Lucy's Deputation to the Council re Climate Emergency

TTT's Lucy Neal spoke to the Wandsworth Environment and Sustainability Strategy meeting in January re the Climate Emergency and how the community can be involved in making the urgent changes needed in the Borough.

The text is as follows:
Hello. I’m Lucy Neal. I was awarded the Council’s S. West London Green Champion Award in 2009. This is Hilary Jennings: we co-chaired Transition Town Tooting in early days in 2008. We’ve been at this a while. 

I’m sure everyone in this room tonight knows that delivering a stable future climate for everyone on Earth depends on this meeting. Everything we are currently doing feeds into the run up to COP26 in Glasgow. The Paris agree-ments start in 2021. All the lights on Earth’s dashboard are flashing red. 

So, a cross party declaration of a Climate and Ecological Emergency and an Action Plan to follow through. I think that’s worth a hurrah! Hurrah!!! (clapping...good to test spirit of room) 

We welcome mention in plan of engagement with local community groups and partners because of their expertise and contacts. 

1. TTT: We are here to represent Citizen expertise. For 12 years, we’ve been rehearsing how to join up sectors and work across disciplines towards: healthier, more resilient local communities, cleaner air, locally generated zero carbon energy, affordable transport, efficient housing, new jobs, localised supply chains, healthier food and space for biodiversity. TTT has built in this time, a ‘can do’ practice and approach amongst residents working together - to create a biodiverse, creative, skilled, zero carbon and connected town. We champion and celebrate people’s energy, care and en-thusiasm for their neighbourhoods in the community of Wandsworth. There’s a great deal of professional expertise. We’ve been shifting aware-ness of the climate emergency and also building practical alternatives for what’s needed and possible. 

Call for Climate Emergency Hustings in Tooting

We are calling for Climate Emergency Hustings for Tooting on Tuesday 10 December in a joint effort between TTT & Extinction Rebellion Wandsworth, supported by our colleagues at the Wandsworth Cycling Campaign, and Wandsworth Living Streets. The date is not yet agreed with all candidates but we hope to host it at Mushkil Aasaan, just 2 days before the polls.

On 1 May the UK Parliament declared a Climate Emergency. By the end of the next Parliament we will be halfway through the 12 year time period that the IPCC declared to be critical if we are serious about preventing the worst outcomes of climate change. 

A recent Opinium poll showed that almost two thirds of the population say that the ecological and climate emergency is the biggest issue facing humankind, and 54% of all voters now say that climate change would affect how they would vote, rising to 74% for under-25s. Tooting voters need to know what our elected representatives would do in government to tackle the climate emergency which we believe to be by far the most important issue in next month's election. Brexit will be long forgotten squabble in the future, the climate will not.

Just for an interesting reality check, this map, taken from Climate Central’s report Flooded Future (October 2019) shows Wandsworth’s likely vulnerability to climate-related sea level rise by 2050. The red areas show the land projected to be below the annual flood level by that date.

Climate Emergency Hustings

For those of us in North Tooting (aka Battersea) there are Climate Emergency Hustings tomorrow hosted by journalist Michael Crick. It would be great to do something similar in Tooting constituency.

Film Showing of Tomorrow, Today

This afternoon's film showing of Tomorrow (Demain) provides a comprehensive look at ways in which activists, organisers and everyday citizens are trying to make the world a better, greener, more sustainable place.

All welcome for 2.30 pm at All Saints Church Tooting, Brudenell Rd SW17 8DQ.

Tomorrow - the movie - comes to Tooting!

We face a climate emergency - but all over the globe, solutions already exist! 

Join Transition Town Tooting for TOMORROW, our first Film for Action 

with All Saints Church Tooting, Brudenell Rd SW17 8DQ
2.30 pm on 16th November 2019

 

Tomorrow (Demain) provides a comprehensive look at ways in which activists, organisers and everyday citizens are trying to make the world a better, greener, more sustainable place.

Check out the trailer for the film!

