Norfolk Incinerator protest - 29 June

Norfolk County Council is threatening West Norfolk with a mass burn incinerator. Like nuclear waste, it is perfectly safe. It is to be sited 2 miles from King’s Lynn, near farming land and near the Wash, with its shellfish beds. Nobody in West Norfolk wants this – 90% of 65,000 polled said NO INCINERATOR. The campaign against it are King’s Lynn Without Incinerator (KLWIN) and the Farmers’ Campaign. In 2010 there was a 400 strong demonstration outside the Town Hall (from a population of 30,000). When BBC Question Time visited Lynn, the unofficial mention of the incinerator stopped the show!

West Norfolk musicians and poets, a number in DOWNHAM AND VILLAGES IN TRANSITION, got together and made a CD of excellent and pertinent songs and poems about the incinerator. They then launched a Living Room Tour, where they performed in people’s houses and sold the CD, thus raising over £300 for the KLWIN campaign.

On Friday 29^th June at 10.00 a.m. at County Hall, the Planning Committee will decide whether to build the incinerator despite the overwhelming public opposition. A lot of people are going to invade Norwich to protest and we will be singing our Incinerator Hymn! Come and join us!

For background read our "Dash for Ash" story by Andrew Boswell here

Norwich Community Bees Update

With the weather being so poor during April and May, we had to wait a while, but finally the bees started to swarm, and we were able to welcome a new colony into our Norwich Community Bees hive up at the Norwich Farmshare site at Postwick.

Dan, Bee, Suzanne and I recently headed over to the site to see how they were settling in and add some additional frames. It was the first time I'd suited up and got up close and personal with a hive, and I was quite nervous, but as soon as we opened the hive, you could just hear that the bees were getting on fine, and they were really calm while we checked them out and added the frames.

It was a fantastic experience, and I can't wait to go back and see how they're getting on. Watching them flying in and out of the hive and listening to the buzzing is so peaceful, you could quite imagine bringing a deckchair and a nice bottle of wine and making an afternoon of it!

If you're interested in knowing more about Norwich Community Bees, visit our website or drop us a line at norwichcommunitybees@hotmail.co.uk. We'd love to hear from you!

Pic: Jon (l) and Dan (r) adding frames to the hive.

Bee Cause campaign and public meeting - 27 June

Leading gardeners, campaigners and beekeepers speak out for action to tackle bee decline

As part of a campaign to protect the bee, Friends of the Earth is calling on David Cameron to produce a National Bee Action Plan to tackle bee decline. It says that the PM should suspend those pesticides linked with bee deaths, make changes to the way impacts on bee health are assessed and include targets for reducing use of pesticides.

A public meeting calling for action will take place on Wednesday, 27 June at the Assembly House, Theatre Street, Norwich at 7:30pm (doors open 6:30pm). Speakers include Bob Flowerdew, broadcaster, author and President of the Norfolk Organic Group, Paul Metcalf, Easton College and President of Norfolk Beekeepers Association and Linda Laxton, Founder, British Wildflower Plants Co., Norfolk. Chair for the evening is Chris Skinner, Norfolk farmer, BBC broadcaster and conservationist. Bee and honey related stalls will be on site. Admission is free.

Pesticide use rose by 6.5% between 2005 and 2010, increasing the risk to bee populations according to new research released last month by Friends of the Earth. Bees are critical to Britain's food supply and economy, but numbers of some species have fallen dramatically in recent years. Three British bumblebees have become extinct, solitary bees have declined and managed honeybee colonies fell by 53% between 1985 and 2005. Loss of lowland meadows and hedges and the destruction of local wildlife sites have removed vital sources of food and nesting sites for bees.

For more information: email: foenorwich@hotmail.com Tel: 07864 674014

Ancient and modern superfoods - Low Carbon Cookbook - 18 June

Last year the Low Carbon Cookbook contacted Jeremy Bartlett to see if we could curate one of the raised beds at the Grapes Hill Community Garden. Fortunately for the garden, all the beds were snapped up by people in the neighbourhood: from those wanting some more space to grow veg and herbs or keen to try their hand.

Our original plan was to have a showcase for Transition plants that people might not know about: experimental cereals and pulses, perennial plants that flourish in forest gardens, medicinal herbs and edible flowers. We wanted to have an area where everyone could find out about them (with signs), ask questions, touch and taste.

Unfortunately for us there was no space available, but Jeremy has let us have one or two places for some of those plants. We chose three that came under the heading Ancient and Modern Superfoods: two seeds bearers - amaranth and chia from Mexico and one berry bush, goji from the Orient (via Jo Homan's Edible Landscapes London).

We were inspired by our meeting at Jo Balfe's Nectar Cafe where Jo mixes local goji berries into her teas and muesli and chia into muesli and breads. Both the seeds are highly nutritious and make a sticky and fortifying porridge. The goji berries are an ace tonic. All these plants are easy to grow, lovely to look at and delicious to taste - and once planted free to eat too! Check them out.

Low Carbon Cookbook are meeting on 18 June at 7pm. For further info contact Charlotte Du Cann on theseakaleproject@hotmail.co.uk (01502 722419)

Martin Crawford's ace guidebook, How to Grow Perennial Vegetables (Green Books); amaranth seed heads from Erik's garden.

Second Visions for Change meeting - 26 June

The idea behind Visions for Change is that it should be a communication platform between the numerous groups which exist in Norwich and Norfolk that are working for a just and ecologically sustainable world. It should be a space for the exchange of visions for change in this direction. The purpose of this second meeting is to refine the ideas developed so far about the role of the proposed Visions for Change and how to create and maintain it.

Visions for Change will not duplicate the substantive work of active individuals or groups, but will rather promote cross-fertilisation.

