Carnival Factory Opens on the High Street: 11 - 6pm Every Day!

Come and join us at The Trashcatchers' Carnival Factory at Broadway Studios, 28 Tooting High Street! 

Drop by between 11am and 6pm for Carnival making. Make your own design or help with larger structures for the day.  Please bring plastic bags - the more coloured the better, also coloured plastic bottle tops, jewellery and shiny silver foil. All clean please!  Children under 16 should be accompanied by an adult.

For details about the Carnival day - how to get involved, what to make, bring and where to go see our Carnival site

ANNOUNCING TOOTING's 3rd HARVEST FOODIVAL September 19th 2010

ANNOUNCING TOOTING's 3^rd HARVEST FOODIVAL

September 19^th  2010

September 19th sees the return of Transition Town Tooting’s Harvest Foodival for the third year running and I’m looking for people to pitch in and make this year’s event even better! 2009’s Foodival was a fantastic success and saw six restaurants cook up a feast with locally grown fruit and veg for local residents to try with a finale of children’s events and a cooking competion at Fircroft school. This year we’re looking for ideas to make the Foodival bigger and better and look at ways to get more people to come along and join the fun.

If you’d like to add some ideas or fancy volunteering your help and expertise for this year’s event, I'll be holding a special Foodival planning meeting after the unleashing of TTT so watch this space for details and help make 2010 the best Foodival yet! For more information and to get involved please email giles@cen.org.uk and you can see last year’s Foodival at http://www.tootingfoodival.blogspot.com/

Giles

ONLY ONE MONTH TO GO!

The Trashcatchers' Carnival takes to the streets in 4 weeks' time. Lots happening to get ready between now and then. There are workshops in many of the schools building floats, costumes, musical instruments and head pieces. Artists will be travelling between Tooting's 15 schools on an almost daily basis. The South London Swimming Club have been creating the different elements of their Lido float - lacy waterfalls of blue shimmer, golden suns and shiny lettering.  It really is completely amazing what can be created from some coloured plastic bags. There are Carnivalista workshops now happening each weekend - see right for details and email transitiontowntooting@gmail.com if you would like more information.

More soon on designs you can make for musical instruments and things to carry, wear, shake and make.  Full details on our latest Trashcatchers leaflet and more on the Trashcatchers Blog.

Tuesday 1st June - Carnival Creation Event

Come and take part in creating the Trashcatchers Carnival on Tuesday 1st June at Mushkil Aasaan, 222-222 Upper Tooting Road, 7-9pm. There will be loads of creative people giving advice and tips on how to make beautiful things from rubbish, including a bunting and a plastic cloth making workshops.

We will kick start the evening by showing a short film on the development of the Carnival and what has been happening so far. We will hear from various Carnivalistas and local groups talk about what they have been creating and what they plan to do for the Carnival. Followed by your chance to get involved in one of the creative workshops and make something for the Carnival. The evening will close with shared refreshments and showing what we have produced.

It’s going to be a fun evening, all are welcome, don’t worry if you haven’t got any creative skills, this is your opportunity to learn something new and be part of a great event taking place in your local community.

If you have access to any of the following please do bring it with you:
Scraps of fabric, old clothes etc, you don't need any more
Colourful plastic bags
Good cutting scissors
Cotton tape, thick ribbon or even ticking tape if you have any.

And do bring food to share as usual!  Hope to see you there, Malsara

Govt & TTT Both Committing on Climate Change

The government commits to 10:10:

The Government Signs-up to 10:10 from 10:10 on Vimeo.

while Tooting continues to commit to Carnival!

Walking in Flip-flops

At the weekend the remarkable Steph Bradley dropped in on TTT as we checked out potential venues for our Unleashing in July.  Steph, pictured above with Malsara, David & Lucy, has spent the last seven weeks walking from Transition HQ in Totnes, in, you guessed it, a pair of flip-flops!  She intends to spend six months in total walking between as many of the country's transition initiatives as possible, checking out all the fantastic work that is being done.  You can follow Steph's blog here.  Her description of Tooting High Street really struck me:

"In its colourful High Road selling fruit and veg from all over the world and silks of every colour and decoration I hear every language from Greek, Polish, and all different Indian and Pakistani dialects. I haven’t had an experience like this since my time exploring the wonderful markets of Ceuta in northern Morocco in 1992."

It's funny, sometimes I forget that we live in quite an unusual and culturally diverse part of the UK and it's quite uplifting to note the impression it can make on a visitor.  Good luck on your trip Steph.  DT

A Canopy Under Which We Grow - TTT's Sara reflects on her recent travels

TTT's Sara has been away from us since last year studying permaculture in Sweden and India.  She has sent us some fascinating reflections on her experiences....

I have since the middle of October been living amongst poor farmers in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The reasons I'm here are many, and the things I've learned so far even more. It was difficult to believe, when the chaos that is India hit me in the face, that I'd be able to decipher anything and learn more than a few valuable lessons.
As a former resident of Tooting I started my journey with plenty of "ahaa"s, and one time I even met a man who used to live in my beloved borough. It was as far away from the hustle and bustle of London it could be, in an idyllic village with thatched coconut rooves and outdoor kitchens. It made me wonder how many people in Tooting and the rest of the world long to be back here, back home but are having to work and earn the remittance that outsizes aid money many times over...

