Deal Seedy Saturday 30th May

Our new space at the Landmark Garden had its first road test today. A very sucessful Seedy Saturday - with more space for plants and people.

Thank you to our volunteers today at Seedy Saturday - Sonja, Sue, Tracy, Sarah, Imogen and Steve - to Steve at the Landmark Centre for helping us to setup and to our additional stalls from AnSugan (Sue), Jan and her wonderful plants and Sue & Cath from Deal Fairtrade.

Big thanks to the Sunshine Ukes for music:

Thanks also to everyone you donated plants or seeds and to Sue Evans for our new bunting (made from recycled shower curtain :) )

We collected £85 for donations to the Landmark and Deal Station Gardens.

The next Seedy Saturday is the 4th July - Independance Day theme ?

All our pics can be found here

Walmer Beach Clean Sunday 7th June

Beach Clean organised by Deal With It / Marine Conservation Society. 

Pickers, Bags and gloves supplied meet up at the Sea Cafe Walmer Green at 10am for about 1-2hrs but please do as much or as little as you like!

Children welcome but must responsibily supervise an adult :)

More details email info@dealwithit.org.uk

Victoria's Green Matters - 28th May 2015

Deal With IT's Secretary Victoria Nicholls writes a regular column in the East Kent Mercury:

It is extremely disappointing to read that one in three European birds is endangered, according to a study of wildlife and habitats.

It would seem that poor agricultural practices are to blame for the dramatic decline among once common birds, such as the skylark and the turtle dove. Turtle dove populations have fallen by 90% since 1980 and will soon appear on the red list of threatened species. The ortolan bunting, a songbird which is illegally hunted in France, and the skylark were found to be present in only half their numbers previously recorded.

‘The State of Nature’ study looked at 804 natural habitats, 77% of which were found to be in poor condition; almost one third had deteriorated since a report in 2006 and only 4% were found to be improving.

The study found that intensive farming and changes to land were posing the greatest threat to Europe’s flora and fauna. Grasslands, heath and scrub have been converted to grow more crops; often with the over use of pesticides and this has almost destroyed many bird populations. The removal of natural vegetation and landscape, along with monoculture farming has exacerbated the situation. It is hard to believe that human activity such as hunting, trapping, poisoning and poaching are still continuing in 2015 and these threaten all birds.

Projects linked to EU’s birds’ directive have managed to recover many wild bird populations, such as bearded vultures, great bustards and common cranes and give cause for hope in the future.

Deal Green Doors event - Can you help?

Any one who owns or knows about “eco” houses in the Dover/Deal area, please get in touch. 

We’d like to host a Green Open Doors event in September, but we need at least eight properties before we can move ahead with any plans.

Green Doors is bit like 'open studio' for green energy solutions - hosts share with visitors their experience on installation, suppliers and what impact the solution has had.

We are looking for hosts who have homes which have one or more of the following:

• PVs
• Thermal Water heating
• Ground source pumps
• Small turbines
• Retro-fit Wall insulation

Please ping us a email on info@dealwithit.org.uk if you can help

Petition to protect the allotments on Sandown Road, Sandwich

The allotments on Sandown Rd, in Sandwich are under threat. 

A group of concerned Sandwich residents have launched a petition to Dover District and Sandwich Town Councils to prevent the loss of the allotments which have been used since the First World war.

Nationally allotments are under  threat as local authorities see as a short cut to resolving funding issues - missing the vital role they play in providing skills, local food and the well-being of the community & individuals.  There are long waiting lists for all allotments locally - we need more not less of them.

Link to the petition site and more details:

https://www.change.org/p/dover-and-sandwich-council-to-protect-the-allotments-on-sandown-road-sandwich

Landmark Garden work completes

We have finished the first stage of the remodelling of the Landmark Garden today - all in time for next Saturday's Seedy Saturday.

This involved removing the central bed and getting a wood chip mulch down as a temporary surface.

The landmark centre is looking at a different surface for later in the year.

The intention is to increase the usage of the Garden as a public space with more people space for events, the cafe and use it as an out-door room.

We are also putting in a willow bank raised bed later this week. We will use the decanted top soil for some beds in the rear area of the Landmark Centre

Many thanks to Imogen, Steve, Rose, Rose, Wilf, Vicky for the mammoth job shifting 10tons of soil and removing the wall.

