This autumn, Cambridge Carbon Footprint is challenging everyone to eat locally, no matter what the budget! We are starting another Eating Well on a Budget food challenge in September, so join us in our quest to create local, sustainable meals on £21/week. We are also delighted to invite everyone interested in local food to our Eat Buy Local event on 21 September. Enjoy a nice meal, get new ideas and meet local producers at this exciting celebration of local, sustainable produce.
Going back to work and in need of something new to wear? Instead of hitting the high street, CCF offers a more fun, low-carbon alternative – our second swishing party on 1 September! Find treasures to create an exciting new autumn look, and help others do the same by bringing something from your own wardrobe.
This autumn we are running three Carbon Conversations groups in Cambridge and one in Cottenham. All the Cambridge groups start in October and have six meetings, usually fortnightly, running till late November and early December. Learn more about reducing your carbon footprint in a friendly atmosphere, with plenty of information and support available on how to find your own lower carbon lifestyle.
Carbon Conversations groups this Autumn!
A chance to catch one of our award-winning Carbon Conversations groups in the Autumn! If you haven’t yet participated, now is your chance, as we have three groups starting in October in Cambridge on Tuesdays (Mill Road area), Wednesdays (at the office near Mitcham’s Corner) and Thursdays (in Newnham)! We are also planning to run a group in Cottenham.
Hundreds of local people have found these groups life-changing and immensely enjoyable. Whether you know a lot or a little about climate change and how to reduce your carbon footprint while still enjoying life, these groups are for you – some environmentally conscious people, who knew a lot about certain areas of carbon reduction, have been surprised about how much more they learned in a different part of their footprint (for example, food).
Even if you have already participated, please encourage your friends, colleagues and family to join a group. I have always found that people respond best to hearing about what I got out of it (and I felt taking part in Carbon conversations really did make an enormous positive difference to my life!).
You can email info@cambridgecarbonfootprint.org or phone 01223 301842 (from August 13th) to find out more and book a place. Look at our website to find out more about Carbon Conversations and read some quotes from previous participants.
September Swishing 1 September
Saturday 1 September,1pm – 3pm, St. Andrew’s Street Baptist Church
Our second swishing of the year will take place this September at St. Andrew’s Street Baptist Church at 43 St. Andrew’s Street (CB2 3AR, near the Arts Picturehouse).
For those who are unfamiliar with the term, Swishing is clothes swapping with style. Participants bring a few items of good quality, clean clothing, and get to take home a few items of their choosing from others (it doesn’t have to be a direct exchange). Read more about swishing on our website.
Our September Swishing has room for about 30 participants. You can book your place ahead and help us know how many people might be coming by emailing info@cambridgecarbonfootprint.org, but you can also just turn up on the day. Despite the trend of only women taking part in swishings, we do welcome men’s, kids and baby clothes too!
Want to volunteer? We need tea-makers and clothes-sorters ASAP! Contact stephanie@cambridgecarbonfootprint.org today.
Next CCF book group meeting 3 September
Monday 3 September, 7pm
The next meeting of the CCF book group will take place on Monday September 3rd at 7 pm – we will be reading Marcel Theroux’s novel “Far North”, a fascinating story which will provide a real contrast to our last book: Meat, a benign extravagance by Simon Fairlie – this was popular but hard going, as it was quite technical in parts, but we loved the ideas and the passion. If you want to join us in our bimonthly meetings (+ food to share), email info@cambridgecarbonfootprint.org.
Thinking about what happens in groups 18 September
Tuesdays 18 September, 16 October, 13 November and 11 December, 7.30 – 9.30pm, Central Cambridge
Are you a Carbon Conversations facilitator, interested in finding out more about working with groups? Learn to encourage members 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.
Booking essential, places limited to 12
Eat Buy Local – a celebration of local food 21 September
Friday 21 September, 7 – 9pm, St Andrews Hall, Saint Andrew’s Road, Chesterton Cambridge, CB4 1DH
The local food movement is gathering pace. Join us for an exciting evening of activities:
- Celebrate local, seasonal food – enjoy a light meal made with delicious local ingredients
- Understand the issues – hear a series of short, thought-provoking presentations from local producers, retailers, and “locavores”
- Get involved – talk to local producers and food groups at their stands about how they are promoting local, sustainable food; what foods are available to buy locally and where; and what initiatives are taking place near you. Representatives from: Waterland Organics, Cambridge Country Market, Hawthorne Farm and Transition Cambridge Food Group.
See here for more information on our website, read about the Eating Local project here, and check out our Eating Local blog here.
Free entry. Suggested donation of £5 to cover the cost of the seasonal meal and venue hire
Email info@cambridgecarbonfootprint.org or call 01223 301842 to reserve your place today!
