Gleaning in Kent this Saturday

Calling all glorious gleaners around Kent and London!

Gleaning day this Saturday 12th October 10am-5pm (TBC):

Hi everyone! As the new Kent coordinator for the Gleaning Network UK, I invite you to join us for an idyllic day on a farm near Canterbury in the Kent countryside, saving literally tonnes of delicious fresh pears that would otherwise have been wasted. All the produce will be going to charities dealing with food poverty via our good friends FareShare.

Travel expenses are covered for those travelling from Kent, London and nearby - just check with us first!

Over the past year, the Gleaning Network has already saved 32 tonnes of fresh fruit and veg for food poverty charities, across 16 gleaning days with nearly 200 volunteers.

Please join us in the fields!
If you can make it, please email eugene@feeding5k.org, and confirm whether you can make the whole day, and send me your phone number, and where you'll be travelling from (e.g. Canterbury, London etc.) so we can group you with fellow travel companions.

We'll then send you finalized details closer to the time. Please get in touch asap so we have an idea of numbers. The more people we have, the more of those 1,000s of pears we can save for charity! Also, please do check whether you can make it, as lots of drop outs at the last minute can jeopardise the gleaning day going ahead!

Please spread the word to your friends and networks, and do recommend any groups you think we should get in touch with!

We're also looking for a driver to transport the produce from the farm to FareShare in London - if you'd be interested in driving a van (normal driving license required) for the day, then please get in touch!

If you can't join us this time, watch this space - we'll have more gleaning days coming up over the next few months! If you have friends who are interested in signing up to our gleaning list, which means they'll get notifications like this one when gleaning days are coming up, please get them to sign up here.
See you in the fields!

Many thanks,
Eugene Nulman
Kent Gleaning Coordinator

http://www.feeding5k.org/
http://www.tristramstuart.co.uk/

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Haven't signed the Feeding the 5000 pledge yet? Go to http://www.feeding5k.org/ and make your voice heard!

What is Gleaning?
Gleaning Network UK, recently featured on BBC Radio 4's Food Programme and Al Jazeera, and organised by Tristram Stuart and Feeding the 5,000, is an exciting new initiative to save the thousands of tonnes of fresh fruit and vegetables that are wasted on UK farms every year. Farmers across the country often have no choice but to leave tonnes of their crops unharvested and get ploughed back in the soil. These crops often cannot reach the market either because they fail to meet the retail strict cosmetic standards or because of overproduction.

We coordinate teams of volunteers, local farmers and food redistribution charities in order to salvage this fresh, nutritious food and direct it to those that need it most, such as homeless hostels and charities. To date, we have salvaged several tonnes of excellent unmarketable British produce, including apples, cabbages, cauliflowers, spring greens and kale, and redistributed them to charities such as FareShare and the Best Before Project.

Here's some more info, our video, and pictures of our last gleaning day.

Next Deal Beach Clean 27th Oct

The next Deal beach clean will be on Sunday 27th October starting from 9:30am meeting at Deal Pier. 

We have had to suspend some of activity over the last year with the beach works. We will probably be doing the area to the boats and in front of Deal Castle.

The objective of the clean is not only to remove litter from our beach but also to log what is found on the beach as part of the Marine Conservation Society's mapping on how litter is impacting our coastline.

Please dress for the weather - equipment will be supplied.

Deal Green Energy Fair

Mayor with Buskers

Lots of good green energy ideas inside Deal Town Hall yesterday and a lot of energy outside with our supporting buskers and dancers.

Despite a couple of exhibitors and speakers having to drop out due to illness we had a good response from the public with Paul Mallion's sessions on conservation for older properties and Stephanie Karpetas and DDC's Amanda Martin's talks on the Green Deal and associated schemes being well attended.

Eternal Energy's Verity Van proved also to be popular with people who wanted to see some of the technology working.

Outside the event we had buskers from the Sunshine Ukes Band and the Appalachian dance group the Arkwrights playing. Inside we were very grateful to the volunteers from St Leonards Church who ran the refreshments for the event.