Continue to read this post here

Sand, Trash, Events, Well-being etc

Here we are greedily consuming the world's resources (thanks to the artists at Portugal's Fiesa festival for this great sand sculpture).  Will our political parties do something about it?  Attend the hustings and ask the local Tooting candidates before deciding where to mark your big X next Thursday.  BATCA have organised hustings tomorrow at St Anselms Church from 8pm.

Thanks to Malsara and Garry for the Trashcatching workshop photos already posted on the Trashcatchers site.  More to come. 

Meanwhile again tomorrow (Weds 28th) meet other local people concerned about plans by Lambeth Council & Tescos to put a temporary ice rink on common land.  Surely they can do better than this for our near neighbours in Streatham?

Don't forget we have a great First Tuesday Well-being Event "What's Good For The Climate Is Good For Health" coming up with Jenny Griffiths OBE, independent consultant and author of the Faculty of Public Health's publication Sustaining a Healthy Future on May 4th.  All welcome, it's free and open to all - full details here

Kites & Carnivals

A great day was enjoyed by many just a mile down the road at the 12th Streatham Common Kite Day a few days back.  Check out the massive kites!  Some inspiration for the Trashcatchers' Carnival maybe?  

Meanwhile the next Carnival workshop awaits this Sunday at 11 (EMAIL us if you want to be part of the action - plenty of creative things to get involved in) followed by the Jam 'N Beets night at the Bedford co-hosted with TT Wandsworth. 

First Tuesday Food & Seed Swap

Tuesday's food and seed swap event attracted a good crowd and provoked a wide range of food growing discussion. Giles Read reviewed TTT's past Foodivals, talked about plans for Foodival 2010, showed a film and gave away a collection of tools refurbished by inmates at Wandsworth Prison.

The Tools Shed project takes broken tools collected at Neal's Nurseries, a garden centre opposite the prison, and elsewhere, which are then given a new lease of life and returned for use in schools and community gardens.  The project helps prisoners' rehabilitation and also teaches them new skills. 

We also heard about urban growing from Toni Scott of Food Up Front before thronging around the seed swap table to pick up some interesting new seeds to try out.  This correspondent has already planted Borletto and French beans courtesy of Springfields Hospital SHARE garden project.  Thanks to everyone who brought seeds and plants, to Bob Winter at Tools Shed for the tools, which were quickly snapped up, and to Peter at Neal's Nurseries for his discount offer.

The next "First Tuesday" on May 4th will be a Well-being Event with Jenny Griffiths as guest speaker.

SEED SWAP! - A Call For All Things Seedy!!

Just a quick reminder about next Tuesday's Food Event and Seed Swap.

After looking at last year's Foodival there'll be a short film on the "Story of Food" and how you can grow for this Autumn's festival.

To get everyone kick started there will be some FREE tools to give away and also a Seed Swap at the end of the night.

I'm bringing half a pack of carrots and half a packet of tomatoes as I've not got enough pots to use all the seeds - anyone got any radish seeds I could swap??

Any seeds you have, either full packs or just lone seeds would be ace for the swap - I just hope we don't wind up with a hundred packs of brussels sprouts.... ;)

Have an amazing Easter and see you there!

BATCA Open Forum ‘Let’s Make Tooting Better’

TTT were delighted to join in BATCA’s (the Balham and Tooting Community Association) Open Forum on the theme ‘Let’s make Tooting Better’ on 17 March at St Augustine’s Hall. As Kate Allan of BATCA reports: 'The event drew a good crowd and generated a stream of ideas on improving Tooting. Both individuals and community organisations took part. A huge, colourful map of Tooting town centre on the hall floor helped focus ideas.

Cllr James Cousins, supported by Audrey Helps, Tooting Town Centre manager, gave a presentation on the ‘Tooting Together’ initiative to achieve cleaner streets, reduce clutter and litter, deal with fly tipping and eyesores, and attract new stores to Tooting. Lively questioning followed.

A workshop followed, where participants enthusiastically brainstormed ideas for improving Tooting. This was facilitated by Paul Squires of the New Economics Foundation and focused on key themes for wellbeing emerging from NEF research – ‘ connect’, ‘be active’, ‘ take notice’, ‘keep learning’, ‘give’. Lots of ideas emerged for realising these in Tooting – more people friendly streets; safe, easy places to meet; more greenery and trees; redevelop Tooting Market; facilities for the arts and learning; and many others.

The is was a stimulating evening that made clear how passionately people feel about Tooting , and gave lots of food for thought.  For more info about BATCA, email allanraallan@aol.com or phone 020 8870 1550.

TTT Food Grower's Event!

Bring your Seeds and Gardening Needs!

On April 6th TTT will be holding a Seed Swap and Food Growing event at Mushkil Aasaan from 7-9pm and the event needs YOU!

Do you have any spare packets of seed lying around from last year? Do you have any unloved gardening tools or would you like some for free?? Do you have any questions about urban growing or any tips to share?? If so, the TTT Food Grower's event definitely needs you!
There will  be a seed swapping stall with free gardening tools refurbished by inmates from Wandsworth Prison.  Alongside this will be tips on how to grow in urban environments and how to get garden equipment like plant pots from the dump (the ones I got last week were ace :)) there will also be details of how to get a special TTT 10% discount at local garden centres so don't miss out.

