Number 12 in TTT's '12 tweets to Christmas'

Here is tweet number twelve:
No.12 tips for Xmas. Celebrate Xmas eve with some English wine from Kent or locally brewed beer from By The Horns! 
pic.twitter.com/A1c75HsVtt

And...that's the last of our twelve seasonal sustainability tweets: each one from a different person, saying something she or he wants to share that fits with this time of year. We hope that each of them gives you something to think about, or follow up.

We hope you enjoyed them too, whether you saw them on twitter as they came out during the past 12 days, or if you are seeing them gathered here on the TTT blog.
We'll list them again in our next TTT monthly mail out. 
Thanks for following!

Number 11 in TTT's '12 tweets to Christmas'

Here is tweet number eleven:
No.11 #Xmas Tip: save your Xmas veg peelings for some lovely compost and start growing for 2015! #Tooting #Transition

Number 10 in TTT's '12 tweets to Christmas'

Here is tweet number ten:

No.10 in TTT's 12 tweets to Xmas: Midwinter but the sun is heading back our way. In every darkness the seed of renewal lies #Tooting #Transition 

Number 9 in TTT's '12 tweets to Christmas'

Here is tweet number nine:
No.9 tips for Xmas: Mark The Dark. Sit still awhile without light. Enjoy winter's dark solstice magic. Today the sun's new year begins!

Number 8 in TTT's '12 tweets to Christmas'

Here is tweet number eight:
No.8 tips for Xmas: Take a few moments to think back on the year for 3 things you have been grateful for & 1 thing you're looking forward to

Plus a bonus comment for the blog: 

BOOST YOUR POSITIVE EMOTIONS 
Sustainability on a personal note….
Experiencing, savouring and building on the positive emotions you have when you are happy can support your wellbeing and help buffer against the negative things that might happen. These tips could help support sustained happiness and help build resilience to the challenges of climate change.

Reduce, Re-use, RESPARKLE! crafts workshop

Tomorrow: Saturday 20th December
TTT crafts with recycled materials, Tooting Library, 2:00 to 4:00

Our free drop-in seasonal craft making workshop upstairs at the beautiful Tooting Library, 75 Mitcham Road, SW17 9PD. 

All welcome, all ages, all tuition and materials provided
Practical and fun session to illustrate making beautiful things from waste - and reduce carbon. Photos from our 2012 event here
 

We'll be using recycled materials to make creative presents, decorations or packages (for yourself or for others). 
With quite a lot of glitter.

Many thanks to the team at Tooting Library, and to GLL

Crafts with recycled materials!
Our biennial free drop-in seasonal craft making workshop upstairs at the beautiful Tooting Library.
We'll be using recycled materials to make creative presents, decorations or packages (for yourself or for others). With quite a lot of glitter.
All welcome, all ages, all tuition and materials provided.
Practical and fun session to illustrate making beautiful things from waste - and reduce carbon.
Photos from our 2012 event here on PD:
http://www.projectdirt.com/project/7213/#!/journal...
Many thanks to the team at Tooting Library, and to GLL
Any queries - email us at transitiontowntooting@gmail.com
- See more at: http://www.projectdirt.com/apps/event/32290/#sthash.fDExqieP.dpuf

Crafts with recycled materials!
Our biennial free drop-in seasonal craft making workshop upstairs at the beautiful Tooting Library.
We'll be using recycled materials to make creative presents, decorations or packages (for yourself or for others). With quite a lot of glitter.
All welcome, all ages, all tuition and materials provided.
Practical and fun session to illustrate making beautiful things from waste - and reduce carbon.
Photos from our 2012 event here on PD:
http://www.projectdirt.com/project/7213/#!/journal...
Many thanks to the team at Tooting Library, and to GLL
Any queries - email us at transitiontowntooting@gmail.com
- See more at: http://www.projectdirt.com/apps/event/32290/#sthash.fDExqieP.dpuf

