Transition Town Tooting

Tag: Participation

  • 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!

  • 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

  • Urban Heat Research Report Published

    Today the Policy Studies Institute publish their research report Urban Heat: Developing the role of community groups in local climate resilience. It’s a readable, accessible and expert report.

    TTT are proud to have been able to contribute to this valuable piece of work, hosting and facilitating community conversations, mainly in 2015, about the increasing risks posed by localised heat in cities – including neighbourhoods like Tooting – in our warming climate.

    Cold weather challenges are much better recognised by most of us, including health and social care professionals, in terms of individuals’ vulnerability. So it was useful to be part of research showing that urban overheating is a significant risk, and we can take action to reduce its impact.

    We commenced the project in a cold spell in winter two years ago, when the priorities seemed very different. It was hard to visualise that later the same summer we would hold a workshop near Tooting Broadway on the hottest day of 2015. Very appropriate!

    Funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the Urban Heat project examined the potential role of the local voluntary and community sector (VCS) in the development of local climate resilience.

    In Tooting the research engaged with over a dozen relevant community organisations with diverse services and areas of focus: health care, social care, low-carbon living, community development. A number of local individuals were interviewed as well. Finally, a group of Wandsworth local authority and statutory organisations also explored the impact of Urban Heat.

    To read our past TTT blog posts about the whole project since its inception, please click here.

    Other partners in the Urban Heat research programme explored the same topic in Hackney and in West London, all co-facilitating alongside the Policy Studies Institute team.

    Finally, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation funded a sister research project at the same time, about ‘Climate Resilient Communities’. This was developed in the context of local flooding in the Scottish Borders, mostly rural, but much of the experience and lessons are relevant to all communities working proactively with practical climate challenges. We’ll share that report when it is published.

  • Pop-up Cinema in Furzedown on Fri 27th January: Naomi Klein’s ‘This Changes Everything’

    Join the Furzedown Low Carbon Zone screening of Naomi Klein’s ‘This Changes Everything’ The film explores the global fight against climate change, the role of capitalism and what citizens can do.
    The film has been described as “purposely unsettling…ultimately encouraging”.
    When? Doors at 7:00 for film at 7:30 on Friday 27th January
    Where? The Furzedown Project, 93 Moyser Road SW16 6SJ
    Tickets cost £5 for waged and £2 for students / unemployed – including wine, soft drinks and our famous popcorn
      
    All welcome!
    Please reserve tickets by emailing us at furzedownlowcarbonzone@gmail.com 
    Your ticket entitles you to a 50% discount on the purchase of low-energy LED light bulbs for use in many parts of the home. 
    We’re making this LED offer available via our bulk purchase, to enable you to start saving money and reduce your home’s carbon footprint.

  • ‘Gardens of Refuge’ project wins 2017 funding from the Aviva Community Fund

    We are thrilled that Gardens of Refuge, the 2017 project working with Tooting refugees and asylum-seekers, has been awarded funding by Aviva. The project application was made by the local charity CARAS (Community Action for Refugees and Asylum-Seekers) and TTT are the partners along with The Grange respite centre in Norfolk.

    Thank you for all your votes and support! 

    Here’s our vision for the Gardens of Refuge project: please click here to read

    This funding award lets us look forward to a fascinating 2017, developing and delivering the new project and building on our learning and experience from our previous project together.  

    We want to do some things that we know work well, and also some new things.

    Plus we’ll invite ideas (and resources) from the many well-wishers who voted for Gardens of Refuge last November.

    A new feature that will add value is the new CARAS Youth Council. This governance group will help provide a voice for project beneficiaries in the youth club.
    We’ll also be working with other members of the CARAS community.

    We all expect to learn and benefit. One of our first reactions, apart from joy at the award and making the project real, is that this award gives profile and visibility to the fact that refugees’ lives matter, and that they have much to contribute in our shared communities.

    We’ll post more information on project plans as they develop.
    Yes, we all worked hard to get to this stage, so it’s great to have the affirmation from the Aviva Fund judges.
    It took us a while to be sure on announcement day: students of communication will be interested that Aviva made the ‘Project Winner’ info available online and by twitter…and it was 24 hours before CARAS received a direct email saying ‘You’ve won!’. By then we’d taken the public messages at face value and trusted that it was all true.

    And there are some extra surprises – such as a reception at Parliament in late January where all the funded projects can meet each other and their constituency MPs.

    We’ve worked since early 2015 with CARAS – that was on the ‘Rooting in Tooting’ project, supported by the Royal Horticultural Society’s ‘Greening Grey Britain’ campaign and by Sir Walter St John’s Educational Charity – more info here. That project brought new volunteers to CARAS & TTT; we’re really delighted with that.

    Thanks again for all your interest and support – 
    this is a very motivating start to the New Year!

  • We had a fun & creative seasonal session ReSparkling, Reducing and Re-using materials that would have gone to waste. And Happy New Year!

    Thanks loads to our partners in Tooting Library for hosting our fifth annual seasonal ReSparkle! workshop on the 17th December.
    Around 40 young people – from four-year olds to teenagers – joined in for two hours, solo or with parents and carers. Everyone learned how to do all kinds of imaginative things that can be repeated or adapted at home using everyday materials saved from going to waste.

    We used simple and practical methods and tools that are good for children and adults to learn how to handle confidently – folding, gluing, cutting-out with scissors, hole punching, stapling, decorating.

    What did we do? (If you look carefully you can see examples of the different things that participants made in the background of many of the pictures…can you work out how to make them?)

    Jane showed how to make angels using the pages of an old book destined for recycling.

    Rachel showed how to make snowmen and other figures from cardboard tubes – so simple!
    Plus, Hilary made cardboard boxes.

    Flora helped make present bags out of the Library’s out-of-date foreign-language newspapers.

    Below: look at the intense concentration when learning to use the hole puncher.  

    how did she keep her hat so straight?

    Jeni showed how to make your own lovely long ribbons – and then we stuck them on her papier- mache saxophone.

    Chuck showed how to make origami envelopes which we filled and labelled with seeds from Tooting Community Garden for planting in the spring. Beans, pumpkin or hollyhock – very different seeds, so all in the same packet.

    Thanks for the hats, Jenny!

    Here’s the giant saxophone. It’s still there in the children’s library, go and have a look.
    It was a very enjoyable session, and thanks to all. There’s lots more you can do at home re-using waste paper and card with familiar household tools.

    Look out for our Transition Town Tooting creative workshops: Happy New Year and see you in 2017!

    some made up their own activities !

  • Reduce, Re-Use, ReSparkle! Free seasonal crafts with Tooting Library on Saturday 17th December

    We’re running our fifth annual free ReSparkle! event at Tooting Library, 75 Mitcham Road, SW17 9PD on Sat 17th, from 2-4pm.

    All welcome, for all ages and all materials provided: the theme is learning how to make decorative and interesting things – perhaps presents for Christmas time – using re-purposed materials that would otherwise go to waste.
    No experience necessary…you can do all the activities, and take home what you make. And teach others at home how you did it!

    The venue is the beautiful Children’s Library on the first floor.
    We’re combining the fun workshop with artist Jeni Walker’s monthly Meet and Make sessions, so we can expect a really varied group.

    Click on the year to see what we made at Resparkle 2015 and Resparkle 2014 – the theme that year was ‘I never knew you could do so much with paper!’

    Here are two highlights, and we look forward to seeing you: