For: Anyone who facilitates Carbon Conversations groups.  Booking essential, places limited to 12 – email info@cambridgecarbonfootprint

When and where: Central Cambridge, 7.30 to 9.30pm on Sept 18^th, Oct 16^th, Nov 13^th and Dec 11^th,

Conveners: Dan Jones and Penny Henderson

Aims of the group: To encourage facilitators to become more confident about responding to feelings in groups, through the experience of being in one and reflecting on it.  We will also provide some teaching about being in groups. The provisional themes are as follows:

Session 1, September 18^th: Patterns of relating, systemic thinking and the complexity of groups – without being overwhelmed.

Session 2, October 16^th: The feelings that are brought up in and by group interaction:  Is what’s yours also mine?  Being comfortable enough to engage with discomfort.

Session 3, November 13^th:  “Dynamic administration” – The contextual and practical stuff that enables a good group experience.  How can a space be provided for something natural to happen?

Session 4 December 11^th: Feeling responsible and being responsive.  Where is the authority?

About Penny and Dan:

Dan Jones is a group therapist trained at the Institute of Group Analysis, who has worked over the past 30 years in the NHS, voluntary sector, and currently in private practice in psychotherapy, training, supervision and consultancy.  He has been a participant in a Carbon Conversations group, and has supported Penny in training facilitator trainings.

Penny Henderson has been a group worker for over 40 years, doing a mixture of training groups, supervision groups, parenting groups with couples and infants, and, more recently, Carbon Conversations groups.

Keith Jordan

It was great to wake up to a bright sunny morning on the lay day of April, after yet another day of continuous rain.   For us gardeners, with wet soil and overflowing water butts, the current drought is certainly over!  However it will take much more rain to replenish many streams, rivers and aquifers depleted by 2-3 years of insufficient winter rain.   The current ‘block’ of weather, featuring wet, westerly winds is influenced by the position of the Jet Stream – a narrow band of strong winds in the upper atmosphere.  Ours lives, and that of all living organisms , down here on the ground are so affected by what takes place high up in the atmosphere.

Honey bees, butterflies and other insects, especially those that are essential for pollination of many crops, are severely affected by long periods of cool, wet weather. I was therefore heartened to see a honey bee out and about visiting my main apple tree.  I still have a few fruits of this variety in store having picked them in October – it shows the value of planting varieties that have long storage times. The blossom on my rain-battered allotment apple trees looked more affected – damage to the delicate stigmas and stamens could affect crop yields latter in the year. Make sure you plant good nectar-producing flowers as well as crops in your growing area.

Be careful not to walk on wet, sodden soil to avoid compaction – use planks of wood to spread out your weight when sowing seeds in the (now) moist soil.  Compaction removes the air spaces, vital for root growth.  Many seeds can be sown now and fast growing salad crops, radish, chard, spinach, turnips, kohl rabi and Swedes will benefit from the moist soil.  This is in complete contrast to last month when I wrote, ‘on my allotment I am starting to wonder if it is worth sowing some crops as the soil surface in some places is so dry after another spring drought’.

Gardeners need to quickly adapt to the prevailing weather conditions and not rely on longer term weather predictions.  The old rhyme/weather prediction

Oak before ash, we’re in for a splash

Ash before oak, we’re in for a soak

is no more of a guide than modern- science-based meteorology that has to deal with many changing variables.  (The relative timings of leaf opening are influenced by temperature with oak being more responsive than ash – it says more about the weather we have had the previous 2-3 months!).

Growing a range of crops means that some will always do well – leafy crops in wet periods and those that come from warmer countries (tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, squashes, etc) are more productive in sunnier, warmer seasons.  However, most crops need sun and moisture, hence the need to use lots of organic matter to enrich soils (this helps retain moisture) and mulch soil surfaces after rain.  It’s surprising how soon soil can dry out after a rainy spell.

May is the month to ‘harden-off’ tender (sub-tropical/ half-hardy) plants that have been sown indoors in pots and trays….courgettes, squashes, tomatoes, sweetcorn, runner and French beans.  The plant cells have to gradually adapt from the ‘molly-coddled’ warmer conditions of your window ledge or greenhouse to harsh UK conditions.  Over the next 3 – 4 weeks gradually increase ventilation or put plants outside when conditions are mild (eventually overnight).  Increase this as the month progresses but be aware of sudden cold nights that can kill even hardened-off crops that originate from sub-tropical Asia, Africa and South America!

Keith Jordan

Once again a subject that keep rearing is head is drought. Nothing new to many parts of the world, but it is now having an impact here in the UK with rivers and reservoirs dryng up, hose pipe bans and farmers choosing not to plant some crops this season (those that require more water). Even on my allotment I am starting to wonder if it is worth sowing some crops as the soil surface in some places is so dry after another spring drought.

Last year some chard sown in March didn’t germinate until June when the rains finally came. However, based on experiences from last year, in February I had embarked on some ‘extreme mulching’ around fruit bushes, rhubarb, soft fruits, young apple trees, etc. Many layers of card board and paper (first used to line a guinea pig hutch) were laid around the plants to trap in the moisture that had come from rain or snow during the winter. Mulching can be used any time of the year but best the day after significant rain has fallen or artificial watering has taken place. Using materials that are pervious or biodegradable are best, so any new rain can penetrate the layer. Straw, bulky compost or anything that slows evaporation from the soil surface can be used. On an exposed site make sure mulching materials are weighed down and the edges are covered to stop slugs and snails finding an entrance to hide under. Avoid old carpets if you can, unless 100% biodegradable, as you can sometimes be digging bits up years later after they have disintegrated and weeds have grown into them!

Even now I find that un-dug soil on my allotment is still moist – cultivation helps to release the moisture. For many years I’ve found that digging soil (especially heavy chalky clay) in the spring is usually counterproductive – any lumps of soil tend to dry into hard lumps that take months to break down. A more Permaculture/ low dig/minimal cultivation regime is a good approach for many soils, not just in times of drought. As well as conserving soil moisture, low-cultivation reduces the loss of organic matter – the essential material that provides soil with a good ‘structure’ – the mixture of air spaces, water and soil particles that plant roots need and all the worms, bacteria, fungi and invertebrates that are essential for a healthy ecosystem. Cultivation exposes the material to oxygen in the air which oxides the carbon, releasing carbon dioxide into the atmospheres (and reduces the amount of organic material left).

The effect of cultivation and drainage on organic matter can be seen to great effect in the Fens of Cambridgeshire where the peaty soils (almost pure organic material) have shrunk dramatically in 150 years. Take a trip to Home Fen National Nature Reserve over Easter. A cast-iron column (thought to have been part of the Crystal Palace), sunk into the fen in 1852 until its top was level with the peat surface, but now some four metres extends above ground level after years of cultivation and drainage of neighbouring farm land.

If your soil is very compacted it’s best to wait until the autumn to dig (and after that use minimal cultivation). In planting or sowing seeds make a small furrow (to the depth listed on the seed packet), water well first then sow the seeds, cover over with horticultural fleece or mesh (reduces evaporation). Install water butts to maximise your water conservation – using drinking-grade tap water seems excessive for watering on soil that is full of bacteria and fungi! After the rains (if we get some), get into some ‘extreme mulching’!

We are looking for someone with fundraising experience who can help us for one day a week with the following crucial tasks:

- update our fundraising spreadsheet/database

- keep tabs on funding websites such as Funding Central

- research funding opportunities for CCF

- help write funding applications

- other fundraising duties as they apply and are agreed upon, such as event organisation.

Some fundraising experience and/or with charities would be preferable. Ideally we would like someone who could work with us on a voluntary basis for at least a year, but if you think this is the ideal role for you and can offer at least six months, please apply. You can work mainly from home, but will liaise with staff and trustees. Induction and support provided will be provided and you’ll be involved with regular meetings with our fundraising team.

CCF relies on volunteers to run its successful projects and in 2011 had around 150 active volunteers. This fundraising role is crucial to all our other work and an excellent opportunity for the right person.

If you would like to apply please email your CV and a short letter of intent (describing highlights of your experience relevant to this position and why you would like it) to our Volunteer and Events Organiser at stephanie@cambridgecarbonfootprint.org. Deadline 16th April. Interviews will take place the week of 23rd April.