Crafts with recycled materials!
Our biennial free drop-in seasonal craft making workshop upstairs at the beautiful Tooting Library.
We'll be using recycled materials to make creative presents, decorations or packages (for yourself or for others). With quite a lot of glitter.
All welcome, all ages, all tuition and materials provided.
Practical and fun session to illustrate making beautiful things from waste - and reduce carbon.
Photos from our 2012 event here on PD:
http://www.projectdirt.com/project/7213/#!/journal...
Many thanks to the team at Tooting Library, and to GLL
Any queries - email us at transitiontowntooting@gmail.com
- See more at: http://www.projectdirt.com/apps/event/32290/#sthash.fDExqieP.dpuf

Crafts with recycled materials!
Our biennial free drop-in seasonal craft making workshop upstairs at the beautiful Tooting Library.
We'll be using recycled materials to make creative presents, decorations or packages (for yourself or for others). With quite a lot of glitter.
All welcome, all ages, all tuition and materials provided.
Practical and fun session to illustrate making beautiful things from waste - and reduce carbon.
Photos from our 2012 event here on PD:
http://www.projectdirt.com/project/7213/#!/journal...
Many thanks to the team at Tooting Library, and to GLL
Any queries - email us at transitiontowntooting@gmail.com
- See more at: http://www.projectdirt.com/apps/event/32290/#sthash.fDExqieP.dpuf

Number 7 in TTT's '12 tweets to Christmas'

Here is tweet number seven:
No.7 tips for xmas: Wear jumpers, hug friends, lower the heating! More energy & money saving tips @thecarbontrust: goo.gl/j0VKqQ

Number 6 in TTT's '12 tweets to Christmas'

Here is tweet number six:
No.6 in @tttooting 12 tweets to Xmas. Swap screen time for #wildtime Ideas: @wearewildthing @wildlifetrusts @LoveOutdoorPlay @outdoor_nation

Plus a bonus photograph for the blog only:
Have a look at the Christmas stamp - obviously it's showing Tooting, Furzedown or Fishponds...so that's more encouragement to get outdoors! See you there.

Number 5 in TTT's '12 tweets to Christmas'

Here is tweet number five:
No. 5 in @tttooting's 12 days to xmas: Broken Xmas present? Save it from landfill - head to a @RestartProject Party and learn how to fix it!

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!

Number 4 in TTT's '12 tweets to Christmas'

Here is tweet number four:
No.4 in @tttooting's 12 day to xmas: Make decorations from recycled or found materials like these pretty snowflakes goo.gl/XHTJYc

And...a tweet number four bonus for followers on the blog:

Make your house look festive this Christmas with unique and simple homemade creations from recycled materials or natural materials.

Get out in the crisp wintery weather and collect some pinecones. They look great as a table centre round a candle or hung from ribbons. When Christmas is over they can go back in the garden. 

Plastic bottles are so versatile and come in a variety of sizes to make things from.  Try these bottle-bottom snow flakes or bottle penguins (click on the names to link to the websites).

Use paper and wrapping paper off cuts to make these hanging decorations: click here or here.

Number 3 in TTT's '12 tweets to Christmas'

Here is tweet number three:
No.3 in @tttooting's 12 days to xmas: Don't buy 'stuff', choose an activity (theatre, ice-skating). Share experiences, create fab memories.

Number 2 in TTT's '12 tweets to Christmas'

Here is tweet number two:

No.2 in @tttooting's 12 days to xmas: re-make, re-use & re-create to reclaim waste in new ways rebuildingcenter.org pic.twitter.com/uNsj5LroEg

TTT's '12 tweets to Christmas': here is tweet no. 1

TTT's '12 tweets to Christmas'

We're going to tweet every day from now until Christmas Eve on practical, creative, seasonal & interesting sustainability themes. 

Here is the welcoming tweet:
Today we begin @tttooting's 12 tweets to Christmas, built on our email newsletter last month ow.ly/FMPV5 Join in!

And here is tweet number one:
No.1 in @tttooting's 12 day to xmas: Source your dinner locally. Use a tool like @findlocalfood's ow.ly/FMQcO or @MadeInTooting

Follow us on twitter (@tttooting) and retweet the messages, and we'll follow you. The more the merrier....and please join in and tweet us your sustainability tips too.
If you are not on twitter, you can read the posts here on the TTT blog, one a day. Do email us more ideas here.

