Transition Town Whitstable – the first in Kent

A Transition Initiative is a community working together to tackle the key issues of Climate Change and Peak Oil. Transition Town Whitstable is an active and ever-increasing group with a lively programme of events that harness the energy and talent in Whitstable.

Web Site Update

This site is now being maintained again.  I will soon start adding new material.

Comments about the web site specifically can be addressed to ttwsite@btinternet.com.

General comments about Whitstable Transition Town should continue to be sent to transitionwhitstable@gmail.com.

Julian Hawkins

Community Gardening Round up

Come and join in!

Community Gardening is really taking off in Whitstable. The raised beds outside the library are full to bursting and the Stream Walk Community garden is being transformed. But we still need lots of helpers to keep them going. Especially as both have been entered in the Whitstable in Bloom competition. Come and drop in to our sessions, meet new friends and feel part of these exciting projects.

• Stream Walk has sessions on Tuesdays 12 – 4pm and the 3rd Saturday of each month 10am – 2pm. Tea provided! The Community Garden can be found along the Stream Walk footpath between Cromwell Road and Old Bridge Rd. in Whitstable. There is no need to book, you can simply turn up.
• The Library raised beds next session is on 26 June, late morning to early afternoon.

See you there.

Calling all web/email/social networking enthusiasts

TTW has gone from strength to strength in the years since it started and it is now looking for someone to help take it to the next level.

Do you love all things techy? Are you a budding social networking guru? Do you get a kick out of the web and email? Most importantly, do you have some time to spare to help publicise all the great work that TTW is doing? Then you could be the person we are looking for.

TTW is looking for a volunteer to take over their online communications. This will involve:

• managing our facebook and twitter accounts
• developing our website
• monitoring our email and sending regular email-shots
• looking after our online document store and calendar

Access to a PC and the internet, plus time and enthusiasm are essential. A full hand-over is provided. If you are interesting please contact Cyrus.

UK ministers ignored ‘peak oil’ warnings, report shows

“Report reveals threat of civil unrest from energy shortages, which has been played down as ‘alarmist’ by ministers”, says Terry Macalister in The Guardian today.

“The government was warned by its own civil servants two years ago that there could be “significant negative economic consequences” to the UK posed by near-term “peak oil” energy shortages.” Read the full article by clicking on the link above or go straight to the report.

Don’t forget, we can’t rely on our government, whoever is in charge, to prepare us for the coming energy shortage. We have to do it ourselves and getting involved in your local Transition Town initiative is a great way of doing this.

Learn about the Environment at Hambrook Marshes

Kent Enterprise Trust is running a number of outdoor course days at their peaceful site close to the heart of Canterbury, giving you the opportunity to learn about Kent’s abundant wildlife and how to use natural materials sustainably. You can learn in small relaxed groups from their knowledgeable teachers.

The days start at 10am and continue to 4pm, weather dependant. They provide teas, tools and materials, but ask you to bring lunch and wear old clothes and suitable footwear.

Hambrook Marshes is on the banks of the River Stour and can be reached via the Riverside Retail Park next the Wincheap Park and Ride in Canterbury. Follow the bridge over the river.

Further information and booking form.

Transition Network News – June

Check out the latest newsletter from the network.

CONTENTS

~ TRANSITION NETWORK CONFERENCE, 8-10th July Liverpool
COMMUNITY NEWS
~ May Transition World Round-up
~ US Edition – May Transition World Round-up
~ Draught-Busting Workshops
~ Bicycles for community building
~ Transitioner selected for Yellow Pages cover
~ Transition Network Diversity Newsletter May 2011
COMING UP
~ Social Reporting Pilot Call To Action
~ An update on ‘In Transition 2.0′ the film
~ UK Allotment Waiting Lists 2011 Report
~ Free Trees For Communities
THINKING OUT LOUD
~ No More Need to Talk to Talk About Peak Oil?
~ Transition and Activism
~ Transition and Entertainment
~ When Is a Meeting Not a Meeting?
~ Toads Talk Transport
EVENTS
Quote of the Month

Dirty Weekend a Great Success.

Lots of volunteers made the Dirty Weekend at the Stream Walk Community Garden a great success last Saturday. Everyone mucked in with building the raised beds and filling them with earth, compost and then seeds. Tomatoes were just one of the crops planted at the 1/2 acre site. For more info see the article on the thisiskent website.

Have a look at our calendar for volunteer sessions in the coming weeks, we will be there on Be Nice to Nettles Day on Saturday 28 May.

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Be Nice to Nettles Day

Saturday 28 May

Celebrate the common nettle as part of national Be Nice to Nettles Week and discover there’s more to nettles than just their sting!

Whitstable Museum, Oxford Street

Morning: Displays about the many uses of nettles, and hands-on activities.

Free, drop-in event for all ages(10.00–13.00)

AfternoonTalks:

13.45 – Grasping the Nettle: an Introduction

14.30 – Knitting With Nettles

15.15 – Nettle Folklore and Uses

Call 01227 276 998 to book the talks.

Adults £2.50, Museum Friends £2, accompanied children free.

 

Latest News from Edible Whitstable

Read the latest Edible Whitstable Newsletter

Issue 8 : May 2011

Greetings food folk! Early spring and blossom which bodes well for later foraging. Lots of food news to note since our last issue; the anti-Tesco protest in Bristol last month, planning applications for battery rabbit farms across the country and allegations from Unite of sweatshop labour down the road at Thanet Earth. Locally there is distress at the doubling of allotment charges, while at national level it appears that the government might be having second thoughts about releasing local authorities from their obligation to provide allotments.

But there are reasons to be cheerful in Whitstable as Transition Town’s growing projects are blooming.

Dirty Weekend in Whitstable – all Welcome

You’ve seen the vegetable beds at the library, you love the Farmers Market – now we’re expanding to a half acre site for community use!

There’s a working day at Whitstable’s wonderful new Stream Walk Community Garden this coming Saturday, May 21st 10am-2pm.

Lots of compost to shovel, hedges to trim, tea to make as well as a bit of carpentry. More info at http://www.permaculture.org.uk/whats-going-on/event/work-day/dirty-weekend-whitstable-compost-shovelling-day-2011-05-21. We’ll be getting ready for planting the raised beds and building a compost loo.

If you can’t make it, there are regular sessions every 3rd Satuday of the month, 10am – 2pm and also every Tuesday from 12 – 4pm.

This is a great opportunity for anyone who likes the thought of having an allotment and either can’t move up the list fast enough or doesn’t want the full responsiblity of their own plot or doesn’t know how to get started with growing their own veg and fruit – or if you just want to come and join in with the community garden.

Hope to see loads of you there – whatever your gardening skills.

Becky and Bear