Bring a dish to share food and talk over your gardening successes and disasters with all of the TTT network and get inspired to grow some grub for this Autumn's Foodival.

See you there!

Susan's Eco Retrofit

Award-winning sustainable architect and TTT stalwart Susan Venner has been underatking an eco-retrofit of her Balham house for some time and you can visit it as part of the SuperHome Spring Openings on 28th March.  There's plenty of and varied insulation including an exterior cork wall plus solar water heating and a wood-burning stove.  It should be fascinating to snoop around ... ahem, under Susan's watchful guidance of course!  The opening is from 11 till 3 with half hour tours limited to 8 people at a time on the hour and half hour.  Book via Sustainable Energy Academy where Susan's home is listed as Cornford Grove, Balham.  

Also don't forget the BATCA Open Forum tonight at St Augustine's Church in Broadwater Rd between 7.30 and 9.30 pm.  The subject is "Let's Make Tooting Better" 

Also there's the Islam and Permaculture course next Sat 27th and the next First Tuesday on April 6th to look forward to, where the theme will be Food.  See our Events page for full details

Oscar Season continues ...

More good publicity but ... let's not forget our co-Champion Hilary!

Palme Verte Goes to "Mine"

Last night at Transition Town Tooting's inaugural First Tuesday event, a screening of the best in environmental short films, the coveted Palme Verte was awarded to Mine - story of a sacred mountain, a moving documentary by Survival about the Dongria Kondh tribe of the Niyamgiri Hills in India. The Dongria Kondh's whole way of life is threatened by the British company Vedanta Resources' plan to decapitate their scared mountain and mine its bauxite. Read the latest information on Survival's campaign for the Dongria or watch the film here.  Second place went to the Story of Stuff by the Tides Foundation.  It was powerful first to see the impact of the consumer world's craving for "stuff" and then to understand the very specific effects that craving can have on a people who live in a much more symbiotic way with the natural world.

A successful evening was capped by lively discussion and of course tasty food - thanks everyone who helped out.  Next month's First Tuesday on April 6th will focus on Food, with a seed swap and advice on what to plant this spring.  I can't wait!  DT 

First Tuesday Film Night

We start our series of First Tuesday events on Tuesday March 2nd with a film night, where we will show several short films with relevance to transition and environmental issues.  There’ll be time afterwards for a discussion and the award of the Tooting Palme Verte to the evening’s favourite film.  Bring food to share if you'd like.

Come and enjoy The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard, Rob Hopkins TED talk: Transition to a world without oil, Jo Brand’s Save Money & The Planet, and Survival’s Mine - story of a sacred mountain, plus some random special extras!   

 Tuesday 2^nd March - 7pm Start; Mushkil Aasaan, 220-222 Upper Tooting Rd.

Our Green Champion

Lucy makes the front page as the Wandsworth Green Champion!  And below is the relevant part of the article on the Green Guardian pages.  Great publicity for Transition Town Tooting!  Well done Lucy!

Are we getting anywhere?

What a week!  Susan Venner (Venner Lucas Architects) and I collecting our Awards at this week's Wandsworth Green Champions Awards from the Mayor and Konstam's cook Oliver! Thanks to those that nominated us and many a cheer for our Tooting work to get a Transition initiative off the ground. We always talk about acting as a catalyst for imagining how we'll put our head, heart and hands to positive solutions to the challenges we face in building a low carbon society and holding these sparkly awards on Thursday night it felt as though it wasnt just talk: others also believe we are making a practical difference too. Hurrah!  Working hard day by day, week by week, you have to trust your instincts that you're getting somewhere so it's uplifting to be recognised - and that goes for the whole TTT team - in this way. No stopping us now.

Many a week in transition world has a roller coaster feel.  The last has been no exception. Monday was spent preparing for a gi-normous 'stake holder' meeting with representatives of Emergency services, Fire, Ambulance, Police, Transport for London, London Traffic Control, London Buses, Tooting Town Centre Management, our Carnival artists Emergency Exit Arts and a number of Wandsworth Council employees to discuss closure of Upper Tooting Road on Sunday July 4th for the Trashcatchers' Carnival.  Road  closure of any of London's main roads is a very complex business and traffic management plans have to be worked out with incredible care and precision, to divert buses, fire engines and ambulances. The first meeting made progress - we are not there yet, but hopefully more work, more plans, more meetings and we can get there. In a nutshell we're proposing that a community that has heavy traffic pass through it 24 hours a day for 365 days a year, is given the chance to celebrate itself, see itself, hear itself, know itself, renew and re-imagine itself for a few hours as a spectacular, inventive, creative, non polluting Carnival passes through.

Today we spent some time visiting shops and businesses along the High Road letting them know about the Carnival and asking if they had any trash we could start collecting...We met with positive responses and many smiles. It seems the Carnival gives pleasure to people simply imagining it. Fingers crossed the real thing will prove memorable and magical for all. Email Transition Town Tooting if you'd like to know about the Feb Carnival workshops being held Feb 27th/28th to design and build the Carnival story.

The Copenhagen Climate Change talks back in December were of course more than disappointing. But for me they made one thing crystal clear. It is on the ground, person by person, house by house, shop by shop, heart by heart where the real changes are made. It really really is down to us in local communities. As Gary Snyder the American poet says 'Find your place on the planet. Dig in and take responsibility from there.' How proud and glad I am that's Tooting for me!
LN

Easing The Transition

Coverage in today's Wandsworth Guardian of our recent Energy Talk with Jeremy Leggett & Rex Cassidy.  Good pic - we should sign that photographer up for the Carnival!