A big thank you to all our exhibitors and those running the talk sessions: Wooden Windows Co, Eternal Energy, Deal CAB, Conker Conservation, Deal Society, Dover District Council, Kent County Council, and Greenov.

Thanks to Deal Mayor and the staff at the town hall plus all our Deal With It volunteers who helped on the day or prior to it: Guy, Jane, Vicki, Charles, Stephanie, Caroline, Carolyn, Tracy, Rosie, Diane and Steve

Fancy a bit of Clogging?

Did you catch the Arkwrights during our Green Energy Fair in Deal?  

Fancy learning to do some Appalachian Clogging?

The Arkwrights are running a couple of workshops on 19th Oct and 16th Nov at Trinity Methodist, Wesley Hall, Union Rd Deal 10:30-12:30. £12 per session.

Hard soled shoes or taps needed - available to borrow!

Contact: cleverclogsdance@outlook.com or ring Lesley 07501463187 for more details

Victoria's Green Matters - 4th October 2013

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

So the new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was published on Saturday and was followed by the usual disbelief from the climate change deniers who look for any tiny thing to try to discredit the findings.

There are key facts that cannot be denied: there are greater concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere now than in the last 800,000 years: global temperatures are set to rise by 4.8⁰C by the end of the century if emissions are not curbed: sea levels will rise 10 – 32 inches by 2100: because the oceans have absorbed about one third of the carbon dioxide emitted they have acidified. All these things will affect the world’s populations in various different ways.

What is worse than climate change deniers’ rush to rubbish all the findings is the acceptance of the facts by people in power who then refuse to act on the information. It can be seen that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has a poster in its ground floor windows informing us that £13.5bn is being invested in UK oil and gas to ‘Energise Britain’. Our ‘greenest government ever’ is living up to its reputation.

So where do we go from here? Governments around the world will continue to exploit the fuel resources they have despite the consequences to the climate in the long term. No matter that climate change is already affecting, to a more or lesser degree, many countries in the world, including our own.

Victoria Nicholls. Transition Deal.

Deal Green Energy Fair - 5th Oct: Talks

This year's Green Energy Fair in Deal we have interesting array of speakers plus we have Eternal Energy's Verity Green Van in the Town Hall Car park - so you can see how all this stuff works


Talks Programme as follows:




11.45 - 12.15
Paul Mallion Conker Conservation – Older Properties: how to make them enrgy efficient

12.30 - 13.00
Stephanie Karpetas – How the Green Deal works

13.15 - 13.45
Anthony Morgan – Carbon-Free Group: on the latest energy generation at home

14.00 - 14.30
Luci Ransome from Transition Scotland for practical advice on how to draught-proof your home

HS1 Deal ... keep the pressure up

Thank you for all your support at this critical time as we try to influence the negotiations between the DfT and Southeastern on the future of our HS services.

 

Will they stop in March 2014?

 

...or will we get at least some of the long promised and eagerly awaited off-peak and weekend trains?

 

Please help us make the case by sending your story of why it matters to you - to  http://www.trains4deal.com/lobby.html

 

Keep an eye on the website for up-to-date news, and to see what others are saying.

Strength in numbers  - pass it on!

Tom Rowland / Ian Killbery admin@trains4deal.com

Join the rail-users' group for the Deal area

Campaigning for High Speed trains to Deal - NOW!

http://www.trains4deal.com 

Join the trains4deal group on Facebook

Victoria's Green Matters - 27th Sept 2013

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

The summer of 2013 has been a wonderful one for butterflies. Our glorious weather during July, August and September has meant that many species that had not been seen for some time have made a colourful comeback.

An online survey saw that 46,000 people had logged more than 830,000 butterflies from Scotland to the Scilly Isles. The survey recorded four times as many butterflies this year than 2012, which had been the worst for forty years.

