Dulwich Going Greener

[berryberry]

thanks andy, I appreciate the response. I'll just assume someone was having a bad day and look forward to joining you all at some point.

[Eileen]

Hi - just want to make a link between Dulwich Going Greener with what some of us are doing in Peckham. Through the Peckham Town Centre Forum, we have been linking up community initiatives which can contribute to sustainability (ie going greener). To join the mailing list for this please email [email protected] mentioning the Town Centre Forum mailing list.

A major thing to focus on for us is the development of the Peckham & Nunhead Area Action Plan (PNAAP). We have been working with the planning policy officer and as a result the Council has arranged two events this month in the Bussey building, 133 Rye Lane that are very relevant to this:

Saturday 27th November 12.30pm to 3.30pm and

Tuesday 30th November 6.00pm to 9.00pm

The session is being repeated to maximise chances of attending. They will be informal sessions. People may come for part of the time if they wish. There will be displays and information on the key emerging preferred options for the PNAAP. This is a great chance to become informed enough to make useful comments and including how we can make Peckham and Nunhead sustainable over the next few decades. Hope everyone who is interested in either going greener or in Peckham town centre or both can come to one of the sessions.

[louisiana]

Hey, Eileen, thanks for linking up :)

(There's often too much of the one group not knowing what other groups are up to > linking up good.)

Do you have (informal?) links with Transition Peckham, by the way? Just trying to understand the lie of the land...

(Hmm, I think Admin might end up moving all this to the Lounge. Please forgive, Admin: we'll get back onto Dulwich straight away, promise.)

[Eileen]

louisiana Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Hey, Eileen, thanks for linking up :)

> (There's often too much of the one group not

> knowing what other groups are up to > linking up

> good.)

> Do you have (informal?) links with Transition

> Peckham, by the way? Just trying to understand the

> lie of the land...

Yes the PTC Forum links and covers all groups and individuals with a contribution to sustainability.

>

> (Hmm, I think Admin might end up moving all this

> to the Lounge. Please forgive, Admin: we'll get

> back onto Dulwich straight away, promise.)

Because of this I will reply further by Private Message (PM). If anyone else wants more info please check out Peckham Town Centre Forum and the info about its meetings or PM me for more info.

[louisiana]

dv1 Wrote:

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> And whilst India, China and USA don't give a

> monkeys about anything green, do you honestly

> think that Dulwich library using low energy light

> bulbs and you all separating your plastic bottles

> is anywhere even approaching a p**s in the ocean -

> not even close.

I agree that India, China and the USA have a long way to go. As we do. We use far, far more energy per capita than China or India, and the USA likewise uses a lot, lot more than we do.

And you're absolutely right, low energy light bulbs are not going to save the world. But it really isn't all about light bulbs. (Last year I did my windows, and this year I've done underfloor insulation to stem heat loss - so all floorboards up! messy! - which I'm expecting to impact significantly on my heating bills, to the tune of a couple of hundred pounds a year. Energy for heating is a biggie for most of us. And as energy gets more expensive - check out British Gas announcement this week :( - we feel that in our pockets.)

Forgive me for being naive, but I don't think what others are doing/not doing is a reason for giving up (or not trying) on serious efforts to achieve something. We can lead by example as well as applying pressure. But I don't think we're going to convince any other country to change its ways unless we make some move in that direction too. Carrots and examples and best practice tend to be more convincing than sticks and the 'do what we say, not what we do' model.

Anyway dv1, I'm really glad you're engaging in the debate. It's a debate we need to have. So good on you. (tu)

[blackmamba]

Louisiana & Andy Bod,good on you both for spearheading this initiative. Any new movement/ideas will always attract their fair share of critics and sceptics so in the interest of balance I wanted to say (tu)(tu), seeing as dv1 has got both (critic & sceptic) areas covered. Not quite sure what the dv1 message is other than individual actions don't make any difference whatsoever and those who are bothered should really just go and find another "hobby".

Good thing Michael Foot didn't let those that hounded him over his plans to form CND deter him, even though his support of the movement put him at odds with the Labour leadership and caused bitter division within the party. Same could be said about Peter Benson and where would The Soil Association be if Lady Eve Balfour had been moved by critics. By the way thought you may be interested in the following link to one of SA's first studies that was based round the corner from ED http://www.thephf.org/

[dv1]

Louisana - thank you for your comments - I wasn't trying to be a 'troll', just putting another (albeit unpopular) point of view across. Thank you for seeing it that way. I agree someone has to start somewhere. Just think it should be a country, not a group of individuals.

