Category Archives: News

Supporting local wind applications

Posted on May 11, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Friends of the Earth is undertaking a wind power application workshop on the 26th May. This is what they say:

Come to our training day to find out more about “Wind Application”, meet the experts and make connections. Let us tell you why it is important to support Wind Farms and highlight their benefits, putting any doubts at rest.
A wind packed day divided into two sessions, the morning sessions give you an insight into Wind Application and how to support your local project and how to get support, advice and resources. The afternoon session offers a range of workshops on how to communicate the message cross”.
More info & programme can be found here: http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/event_background_documents/wind_training.pdf.
All is welcome. To book your free place, please just email tom.wright AT foe.co.uk

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Caroline Lucas visits the Courtyard Café

Posted on April 3, 2012 by | Leave a comment

20120430-131046.jpg

Peter Bloomfield represented the Grow Your Own Food group when Caroline Lucas, Green MP, visited the Courtyard Cafe on Wednesday 28th March. It was made quite clear that we are a non-political group working in partnership with the cafe to show how much can be grown in a small space and how fresh food doesn’t have to travel half way around the world to get to our plates. Caroline, the local Green councillor (Simon Grover), council candidates in the forthcoming election, and local reporters were amazed when they were told that this small garden produced beetroot, celery, tomatoes, broad and French beans, garlic, shallots, leeks, salads, rocket, carrots, spinach and herbs throughout the seasons. It was stressed that the 4m x 3m patch aimed to demonstrate just what can be achieved in an average ‘back garden’, and how this can help address the challenges of Peak Oil and Climate Change by reducing food miles and pollution from transport. Watch the local press!

Photo credit: St Albans and Harpenden Review

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Posted in Awareness raising, Climate change, Community, Food, News

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Working Together to Create a Compelling Future for Transition St Albans

Posted on April 3, 2012 by | Leave a comment

At the open meeting on the 21st March, we discussed “Working Together to Create a Compelling Future for Transition St Albans”. Many thanks are due to Jeff Lewis, who lead us through an interesting and enjoyable coaching session, giving each of us a chance to work through a problem or challenge relevant to TSA.

The coaching model Jeff used showed us how to reframe the challenge into a positive outcome and then imagine a future where the outcome has been achieved. Looking back to today, we imagined the benefits we had achieved, the resources we had used, the obstacles we’d met and how we had overcome them. This allowed us to identify the next steps we needed to take to solve our challenges.

If you weren’t able to come, please do still email Jeff your answers to the worksheet circulated before the meeting. (He will combine our answers to create a collective and anonymous assessment.)

If you were there: please email your feedback to Jeff (1. This is my outcome …. 2. I will achieve this by …. 3. These are the resources I need … 4. This is the first step I am taking ….)

Jeff can be contacted on jeff.lewis@jefflewispartnership.co.uk .

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Posted in News

Green Christmas, Everyone!

Posted on December 9, 2011 by | 1 Comment

Back in December 2010, many of you came along to our “How to Green Your Christmas” Open Meeting event, facilitated by Catherine.

At the meeting, we collected your ideas for how we can make Christmas a little more sustainable, how we can buy a little less, waste a little less, and Catherine kindly compiled them all into a nice Green Christmas Guide.

There is no Open Meeting this month, because it fell too close to Christmas. See you all in 2012; our first open meeting is on Weds, 18th January.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from everyone at TSA!

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Posted in Consumption, News

The African Climate Connection

Posted on November 15, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Local members of Friends of the Earth, the Oxfam Campaigns Group, and World Development Movement are organising an informal evening of short films, friendly discussion, and African-inspired refreshments on the eve of the next round of UN Climate Talks, this year in Durban, South Africa.

The evening will be a chance to learn more about the issues around climate change, in particular about its effect on the developing world, and an opportunity to put your concerns on climate change to local politicians.

Everyone is welcome!

Tuesday 29th November 2011, 8pm at Fleetville Community Centre on Royal Road, off Hatfield Road, AL1 4LQ (opposite the Morrisons supermarket car park entrance) [map].

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Posted in Climate change, News

Vote to support the Watercress Wildlife Association!