Brief highlights are now on our video channel

Talking Energy & Recycled Oil

TTT held a very interesting and well attended talk on Thursday with Solar Century's Jeremy Leggett and Rex Cassidy the Facilities Director at Springfields Hospital responsible for all St Georges Trust buildings. Some video excerpts will follow on our youtube channel.  

Jeremy reminded us that how human brains work is key and that we tend "to be blind to depletion of resources, expecting steady growth in supply to meet ever increasing demand."  Scary, but we obviously derive some comfort from being in a state of denial!  Meanwhile the UK government apparently has an equally scary attitude to the coming oil crunch telling Jeremy that "it would be risky to do a risk assessment" of the situation!  And the government's 2009 Wicks Report tells us "there's no crisis", assuming oil companies will just find more and more prehistoric fossilised algae and zoo plankton from 100s of millions of years ago (yes that's what oil is according to wikipedia anyway).  Thankfully Jeremy said solutions abound in renewable energy, the clean tech revolution and localised resilience, mobilising just as people did in the straightened times of 1930s and 40s.  A very Transition response we think.  Loads more info on Jeremy's site HERE.

Rex meanwhile explained the energy challenges of looking after 90 buildings used by 3,000 staff in the Tooting area.  Indeed it was the hospital staff who provided key impetus behind drafting the Trust's Carbon Management Plan, to which Rex introduced us.  There was time for questions and it was sobering to discover that the UK sits a paltry 25th out of the 27 EU countries in terms of renewable energy development with 1.3%.  The hospital redevelopment plans meanwhile do hope to include renewable energy generation.

Also last week we made an inspiring and enlightening visit to Uptown Oil near Waterloo who produce 100% recycled biodiesel from used vegetable oil. Wouldn't it be great if the Trashcatchers Carnival floats could be powered by used cooking oil from Tooting's myriad restaurants? We are looking into the possibility.  Uptown Oil told us they are constantly looking for more good supplies of used oil.  A significant number of London's taxis are already running on cleaner renewable biodiesel as was evidenced by the steady stream of them pulling up while we there.    DT

Volunteer Roles for Carnival

TTT is looking for several different people to assist over the next few months in the build up to Tooting's first ever Trashcatchers Carnival on July 4th. Could you help out with vital Fundraising or be the key Community Liaison person with all the local groups? Or perhaps you know all about Press & Publicity? Click on the respective links for more details of each role and how to apply.

Energy Specialist Jeremy Leggett in Tooting

Further to the successful talk held in September with Prof Tim Lang and NEF’s Andrew Simms, we are holding a 2nd talk in association with the Wandsworth Environment Forum this week. What will Tooting look when cheap oil runs out? And how can we make the transition? Come and hear from Energy Specialist and Director of Solar Century Jeremy Leggett, a leader in raising awareness about Peak Oil and the coming energy crunch, and also for a local insight Rex Cassidy, Director of Facilities and Patient Environment at Springfield Hospital, will tell us about the energy challenges faced by the hospital.

Thursday 28th January - 7.30 pm, Mushkil Aasaan, 220–222 Upper Tooting Road. PS: See Jeremy's article in Saturday's Guardian

Reflections on Involvement with TTT

We asked Tooting Transitioners what they'd learnt from getting involved with our local collective response to global challenges. Here's a random selection of what they said:

Malsara:
I am touched and amazed by the generosity and kindness of the people I have met through TTT. What a refreshing change from the profit driven madness of the recruitment world, thank goodness I have left that behind me! …Being a member of TTT has given me the opportunity to learn new skills and do things I would not have had the opportunity of doing, it's been quite an experience.

Ethel:
Knowledge is power, and this is why I joined TTT and I have never looked back. The whole experience has made a difference in my daily life, I stopped driving to work at Chelsea and Kensington and travel by bus or train. I tell my friends and family to live gentle on the land God has given us to plant more trees and to use the produce at harvest time for our food. I have learnt a lot from the meetings, the conference at Battersea Arts Centre and also watching Age of Stupid, raised my awareness to some of the issues affecting poor countries in the world, and that we should try and live simply and allow others also to live. I think I can make a difference, as a midwife giving advice to pregnant women about health and wellbeing, I can look into health issues. I envisage the future for Tooting is to have trees on the pavements on the High Streets, and no cars to cut down on the carbon.

Jo:
To me being part of a transition group, even on an adhoc basis due to my travelling, helps me to give a moment, sometimes just a thought, to how I live my life and how that effects others near and far.

David:
I have been amazed at how a seemingly small insignificant thing can snowball into a much bigger more significant thing; for instance my photos and videos as picked up on and used by others. It makes me feel that small things can assist in facilitating real change towards a more sustainable and resilient society. An ocean comes from many raindrops.

Lucy:
I look at everything differently. I feel clearer about my role and I feel calmer that I have now taken into my own hands responsibility for acting on behalf of the planet and my community. I am hopeful and excited about some of the things I think we can achieve in Tooting. I have learnt that the earth needs our help and there is a lot we can do. TTT has helped wake me up to this and set me on a road that will be full of adventures. It has given me a framework in which i can lead my life which is coherent and committed.