But it is not only sunshine that butterflies need. Along with all other pollinating insects, loss of habitat is the crucial factor in the dwindling numbers of butterflies. In the past, wild flower meadows on farm land provided the habitat required for many species to thrive but the advent of industrial farming saw the ploughing up of these meadows and the excessive use of pesticides aided the sharp decline in pollinators.

Farmers are now re-instating these long lost meadows in an attempt to bring back species that we so desperately need to pollinate our crops. Yields from these crops have shown considerable improvement where pollinating insects abound and other wildlife has returned.

There are many ways in which gardeners can help encourage butterflies that include growing the type of plants that offer them food and breeding grounds but these same gardeners may not be happy with the abundance of both the large and small cabbage white butterflies that appeared this year. Skeletal cabbage plants are not required!

Victoria Nicholls. Transition Deal.

Shepherdswell Fracking meeting ...

Fracking in Kent? The Public Say No!

Jamie Weir, PR & Events Manager, Protect Kent 

Friday 27^th September 2013

Almost 300 concerned members of the public crowded in to Sheperdswell village hall on Wednesday night to listen to CPRE Protect Kent’s views on the 3 applications for exploratory boreholes in Dover district. CPRE Protect Kent Chairman Richard Knox-Johnston introduced the organisations views and briefed the crowd on the serious concerns that CPRE Protect Kent has with the test boreholes being drilled, whilst the Chairman of our Environment Committee, Graham Warren, gave a technical description of the geology of the area and the potential impact that drilling may have on Kent’s water resources.  CPRE Protect Kent’s experts believe that in an already water-stressed area of the country, the prospect of loss or contamination of water resources that are already heavily committed is too great a risk and that the geological uncertainties of the Kent coal fields remain too great a hazard

 

Members of the public were given the opportunity to ask questions of the CPRE experts in attendance, whilst the local MP Charlie Elphicke also attended to hear the views of the public and to answer questions. He echoed the concerns raised by Protect Kent over the particular risks of gas exploration in this location and announced that he would raise these concerns with Ministers.

 

CPRE Protect Kent has a number of serious concerns about test boreholes being drilled in these rural areas, not least the landscape and traffic implications whilst our Environment Committee has raised serious concerns regarding the potential for groundwater contamination due to the particular formation of geological layers and fault lines beneath the chalk.

 

CPRE Protect Kent Chairman Richard Knox-Johnston said:

 

“There is considerable concern amongst those in the area about this drilling operation, the way in which it needs to be regulated and the unseemly speed with which the planning application is being processed. We are also concerned by the many impacts these developments will have on the tranquil landscapes of the Dover district. We would ask all members of the public who are concerned by these developments to respond to the Kent County Council planning applications to ensure that their voice is heard.”

Kents Downs Management Consultation end this week

The draft review of the Management Plan for the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is out for consultation now. This sets out the vision of the future of this special landscape, seeks to address key issues and threats and sets out aims, objectives and policies for the positive management of the Kent Downs for the next 20 years.

The Draft Management Plan has been divided into chapters for ease of access. You can download the whole document here or just turn to the chapters listed below that are most relevant to you. You can respond on line or download a paper version of the questionnaire or you can telephone 01303 815170 to discuss other ways to make your comments..

Consultation will run from 24th July to 27th September 2013.
http://www.kentdowns.org.uk/publications/consultation-on-draft-management-plan-2013

Trains4Deal Meeting

Tom Rowland of T4D

A packed emergency meeting at the Bohemian, called at short notice by Train4Deal, tonight heard about the threat to the HS1 service to Deal next March.

The original deal financially supported by KCC was cover the HS1 trains stopping at Deal and Sandwich to the period to March 2014 when the franchise was due to end.

However after the debacle of the re-franchise of West Coast earlier this year the Government announced an extension of all franchises by 6 months to Oct 2014.

As the HS1 service to Deal and Sandwich was not part the original franchise the service could stop in March as no one KCC - SE Rail - Government had 'minded the gap'.