Yes it's a challenge to be concise and fit a message into 140 characters - it must be good practice! Actually it is quite addictive...
And we haven't written these as a committee - the tweets are simply what diverse individuals have volunteered to share.
If it catches on....we could do a run of New Year's Resolutions in Jan?

Our twitter address again: @tttooting 

Restart Party 2

Tooting's second Restart Party was held on Dec 3rd at Mushkil Aasaan with more electronic items being fixed by volunteers for free courtesy of the Restart Project.  We had quite a few laptops and tablets this time round. Sidd (pictured) had come all the way from Ilford with his laptop screen recycled as an external monitor - pretty impressive!
UPDATE: see Sidd's blog on how he did it

Sid with his home made machine

The Restart Project is a London-based social enterprise that encourages and empowers people to use their electronics longer, by sharing repair and maintenance skills.  We are very grateful to Janet, Ugo and their amazing team of volunteer fixers for running another event with us, and I personally am delighted to have had my old camera fixed after 5 years in a drawer - thank you!


We hope to make Restart Parties a regular feature in Tooting and are on the lookout for skilled local fixers.  Would you like to share your skills (and probably learn new ones) while helping keep electronic stuff out of landfill? Contact us at the usual address if you'd like to get involved in future Tooting Restart events (transitiontowntooting@gmail.com).  David

Fixing the shutter on my camera

Laptop consultancy

What's in here?

Air Quality Meeting Report 26/11

The LSX data showing pollution In Tooting

At the end of November we held a productive meeting about air quality in Tooting, organised in conjunction with Furzedown Low Carbon Zone, London Sustainability Exchange (LSX) and Battersea & Wandsworth TUC. 

This meeting was organised on the back of the citizen science data collected in Tooting's main roads earlier this year showing levels of NO₂ three times the EU limits and PM10 levels twice the EU limit.  Many thanks to the speakers: LSX CEO Samantha Heath, Gavin Steadman, Area Manager for the Environment, Wandsworth Borough Council (WBC) and local Labour councillor Rex Osborn, as well as to all those attended. 

There was a great deal of data to unpick.  We heard that an estimated 29,000 people die prematurely each year in the UK due to air pollution, double the combined effect of alcoholism, obesity and road traffic accidents.  We also found out more about NO_2, PM10s and PM2s (PM refers to Particulate matter 10 or 2 microns in diameter) and the effect they have on our health.  For instance 80% of PM10s are caused by road traffic and have been proven to have a direct link to lung cancer. Meanwhile we hope to facilitate giving local residents an opportunity to contribute to WBC's Air Quality Action Plan due to be put out for consultation in January 2015. We look forward to this and other developments to improve Tooting's air quality in 2015.

A detailed report on the meeting can be read here while Samantha Heath's presentation can be accessed here.

Insect Hotel - trash to treasure (of sorts...)

Have you ever thought about how much material gets used once and thrown away? Or is not financially worth re-using? Or how most people won't be satisfied buying something second hand, it has to be new?

Somewhat in tune with Transition Network's December theme of "Less is More"  I thought it would be of interest to look at the materials we are using in the Insect Hotel build.

The structure is supported on waste flag stones donated to the garden. The four uprights used to be fence that ran across the garden and was blown down in the gales a year or two ago, the horizontal shelf supports too. Those bracing pieces are temporary...

Week 5 - all we need now is the habitats... and the bugs!

Click below to read how the roof was put together...

Insect Hotel: Looking back, looking forward - re-using all the way

It's been 4 1/2 weeks since we started the Insect Hotel build. In the Tuesday sessions with Gatton Primary, we have welcomed 40 students to the garden. We have shown them flint tools found at the site from thousands of years ago, the growing beds created only a few years ago and the Rainwater Catchment constructed with last years Year 6 group.  We've asked "why an insect hotel?" , measured and cut the structure of the Insect Hotel and made 4 experimental habitats. Not to mention handled a number of the mini beasts who might take up residence - to great hilarity.

So far, the Insect Hotel is 100% made from re-used materials - timber from a fallen fence, paving slabs discarded as extras. We'll continue to endeavour to do this, trying to reduce waste and show what is possible, with a little effort and energy.

We've seen how TTT volunteers are essential to any projects success and
prove how together we can go further.