Thank you to kind person at the centre who lent us his kanga hammer drill and to George at Mongeham Logs for the woodchip and assistance. see you all at seedy saturday ...

Deal Seedy Saturday 30th May

Deal With It’s  next Deal Seedy Saturday will be on Saturday 30th May between 11am to 1ish at the Landmark Community Garden Deal High St

The Seedy Saturday is a plant and seed swap – people are encouraged to bring or donate any extra plants they are growing (mainly edibles) and perhaps try something different to grow.

We also actively encourage people to try their hand at growing some fruit, herbs or veg. We have our experts there to share knowledge and get people started growing.

This edition of Seedy will also have stalls from The Chocolution, AnSugan Recycled accessories and The Wild Kitchen Foraging with Lucia Stuart.

We also have the Sunshine Ukes, Deal’s premier Ukulele band playing from Noon.

All this happens in the Landmark Garden on Deal’s celebrated High Street .

The community garden is run by volunteers from Deal With It (Deal’s local community Green Group) and has a wonderful array of edible & wildlife friendly native planting designed by our head gardener Imogen Kitching

We have added to the diversity of the planting in the garden with a recent list of plants :

spignel, lemon balm, celery herb ,Chamomile, dyers, Chicory, wasabi, juniper, leek-babbington, liquorice, lovage, mace, miners lettuce, mitsuba, oyster plant, rock samphire, savoury 'purple mountain', weld, woodruff, dyers AlecostSavoury , lemon, thyme, caraway, camphor bush, melilot
orris, daphne mezereon, manuka, rose-apothecaries, spurge laurel,witch hazel, butchers broom,
cohosh-blue, cohosh-black, echinacea-angustifolia, echinacea-pallida, echinacea-paradoxa, echinacea-purpurea, Helleborine

We are also currentlt remodelling the central to give more people space and putting in a new willow bank raised bed.

Deal With It - Transition Deal Monthly Huddle 23rd May

We had our monthly Deal With It Organising Huddle at the Landmark Cafe this morning:

Food Projects
- Next Seedy Sat (30th May) arrangements
- Progress on Landmark Garden Changes (should complete on Monday + time for willow raised bed) +£170 of new native planting
- Next Seedy will be on 4th July with Applefest 17th Oct and 'DealWali' 19th Dec
- Deal Station Garden running ok and coldframe up and working


Beach Cleans
- Still looking for finance to replace pickers stock
- Next one Walmer on Sunday 7th June
- Sandown 5th July
- Deal MCS one 20th Sept

Green Gym
- Jane getting details on Ash
- Chris T has prices on Rugby Club
- Sue has details on possible North Deal one

Energy Projects
- Reportback on Folkestone Community Energy meeting
- Workshops in Ashford Monday 8th June Sarah, Rosie, Steve attending
- Idea of developing a community energy audit pilot at Landmark
- More work on energy champions
- Stephanie looking at Green Doors event
- Possible project at Betteshanger

Anti-Fracking update from EKAF - Village groups looking at community energy

Finance
- Deal Folk By the Sea has raised over £300 for gardens. Big Thanks to them

AOB
- No takers yet for transition conference in sept
- Looking at ideas to support the formation of Dover Transition Group
- Ideas for COP Paris event in Deal in Dec
- Ideas for a 'Celebrate Your Deal' to showcase the range of community activity in Deal
- Meeting with Kent Wildlife Trust on new MCZs and their plans for Coastal Wardens

Next Huddle 27th June 9:30am Landmark cafe - all welcome

Victoria's Green Matters - 21st May 2015

Deal With IT's Secretary Victoria Nicholls writes a regular column in the East Kent Mercury:

We depend on the National Grid to supply us with electricity, day in and day out, and all of us have experienced the inconvenience of a power cut on occasion but this is a rare occurrence. Unfortunately, the National Grid has lacked investment over many years due to inaction by the government and energy regulator, Ofgen, leading to difficulties for generators obtaining connections.

There has been a huge increase in small scale generation of electricity over the last few years in the UK and there are many Community Owned Renewable Energy projects, generating energy for the benefit of a village or town, as in Lewes, Sussex. This project has a large number of solar panels on the roof of the brewery in the town and is an ideal way to de-carbonise our energy supply.