'The overriding message? It takes a community to make change.'
New York Times

Extinction Rebellion

We are in the middle of an Anthropocene Mass Extinction so Rebellion feels one of the only solutions we have left. 

David took a tour of Extinction Rebellion on the streets of London on Thursday and offers a short story of personal encounters. Thank you to TTT for the space.

Arriving at Marble Arch to a solar powered music stage, a tent city, some fabulous posters and signs, it was great to see the street reclaimed. The freshness of the air was palpable, devoid as it was of the usual fossil-fuelled exhaust fumes. I took a leaflet from Jill who told me she joined an affinity group of organisers because she felt she needed to do something. At the induction centre Sam explained to me how to get involved, what activities could be arrestable or non-arrestable. She knows TTT's Richard.

Walking down the middle of a car-free Oxford Street, I meet a slightly sunburnt policeman being berated by a Middle Eastern woman, demanding to know when he was going to clear up the protest. Her route to a hospital appointment was affected. The policeman calmly suggested she try the tube.  An aggressive bald white man joined in to have a go. This was affecting his van business - what was the officer going to do?  Our rosy-faced PC said "I'm just doing my job, maybe you would if your boss asked you?"  I tried to assist, to mediate, but both passers-by were too angry, too lost in themselves to engage. Avoiding eye contact they stormed off as the PC and I chatted on.

Carbon Conversations Week 3

'Travel and Transport' was the theme of the evening's discussion this third week of Carbon Conversations.  Stories of favourite and nightmare journeys were shared - from wonderful night time cycling through Hyde Park to the extreme frustration of delays, queues and missed connections while under pressure to meet a deadline elsewhere.  We talked about what travel represents to each of us , especially within a culture where it has become so accessible and so enjoyed.  Aspirations to travel the world are encouraged almost as a rite of passage and, subsequently, many thousands of conversations coalesce around those experiences.  We looked at our reasons for making journeys and there was a recognition of the challenge that would be felt were the visiting of family and friends abroad to be restricted.

We talked about the advantages and deficiencies of cycling and the current public transport system - who it works for, or not, - and some of the steps that could be taken to make it more accessible for all and why the obstacles to this happening are so significant.  There was a recognition that solutions in potentially wonderful technologies may be still in their infancy! This theme of taking difficult carbon-reducing decisions was continued in the group game we played: we experienced how lifestyle changing decisions could be made at the individual family level (good, though sometimes not to our liking, inconvenient and expensive) alongside having the opportunity to make strategic policy decisions at a government level (also good, potentially having a great impact but likely to incur huge resistance from many quarters).

We spent some time reflecting on the dilemma of what feels acceptable behaviour and how we can take responsibility for our carbon footprint .  Our final activity was deciding on a manageable action that we want to take and then looking at the driving and restraining forces that we could see coming into play, and then focusing on reducing the effect of the restraining forces.  Plenty to think about during the week!

Carbon Conversations Week 2

In the second session of Carbon conversations, we predominantly discussed domestic energy and how we could reduce our carbon footprint from energy usage.

The discussion started with how much temperature rise could happen in the future and within what time and would we able to cope with it? People had thoughts from 2° C rise to 10 °C and some of them felt we are doomed, while a few who are still aware would not want to think of it negatively and see what action they could do.

We did an exercise of what a comfortable home looks like. While most of us did prefer fresh light and air some preferred a garden. We touched upon minimalism, as to how it could contribute to a comfortable home. We discussed energy, EPCs and how we could reduce our carbon footprint as owners or tenants.

The group was divided into two (role as owners and tenants) and played a game of reducing 6 tonnes of carbon footprint through energy savings. It included a combination of changes to the house along with behavioral changes.

We spoke about challenges that we could face in reducing our carbon footprint through energy. The changes being expensive was a dominant factor, while for some being in a position of the tenant could hinder progress. Understanding of the technical aspects could be a challenge, while the efforts and time for research and taking informed decisions could prove to be a big task.