Hilary:
I’ve learnt that I don’t need the ‘authority’ of a job or a job title to get out and make things happen. I’ve walked through doorways in Tooting that I passed by for years and behind them have found wonderful spaces, lovely people and caring and supportive communities. I’ve met many great people with whom I can share my fears for the future without fear of judgement but also make plans with a sense of imagination and creativity which feels like it might just make changes possible.

Giulia:
I really do believe now that together people can make a difference and that there is scope to reinvent our lives and the places we live in. It has been a very "dynamic" year, exchanging great ideas, developing our vision of a better future and mostly, making things come true!!

We look forward to welcoming more of you in 2010

Sustainable Future?

The government of The Maldives held a cabinet meeting under water last month to emphasise how their nation is threatened by rising sea levels and climate change.

And an article in the Guardian today claims that the International Energy Agency has been deliberately underplaying the looming oil shortage for fear of triggering panic buying.  Hmmm ...

Meanwhile, closer to home, consultation is under way on Wandsworth Council's environmental policy document entitled 'Ambition for a sustainable future'.  The Wandsworth Environment Forum is holding a workshop on Monday 16th Nov. to (a) find out more about what the council is proposing (b) contribute local people's views about the proposals and (c) shape the Council's environmental priorities over the coming years.  All are welcome and full details of how to attend are here

All About The Oil

What is it about Peak Oil that helps to 'get one's head' around the converging challenges of this time in planet history? I like to see it as the 'first story': all the others - climate change, economic 'recession', arctic ice melts, pollution, obesity, loss of bio-diversity, floods, famines, having to recycle our waste and think about using the car less are 'second stories'. Peak Oil is certainly the thing that made me, a theatre producer, sit up and decide to act consciously for the earth. 


This new report from Bristol City Partnership and Council. is an incredible resource for us to be able to learn from. At 104 pages it's quite a read, (exec summary short) but it is mesmerising as it covers not only every aspect of the challenge of peak oil, but also the practical steps that can be taken in the face of it. For example, the NHS is heavily dependent on transport for patients and services travelling to and from hospitals. How will rising cost of fuels, have a knock on effect on the rest of health care budgets? Let alone in the longer term, the profiligate use of oil for transport needs when so many other precious things come from oil derivatives and 'oil-embedded' processes: medicines, drugs, hospital equipment, plastics, detergents. Oil is precious (took millions of years to form); has no equivalent as a resource and supply is declining at a time when the world's demand for it is increasing. What does this mean for every aspect of our daily lives and how much oil would we like to be left for our children and their children and generations to come? It's all a lot to imagine. What the Bristol Report does brilliantly is break this all down for us to see how it could work if we start NOW. The single most important suggestion they make for Councils is to 'Publically acknowledge the threat of Peak Oil'. Transition Towns play a part here in creating the public space to hold these discussions for anyone and everyone who wants to get their heads around this amazing challenge. As our Trashcatching workshops showed, children and artists are beginning to do this. Let's join them!

LN

Trashcatching Workshops

Well done to everyone who was involved in last week's Trashcatching Workshops at Graveney School.  A short film of some of the action can be watched below! There will be more workshops over half term in February as we prepare for the big Trashcatchers' Carnival in Tooting on July 4th 2010. Any children or adults wishing to get involved, you can, it's free and we'd love to have you on board!

News both inspiring and concerning

A few of us from Transition Tooting made it up to the New Economics Foundation's Bigger Picture festival of interdependence on Saturday (although overwhelming numbers did leave others standing in a lengthy queue or giving up all together).  Highlights for me were: hearing Jeremey Leggett and Juliet Davenport giving both the harsh reality and the currently untapped potential for us to survive life after oil, visiting the Ministry of Trying to Do Something about it and receiving my carbon ration book, and of course hearing our own Lucy Neal on a panel investigation of whether Art can save the Earth.  In support of the key role art can play Lucy quoted Brian Eno ... "Humans are capable of a unique trick, creating realities by first imagining them, by experiencing them in their minds. As soon as we sense the possibility of a more desirable world, we begin behaving differently, as though that world is starting to come into existence, as though, in our mind's eye, we are already there. The dream becomes an invisible force which pulls us forward. By this process it begins to come true. The act of imagining somehow makes it real....And what is possible in art becomes thinkable in life."
Time to get imaginging some new realities..

Talking of which - I'm already half way through NEF's new publication, The Great Transition - Tales of How it Turned Out Right - described as the first comprehensive blueprint for an economy based on stability, prosperity, fairness, sustainability and well-being.  Some of the ideas - like valuing products on the basis of the environment are already being tackled in other countries such as Sweden.  Interesting how 'Transition' seems to be the go-to word these days to describe the changes we are going through.

Meanwhile on the Peak Oil front a great (though depressing) summary of where we are by Ashley Seager here in the Guardian on Monday.

Journeys We Undertake ...

In the summer TTT's Bruce Mackenzie made an inspiring return to the Isle of Eigg, one of the Scottish Small Isles in the Inner Hebrides. The people of the island of Eigg have already made great strides towards sustainability and retaining local identity for their island, including generating their own power via Eigg Electric. To read and comment on Bruce's article go here to TTT's ning discussion board. What thoughts does anyone have about the future of the "Isle of Tooting"?  More ...

Events This Week

Don't forget that tomorrow, Transition Town Tooting is running an an interactive discussion event at Tara Arts - Studio in Earlsfield entitled "Imagining Tooting in 2030, a positive vision of life beyond oil". It's FREE! Come along & bring your imagination!

If you missed The End of the Line, the film about overfishing and the threat to fish species, it will be screened at 10pm on More4 tonight, Tuesday 20th October.

The New Economics Foundation is running The Bigger Picture Festival of Interdependence this Saturday 24th October at the Bargehouse, Oxo Tower Wharf on the South Bank. They promise "learning, making, doing, celebrating and debating" with plenty of speakers, films and things to try out. It's free too!

The festival is part of the 350 international day of climate action 350 is 350 parts per million - what scientists estimate to be the safe upper limit of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. There are loads of other events on Saturday tying into this.

On 27th October the All Party Parliamentary Group on Peak Oil has an event entitled: Will Global Oil Production peak Before 2020? Anyone can register to attend. Claudia is a veteran I believe and can recommend!

Tooting Harvest Foodival 2009 Highlights

Watch the video ...

And for more information, reports and all the pictures go to the Foodival Site

Tim Lang & Andrew Simms in Tooting

Last Thursday, TTT & Transition Town Wandsworth organised a discussion event with Tim Lang, Professor of Food Security at City University and Andrew Simms, Policy Director of the New Economics Foundation at Mushkil Aasaan. There was then some time to chat, brainstorm ideas and ask questions. A really enlightening evening with a good turnout. This video contains brief excerpts from the speakers.

And here are the post-it boards:

What Are Transition Towns? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and why families get involved

Kate Birch's article for Families South West magazine looks at Transition Towns including TTT and TTBrixton. Click the image below to read in full.

Rob Hopkins at Mirch Masala

Rob Hopkins, the creator of the Transition Town concept, made a flying visit for a late afternoon snackette at Mirch Masala last night, the table cunningly adjacent to our Foodival poster, before being ferried to the Brixton Pound launch in Lucy's van!

Also, a whole hour was devoted to Transition Towns and the B£ on LBC yesterday courtesy of Jeni Barnett who thinks Rob is a visionary hero! She's right of course.

Now what shall we call the Tooting currency when it arrives and who shall we put on it? Just thumbing the Venerable Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People for a decent mugshot of Tōta, the c.6th century Anglo-saxon, and his people the Tōtinges, from whom the name Tooting apparently descends. dt

Tooting Harvest Foodival - 10 Days To Go!

Final preparations are taking place for this year’s Tooting Harvest Foodival which takes place on Sunday 27^th September. We are aiming to highlight the possibilities for local food sustainability with this event which will involve high street restaurants cooking up dishes in their own inimitable styles using ingredients grown and supplied by local people. The Food Walk starts at 12 noon at Al Mirage, 215 Upper Tooting Rd arriving at Fircroft School for a Food Fete from 2pm. For more details go to the Foodival page

Foodival in The Post

More press coverage of the Tooting Harvest Foodival in this week's Mitcham, Morden & Wimbledon Post.

Click on the image to enlarge

Foodival In The Wandsworth Guardian

Great bit of publicity in today's Wandsworth Guardian for next month's Foodival - well done Foodival team! We now have a good selection of Tooting's restaurants signed up and ready to get involved, cooking up great locally grown food in their own inimitable styles and are also grateful to several other supporters (see below). All it needs now is for Tooting residents to keep nurturing those plants and to keep fingers crossed for a bumper crop come September! As usual head for the Foodival & Veg Pledging sites or contact Giles Read or Claudia Ruane for more details. Click on the pictures below to enlarge them.

The Psychology of Climate Change

In a surprise first for this "correspondent", a whole meal was created from the bounteous produce of our postage stamp garden this week (see below). It IS possible! OK we didn't "grow" the fish but ... an ocean is made of many raindrops. And doesn't that carrot look like a well known Tooting resident? Answers on a postcard please.

Out in the ether, todays' Ecologist has an article entitled "The psychology of climate change: why we do nothing" which is an interesting read. The article cites Renee Lertzman a PhD Research student in the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University who, looking at the unconscious motivations behind many people’s responses to climate change, reckoned that:
"more participant-led models such as the Transition Town movement where people were encouraged to bring there own ideas rather than being lectured at, were more likely to succeed".
Let's hope so! The positive outlook of the Transition Movement, its open framework and inclusiveness do seem to engage the "man or woman in the street" on climate change and peak oil issues better than beating us about the head with scenarios of impending doom!

Meanwhile back in South London's vibrant melting pot, TTT are busy signing up the town's restaurants to cook local produce for the Foodival next month and looking for more growers to pledge food to be cooked and served to the public on the day. Can you help? Surely you can do better than my lookalike carrot? Contact Giles Read HERE to join in the project.

Finally, if you just can't get enough of TTT in your life, you could join our Facebook group or follow TTT on Twitter. Whatever next?! DT

What Might Trashcatching Look Like?

A few excerpts from June's Trashcatching Procession at the BATCA Funday

A Few Interesting Things

Here's a free guide to Urban Fruit Harvesting which looks good.

Here are some showings of climate films at the London Bridge Festival next week.

And here is a an Earthwatch debate in November called "From Tsunami to Drought" where they are looking for an extra speaker aged 18-30.

