Victoria's Green Matter - 20th November 2014

Deal With IT's Secretary Victoria Nicholls writes a regular column in the East Kent Mercury: Waste – not a very exciting or romantic subject, is it? But we must be conscious that we are using up the world’s natural resources at an alarming rate and much faster than they can be replaced.

We should be aware that there are many ways that we can conserve these resources so that future generations will be able to have a good lifestyle. This describes that much overused term these days – sustainability.

We waste a huge amount of energy, fulfilling our gadget hungry society; heating and lighting our homes and keeping our industries going. We need to reduce these amounts so as not to waste our resources and to limit our carbon dioxide production.

We waste vast amounts of food, particularly in the developed west and while much of the world’s population does not have sufficient food to survive. This is totally unnecessary and avoidable.

We waste water. What does this matter in a country that has more rain than we know what to do with? But not all parts of this small nation do have that much water. Here in the south east we are quite often short of water and as the climate warms, water will become scarce worldwide and conflicts are inevitable. We are approaching the time of year when waste increases and becomes more than at any other – Christmas. We buy presents, often that no-one wants and too much food that often no-one eats. This year make an exception – try to save resources and money.

Gleaning nr Broadstairs on the 19th November

Calling people of Kent, we have another big glean coming up for you! We've recently saved 8 tonnes - that's 100,000 portions - of caulis of cabbages from going to waste from a farm near Broadstairs! But we've barely made a dent on the acres going to waste - so we're returning to try save us many as possible.

Next Wednesday 19th November, we'll be going on a mission to save as many as possible of these beautiful brassica for charity, and an idyllic day out on the farm! All produce going via our good friends at FareShare, Community Food Enterprise and Food For All to charities dealing with food poverty around London and Kent.


The food was being wasted because the crop is growing too quickly in the warm weather, meaning there's a glut of produce while everyone's still eating summery foods like salads! Also, the Russian embargo has meant the outlets for these gluts has collapsed, and the UK supermarkets are still importing cheap produce from overseas rather than stand by farmers in this difficult time.

Wednesday 19th November (TBC). Travel expenses paid from Kent and nearby (just ask us first).

Spread the word to anybody you know if the area! The more volunteers we have, the more we can save!

Contact Rachel at kent@feedbackglobal.org to volunteer or for more info - rise up with the Arable Spring!

If you can't join us this time, sign up to our gleaning list to be the first to find out about our next gleaning day near you - gleaning is spreading all over the UK! http://ow.ly/p0PHs

Victoria's Green Matters - 13th November 2014

Deal With IT's Secretary Victoria Nicholls writes a regular column in the East Kent Mercury: Climate change, global warming – call it what you will, the effects are the same and it is set to inflict ‘severe, widespread and irreversible impacts’ around the world if there is no action to cut carbon emissions. 

 This is the conclusion of the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released in Copenhagen last week. It is the work of thousands of scientists and is agreed by all the world’s governments. UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, has said that ‘Science has spoken. There is no ambiguity in the message’.

The report makes it clear that carbon emissions, mainly from burning coal, oil and gas are currently rising to record levels. Two thirds of all permissible carbon emissions have already been propelled into the atmosphere. Droughts, coastal storm surges, heat waves and extreme rain storms causing floods are already impacting on human and natural systems around the world. We have only to look at the excessive rainfall of last winter in the UK to know that this is true.

The solutions are many and they are now becoming economically viable, so much so that growth rates are hardly affected and, in some cases, improved because health damaging air pollution is reduced.

Emissions must peak by 2020 and then fall to zero later in the century, a tall order when we have governments intent on short term thinking and politicians who remain climate change deniers or are too readily influenced by the fossil fuel lobby.

Vote for Chequers Cooking School !

Chequers Kitchen has been shortlisted for an award as Most community-focused cookery school 2014.

The school is based at the Chequers Restaurant on the Ancient Highway and offers a variety of courses from basic cooking life skills to those as bridge into full-time employment in the industry.

They are listed as Cinque Ports Community Kitchen CIC and it would be great if you could vote for them please!

http://lookingtocook.co.uk/polls-uk-cookery-school-awards-2014/

For more information on the school http://www.chequersrestaurant.com/home-chequers-kitchen-cookery-school-deal-sandwich-kent.shtml

Victoria's Green Matters - 30th October 2014

Deal With IT's Secretary Victoria Nicholls writes a regular column in the East Kent Mercury: Whenever we think of deforestation our thoughts immediately travel to the Amazonian Rainforest and the devastation that is being caused by the acceleration of clearing of forests by loggers and farmers. Loopholes in the regulations designed to protect the world’s largest forest are responsible for this degradation.

Deforestation takes place at home, too, with wildlife habitats being lost to housing and farming. One of our favourite birds, the nightingale, has suffered a drastic decline in recent years, both because of habitat loss here and in the regions of Africa where it spends its winters. Forests in Africa are cleared for fuel and farming while wetland ecosystems are being drained and dammed. The nightingale is one of a group of birds that spends winter in the African humid zone along with other migrants such as cuckoos, whinchats and spotted flycatchers, all of which show decline.