Posted on October 6, 2011 by | Leave a comment

The Watercress Wildlife Association, a local nature reserve in Sopwell in St Albans, has entered the 2011 NatWest Community Force Award competition.

NatWest CommunityForce is an initiative which sees NatWest working with local communities to support the people, projects and charities who are making a real difference where they live.

Communities are important to all of us. At the heart of each and every one you’ll find great people doing great things to make them better places.

Up to £6000 is available for individual projects with awards dependent on the demonstration of support from the community for each project.

You can vote for the Watercress Wildlife Association here. You have to register to vote but it only takes a minute.  Voting closes midday on 24th October.

If you can, please also ask your friends, family and colleagues as every vote counts!

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Posted in Community, Environment, News

‘Down with energy bills’ – Meeting Report

Posted on September 26, 2011 by | Leave a comment

We were swamped (pleasantly I hasten to add) with ideas by everyone present at our Energy meeting this week on Wednesday 21st September. The topic was Open Energy Houses (known also as Eco Open Houses) and the meeting started with the following questions:

  • What would you like to learn about energy in the home?
  • What would you expect to find out when you visit a house?
  • In what form would you like this information?

Three groups were formed and a brainstorming session began. There was then a talk by Andrew Allen on his experience of Brighton Eco Open Houses 2011. A great deal of ideas were generated which have all been recorded and will contribute to a follow up session at the next Energy meeting on the 17th October.

If you did not attend this meeting or for those present who would like a recap on the issues raised in the presentation on Brighton, a copy can be downloaded here: TSA Open House Brighton Talk (PDF – 6.9MB).

Results from the brainstorming session will follow. If you would like to know more about this exiting new project, email energy at transitionstalbans.org or for further information on what we are trying to achieve at Transition St Albans go to the contacts page or tap on this link http://transitionstalbans.org/contact/.

We look forward to seeing you at the next Open Energy Meeting or at Green Drinks if you can make it. See events for more information or tap on this link http://transitionstalbans.org/events/.

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Posted in Community, Energy, Environment, News

Down with Energy Bills!

Posted on September 20, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Come and help Transition St Albans shape the future of our exciting new energy project at our Open Meeting on Weds 20th September.

Our Home Energy Group intend to launch an Open Energy Houses project next year and are seeking your ideas to help put this project together.

We are planning a friendly and sociable evening, so do come along.

As usual, we meet at 7.30pm in Fleetville Community Centre on Royal Road, off Hatfield Road, near Morrisons [map].

Everybody welcome!

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Posted in Energy, News

Transition St Albans is now on Facebook too!

Posted on June 16, 2011 by | 1 Comment

Thanks to Catherine we now have a page on Facebook too.

Everybody can view our page, even if you are not on Facebook. So please do go and have a look.

If you have a Facebook account, then you can do more: comment on individual posts or simply click “Like” if a post resonates with you, or write something new on our “wall” to let others know. And if you “Like” our page then our posts will automatically show up in the News Feed on your Facebook Home page, making it easy for you to keep up to date with what is happening in Transition St Albans.

Alternatively, you can access our Facebook page, or any of our other internet presences, on Twitter and YouTube, by clicking on the small logo for each, located at the top of the sidebar on the right.

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Posted in News

Sharing seedlings and food growing experience

Posted on May 23, 2011 by | Leave a comment

At our Open Meeting on Weds 18th May, members of the Home Grown Food Group organised the sharing of seedlings.

As you can see on the photo (click for a larger version), there was an abundance of young plants & seedlings available, including: tomatoes, lettuce, courgettes, celery and celery leaf, globe artichokes, runner beans, sea kale, broccoli, watercress, melons and various herbs.

Many came and took some plants away. And if you wanted to experiment with growing something new, written information on care and harvesting was provided.

The evening also included a mini “Gardener’s Question Time“, a question and answer session where growers shared their experience and knowledge.

 The panel of experts consisted of Nadine G, Heather, June and Sandy, with the session skilfully moderated by Romayne.

There are some more pictures of the evening here.

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Posted in Food, News