Meanwhile, Giles still needs your pictures of all things growing for the Foodival site and, demanding as he is, he now also wants pledges of what you will bring at harvest time ... so please get pledging here !

And Giles look >>>> these are going crazy! DT

Tooting Goes To Town!

A Tooting team travelled up to town last night to hear the final results for the TippingPoint Commission on the roof terraces of the National Theatre on The South Bank. Out of 178 applications nationally the Trashcatchers' Carnival in Tooting was one of 4 awards presented by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband, pictured here with (standing on the right of the picture, Lucy Neal, Hilary Jennings, (co-Chairs TTT), Indrajit Patel (Chair of the Tooting Partnership Board/Tooting Business Network), Audrey Helps (Tooting Town Centre Manager), Deb Mullins (Emergency Exit Arts), Faye Mayer (Tooting Community Programme Co-ordinator for Tooting Schools), Fabio Santos (Project Phakama), Ines Tercio (Project Phakama) and to Ines' immediate Regis Gnaly (Project Phakama). Taking this picture was Mike Grenville who came up from Forest Row to represent the Transition Network, thankyou Mike.

The award is thrilling. It gives £20,000 to Project Phakama and Emergency Exit Arts to lead a year long project in Tooting to use art, carnival, celebration and the collective ingenuity of all the community to create a large scale promenade on the 2010 summer solstice - from Trash! Using recycling as a metaphor, (and as piloted at June 13th Funday) we can build a vision of a low-energy future for Tooting and have a lot of fun in the process. We will post here soon national news about these prestigious awards, created by TippingPoint to encourage artists to introduce audiences to the imaginative thinking necessary to contemplate and inhabit a world dominated by climate change.

Yes, that's us! All would-be sewers, beaders, makers, designers, dancers, musicians, recyclers, cyclers, performers, costumiers, hairdressers, puppeteers and carnivalistas please step forward!

LN

Trashcatching Pics

Here are a few more photos of the Trashcatching and making at last weekend's BATCA funday. Thanks to local photographer Neila (neila@hotmail.co.uk) for these.

BATCA Midsummer Funday

This afternoon at the BATCA Midummer Funday, TTT helped Project Phakama, Emergency Exit Arts and a small army of Tooting kids turn TRASH into great CARNIVAL COSTUMES for a'Trashcatchers' Carnival procession!

There are grand plans for 2010 but in the meantime here is a selection of photos from today. We should be able to post some film up too shortly.

Imagine if you saved every bit of rubbish for a year what you could make at the end of it?!!! Hmm now there's an idea!

Send in Your Photos for Plant of the Week!

As part of the build up to this year's Tooting Harvest Foodival on Sunday 27th September Giles wants your entries for Tooting's home growing plant of the week! The Foodival now has its own webpages here. Mail your photos to Giles asap for a chance to win ... er ... well at least the honour of sharing your home or garden with a Plant of the Week! Some early contenders ...

Tooting helps pull off National TT Conference!

Need to pause to take stock of the last few weeks before getting ready for exciting summer of events coming up..... The National Transition Conference held at Battersea Arts Centre 2 weeks ago was a spectacular success.

Transition initiatives from all over the UK and those from further afield. Our own Sadiq Khan was heard to declare in this interview that 'Transition has legs' - that's good! It was Sadiq with help from local Councillors and Transition team Tooting that were responsible for getting the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Milliband, to make an appearance at the Conference on Friday May 22nd. Milliband duly joined the 350 transitioners present to discuss over 100 issues - from the current state of oil depletion to building resilient local economies to how to run food growing workshops.Listen to his interview with Rob Hopkins and Peter Lipman here.

Sounds like he's pretty interested in the Transition experiment. Team Tooting then pulled out all the stops for the 2 Hour Energy Descent Action plan which with help from a total team of 40 dramatised the '12 steps' of transition around the Grand Hall.

Film coming shortly. There was SO much to learn from others present at the conference about how other communities are managing this extraordinary process of changemaking at grass roots level. It was affirming to read Madeleine Bunting's views the next day on how the Transition movement is a positive force to be reckoned with looking peak oil and climate change squarely in the eye...

Tooting's next steps for a summer of events over the next few weeks are ready to go: the piloting the Trashcatchers' Carnival at the Midsummer Funday in Tooting on June 13th 12-4.30pm; screenings of Age of Stupid (7pm on June 18th, The Bedford on Balham Hill; June 29th at Springfield Hospital and July 3rd Tooting Graveney School). And hurray we finally have a leaflet to hand around. The Tooting Town Centre manager has also asked us to take care of one of the Town's noticeboards so people can pick up on what's happening as they stroll around....Lots going on and elderflowers to be picked for cordial making next weekend as well..

Launch of Tooting Harvest Foodival 2009!

Transition Town Tooting are busy organising this year’s Harvest Foodival taking place on Sunday 27th of September and are looking for all growers great and small to join in.
The event is a celebration of all things green and growing in the town and restaurants down the high street from Tooting Bec to Broadway stations will be cooking up locally grown fruit and veg on the day so locals can sample the true tastes of Tooting! Along with the cooking will also be a number of walks to venues near the high street where food is already being grown above and around shops with talks on urban growing and the possibilities for broadening Tooting’s food production.
At the end of the day there’ll be a fantastic finale event including a growers competition with a category for “Fruit or Veg that Most Resembles a Celebrity” – truly a must win event! So we’re encouraging everyone to get growing and be a part of what looks set to be an amazing day that celebrates Tooting’s rich food culture with more than a sprinkling of fun!
For more details on how to be part of the event or to be emailed updates on what’s happening when and where, please contact Giles Read at giles@cen.org.uk or on 0773 892 8215.