[ImpetuousVrouw]

Each country is a group of individuals.

[berryberry]

long journeys must start with the first few steps dv1

[dv1]

Nothing more for me to say. Enjoy your hobby. :))

[louisiana]

New year, new green things....

Green Drinks is kicking off in ED next week, on Wednesday eve, at the Mag.

More details here:

http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?6,607233

I'm just trying to get a January newsletter out, but work has been getting in the way :-/... Should be out tomorrow. If you'd like to sign up for regular Dulwich Going Greener newsletter (no more than one email per month), do drop me a line (EDF PM is fine) and I can add you to our circulation list.

Lou

[louisiana]

I went along to a workshop this week, organised by the Soil Association and Sustain, about group buying, co-ops, community supported agriculture etc. A brief report-back follows:

1. Both Sustain (sustainweb.org) and the Soil Association, who co-organised the event, are offering free advice to any local groups wanting to get co-op, buying, CSA etc. schemes off the ground.

2. Sustain produces an extensive Toolkit (online and also in book form) full of practical advice, template agreements and so on.

http://www.sustainweb.org/foodcoopstoolkit/

3. A fair few schemes already getting off the ground around London. In particular, Crouch End TT and Belsize TT, who are already working with farms to the north of London. Hackney has been going for a long time.

4. We heard from several small farmers supplying veg to London (east, north) who talked about how they worked, and advantages of working directly e.g. veg is picked to order so fresher. Some growers do not supply full range of veg owing to local soil/microclimate or financials. Note that distance to delivery is not such a big issue for them - it's of more concern to have a fully loaded vehicle and have the deliveries clustered together.

5. For anyone interested in dry goods/non-veg group buying, Infinity is probably the most flexible of the three majors (Suma, Community Foods, Infinity), as they don't mind working with non-legally constituted groups. Good reports about them from various people.

6. There are 'veg box people' and 'non-veg box people' (i.e. people whose lifestyles/work patterns don't fit a box scheme).

Veg box schemes need education/information e.g. recipes, ideas for what to do with different veg, owing to people today not being familiar with a wide range of veg. Non-veg box people maybe need something else B)

7. In the future we'll probably see a network of community food 'hubs in the city', each working with (probably) several farms, and providing information about food and other services; and each participating farm supplying a number of different hubs.

I made some good local contacts too, so a really worthwhile event all around. And the food was terrific!!

[Alec John Moore]

Sounds great. What's the next step? A pub(lic) meeting, perhaps. Alec

[louisiana]

Alec, we've got our second Green Drinks in Dulwich scheduled for Wed 23 Feb from 8pm. Perhaps if anyone interested in discussing these issues could come along to that.... What do you think? Green Drinks doesn't have any format, it's whatever people want to talk about.

There were lots of other points that came up in the workshop.

For example, what you grow/buy/sell is going to be highly influenced by what's already on offer, and you shouldn't be aiming to compete with existing businesses. So if a wholefood shop is already selling certain kinds of stuff in your urban area, what you sell could be quite different to a co-op set up in a rural area without those sorts of local outlets.

[DulwichGreener]

Dulwich Going Greener has got its hands on the new film The Economics of Happiness, and we're looking at dates for a local screening. We're currently doing the film screenings upstairs at the Crown and Greyhound in the Village, but if you know of a better venue (projector, seating, alcohol licence...and not financially prohibitive) do let us know.

I've just posted forthcoming Green Drinks dates to the Events section on EDF: it's always going to be last Wednesday of the month from 8pm (that's next Wednesday!), downstairs at The Mag. I know several people mentioned wanting to discuss local food initiatives, so do please come along to chat about this or other green-y stuff. Who knows - it might result in completely new and exciting projects.

And there's another Give & Take event happening in the Park on Sat 5 March. I'll post full details to Events shortly, but if you've got portable stuff that others may find useful, please do consider bringing it along to the Francis Peek Centre on the 5th.

