BCP Climate Emergency – Your ideas welcome

Back in July, BCP Council declared a climate emergency (see our response). It was a great milestone. However, actions are more meaningful than words – and we’ve lots of past experience of our local government talking the talk but not walking the walk.

BCP have now created a survey to “…to hear your ideas to cut carbon, reduce energy, avoid pollution and minimise waste.”

Here’s an opportunity for us to say what we’d like to happen now. Please use this opportunity and spread the word!

Go to https://www.bournemouth.gov.uk/environment-and-sustainability/climate-emergency-your-ideas-welcome.aspx NEW LIBK

Bournemouth Acts on Climate Crisis

Transition Bournemouth welcomes BCP Council’s decision to declare a Climate Emergency.

It was only a matter of time before our newly formed Council joined hundreds of others up and down the country in declaring a Climate Emergency. We would like to thank the perseverance of the local people especially those from Extinction Rebellion and the young people on the climate strikes who have campaigned for this and our brave new Councillors of the Unity Alliance for taking this seriously and acting upon it.

Transition Bournemouth has long been mindful of our changing climate and the devastating consequences to our ecosystems, our human health and our crop yields if the planet keeps warming. The IPCC report from last October stated that limiting warming to 1.5˚C requires major and immediate transformation and we are pleased that BCP Council has set a target date of 2030 to be carbon neutral which is more ambitious than the UK government’s date of 2050.

This isn’t a time for business as usual and we all need to play a part in halting the climate crisis. Fortunately the Council have also agreed to a Citizens Assembly that will allow local residents from across all sectors of the community to have their voice heard and help shape future decisions that protect our environment for generations to come.

Transition Bournemouth is keen to be involved in helping to reach these targets. Our projects already demonstrate our commitment to living a lighter life, being locally resilient and reducing our impact on the planet, and we do so with energy, support and fun.  If you would like to join us visit www.transitionbournemouth.org.uk where you can find out about our regular meetings, social events, community growing, Repair Café and carbon counting project.  Maybe you have your own ideas for how we can reach net zero by 2030, come and share your passion with us and together we can act now to make a difference.

Celebrate Bournemouth’s Green Successes!

Every year Transition Bournemouth has a review of what we’ve been up to with our various projects, each of which aims to promote sustainability to Bournemouth residents and helps make our community stronger and more resilient.

Monthly gathering

This year our celebration will be on Wednesday 20th March, at the Poole Hill Brewery at the top of the Triangle in Bournemouth. We’ll be meeting from 7pm. Please do join us!

This is a relaxed and friendly gathering where we will look back over our achievements of the last year and make plans for the next. At the meeting, the existing trustees/officers will retire, and new ones must be appointed/re-appointed. After the necessary “formal” bit of the meeting is done we will head upstairs to the pub for a drink or two to celebrate another successful year!

Avonbourne Trust – Earth Charter Awards 2018

On Friday 6th July Avonbourne Trust held its annual Earth Charter Awards, at the Green House Hotel in Bournemouth. The Earth Charter is an international declaration of fundamental principles for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society and these align with the Transition values of respecting resources, creating resilience and promoting inclusivity and social justice.

The awards ceremony is the culmination of a process in which Avonbourne and Harewood College students were asked to nominate, judge and award local businesses and organisations that go above and beyond in instilling green principles and human values.

This year’s winners were:

Transition Bournemouth – Award for most environmentally friendly ethos
Bournemouth University – Award for engagement in sustainability
LV= – Award for respecting and valuing employees
Rotary Club of Bournemouth (East Cliff) – Award for best community footprint
Lush – Award for considerate management of waste and recycling
Bournemouth Centre for Voluntary Service – Award for enabling equal opportunities

Angela and Kim collected the award for “Most Environmentally Friendly Ethos” on behalf of Transition Bournemouth at a special ceremony. Avonbourne students were there to reveal the winners and hand out the prizes.

Thank you to all the students who nominated and voted for Transition Bournemouth and to the Avonbourne Trust for your continued work with The Earth Charter to encourage students to care for our local community and our planet.

Repair Cafe wins funding at Bournemouth Soup!

We are delighted and very grateful to have received the winning vote at Bournemouth Soup ‘s crowdfunding event last night (1st May), and are excited about what this means for how we are able to grow and develop Bournemouth Repair Cafe this year. We were presenting our pitch alongside 3 other very deserving local projects. Do check out Bournemouth Soup’s FB page for more info and future dates.

As for us, one of the first things on the agenda is definitely recruiting more volunteers, because without our brilliant volunteers, none of this is possible. Watch this space for details of recruitment evenings coming soon, or just directly drop us a line if you’re interested in finding out more, or signing up 🙂

Transitioning to… a Better Way of Travelling.

One of the fundamental principles of the Transition movement is to respect resources and reduce reliance on fossil fuels and I wanted to see how I could incorporate this more into my daily life. So a year ago I made the bold step to sell my car (and not replace it!) to make a concerted effort to travel more sustainably.

I’ve always cycled and regularly enjoyed getting out and about by bike. Bournemouth has some great corridors for cycling away from traffic (think Bournemouth Gardens, the Stour Valley, and not forgetting the seven miles of coastal promenade). However, my cycling was very much of a fair-weather variety. It was very convenient with a car parked outside my front door, and for me at least this was a huge barrier to choosing the bike over the car as my primary mode of transport. Even though I logically knew the advantages of cycling vs driving; better for my health, cheaper to run, less CO₂ emissions, better for the planet, it was often the car that won out.

The excuses I would come up with were endless. ‘I’ll go by car. It looks like it might rain.’ ‘I can’t go by bike. I need to pick up some shopping on the way home.’ ‘I’m running late. It will be quicker by car.’ ‘It’s too hot today for the bike.’ ‘It’s too cold today for the bike.’ ‘I’ve got too much to carry.’ ‘It’s dark’.

If you’ve ever had to make the choice between a car and a bike then I’m sure you’ll recognise my predicament. However, once I removed the car I found solutions instead of excuses. Rain – I bought some waterproofs. Shopping – it’s easier to park at the shops on a bike. Late – most of my journeys by bike take the same time or are indeed quicker, particularly at rush hour. Hot – Go a bit slower and wear sun protection. Cold – Layer up, pedal fast and you don’t feel the chill. Carrying stuff  – Panniers are a life saver, how did I live without them for so long!? Dark – A good set of lights and reflective clothing work a treat, and I’ve actually discovered that I enjoy cycling more at night as there are far fewer cars on the road and there is a real sense of freedom as I navigate I way home by the light of the moon.

Stargazing at night is just one of the pleasures I’ve enjoyed. I’ve also delighted in the change of seasons. I notice things more on a bike. I feel connected to the natural world in a way you never possibly can in a car. I spied animals at close quarters, buzzards, foxes, pheasants and rabbits. I noticed the scent in the air when blossom appeared. I felt the breeze on my skin, the warmth of the sun, and observed leaves from the trees gently falling around me.

There were a few occasions when a bike just didn’t fit the bill, and I would take the bus, or use the train for journeys further afield. I also joined the Co-Wheels car club, a social enterprise membership scheme, where you can borrow a car for anything from an hour to a week. This was really helpful for getting to more rural parts of Dorset. Car sharing is far more sustainable as it reduces the amount of cars on the road, most of which are left standing for 95% of the time. Public transport is also more environmentally friendly as it alleviates congestion and improves air quality.

Getting through the winter months was challenging, although the times I did travel by car it felt very claustrophobic and I became frustrated like the other angry drivers, having to sit in traffic jams and wait in queues that I could easily nip past on a bike. Journeys by bicycle are by far more relaxing and I’ve also enjoyed cycling holidays and even tried out an electric bike.

Over the past year I’ve travelled well over 1700 miles on my bike. I’ve reduced my CO₂ emissions by around a tonne, which is more than 10% of my total annual carbon footprint. I’ve also saved well over £2000 on the cost of running a car, which is a real financial incentive for keeping it up. I feel much healthier and far more alive, and as the snow melts away and Spring finally begins to arrive I’m truly glad to be on my bike.

Angela Fendley
Count On Me project coordinator

Seasonal Food recipes: Early Spring

We had a lot of interest in our handouts of recipes for both wild and tame food that can be made from things found growing in March, at Cherry Tree Nursery’s March 2018 plant sale. So, here you can find them online!

Early Spring Food

Slades – A Year In Review

On the whole we’ve had another lovely year in the Slades Farm Community Wildlife Garden, helped by around 70 volunteers over 2017. The fruit trees are growing well, the hedge is establishing well, the prairie garden was very colourful, the pond was choc full of frogs! I have never seen so many frogs in one space! If you like frogs, make a diary date to come along in March 2018!

We planted apple trees around the veg patch to train as espaliers, and put up the fence and training wires to make that happen. We had a fantastic harvest of beans and courgettes, a monster turnip, and the peas did well too!

However, after 5 pretty trouble free years, we finally have had a bad bout of vandalism. Most of it started after we installed a lovely picnic table and benches. A number of items got trashed – the water butt and two fruit trees – but the trashing of the fence round the veg patch was the final straw. Reluctantly, we have removed the picnic table and bench in the hopes that the vandals will now go elsewhere to congregate and cause mischief.

Still, we are looking forward to 2018. We have lots of hedging and bramble bashing to get on with, as well as repairing the damage the vandals have done. It may mean that the veggies get planted out a bit later this year – it all depends on how much help we get!

Have a look at our Slades 2018 dates and see if you are free to come along !

South England Regional Transition Networks Workshop

On the 25^th June some members of Transition Bournemouth went along to an all day workshop in Southampton run by the international Transition Network. The aim of the workshop was to explore the idea of setting up a Regional Transition Network / Hub in the South of England.

Bournemouth, Poole, Southampton, Farnham and Petersfield Transition Towns all came together. We went through a series of excises to help us get to know each other, to discuss what helps our groups to thrive and the challenges we face and what a regional hub might look like and be used for.

It was a great opportunity to meet other Transition groups and to find out what exciting projects and events they have planned. Watch this space for more information about a possible regional hub and for invites to events hosted by our new friends!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Great Repair Cafe in West Howe

Thank you to everyone who came along to  The Henry Brown Youth Centre on Saturday for the Give and Take, Bournemouth Repair Cafe and Win On Waste!.  This time our techie Fixers were kept particularly busy with a hoover, touch, dehumidifier, sewing machine, hedge trimmer and more! We also tightened the breaks and stabilisers on two kids bikes and fixed some trousers and a cardigan amongst other things.  What a great event!

As always a huge thank you to our lovely volunteers for making this project possible and a special thanks to Gumtree UK for asking us to be part of #NationalUpcyclingWeek. See you all again in Boscombe on Saturday 5th August!