Second Visions for Change meeting, Tuesday 26 June, 7-9pm, Playhouse meeting room (enter Playhouse, turn right). Here is the facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/events/345641262176405/

Poster for action taking place on 9-10 June to commemorate The Diggers and reclaim land in Windsor. The group will be walking from Syon Lane Community Allotment in West London. Details can be found on the website http://diggers2012.wordpress.com/ or by emailing diggers2012@yahoo.co.uk

little g film - Lives of Others - 15 June

'Lives of Others' (released 2006, Germany) takes place in 1984 in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). Its topic is the monitoring of the cultural scene of East Berlin by agents of the Stasi (the GDR's secret police). A successful playwriter is spied upon, mainly because the Minister of Culture has taken a liking to the playwriter's girlfriend, a famous actress. The Minister abuses his powers to try to rid himself of a romantic rival. In the course of the actions the actual spy develops a much higher moral standing than his superiors. The revealing of real human being, hidden in the spy who is just doing his duty, is the main theme of this movie. A film with a very positive and powerful message.

The movie starts at 6 pm and lasts just over 2 hours. We will take a short break to give everyone time to grab warm food from the fantastic Norwich FoodCycle group, who serve supper in the Friends Meeting House from 7pm and meet for exchange of thoughts. Donations appreciated. (Luzie Wingen)

http://www.foodcycle.org.uk/norwich.php
norwich@foodcycle.org.uk

Lives of Others will be showing at 6pm at the Friends Meeeting House, Lower Goat Lane. FoodCycle begins at 7pm.

Norwich FarmShare - Midsummer workday - 30 June

Midsummer and the farm is looking beautiful. The summer crops are growing and looking more and more tantalising with every day that goes past. The air is full of birdsong and the bees from the Norwich Community Bees hive are busily buzzing.

Tempting? Come and join us for a fun day on the farm, bring a picnic lunch and get your hands dirty: getting back in touch with the seasons, the land and really understanding where your food comes from is what it's all about.We’ll give you any training and equipment you need on the day, all you need to bring are plenty to drink (it’s thirsty work this farming), something for lunch and good sturdy clothing and footwear.

Getting stuck in to a good day’s planting or weeding alongside like-minded people is one of the best bits of Norwich FarmShare. If you need directions to the site, you’ll find them here.If it’s your first time, don’t be shy, just rock on up and make friends with our farm.

If you’d like more information about the work day feel free to get in touch either by sending us an email or calling on 0845 6805721.

FarmShare Work Day: Saturday 30th June, 11.00 to 15.00. Do join us!

What if…the sea keeps rising? - 13 June

The nationwide ‘Festival of Transition’, coordinated by nef (the new economics foundation) and the Transition Network, has begun, running until 20th June, the first day of the 20th UN Earth Summit in Rio.

From now until June, museums, galleries and public spaces across the country will be hosting debates, talks and workshops asking the question: What if…? Find an event that appeals to you, go along, and get inspired to conduct your own 24 hour experiment on 20th June 2012.

Low-lying East Anglia is particularly susceptible to the effects of climate change. Latest estimates suggest the global sea level could rise one meter by 2100, but even more important than the actual rise in sea level is the possible increase in frequency or severity of storm surges, which combined with sea level rise could result in frequent, devastating floods throughout the region. Is it still possible to avoid this scenario? By taking immediate and decisive action, can we imagine a different future for East Anglia? If not, what is to become of its culture and its people?

Museum of East Anglian Life, Wednesday, 13 June 2012 - 7:00pm - 9:00pm

To reserve a ticket for this event please click here.

For more information on the Festival of Transition please go to www.festivaloftransition.net.

A chance to become a Norwich FarmShare apprentice

We're offering two fantastic chances to join the FarmShare growing team as an apprentice.

The two apprenticeships are voluntary and will last for 6 months, during that time the apprentices will work for 1.5 days a week on the farm (a day of which will be spent with the horticultural mentor), they will participate in a two day communications for community growers workshop, organise a volunteer workday, meet other similar groups from East Anglia and further afield, visit other enterprises, learn the basics of organic production (including protected cropping, crop rotation, weed control, crop/harvest planning, fertility building and more). In addition they will learn more about how community enterprises like Norwich FarmShare work and develop their skills in team-working and volunteer management. Both apprentices will have the option to attend an introduction to permaculture course and to choose a local enterprise they'd like to visit. There's more detail here on the FarmShare website.

It sounds pretty amazing!

If you're interested you can download a more detailed description of the apprenticeships HERE.

Deadline for applications: Monday 25th June
Interview date: Wednesday 4th July (at Postwick)
Start date: Monday 16th July

Northern Distributor Road exhibition - 11 June

On Monday 11 June Norfolk County Council will hold an all day exhibition of its plans for a proposed Norwich Northern Distributor Road (NDR) before submitting a planning application in the autumn.

Norwich Transport Action Group is bringing together community groups to raise public awareness about spending £142 million on a NDR whilst cutting essential services such as public transport and youth work. "Our message is that we want to see a sustainable Norwich".

If you would like to support you can do so by:

• Joining the press photo opportunity - Gather outside the railings by St Peter Mancroft Church opposite The Forum from 11.30am onwards, for a picture at noon. Group representatives are encouraged to bring along a placard showing the name of their group and literature about their group.
• Visit the NDR exhibition any time between 9am and 5pm and fill in a comment form saying what you think about the scheme.
• Spread the word and encourage people to visit the exhibition and make their views known. If you can help leaflet on the 11^th June,
  

Exhibition on Monday 11^th June - 9am to 5pm at The Norwich Forum. For further information please contact Denise on denise.carlo@btinternet.com Tel. Norwich 504563. See also latest blog The End of the Road