[DulwichGreener]

Our next green film will be The Economics of Happiness, which is being screened tomorrow Thursday 8pm at the Crown & Greyhound.

Full details in the Events section:

http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?6,632149

Christine of Herne Hill, who recently ran an EcoTeam on Lovelace Road, will be there, and is happy to answer questions about practicalities of running an EcoTeam.

More info about EcoTeams: http://ecoteams.org.uk/

so do come along if you'd like to chat about that with her.

Thanks to everyone who took part in the Give and Take on Saturday. Huge amounts of stuff recycled, mostly locally.

More info on the Give & Take thread:

http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?6,623693

For anyone who has signed up for Dulwich Going Greener newsletter: we yesterday changed over to a new email distribution system (Mailchimp), and we may have some teething problems. A newsletter should have landed in your inbox yesterday afternoon. If it hasn't, please check your spam folder. If you still can't find it, please contact me by PM or email and let me know. I'm trying to get to the bottom of any problems, and all information (whether you've received it or not, whether it ended up in your spam folder) is really useful.

And if you'd like to sign up for the newsletter, please email [email protected]

PS The Dulwich Festival and Dulwich Going Greener are co-organising: George Monbiot at the Michael Croft Theatre, Alleyn's School, on Friday 13 May, as part of the Festival. Tickets should be going on sale in April via the Festival website. If you are a film-maker/student and would like to get involved in filming a short Q&A with George, please get in touch: [email protected]

[DulwichGreener]

Thinking about starting off some summer veg seedlings?

Got some questions?

Got some wisdom to pass on?

Why not come along to Green Drinks tonight, Thursday, from 8pm, at the Mag. Full details in Events section.

http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?6,621693,621693#msg-621693

[DulwichGreener]

The latest Dulwich Going Greener email newsletter is just out. If you'd like to join the mailing list, please drop us a line at [email protected]

Highlights this edition include:

- George Monbiot comes to Dulwich (13 May)

- Dulwich Village road closure and fun/pram races (15 May)

We're also running Green Drinks as usual, which is tomorrow Wednesday, but at a new venue, Green and Blue. Check out Events section for full info.

http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?6,659354

[dv1]

>

> Highlights this edition include:

>

> - George Monbiot comes to Dulwich (13 May)

>

> - Dulwich Village road closure and fun/pram races

> (15 May)

Oh good grief. Dulwich Village road closure? Good luck with that.

[DulwichGreener]

dv1 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> >

> > Highlights this edition include:

> >

> > - George Monbiot comes to Dulwich (13 May)

> >

> > - Dulwich Village road closure and fun/pram

> races

> > (15 May)

>

> Oh good grief. Dulwich Village road closure?

> Good luck with that.

Don't worry, dv1. It's all been consulted on in local roads, Southwark-processed, risk assessed, and all the rest over a period of months.

Lots of people are very much looking forward to having no traffic through the Village for just a few hours on a Sunday, as part of the Festival, with lots of fun activities for both adults and children.

[dv1]

..but what am I supposed to do if I want to use one of my cars and happen to live in Dulwich Village?

[DulwichGreener]

dv1 Wrote:

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> ..but what am I supposed to do if I want to use

> one of my cars and happen to live in Dulwich

> Village?

Most of the village - as in all the roads that are not Dulwich Village main drag between the lights and the mini-roundabout - is open to traffic as normal.

There are only a few residences actually on this stretch - it's mostly shops, the pub, the bank which will be closed, etc. All of those residents have been individually consulted in person in recent months, door to door, and are either greatly in favour of it, or are neutral (don't mind); and residents in nearby roads have been consulted in person too. So if you didn't know about the event until now, I'm kind of assuming you don't live on that stretch or nearby, as the door-to-door consultation with residents ran over several weeks with many hundreds of householders and they are aware of what is happening.

All side roads will have access away from Dulwich Village as normal.

The closure will only be for a few hours. Any residents of DV needing to get their vehicles in or out during those few hours can move their car out of the closure zone beforehand, or park nearby when they return.

In terms of the local businesses affected, a number of the businesses in the relevant stretch are sponsoring the event and all are very pleased it is happening.

Transport: the P4 bus will make a short diversion from the mini-roundabout for those few hours. TfL and Southwark Council are very much on board with this event.

I hope that answers your question.