ‘The day was beautiful, well thought-out and sustainable’ ‘A nice peaceful day and a great community feel’ ‘Loved the community feeling and how positive and welcoming everyone has been’ ‘What a lovely garden, and such friendly people. We’ll be back’

    Our own responses to the day?
    It was very affirming for the Community Garden team to welcome so many people who enjoyed what we offered together. Sundays in the Garden are fun and informal, and it was a good challenge to do something different, facilitating an engaging and outward-looking day.
    Plus, it was our 8th birthday as a garden project since being generously offered use of the land by Naseem Aboobaker.  

    Many volunteers have opened the Garden space on over 400 Sundays. 
    That’s worth celebrating!

    Thanks to all the volunteers: Amanda, Annie, Chuck, Deb, Jane, Kay, Keith, Paul, Ryan, Sharon & Tom. A big shout out to our new friends and qualified first aiders Alice & Charlie who joined us on the day to provide that cover – thankfully they had no cause to leap into action. Kudos to photographer Bryony Williams for images used here (plus more for another time) and to Kay and Chuck for other pictures in this blog.

    Everyone is welcome to join us at the Community Garden every Sunday from 11:00 to 1:00 (sometimes later into the afternoon). No experience necessary and we share any updates or changes on our Tooting Community Garden Facebook and Instagram pages.

    The annual Tooting Foodival – our twelfth! – is TTT’s next big community event! It’s taking place on Saturday 14th September and we hope to see you there – it’s going to be great!

  • Growing Community in the Heart of the City: two linked local events offered as part of The Mayor of London’s National Park City Festival

    ‘Growing Communities in the Heart of the City’ is this weekend in the Tooting Community Garden!
    We’ll be running our free open day on Sunday 28th July from 12:00-4:00 to celebrate the National Park City Festival and also our 8th birthday (we’ve opened the garden on around 400 Sundays!)

     

    What will we be doing on Sunday?

    • Welcoming everyone to come along and enjoy the space – no need to book.
    • Bring a picnic, and we’ll provide activities, green space, shade and plenty of cool water!
    • We’re offering a particular welcome to families with young children or babies – come and have some outdoor time in a safe and welcoming place.
    • We’ll have a range of fun garden-themed activities for families and young children.
    • We’re also offering three timed workshops, just drop in:
      • 12:30 – 1:30, learn about making vertical wall planters so you can garden anywhere with very little space
      • 1:00 – 2:00, learn about selecting and taking care of plants, and choose some to pot up and take home
      • 2:30 – 3:30, be ‘Drawn to Nature’ and join our plant life drawing workshop for adults and teenager
    • Of course you can simply come along and enjoy being in the garden – so do bring a blanket to sit on and a picnic.
    All welcome!
    You can follow Tooting Community Garden on Facebook and Instagram – join us!
     

    We’re celebrating city growing and the outdoors, creating an environment which is good for ourselves, for the community and for nature.

    We also facilitate other community programmes in the Community Garden. 
    For six years we have run outdoor learning with Gatton School and garden and wellbeing activities with the beneficiaries at CARAS the Tooting charity working with asylum-seekers and refugees.  

    We’re proud to be able to offer to share the space with everyone locally and also very grateful to Naseem Aboobaker of Mushkil Aasaan for the free use of her land to create this community garden during these years.


    At the end of July it’s The Mayor of London’s National Park City Festival. The Festival is city-wide and celebrates London becoming the first urban national park in the world, with three objectives: making London greener, healthier and wilder. 