At the end we all spoke about specific actions that we could take to reduce carbon footprint and any challenges that we could face. All in all, it was a fantastic session with a lot of learning on different aspects of energy as a facet of reducing our carbon footprint and how we could start off with even the simplest and free measures to reduce our carbon.

Urban Heat Research Report Published

Today the Policy Studies Institute publish their research report Urban Heat: Developing the role of community groups in local climate resilience. It's a readable, accessible and expert report.

TTT are proud to have been able to contribute to this valuable piece of work, hosting and facilitating community conversations, mainly in 2015, about the increasing risks posed by localised heat in cities - including neighbourhoods like Tooting - in our warming climate.

Cold weather challenges are much better recognised by most of us, including health and social care professionals, in terms of individuals' vulnerability. So it was useful to be part of research showing that urban overheating is a significant risk, and we can take action to reduce its impact.

We commenced the project in a cold spell in winter two years ago, when the priorities seemed very different. It was hard to visualise that later the same summer we would hold a workshop near Tooting Broadway on the hottest day of 2015. Very appropriate!

Funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the Urban Heat project examined the potential role of the local voluntary and community sector (VCS) in the development of local climate resilience.

In Tooting the research engaged with over a dozen relevant community organisations with diverse services and areas of focus: health care, social care, low-carbon living, community development. A number of local individuals were interviewed as well. Finally, a group of Wandsworth local authority and statutory organisations also explored the impact of Urban Heat.

To read our past TTT blog posts about the whole project since its inception, please click here.

Other partners in the Urban Heat research programme explored the same topic in Hackney and in West London, all co-facilitating alongside the Policy Studies Institute team.

Finally, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation funded a sister research project at the same time, about 'Climate Resilient Communities'. This was developed in the context of local flooding in the Scottish Borders, mostly rural, but much of the experience and lessons are relevant to all communities working proactively with practical climate challenges. We'll share that report when it is published.

Pop-up Cinema in Furzedown on Fri 27th January: Naomi Klein's 'This Changes Everything'

Join the Furzedown Low Carbon Zone screening of Naomi Klein's 'This Changes Everything' The film explores the global fight against climate change, the role of capitalism and what citizens can do.

The film has been described as "purposely unsettling...ultimately encouraging".

When? Doors at 7:00 for film at 7:30 on Friday 27th January

Where? The Furzedown Project, 93 Moyser Road SW16 6SJ

Tickets cost £5 for waged and £2 for students / unemployed - including wine, soft drinks and our famous popcorn
  

All welcome!

Please reserve tickets by emailing us at furzedownlowcarbonzone@gmail.com 

Your ticket entitles you to a 50% discount on the purchase of low-energy LED light bulbs for use in many parts of the home. 

We're making this LED offer available via our bulk purchase, to enable you to start saving money and reduce your home's carbon footprint.

Can You Give Up Meat for a Month?

When TTT co-chair Richard mentioned he was going to go vegetarian for January, it made me think could I? 
Not eating meat and what it means, touches on so many of the environmental issues that TTT has tried to tackle over the years. Land and water use, global warming, animal welfare, population growth, the carbon cycle, the changing climate, human health and well-being all seem relevant. It sparked my interest. Then I saw an ad for veganuary on the tube, a campaign to encourage people to become vegan for a month.  Could I, a lover of bacon sandwiches, lamb karahi, fillet steak and recently copious amounts of turkey join in with such an endeavour?

I think I can but... how? What will it be like? What about fish? Is anyone else out there interested? There's only one day to decide ... DT

TTT's experience of the Climate march weekend in London and Paris - our personal responses

We'd like to share our responses to the Sunday 29th Climate Justice march in London, and to actions that replaced the banned march in Paris. 
And we'd like to share news of the Transition Network day in Paris on Saturday 28th.
All these events and more are urgently linked with the COP21 Climate talks in Paris which are running until December 13th.

We're sharing three blog posts: 

• this post on some of our personal reactions
• then a post about community-level responses
• and finally a post about the global view 

This is a snapshot of the experience we felt as participants....

What did taking part mean to us personally?

London

Hilary: It was hugely reassuring to see so many other people willing to give up a cold and windy day to marching

The march began, for us, at Tooting Bec Tube. We didn't know how many would come, after putting out the invitation via our blog. On the day, 7 of us met, with the world on one head and giant sign saying, "urgent".

We emerged in the centre of London and spotted one or two other likely groups - I guess this is how a march begins, with intentional meeting of friends and colleagues with a common cause. By the time we arrived at Park Lane, we realised that there were many common causes to put under the banner of "Climate March" - vegans, community energy, anti-oil, anti-fracking, save the polar bears, Greenpeace, revolutionaries, drummers, fundraisers and photographers...

We even had apples thrust until our palms from those campaigning against waste food! Delicious they were too.

TTT's experience of the Climate march weekend in London and Paris - a sense of community

Here's our second blog post in response to the Climate march weekend, COP21 and Transition's contribution

Some 'community-level' responses

London
We marched with the Transition bloc. Inherently local, it is affirming to feel part of a wider community form time to time. Sunday gave space for us all to talk to each other in a different context compared with many other occasions. This wasn't about delivering a project, although ultimately it is, but did give space for strengthening bonds that will bear fruit in the future.

The Transition gang, including friends from Lewes, Crystal Palace and Kingston

Transition Town Huddle by Deborah Mason

Paris

Transition France and Transition groups in Paris co-hosted a free workshop day on Saturday 28th. 
Here, we met in the huge (and unheated....) 'La Générale' space for an afternoon of sharing experience, eating and drinking, and then an evening conference.
 

Charles: "For 13 hours I was immersed in a sharing community coming together with powerful intentions. The community included the everyday diversity of Paris with its mix of north african and mediterranean faces....different from the diversity we recognise at Tooting Broadway. It was affirming to feel that I could simply approach anyone and talk about shared ideas, ask for support or get some feedback.

TTT's experience of the Climate march weekend in London and Paris - the global view

Our third post in response to the Climate march weekend, COP21 and Transition's contribution

Thinking about impact and action - the global view

Paris 
Charles: Another of the replacements for the banned Paris march was the 'human chain' - a line kilometres long where participants linked hands (for a short while...until the stewards said 'C'est fini' as the whole action was ad-hoc and not police-approved).

Here's some of Transition links in the chain. We're holding copies of the pages of '21 Histoires de Transition', strung like bunting.

All along a street with several Metro stations - just like Balham to Tooting Broadway - there were theme clusters in the chain, where you could pop out of the Metro and group around global issues such as Energy, or Justice, or Nature, or Solutions. 

There were other chains worldwide - including Brussels, just emerging from 4 days of public lock-down, and also replacing a banned march.
The chain was ephemeral but we still came together to witness what we wanted to express in the planned march...along with a few mexican waves.

People's March for Climate - This Sunday 29th November!

TTT will be joining the Transition Bloc at the march, join us :
11am at the entrance to Tooting Bec Underground Station on Sunday 29th November.

More information from organisers, including a route map is on the Campaign against Climate Change page here

This weekend marks the beginning of the 2 week International Climate Conference in Paris called COP21. As we all think about recent events in Paris and wish for peaceful resolution to conflicts the world over, the City hosts the World's major leaders with hope to gain Global agreement to cut carbon emissions and prevent run away climate change.

Our very own Jeni Walker at a similar march earlier this year

This is the largest scale of negotiation on Climate Change mitigation and, if successful, has the highest possible positive impact for the future of us humans on this Planet we call home. However, politics is a tricky business with competing motivations and historical contexts, not to mention very well funded lobbying from those businesses that don't want limits on carbon emissions.

We must let those politicians know that we, the people, care. 
Care that they go to the table with open minds, care they think about the long term, not the few years to the next General Election, care that they listen to the scientific evidence alongside the human suffering that comes from ever more frequent extreme weather events.

You can read about our experience at the march earlier this year here

And think about the reasons why you might want to march here

Hope to see you there, Richard and TTT gang.

From the Local to the International - Journeys of imagination and generosity at the Transition Network International Conference

Back in September, Charles Whitehead wrote a preview piece about 8 of us from Tooting heading to the Transition Network International Conference at Seale Hayne, Newton Abbot. We went by caravan, car share and train arriving the day before, early afternoon and late at night.

You can read all about how we contributed to the conference in Charles' blogpost here. Following the conference, we were all excited to share our experience of it as it had so much energy to give! Please do click on the links in the highlighted words, if they are of interest. There is also a Storify of the Conference and a blog on the Transition Network site.

Tooting heads West!

Home away from Home, with cake!

After arriving, pitching our tents, siting and re-siting our caravan and finding our rooms, Jenny , Hilary and myself participated in the Transition Skills day, learning lots about Transition Thrive , designing a new economy in "REconomy" and how to "Become your own Developer" before the conference actually began.

Meanwhile, Lucy was running her own workshop on Creative Engagement, she writes...

"Once I'd recovered from the news that my main collaborator, Ruth Ben-Tovim (she of the Tooting Transition Shop from 2012), was sick and I would have to get on and run the day long Transition workshop on the arts and creating community on my own, I decided this Transition Conference (my 4th) was going to be about getting on and doing it with the resources I had to hand. I calmed myself by imagining the 14 strangers I was about to meet and wondering why they could be interested in learning about the craft of making things happen, and the art of creative participation. The knowledge they would all be doing this in a Transition context i.e. making the world we want to live in by modelling the changes in how we live where we live, immediately made me relax. I felt I could be myself and invite them to give all of themselves to the workshop, which they did! The day was astonishing for the rich diversity of their expertise, their generosity to give and gain from one another and the final artworks they created together. I was bowled over by how much creative ground we covered and my abiding faith in the central role our imaginations and creativity play in Transition. I have spent 3 years capturing this in the transition book in the arts, Playing for Time - making Art As If the World Mattered and it felt as if the book had in a sense, come home.

This feeling of generosity, sharing and common goals was echoed by Jenny's experience, she reflected later:

"It was inspiring and encouraging to meet other people from around the world who share a vision for a fairer, more community-led world. A focus on collaboration, partnerships and relationship building was a common theme. It's something we cherish in Transition Town Tooting and will continue to build in 2016. A Neighbourhood Plan, Foodival and our garden projects wouldn't be possible if it weren't for the generosity and energy of our partners and volunteers".

My experience during the Transition Thrive training was similarly applicable to our activity in Tooting and encouraged me to be active in looking after the wonderful volunteers and core group of Transition Town Tooting as well as offering the opportunity to participate to more people through Open Days and outreach.

Our Workshops: Outdoor Learning with Young People and Creative Facilitation with FanSHEN


Day 2 and the conference proper begins... Jenny, Charlie, Sharon and I hosted a workshop on Outdoor Learning with Young People. We shared our work in Outdoor Learning in 3 areas:

Time to Act on Climate Change - 7th March

A group of a dozen of us from Tooting went to the Time to Act march on Saturday in London. 

Why march? To express yourself, to be counted, to meet friends and strangers, to witness change in the making, to represent others, simply to be there. 





 
Making and feeling the weight of your message in your hands - it's unusual, active, and personal. Totally unlike holding a phone. 

The sun was hot; the wind blew the banners so they tugged like sails.

 
At one point in the march, between The Savoy and 
Charing Cross, everyone sat down on the warm tarmac of the Strand. 

For me that was a good moment - not quite touching the wild earth, but certainly feeling in touch with London, and valuing it as a physical place that shelters us. 





 
None of us wants to be preached to, and I liked these diverse messages -  direct and also complex; creative and calling up so many associations.

Why march, why do what we do locally in Tooting?

Naomi Klein from the introduction to 'This Changes Everything':

"We know that if we continue on our current path of allowing emissions to rise year after year, climate change will change everything about our world. 

And we don't have to do anything to bring about this future.  