Watch this space - this week will see the roof going on - topping out! A big moment in any construction project. Following that - we pack it full of enticing habitat and wait for the guests to arrive...

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]

Insect Hotel Wk3 - The Rising!

Often with our work with Gatton, we'll augment the sessions with the students with extra hours to maintain momentum as well as keep us on track. These augmenting sessions usually happen during normal garden hours on a Sunday, 11am to 1pm. So come down if you specifically want to contribute to this project. Send a message via transitiontowntooting@gmail.com

Week 3 saw the Insect Hotel rise-up from raw timbers to an upright structure - a great moment. Luckily, we had a couple of load testers to immediately make sure it was suitable for grubs to climb up!

1. Preparing the ground  

2. Building the frames

The timbers used were the
ones Gatton School had
cut in preceding weeks

3. Laying flag stone foundations

4. There she rises! With two eager 
climbers waiting in the wings

5. Bang on level...

The timbers used to be a fence that passed across the site - a  priority for us is to re-use as much as possible.

The team on the day was Diana (with the level), Gerard (with the sideburns) Benji with the yellow coat and Dominic with the smile! Jenny is on the camera and that's me in the hat!

6. Here come the load testers

Click below to read about how Gatton continued the build...

100 children in the Garden: hunting for minibeasts and for bears in mid-November

In the past fortnight we have hosted two year groups of 50 children each with staff and parents from Gatton School for two special mid-November outdoor learning sessions, Tooting style.

Year Four actively searched the garden's diverse habitats for minibeasts as part of a curriculum day on the natural world. They found worms, woodlice, centipedes, snails, spiders, beetles, and more.

Year One went step-by-step through an active version of We're Going on a Bear Hunt - a super experience of literacy, creativity and using their imaginations outdoors.

What did Year 4 do?

They dug energetically

They peered under the roof

Clipboards came out with the sun

They inspected everything

Year One's Bear Hunt was thrilling.....
...click below to read on

Tooting's Air Quality - community meeting Wednesday 26th Nov

We'll share the results of this local and practical 'citizen science' project to measure local air quality, and hear from knowledgeable speakers who are involved with this challenge.

All welcome to take part in this urgent discussion, look at the issues in depth, and consider: 'what's to be done?'

When: Wednesday 26th Nov, 1930-2100 
Where: Tooting United Reformed Church, Rookstone Road SW17 9NQ

Speakers:
Samantha Heath - CEO, London Sustainability Exchange
Rex Osborn - Borough Councillor, Graveney Ward
Houda Al-Shafiri - Head of Public Health, Wandsworth Borough Council
David Thorne - Co-Chair, Transition Town Tooting

TTT has been running a campaign on air pollution locally in collaboration with London Sustainability Exchange and with Battersea and Wandsworth Trade Union Council. We have carried out ‘citizen science’ measurements around Tooting, and our surveys have produced some interesting results.
See a graphic summary of the local results by clicking here.

• Some parts of Tooting High Street record levels of nitrogen dioxide that are 2 to 3 times higher than the European safe exposure limit
• The Mayor of London’s ’ultra-low emission zone’ does not include Tooting. 
• Around 4,250 people die each year from long-term exposure to fine particles in London
• Those affected lose 11.5 years of their life on average
• Much more needs to be done to ensure Tooting has a clear bill of health!

To see our recent leaflet on local Air Quality, click here
To see the event poster, click here

For more information, please email us

Part of: Furzedown Low Carbon Zone

Change Picture

Air Quality in Tooting

Starts

19:30, Wednesday 26th November

Ends

21:00, Wednesday 26th November

Location

London | Wandsworth | Tooting
Tooting United Reform Church, Rookstone Road SW17 9NQ (map)

Workshop

You are attending this event (change)

Created by Charles Whitehead

About

We'll share how we have been involved in a practical 'citizen science' project to measure local air quality
Transition Town Tooting has been running a campaign on air pollution in Tooting in collaboration with London Sustainability Exchange and Battersea and Wandsworth Trade Union Council by carrying out ‘citizen science’ measurements around Tooting. Our surveys have produced some interesting results:

• Some parts of Tooting High Street record levels of nitrogen dioxide levels that are 2 to 3 times higher than the European safe exposure limit
• Around 4,250 people die each year from long-term exposure to fine particles in London
• Those affected lose 11.5 years of their life on average

The Mayor of London’s ’ultra-low emission zone’ does not include Tooting.
Much more needs to be done to ensure Tooting has a clear bill of health!

This event will look at the issues in depth.
Speakers:

Samantha Heath - CEO, London Sustainability Exchange
Councillor Rex Osborn - Graveney Ward, Wandsworth Borough Council
Houda Al-Shafiri - Head of Public Health, Wandsworth Borough Council
David Thorne - Co-Chair, Transition Town Tooting
To see our recent leaflet on local Air Quality, click here
To see the event flyer, click here

- See more at: http://www.projectdirt.com/apps/event/32292/#sthash.Sd6nVmrX.dpuf

Part of: Furzedown Low Carbon Zone

Change Picture

Air Quality in Tooting

Starts

19:30, Wednesday 26th November

Ends

21:00, Wednesday 26th November

Location

London | Wandsworth | Tooting
Tooting United Reform Church, Rookstone Road SW17 9NQ (map)

Workshop

You are attending this event (change)

Created by Charles Whitehead

About

We'll share how we have been involved in a practical 'citizen science' project to measure local air quality
Transition Town Tooting has been running a campaign on air pollution in Tooting in collaboration with London Sustainability Exchange and Battersea and Wandsworth Trade Union Council by carrying out ‘citizen science’ measurements around Tooting. Our surveys have produced some interesting results:

• Some parts of Tooting High Street record levels of nitrogen dioxide levels that are 2 to 3 times higher than the European safe exposure limit
• Around 4,250 people die each year from long-term exposure to fine particles in London
• Those affected lose 11.5 years of their life on average

The Mayor of London’s ’ultra-low emission zone’ does not include Tooting.
Much more needs to be done to ensure Tooting has a clear bill of health!

This event will look at the issues in depth.
Speakers:

Samantha Heath - CEO, London Sustainability Exchange
Councillor Rex Osborn - Graveney Ward, Wandsworth Borough Council
Houda Al-Shafiri - Head of Public Health, Wandsworth Borough Council
David Thorne - Co-Chair, Transition Town Tooting
To see our recent leaflet on local Air Quality, click here
To see the event flyer, click here

- See more at: http://www.projectdirt.com/apps/event/32292/#sthash.Sd6nVmrX.dpuf

Restart Party, Wed 3rd December - let's get stuff fixed!

Do you have an electrical or electronic item that needs fixing and don’t want to have to throw it away? 

After a fantastically successful evening in September we are delighted to announce that the Restart Project, a London-based social enterprise that encourages and empowers people to use their electronics longer, have agreed to run a second “Restart Party” with TTT in Tooting next month.
  
Sound interesting? Then come along to the event. 

Restart Party at Mushkil Aasaan

220 - 222 Upper Tooting Road, SW17 7EW, 

Wednesday December 3rd from 6.30 - 9.30pm.

 

Challenge the culture of built-in obsolescence and take back control of all your electronic stuff! 

Do note that Restart Parties are a community self-repair space where you take responsibility for your own gadgets and data, so please do not forget to take any back-ups beforehand, if relevant – and if possible arrive during the first two hours to allow time for fixing!

See great reports of our last event here and on How We Get to Next here.

Could we have a Tooting Restart Group so that we could hold more regular local Restart Parties?  If you are interested in the idea do come along on the night - or if you can't make it contact Hilary Jennings on transitiontowntooting@gmail.com. 

You might also be interested to know that Restart hold regular skillshare get togethers http://therestartproject.org/skillshares/

Growing, jenga, community energy and wellbeing at St George's Community Open Day, 15th Nov.

Thanks so much to St George's Healthcare NHS Trust for the invitation to have a stand at the Open Day last Saturday - our third year running.
And thanks to all who came to talk, share ideas, participate in the games for all ages, and sign up to our email lists to keep in contact. 

We chose three areas of what we do locally to share with visitors:

• The Tooting Community Garden
• Sustainable living and wellbeing games
• Our sister project, the Furzedown Low Carbon Zone

Some high points included:
 
Playing with the planet: 
plotting the sources of common foods on the world map

Giant jenga, with green living tips

There were twelve volunteers on the varied activities through the day, and there was a lot of preparation...

Sometimes action takes over

...the most valuable aspect of the day was having the time to talk to visitors about plans and ideas.

Making drinks carton wallets

Rhubarb on the St George's Allotment

Doing the day together as a team was also special.








TTT and the Furzedown Low Carbon Zone have some great events happening in the next month - see our Events Calendar on the top right of this blog homepage.  

All welcome!


  

Plus: we are discussing future projects with St George's. 
We'll share news soon..

Week 2 of the Insect Hotel

 On Tuesday 11th November, we enjoyed the second session of our Insect Hotel Project at the Community Garden, with Year 6 from Gatton Primary School in Tooting.

 Each week there is a new group of 10 students from the two classes of Year 6, so it's always good to welcome them to the garden before cracking into our project work. Charlie showed the 4000 yr old flint tool and the sea urchin fossil - found when the original veg beds were dug, only 3 years ago. Come along to witness them yourself.

Can you spot the eco-system Engineer?

It's always good to ask the simple questions for any TTT project we undertake and our schools work is no different.

 So why build an Insect Hotel? This week's group thought it would help the insects, give them protection and shelter and be a place to hibernate - all good, thoughtful points we reflected on for the rest of the session.

Cutting the corner posts for the Hotel

The measure...

...the cut...

 Each group of 3 students figured out how to mark out before cutting. In the session, we completed work on our 4 main supporting posts, made from re-purposed fence posts. 

...success!

  This engages maths, logical  thought and, of course, safe tool  use with every child using the  saw.

 Our group were brilliant -  engaged and enthusiastic  throughout.

St.Bug's Hotel!

Exploring Insect Habitat 

 Each week, we're playing with habitat by making a quick and dirty floor level hotel to inform the habitats we will place in the final structure. This weeks theme was crevices - nooks and crannies to encourage invertebrates and ladybirds - and was mostly built with tiles, twigs and an earth mound for our master ecosystem engineers - the humble worm. 

 So come along to the community garden, see the Insect Hotel emerge and explore the temporary accommodation the students of Gatton are creating! The Garden is open every Sunday, 11am to 1pm at 5 North Drive, Tooting, SW16 1RN.

'Growing Tooting' - the third theme for our stand at St George's tomorrow

We're keen to help more people - individuals, families, groups and clubs, enterprises - grow healthy local food in Tooting. Come and have a chat on Saturday at our stand at St George's about how we might do this together.

We'll be on the 1st floor in the Lanesborough Wing, in the Ingredients Restaurant.

We are so lucky to have the Tooting Community Garden, where we have enjoyable sessions every Sunday.

We also want to reach out to more people:

• who can't get to the garden on a Sunday, 
• or who would like to start their own growing space, 
• or who have a garden and would like some ideas and advice, 
• or who grow on a balcony and window box and want to be successful  'vertical gardeners'
• and others...

 ...and including coming to join us at the Community Garden on Sundays, special project days, or at the Open Day in June..

We're calling this 9-month project 'Growing Tooting'




Between now and the Foodival in September '15, we'll offer and arrange guidance and workshops on many aspects of growing.

• We'll encourage people to volunteer and get involved with others locally to look at many practical aspects of successful growing
• We'll get to grips with Tooting's soil and conditions, with home composting and waste reduction, with choosing what and when to grow and harvest, plus sharing recipes and cooking - maybe cooking together outdoors over the summer.

We're not replacing the Community Garden - we want to widen the impact of what we are all trying to achieve in there.

We hope there will be more gardens flourishing in Tooting after these next months - we have some contacts already who have space and potential energy. If you come and chat at St George's tomorrow, we'll ask if you have some ideas for locations and groups who would like to garden and grow.

A successful Foodival will be a great milestone for the project as for the past seven years it has always drawn together many aspects of community growing - gardening and plants, social contacts and relationships, ideas and surprising achievements, enjoyment, fun and teamwork.

There are many diverse growing skills that we can share in Tooting!