Sunday 4 March 2012

Meeting notes 21.02.12


Working groups
Several potential working groups had been discussed at the last meeting and the idea of a visioning group had arisen at the film evening. At this meeting we divided into small groups to give some thought to three of these which were of particular interest to those at the meeting. Some groups were a combination of more than one of the earlier raised possible groups.

Headline messages from these groups were:

Energy
The remit of this group could vary enormously depending on the ambition of the group. Brixton would be a good group to learn from as it has a lot of work underway in this area. A separate Energy meeting is being set up.

Engaging the community/skill share/ visioning
This group talked about developing a sentence which reflected what Transition Brockley is about and the possibility of a 'visioning group' to help do this. It also committed to engage with the new community centre based at the Crofton Park library.

encouraging sustainable consumption & recycling.
This group touched on the importance of developing a vision for the group, such that when people from the group are talking to members of the local community they can reasonably quickly and simply explain what the group is about and why it is doing the things it's doing. The group, could for example, go and talk to people at the new Brockley market. Possibilities included looking at helping people with composting, developing a community compost heap at the station plot, promoting recycling, up-cycling events, making things, reducing use of plastic bags, moving from sharing fruit in the local community (part of last year's fruit harvesting) to sharing other community resources e.g. via freecycle/freegle or toolshare websites. It was thought that it would be useful to ask the Council when they visited the group how it could support recycling efforts.

Discussions on these can continue at the next meeting and an energy meeting will be taking place before then.

Next meeting
Wednesday 21st March, 7.30pm. Venue: tbc

Updates
  • weeding hour, Sunday 11th March, 2-3pm, at Brockley station
  • Transition gardening: Sunday 22nd April, 10-12 at Brockley station
  • Sat 25th February Freecycle event at Syndenham Park
  • The bid for the fruit garden at the community garden at the station would be going in soon. It is under discussion with BXAG.
  • Collaboration with the scouts was under investigation.
  • Sunday 26th 12-4.30pm – Gardening with Brockley Cross action group
  • New pop up cinema at forest hill would be screening H2Oil. Date yet tbc. See: http://www.thelittlegreenscreen.org/home.shtm

Brixton Energy

More news from Brixton as they launch their first share issue on Brixton Energy. Duncan writes:


Dear Friends,

I am proud to inform you that the UK's first inner city community owned solar project 'Brixton Energy Solar 1' has now launched its share offer. Please seriously consider investing £250-£20,000 and tell all your friends and contacts.

Brixton Energy plan to put several hundred square metres of solar panels on the top of buildings on the Loughborough Estate, working with Lambeth Council, Brixton Low Carbon Zone, United Residents Housing and the Loughborough Estate Management Board. This will help generate clean green energy, reduce the estate's carbon emissions, generate a Community Energy Efficiency Fund for use in the community and provide a green investment opportunity. Brixton Energy is the first project of Repowering South London and will provide an exemplar model to be rolled to other parts of Lambeth and South London.

The share offer will help raise the capital cost of £75,000 needed for the solar PV installation on the roof of Elmore House on the Loughborough Estate. The share offer closes on 10th March and we are hoping that the funds will be raised before the deadline. For more information on Brixton Energy and the share offer please visit
www.brixtonenergy.co.uk
www.brixtonenergy.co.uk/shareoffer

Please find attached a press release from Brixton Energy. Please do pass on to your links and networks as a community led project Brixton Energy needs all the support it can get.

Warm regards

Duncan Law
(for Brixton Energy and Transition Town Brixton)