Transition Town Meet-up

TT Tooting members were involved in a successful 21st Century Network Transition Towns meet-up at EnlightenNext in Islington on Wednesday (13th May). Lucy was speaking along with TT Brixton's Duncan Law and TT Forest Row's Mike Grenville while David was facilitating. Loads of good ideas appeared in the breakout discussions and I personally was particularly taken with the idea of giving my garden shed a green roof - something like this one perhaps. This group has someone with a good camera taking pics at every event that provide a good record. I think TTT could endeavour to do the same? Any Tooting Annie Liebowitzs or David Baileys out there?

Tooting Sakura April 2009

I paid an interesting visit to the Tooting Commons MAC last night, a group who act as a consultation partner for Wandsworth Council, and for other bodies who carry out work on or near the Commons with a diverse range of interested parties attending. Discussion ranged from wind turbines and road closures to guided walks and plum trees! Gave me some ideas which I'll bring along to tomorrow night's meeting. Aren't we lucky to have such a great open space right on our doorstep? Just in case any of you have been stodging inside too much of late and missed this April's cherry blossom, here are two fine examples from Tooting Graveney Common, dt.

Guess who's coming to dinner..

Transition Town Tooting were pleased to be invited to join Sadiq Khan MP who hosted Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change at a supper in Tooting last week. I attended on behalf of TTT and was invited to join Mr Miliband's table where I was quizzed by him about the transition movement. As well as an opportunity to hear him speak, it was great to have a chance to share with him my personal enthsuiasm for TTT and for the growing community response to climate change and peak oil which is developing in Tooting. It also provided an opportunity to invite both he and Sadiq Khan to attend the upcoming transition network conference in Battersea in May. A short video clip of them in conversation appears here on Sadiq's blog. http://www.sadiqkhan.co.uk/index.php/blog/5-general/319-dinner-with-ed-miliband?4bcca4bd673637b028d7767aee95d1b6=e59ba59755b55c5fb5e3f25ddb9c4e08 - I managed to remain out of the limelight just left of shot...

Hilary

London transitioners flock to Wandsworth

Around 50 members of 15 different London transition networks met on Monday 23rd at Battersea Arts Centre (venue for the upcoming network conference in May) for the first ever London-wide transition event. We were welcomed by one of BAC's co-Artistic Directors, David Micklem who gave us some insight in to the venue's history as a centre for radical thought and action.

The evening started with a World Cafe event run by Asha Bee which focused on the particular challenges and benefits of transitioning in cities. Asha was then going on to run simliar events in other cities including Bristol and Brighton - all the input from which will feed into the new book on Transitioning Cities which Asha will be writing over the coming months.

After this there was a chance to meet and chat with other London TT networkers and to discuss the conference and plans for London beyond May. It was a great opportunity to share experiences and Finsbury TT has already stepped up and offered to host a future event possibly in June.

Happy Birthday TTT

Transition Town Tooting tonight celebrated its 1st birthday at Mushkil Aasaan! Lucy & Hilary led a good discussion with a review of what's been achieved, a creative visualisation of the future, working groups and a birthday cake with its own rocket launcher!

Local Heroes Community Awards

Tooting really is an inspiring,  quirky, humorous, resilient, inventive and diverse place. Just returned from an incredible evening at Jasmin's Club on Tooting High St, host to this year's Community Awards. A full house organised by the indominatable Balham and Tooting Community Association recognising the work done by 'ordinary' people on the ground. Transition Town Tooting had its moment: Iqbal Turk and I presented a snap-shot picture of the Tooting Earth Talk Walk as a prelude to Tara Art Pauline Nakirya's one woman performance of The Animal's Lawsuit (based on a 10th century Basra poem). Iqbal, Mary Boley and I were also nominated for TTT related community awards which was humbling given a) the short time TTT has been around and b) the company we were in: long-serving health workers, choir leaders, community champions for the elderly, children and women's groups. Great Gustos singing and all topped by MP Sadiq Khan's triumphant arrival at 11th hour with news Springfield Hospital Mega-Development Plans have been turned down by a Wandsworth Council meeting tonight.Hurray! All to play for now on a Sustainable Tooting front.  LN

The Age of Stupid

The Age of Stupid - join us at Wimbledon Odeon on 15th March

'The first succesful dramatisation of Climate Change to hit the big screen' - The Guardian A new film, The Age of Stupid (http://www.ageofstupid.net/ and attached), looks like its going to be a fantastic vehicle to raise public awareness of the issue of climate change. The film makers are trying to get into the Guinness Book of records for the biggest premiere ever and so on 15th March at 5.30pm it is being screened simultaneously in cinemas across the UK. Sustainable Merton have managed to secure a screening at the Wimbledon Odeon and all TTT members are encouraged to attend. If it is a packed showing the Odeon have promised to hold a further free screening of the film! Tickets are available online here - looks like they are selling fast http://www.odeon.co.uk/fanatic/film_info/s142/Wimbledon/m11958/The_Age_Of_Stupid_/

More Earth Talk Walk Photos

Thanks to Sara for these photos