    On July 22 and July 28 we are offering two free events that we have developed along with Ravenstone School. 
    The events are called Growing Community in the Heart of the City…Parts 1 and 2.
    Links to both the events:
    Part 1 is on Monday 22nd July at Ravenstone School. For details please click here. 
    Part 2 is on Sunday 28th July at Tooting Community Garden. Please click here for details. 
    Here’s a thumbnail of the Community Garden poster.
    You can download it by clicking here. The day is also the Garden’s 8th birthday!
    Both these events are going to be participative and fun. 
    At each, you can simply come along and enjoy the atmosphere, or come for some of the timed workshops. No need to book.
    There’s similar but different things happening at each event: you are very welcome to come to both!
    For example in the Ravenstone School workshop on 22nd July, we’ll make wall planters using re-purposed pallets and we’ll show participants how to establish and care for plants you can take home in containers. You can find out about The Wild Place For Nature that’s being created at the school
    At the Community Garden on the 28th July we’ll be making vertical planters using saved-from-waste textile and learning about planting and looking after plants you can take home. 
    Plus: come and be drawn to nature in our outdoor plant life-drawing workshop.
    Of course you can simply chill out in the lovely garden – and we are offering a particular welcome to families with babies or young children who may love to be out in our city oasis.
    The common green thread running through both events is celebrating city growing and the outdoors, creating an environment which is good for ourselves, for the community and for nature.
    Lots more information to come about all the content of both events. Check the links above for outline details and timings.
    Would you like to volunteer? Get in touch and let’s chat!

    Save the dates and we look forward to welcoming you.

  • 30 Days Wild in Wandsworth – get ready to enjoy the local outdoors for the month of June

    30 Days Wild In Wandsworth is aimed at encouraging us all to share enjoying being outdoors in the city during June ’17. 
    Being outdoors is not one size fits all: read a book under a tree, walk to work, make a daisy chain, join in activities like the Park Run or swim at the Lido.

    We’re piggybacking on The Wildlife Trusts’ national ’30 Days Wild’ campaign, a great place to start.
    Go to their site online here to join as an individual or family to receive the 30 Days Wild June Calendar.

    There’s a link here for the beautiful ideas in Random Acts of Wildness. 

    And there’s a free 30 Days Wild app – get it here.

    Two of us are helping frame this month of focus on the outdoors: Chuck from Transition Town Tooting and Rosie from Paradise Co-op.


    We and others will propose things to explore or do, but we’re not running a month of special events. 
    The idea is that the month is self-managed: everyone can share what they enjoy and find valuable, maybe to do with nature, or keeping fit, or gardening, or sports, or contemplation….or all of those and more. Of course there are several weekly events in the Paradise and TTT calendars during June that are perfect for getting outdoors.

    To help share ideas, we’ve set up a facebook group called 30 Days Wild in Wandsworth, and it’s ready for use here, now. 
    Anyone can post ideas, experiences, tips. These can be for all ages, and for all kinds of activities: quiet or loud, active or reflective, social or solo. 
    Do join us on facebook as soon as you like – you don’t have to wait for June.

    So: during June we can all share good ideas and local knowledge that will make this outdoor opportunity come alive in Wandsworth. Please share the crusade and spread it wider with others who may not be online or may miss out.

    It’s very simple: it’s all about enjoying the outdoors. 

  • 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!

  • Snapshots from the CARAS Open Day in Tooting

    TTT is looking forward to our new partnership project with CARAS and the RHS ‘Greening Grey Britain’ campaign (see our 18th Aug post below). To help launch ‘Rooting in Tooting’, we joined in at the CARAS Open Day at All Saints’ Church, Tooting. 
    It was a very welcoming day for the extended CARAS family, where many people knew each other and came to chat in the sun (or find some shade), or play outdoors. 
    We had a brilliant lunch made by The Chickpea Sisters (who’ll be at the Tooting Foodival on Sun 13th Sept). There was music, dancing…& some diverse growing action.

    Chris was flat out sowing seeds and playing with mud:
     

    Chris plus seed sowers
    Making mud seed bombs

     

    Threshing and winnowing wheat grown in the Tooting Community Garden: we took the heads of wheat and did the steps used round the world for thousands of years (and which are still in our language even if we’ve never seen it happen). 
    So, Seamus found helpers for threshing to separate the wheat grains from the heads, and then winnowing the resulting mix to remove the chaff:

    Bashing bags on the ground…
    …or jumping up and down on them
    Then, with the right puff, the chaff blows away
    Flicking up the chaff to catch the wind: experts!

    We also gathered great ideas in several languages for what to consider growing in the project: for food, for health, for beauty, and for nature:

    Thanks to all (of all ages) at the open day for getting so involved! 
    Plus, we’re grateful to Chris and Sophie from the RHS, and to Seamus, Jenny and Chuck from TTT, and all at CARAS. More news as ‘Rooting in Tooting’ develops.