Many birds, of course, are shot or captured in nets during the great journeys they make across the Mediterranean. It has been estimated that between 2 and 4 million turtle doves are killed each year, which contributes to the 95% decline in dove populations since 1970.

Climate change also has a part to play. Bird migrations are timed so that there is sufficient prey for the birds to eat, both on their journeys and when they arrive at their destination. Warming temperatures result in insufficient numbers of caterpillars for the birds to feed on at the right time; just one more aspect of the results of climate change. Victoria Nicholls.

Victoria's Green Matters - 23rd October 2014

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

Our society here in the developed world is a very wasteful one. Not only do we waste food and other resources, we waste energy too. Much of this waste is caused by our ancient housing stock from which so much heat energy is lost through lack of insulation in its various forms.

Anew housing project, first trialled in Holland, is set to be funded by the European Union (EU) if it approves of this innovative scheme to wrap houses in insulation.

Houses are fitted with insulated panel facades that snap on like Lego; insulated roofs are fitted with solar panels. Heat pumps, hot water tanks and ventilation units are also included. People living in social housing in Amsterdam liken the effect to living in a tea cosy, so much warmer are their homes. All tenants in a housing block must agree to the renovations for the scheme to go ahead and new kitchens and bathrooms have been added as an incentive. Housing associations recoup the cost of the scheme by charging the tenants the same rent and energy costs as before the renovations.

Pilot projects are due to start before the end of the year on council estates and housing association properties in Birmingham, London and southern England and this is expected to save 1,950 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity as homes will be zero energy.

Europe’s carbon dioxide emissions from heating and lighting of buildings makes up about 40% of the total so limiting this is vital to tackle global warming. Victoria Nicholls.

Deal's October Seedy Saturday .....

We had a great day on Saturday at our our 4th Seedy Saturday at the Landmark Community Garden on Deal High Street.

Very busy with people coming armed with seeds to swap, plants and cuttings to donate or just pop-ing in to see what it was all about.

Our first attempt of the Apple Press went well; With probably the best apple juice in, if not the world, but then definitely in Deal that morning. We used the pop-up stove to make on the site spiced apple with herbs from the garden

Imogen did some of her world famous Blinis with Beetroot and Onion relish from the garden.

The Deal Station Garden were in force after giving the station garden a tidy up and renewed the 'Poems on the Platforms'

Lots of thanks: Donated organic apples from Huguenot Farm nr Blean (thank you Carole Sturgeon & Bill Howarth); Tracy's friend in Folkestone who lent the Press; Everyone who donated plants. Thank you to Andy Garland at BBC Radio Kent; Tracy and Imogen for organising and all our great volunteers from Deal With It's projects at the Landmark and Deal Station Garden. 

All our photos are here

We had a little over £50 in donations towards the Gardens.

We have plenty of plants left so pop in at the Garden any Saturday to see if any take your fancy.

The next Seedy Saturday will be in Feb 2015 but we may do  pop-up event for the Winter Solstice

Victoria's Green Matters - 16th October 2014

Deal With IT's Secretary Victoria Nicholls writes a regular column in the East Kent Mercury: A recent report tells us of the success of environmental campaign group Greenpeace in its protest against oil company Shell’s plans to drill for oil in the Arctic.

Greenpeace has been targeting toy maker Lego which has had a contract with Shell since 1960 to distribute toys in petrol stations in 26 countries around the world. As a result of the campaign Lego has agreed not to renew its current contract with Shell. This has raised awareness with the public and many people have found that they dislike the fact that the toy maker has been in, what they see as, an inappropriate partnership with the oil giant.

As a result of the ongoing Greenpeace campaign, Shell announced, in January, that it was putting on hold its plans to drill in the Arctic in the summer although it gave its reasons as poor market conditions and internal failures. However, it then submitted plans in August to the US authorities for a new offshore drilling plan that could see the company drilling for oil off the North West coast of Alaska in 2015. For Greenpeace, the campaign goes on.

It is imperative that investment is put into renewable technologies, not into technologies that will produce oil the use of which will contribute to climate warming. It is horrendous to think that there could possibly be drilling for oil in a pristine ecosystem such as the Arctic and if this is allowed to go ahead, how long before applications are made for Antarctica?

'Seedy Saturday' 18th October Landmark Community Garden

The next Seedy Saturday, seed and cutting swap, is on Saturday 18th October at the LandMark Community Garden, Deal High Street from 11am.

At this edition we also have an apple press lent to us. We have had a donation of organic apples from Carole & Bill Howarth at Huguenot Farm nr Blean.

People are welcome to bring apples for pressing but please ensure they are sliced and diced at home.

·       If you have not been to one of our Seedy Saturday's before, the idea is bring some seed (either some left-overs which you had some success this season or some you have harvested from a crop this year) or cuttings and swap.

As well as seeds there is a lot of knowledge to be swapped as well! Can be a bit choatic but is definately fun!

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·         Free but we do take donations for the Garden. 

For further information contact Info@dealwithit.org.uk or find us on Twitter at @Deal_WithIt or on Facebook (we have a page and a group)