To meet European Union targets, the UK must generate 15% of its energy from renewables by 2020; this target includes transport, heating and electricity generation. The UK is about halfway to achieving this target but needs to double its electricity generation from renewable sources to 30%.

It is unfortunate that the National Grid is, in some areas, closed to new generators. Even small, domestic solar panel arrays are unable to secure a connection. For businesses wanting to generate their own energy, the high connection charges that have to be paid upfront are often discouraging.

Our new government needs to change this situation if we are to reach our goals.

Deal Beach Clean 12th May

Deal's part of Marine Conservation Society's Big Beach Clean on Tuesday 12th May


We collected between Walmer castle and the Sea Scouts hut. Fifteen of us collected 37.5 kilos of recorded rubbish with a 7 kilo bag being the heaviest - just lots of fishing line, plastic materials etc.

A big thank you to all the volunteers who helped on tuesday and especially those from Deal M&S

Next Beach Clean is on Sunday 7th June meet at Sea Cafe on Walmer Green at 10am

Next Deal Seedy Saturday is on Sat 30th May

The next episode of Deal's Seedy Saturday will be on Sat 30th May between 11am to 1ish.
This will be a seed and plant swap plus we hope to have a few local produce stalls - Sue Evans from AnSugan will be there with recycled bags and accessories along with Chocolution with their raw chocolate tasters.

We will also have some music from the Sunshine Ukes.

The team of volunteers are mid-way in reshaping the garden - the idea is take out the middle bed (which has been problematic from a growing view) to produce more people space for events, the cafe & an outdoor room for the Centre as well as improving wheelchair access. Imogen has plans for willow raised bed and we have put over £170 worth of interest native & edible plants in
 Our Summer Seedy Saturday will be on Saturday 4th July

Victoria's Green Matters - 14th May 2015

Deal With IT's Secretary Victoria Nicholls writes a regular column in the East Kent Mercury:

There has been a subtle change over recent months within the banking sector regarding investment in the coal industry. Many companies are looking for new ways to invest money away from fossil fuels, generally not because of any ethical concerns over climate change but because of the loss of value of these reserves as the world looks away from this damaging way of producing energy.

During this current trend, it was surprising to read about one of Britain’s largest banks, Standard Chartered, and its loan of £450 million to one of the biggest coal mines in the world, in Queensland, Australia. It is well known that the present Australian government is led by an adamant climate change denier and many environmental measures have been cut back so it’s no surprise that Australia is going ahead with a new mine. At least eleven international banks have distanced themselves from funding new coal mines in this area but Standard Chartered has gone ahead.

Further concerns regarding this development have been voiced by Unesco because of the situation of the port from where the 60 million tonnes per year of coal will be exported which is on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, a World Heritage Site. Apart from damage to the reef itself from 11,000 ships passing through each year, the ancestral lands of Aboriginal groups would be destroyed and already critically endangered birds would be pushed to extinction.

The project would create a ‘carbon bomb’, undermining efforts to restrict global temperature rise to 2°C.

Victoria's Green Matters - 7th May 2015

Deal With IT's Secretary Victoria Nicholls writes a regular column in the East Kent Mercury:

There has been a wonderful and entertaining ‘green’ report in the press this week all about a bus in Bristol called the ‘poo bus’ because it is run on biomethane gas extracted from human waste. Bristol is European Green Capitol of 2015 and the poo bus, more properly called the Bio-Bus, is just one example of the innovative ideas that abound in the city.

Natural gas is a fossil fuel, formed from dead organic matter many millions of years ago and burns with emissions that result in climate warming. Biomethane is produced by anaerobic digestion – micro-organisms in the absence of oxygen break down human sewage and food waste to produce gas. This gas is then cleansed of impurities and carbon dioxide and, as a result, produces less greenhouse gas emissions – 80% less nitrogen oxide and 20-30% less carbon dioxide – and is almost free of particulates when used as a fuel.

The ‘BioBus’ is fuelled from the Bristol Sewage Treatment Works, situated seven miles from the city centre, where methane has been added to the national gas grid at the rate of 2,000 cubic metres per hour which is sufficient to power 8,300 homes. The one great drawback is that the bus must make the journey to the sewage works to refuel, miles from its route and the bus company cannot run any more ‘Bio-Buses’ until it can work out a more efficient way to refuel them.

This form of biofuel may well provide a solution the recent concerns over air pollution.