Cllr Ian Killbery from T4D

The loss of the service would greatly impact of economic well being of the town: commuters, many who have moved to Deal specifically because of the service, townsfolk who need access to the capital and as a gateway for tourists and visitors which brings money into the town economy supporting local employment & services for all.

Please get on to the T4D website to see their detailed business case which not only protects the existing service but also extends daytime, weekend and services for the Discovery Park.

We need to act now. 

Victoria's Green Matters - 19th Sept 2013

Deal With IT's Secretary Victoria Nicholls writes a regular column in the East Kent Mercury:‘Zero Carbon Britain’ is certainly a phrase with which to conjure. Can we really produce all the energy we need without producing the damaging greenhouse gasses that contribute to dangerous climate change? A recent report by the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) illustrates that we certainly can if we take the necessary steps to change our lifestyles.

Apart from the way we produce energy, we must look at what we eat, the way that we produce that food and the way we use land. Here in the UK, on average, we lack balance in our diets and tend to over-eat, leading us to suffer from many diet related diseases. If we changed our eating habits so that we ate less meat and dairy products and much more fruit, vegetables and cereals, we would significantly improve our health and also reduce the carbon dioxide emissions from agriculture. We would also need less land for food production, freeing up areas to grow biofuels for our energy systems and provide areas for planting trees and restoring peat-lands, a proven way of carbon storage.

We also need to reduce our energy use. This can be achieved by a combination of more efficient technology and changes in behaviour that will lead to large reductions in energy use for hot water and heating, cooking and lighting and transport. Insulation in new buildings and the retro-fitting of older properties will lead to a reduction in energy demand by about 50%. Victoria Nicholls. Transition Deal.

Deal's Insulation & Green Energy Fair - Sat 5th October

Deal With It will be staging its second Insulation and Green Energy Fair at Deal Town Hall on Deal High St on Saturday 5th October from 11am to 3pm

Victoria Nicholls, Deal With It Secretary said: “A recent BBC survey highlighted that some 38% of people were very concerned about paying their heating bills this coming winter. It found that 25% of people had put up with "unacceptably cold" homes in the past year as they struggled to pay bills.

The idea of our Green Energy Fair is to demonstrate that there is something we can do about it. Simple steps like better insulation and reducing draughts in the home can save pounds for us all.”

The event will have exhibitors from green energy firms, window specialists, Insulation providers and groups involved in the sustainable renovation of older homes. There will also be talks on the latest green technologies for the home and how to make older properties more energy efficient.

We will have representatives from Dover District Council and Kent County Council to talk about collective energy switching and the Government’s Green Deal scheme.

There will be practical ‘Draught-Busting’ workshops where people can learn the DIY techniques to make their homes more cosy.

Victoria's Green Matters - 12th Sept 2013

Deal With IT's Secretary Victoria Nicholls writes a regular column in the East Kent Mercury: Our coast is at the forefront of a changing climate and key wildlife species are particularly at risk from global warming. The UK’s coastal areas are being transformed by sea level rise and fiercer storms, a study by the National Trust has found.

Coastal erosion is accelerating, something that we have seen happening to our White Cliffs and sea levels are going to rise by up to half a metre by the turn of the century. Quite a scary prospect for those of us who live by the coast and even worse if you should live on the cliff top.

Many species have found that the changing climate is making life particularly challenging. Puffin chicks’ preferred diet consists of sand eels but these are disappearing due partly to over fishing and partly to changing ocean temperatures. A new fish has moved in to replace the sand eels – the snake pipefish. Unfortunately, the puffins are unable to digest these fish because they are bony and hard to eat. Another problem for the puffins, whose colonies can be found on the Farne Islands and Lundy Island, is that their burrows were flooded in the very wet summer last year and in the exceptionally cold winter that followed, many died of starvation.

This is just one example of what climate change is doing to our wildlife. Some species, of course, will enjoy the new climate and thrive but we are likely to lose more species than we gain.