  • Shelter – the theme for our 5th Tooting Field Day

    On Sunday August 2nd we focused on Shelter.  
    Each family Field Day safari has a theme that’s about enjoying the local outdoors, creativity and also low-carbon living. We’ve explored Travel, Water, Nature and more…and had a lot of fun together, and discovered parts of Tooting we didn’t know at all.

    What did we do?
    In the first part of the afternoon we met at Sprout Community Arts and made insect hotels out of re-purposed plastic bottles and cardboard (yes, packaging from Dan’s kitchen furniture). 

    These shelters are designed for ladybirds and lacewing flies – both are welcome predators on aphids. The results were fantastic!  Brilliantly decorated, with ideas zipping around the tables as children and adults thought of new techniques, and showed them off, and copied. Lucky bugs…we made over 3 dozen shelters.

    The second part of the Field Day continued the theme. 
    We walked to Tooting Graveney Common and built shelters and dens from willow branches (kindly donated by Lambeth Council).  Again, the creativity and healthy competitiveness that everyone displayed was inspiring. People also commented how much fun it was to hang out and play in the woods. 

    After a picnic (courtesy of Pooja, Arena and The Collective Dairy) certificates were awarded to the best dens in different categories by our young judges Dominic and Benji.
    At the end we followed the ‘leave no trace principle’, dismantling all the dens (after we’d taken photos to remember them by!).

    But what’s this on Airbnb? 

    One of the bottle shelters may have been left behind!

    It sleeps 16…and has 8 bathrooms…look it up and check out the spec.

    And look out for other Shelter-themed surprises you may find in Furzedown and Tooting – let us know what you spot. Including any sleeping ladybirds

    Thanks very much to all the helpers who prepared and led this wonderful day, and to participants for your energy!

    The last Field Day is on September 13th, part of the Tooting Foodival. There’s going to be a giant pea … all the info is available online here. All welcome, all ages, and it’s free.

  • Sunday Aug 2nd: Make a day of it with the Community Garden and Tooting Field Day

    All welcome to make a FREE day of it together this Sunday – with an outdoor focus:

    Tooting Community Garden will be open to all from 11:00 to 1:00
    There’s lots to do, from sowing autumn crops to sculpting our bramble bushes (there’s going to be a lot of fruit for the Tooting Foodival on 12 & 13 September (click on FOODIVAL in the Quick Links above for info).

    Tooting Field Day starts at Sprout Community Arts at 1:30 and runs until 5:00
    The theme of this month’s Field Day is ‘Shelter’. 
    We’ll start off in Sprout making recycled-bottle insect hotels to take home, in this case specifically for ladybirds and lacewings (both these families of bugs eat lots of garden pests, particularly aphids).

    Then we’ll move outdoors to practice making some family-size ‘human’ shelters out of natural materials. 
    Can’t take these home, but we can imagine….
    All the details here: http://www.fanshen.org.uk/current/tooting-field-days.html

  • Tooting Field Days – Free Family fun – Starting Sunday 19 April

    Tooting Field Days are local safaris based in and around Tooting; a chance to get outside and play, walk or make something. We can’t promise lions and zebras but you might discover something you’ve never seen before, think something new or have a mini adventure!

    Tooting Field Days will happen every month on a Sunday afternoon from April until September. The first Field Day is Sunday 19 April.

    The theme for the April Field Day is “Natural Neighbours.” Make a pine cone bird feeder, discover voices of Tooting past and do scavenger hunts in Streatham Cemetry. Drop in for part of the day or join us for the whole event.

    2pm: Meet at Tooting Library (75 Mitcham Road, SW17 9PD) to make a pine cone bird feeder that you can hang in your garden or balcony to encourage more feathered friends to visit you. Materials provided.

    3pm: Depart Tooting Library to do Tootingwalks 1, a specially-made audio walk packed full of music and the voices of local people, talking about Tooting past and present and Tooting’s love of food. MP3 players and maps provided.

    3.45 – 5.30: Treasure Trails, Scavenger Hunts and honey tasting in Streatham Cemetery (enter through gate on Broadwater Road).

