St Bridget’s Church Eco-Congregation Green Sheet No. 30
Pat Eccles wonders if anyone can think of a use for
the little draw string net bags that she has collected from her washing
detergent? They are about 5" x 4", and made from white nylon. Perhaps
putting your odd bits of hand soap in and hanging from your shower hook in the
bathroom, would be a good use?
Barbara Christian
has handed me a leaflet from Somerset Farm Direct, 01398 371 387
www.somersetfarmdirect.co.uk. Although obviously she would normally advocate
buying locally, this family run farm is struggling due to the drop in market
value of meat resulting from the foot and mouth outbreak. Barbara would like to
bring your attention especially to their ducks, as we had an article in a past
green sheet concerning the terrible suffering caused to intensively reared
ducks.
From their website: "We are pleased to offer
proper free range chicken by mail order. The birds enjoy a truly free range
lifestyle, with daily access to large areas of grassland, and are kept in small
flocks, improving welfare. The former who is rearing our chickens also raises
our free range duck. Again rearing standards are impeccable and are similar to
those enjoyed by the chickens, except that the duck also have access to ponds,
which come in the form of children's paddling pools! The quality of conditions
in which our chicken and duck are reared is reflected in their texture and
taste - they are quite simply delicious. All our poultry as with our other
produce is delivered fresh ready to be frozen or cooked."
Transition
Towns
From wirralgroups.org.uk/transitionwirral.htm
"In response to these twin pressures of Peak Oil
and Climate Change, some pioneering communities in the UK and Ireland are
taking an inclusive approach to reduce their carbon footprint and increase
their ability to withstand the fundamental shift that will accompany the end of
cheap oil. These communities have become known as 'Transition Towns' - a
transition away from reliance on fossil fuel energy.
What is a Transition Town? A Transition Town
recognises four things:
·
Firstly, that
life with dramatically lower energy consumption is inevitable, and that it is
better to plan for it rather than be taken by surprise.
·
Second, that our
communities currently lack the resilience to handle the severe energy shocks
that peak oil will bring.
·
Third, that we
have to act for ourselves and we have to act now.
·
And lastly, that,
by unleashing the genius of the local community to creatively and
that recognise the limits of our planet
·
Examples of solutions adopted by Transition Towns so
far include localisation of resources, re-skilling
the community and improved cooperation between businesses. Many of these have
been found to have multiple advantages such as saving money and better social cohesion.
However there are no right or wrong answers, rather the community tailors ideas
to suit the local area. Totnes in Devon has been at the forefront of these
developments and you can read more at: www.transitiontowns.org/Totnes/"
Transition Town status for West Kirby has
now been granted
This is to keep you up to date with developments in
the Transition Towns movement on the Wirral:
On 25 October 2007, a steering group met and reviewed
the criteria for Transition Town status set out in the documents sent to us
from Totnes. Most Transition Towns are sized around 10,000 to 20,000 in
population (the Wirral has a population of over 300,000). It was decided that
we should start the Transition Wirral process with an area more manageable
(i.e. West Kirby), and expand from there as we gain more people, skills and
experience. We therefore applied for Transition Town status for West Kirby. See
http://transitiontowns.org/West-Kirby/West-Kirby. West Kirby is currently the
most northerly transition town in the UK and the 24th world-wide. Over the next
12 months a series of events will aim to spread the idea amongst the community
before "a great unleashing" takes place towards the end of 2008. On
22 October a petition was submitted to Wirral Council:
"We the undersigned, being registered electors of
Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council, respectfully request that you fulfil your
statutory duty to make available suitable and sufficient allotments to meet the
needs of the residents of Wirral."
We are waiting for a response, but we do know that two
other petitions on allotments from the Bebington area
were presented to Wirral Council on 29 October - so pressure on the Council is
building.
More details from
http://www.wirralgroups.org.uk/accesstoallotments.httn
The next event is Wed 28th Nov - 7.30pm United
Reformed Church, Meals Drive, West Kirby. Film screening: of The Power of
Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil (53 minutes), and How Totnes in Devon is
pioneering the Transition Town movement (15 minutes).
http://www.wirralgroups.org.uk/transitionwirral.htm
All welcome. Suggested donation £2.For more details
please contact : Patrick Cleary 6325366
If you have items to
contribute to the green sheets please contact Sally on 0151 625 2659.
The
items included in the green sheets are for your information only, but we hope that
you find some of them useful.