All we have to do is nothing"

- Charles 

Ethical Investment

At last week's Pension Power event, we had a very interesting discussion about how ordinary citizens can start to tackle the behemoth of the financial system, by making choices that avoid destructive climate consequences.

Share Action's Sophia McNab presented some interesting data and ideas.  Sophia says:

"To kick-off your pension fund activism, you can email your pension fund about your climate concerns. Our e-action makes it really simple; you can send off our template email or edit it to include your own questions: www.greenlightcampaign.org.uk  Beyond that, ShareAction is also coordinating meetings between pension funds and their customers – here is a video of the customers who met with Scottish Widows last week."

We were happy to have ethical investment advisor Barchester Green's John Ditchfield in the audience who explained some of the problems of changing an industry where so much is invested in the climate busting status quo.  He also forwarded this Guardian article about the "winners and sinners" in ethical investing. We dabbled briefly with SIPPS (self invested personal pensions) such as this one, where you chose the investments. It requires a bit of financial nous, but it does give you control.

We hope to have more ethical investment events in 2015 and you don't have to have a pension or indeed any money to be interested!

This stuff affects us all but most of us tend to bury our heads in the sand don't we?

Almost everyone deals with a bank or building society for loans, current accounts or savings. How ethical is yours? Fancy funding the arms trade, big pharma, destructive mining or human rights abuse?  Most of the major banks do, however tacitly. And what about Wandsworth Council, where do they invest their millions of reserves?  Somewhere not very clever from an ethical standpoint I'd wager, but prepared to be proved wrong WBC!

Seize Your Pension Power To Save The Planet

Your pension can change the world! 

Right now, it's funding climate change…

On December 9th we are running an event with Share Action looking at how the gazillions sloshing around in the UK's pension funds are invested in fossil fuel companies and other high-carbon industries which are driving the world towards dangerous climate change.

This is our money and we should have a say in how it is used shouldn't we? 

By taking back control over the cash invested in pensions, we can make sure it’s supporting a better future.

This workshop will cover the basics of how your pension is invested and how pension savers can take action to effect change. Join us for the evening to learn about your pension power can save the planet!

Tuesday 9th December 2014, 7-9pm at Mushkil Aasaan, 222 Upper Tooting Rd, SW17 7EW [poster to download]

Furzedown Low Carbon Zone: Film Night 22nd Oct

All welcome to a Film Night hosted by our sister project, Furzedown Low Carbon Zone.

Date: Wednesday October 22nd
Venue: The Furzedown Project, 93 Moyser Road, SW16 6SJ
Timings: Doors open at 7:30pm, and the showing starts at 8:00
Booking: Please book a ticket on our booking page here. Tickets are £5.00. Under-16s and over-60s are free (please book in all the same)

We'll finish by 9:30, but conversation can always move to the pub! 
Film is better with tea, coffee and cake - and if you came to the Tooting Foodival you know we make some great cakes.

We're showing 'Disruption':

a brand new film about climate change and community 

organisation in the face of apparent poltical apathy 

The film also covers the background to the New York City Climate March last month.

As well as fundraising for our activities, we'll be sharing the proceeds of the evening with Furzedown FACE, a group that supports the local community. 




The 'FLCZ' has been active for three years now
Furzedown Low Carbon Zone is a community association dedicated to reducing the carbon emissions of Furzedown and surrounding areas. You may have seen us at Furzedown Big Day Out, at Tooting Foodival or on the Climate March.

Two earlier FLCZ projects were carried out with many local partners including South Thames College, Eardley School, Furzedown enterprises and Transition Town Tooting. Do watch the project videos:

1 'The Greener Jobs Alliance' - watch it here

2 'Better Choices for a Better Tomorrow' - watch it here

We're proud that our first project won the Green Gown Awards 'Best Newcomer' category  in 2012 from The Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges.


If you'd like to find out about FLCZ activities, including our current focus on setting up a community renewable energy scheme, please contact us here.
We look forward to seeing you.