    You can join us for the whole afternoon or drop in for just one section.

    All activities are suitable (and fun) for children and adults.

    Tooting Field Day is a collaboration between Transition Town Tooting and local arts organisation fanSHEN.

    To book a (free) place or for more information, click here

  • It was a Wild Afternoon in Tooting, and worth it

    The games:
    A beautiful sunny Tooting morning…..,
    …..and guess what time the really cold rain started yesterday? 

    Yes, exactly as we started the games. 

    Nevertheless, adults were seen and heard up trees, and a 2-year old was soon playing hug-tag (come next time to find out how to play that game..). That brave family deserves our respect!

    There will be a next time, with the monthly Tooting Field Days starting on Sunday April 19th – we will share all the details soon. 
    Many thanks to Rachel and Dan from fanSHEN Theatre…brrrr.

    The Project Wild Thing film:
    It was great to see this – the film covers many current opportunities and challenges in getting us all outdoors more, through the storyline of our hero having a few months to become ‘Marketing Manager for Nature’. Why? What’s the product? What are young people’s perceptions? Who wants to be involved? Who can advise and help? The result became the ‘Project Wild Thing’ group, with good resources for all here.

    Meeting local groups: 
    A nice extra outcome of the afternoon was meeting Anthony & Kirsty, trustees from The Woodfield Project. The project is restoring a building, and making new relationships, and offering new outdoor-oriented courses right by Tooting Common.
    It’s really valuable for TTT to meet local allies, so we can work together on these important objectives which are good for Tooting people and the whole neighbourhood.

    Courses are being developed with Fabiola from Groundwork London.
    She gave us a hand-made poster of some of the local events being offered in April and May.

    We’ll put it up at the Community Garden, Fabiola. Really great topics, and we’ll keep in close touch and promote these events.
    For more detailed information, contact her here. 

    Thanks again to the supporters for this event: The Wandsworth Council Eco-Fund, Mushkil Aasaan, and the Friends of Streatham Cemetery.

  • WHY A Wild Afternoon in Tooting? Part 3

    We’ve had two posts about WHY? we’re offering this urban ‘Wild Afternoon’ on Sunday (details in Events Calendar opposite).
    The first post was about making the commitment to get outside more – and enjoying the benefits of chance discovery here in Tooting. 
    The second post looked at some of the ways young people can take part in the outdoors – including examples of structured programmes.This post looks at connecting the outdoors to health & wellbeing.

    We’ll see the Project Wild Thing film on Sunday at 4pm. Another of their projects is developing information for maternity units, to help staff and mothers explore the value of being outdoors from week one: 

    Looking at all age groups, there’s a well-researched family of actions to promote wellbeing.  The ‘Five Ways to Wellbeing’ is a practical shortlist: Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning and Give. 
    These activities are simple things we can do in our everyday lives.
    The ‘5 Ways..’ were developed from evidence gathered in the UK government’s Foresight Project on Mental Capital and Wellbeing and published in 2008 by the New Economics Foundation.

    For example: In the second WHY? blog post we saw the young people from The Challenge group connecting with nature in a way that was new to them as they dug for potatoes; they were certainly being active, taking notice, and inquisitive about flowers and seed sowing. Yes they were learning and giving. Actions to benefit our wellbeing are simple and accessible, and outdoor opportunities are all around us.

    Here’s a great example from the National Wildflower Centre which summarises the ‘5 Ways’ as outdoor actions, and on a ‘loyalty card’:

     
    Brilliant, I wish I’d thought of this!
    It’s very neat method for reinforcing these positive actions. It makes me want to borrow this idea for the outdoor learning activities we do with Gatton School…there’s a lot to explore on just one small card.

    Come along on Sunday 22nd for a top-up of your natural 5-a-day.

    Finally: the Project Wild Thing film talks about how to ‘present’ nature to people who have lost the habit or fluency of getting into the outdoors. 
    Does nature need a local marketing campaign?
    TTT, fanSHEN Theatre, the Tooting Community Garden, the Friends of Streatham Cemetery and other partners will all help with that locally. Please join us. – Charles