Helping with food for Eat Buy Local 21 September
Do you grow your own food? Are you in a position to help us with local eggs, vegetables and fruit for our exciting Eat Buy Local event on Friday evening September 21st? We will be cooking soup, main course and dessert (mainly sourced locally) for 40-60 people and some food donations towards this would be really helpful! Contact us on info@cambridgecarbonfootprint.org or phone the office on 01223 301842 (from August 13th) if you can help – we’d love to hear from you! And do come to the event!
Trip to Hockerton Housing Project 29 September
Saturday 29 September, 11am – 7pm
Join us on a tour of Hockerton Housing Project. The tour lasts three hours, from 2pm to 5pm. It takes about 1hr 45mins to get there from Cambridge, so we’ll leave around 11am which will give us time for a picnic lunch. We expect to arrive back in Cambridge by 7pm at the latest (the plan is to car share).
Cost: £24 (payable in advance) plus a contribution towards travel costs (payable on the day). We can offer a couple of bursaries to our volunteers.
Booking essential, places limited to 10. For further information, or to reserve your place, email Mary at info@cambridgecarbonfootprint.org.
2nd Annual SkillsFest 6 October
Saturday 6 October,12pm – 4pm
This year’s SkillsFest will be taking place on 6th October, at St. Andrew’s Hall, so mark your diaries now, this is an event you won’t want to miss!
Workshops will be running from 12pm to 4pm, as well as ongoing skills stations in the main hall. A wide range of skills that will help you live more sustainably will be covered, from vegetarian cooking to knitting to growing your own. There will be so much to learn and to do on the day; check our website for more details and latest updates!
Ceilidh 20 October
20 October, Arbury Community Centre
CCF is absolutely delighted that Cambridge University Ceilidh Band are playing for our fundraising ceilidh at Arbury Community Centre on Saturday October 20th. There will be food and drink, great live music and (of course!) dancing! Whether you already know you love ceilidh dancing and are an old hand or whether this is completely new to you, this is a not-to-be-missed event! There will be a caller so you can learn the steps as you go along. This was one of our most-successful events last year, so put it in your diary now!
Low Carbon Future: Dream or Nightmare? 29 October
29 October, 7.30pm – 9.30pm, St. Andrew’s Hall in Chesterton
What will peak oil and climate change bring to Cambridge, positive changes, negative consequences, both? Cast your imagination to the future in this interactive talk that explores the possibility of a low carbon world which is rewarding and enjoyable.
This workshop provides a taste of what Cambridge Carbon Footprint covers in our award-winning six-session course, Carbon Conversations, and touch on what Transition Cambridge created for their positive vision of Cambridge in 2030 earlier this year.
The event is part of the 2012 Festival of Ideas. To book please email info@cambridgecarbonfootprint.org or call 01223 301842.
Advanced notice for 10th November Eco-ren event – get the date in your diary!
On Saturday 10th November 10-4pm we are planning an exciting new-style home energy event in Trumpington Pavilion. Focusing on the 1940s semi-detached houses in that area, we will be running stalls and workshops on how to insulate and keep energy bills down, as well as arranging visits to houses to look at what can be done. Details to follow. Although we will be focusing on Trumpington, there are plenty of similar houses elsewhere in Cambridge. The event will be drop-in, with sign-up in the morning for house-visits in the afternoon. Workshops will be at specific times – to be announced.
Eating Well on a Budget – the ‘recession diet’ that’s good for the environment!
According to supermarket giant Morrisons, the average weekly food budget for a student is approximately £21. But what does a budget of £21 per week really buy you? Is it possible to eat well-balanced meals using local, sustainably-sourced produce on this budget? Join the growing group of people taking part in our second four-week Eating Well on a Budget food challenge this September and find out! There will be regular opportunities during the challenge for participants to meet up, share experiences and have fun, with planned activities including bring-and-share meals, home preserving and pizza making.
Join the challenge! For more information click here or to join the upcoming challenge (starting 2 September), email Helen Karapandzic.
Cambridge University students joining Eating Well on a Budget!
We are delighted that Harrison and Heather, two Cambridge University students, have joined our Eating Well on a Budget challenge. You can see their posts (with awesome photos) here! They are aiming to get a group of students to join them next term.
Raffle prizes needed for ceilidh
Could you donate a prize for the raffle at our fundraising ceilidh? We hope to have an appealing selection of low-carbon raffle prizes at our ceilidh on October 20th, so please let us know if you have anything you think might suit: food, drink, books, attractive second-hand items, tools…… Let us know on info@cambridgecarbonfootprint.org.
CCF seeks Trustees
Do you share our passion to do something effective about climate change? We’re looking for a new Trustee to join our team to steer CCF’s strategy and ensure that it’s well-run.
You’re particularly welcome if you can help with:
- fundraising
- developing our work on transport (greening our travel)
Trustee meetings are every two months at negotiable times. It is voluntary work that is rewarding and engaging.
If you’re interested or want to know more, please contact: Tom Bragg, chair of Trustees at tom@cambridgecarbonfootprint.org or tel. 01223 844291
From juicy jams to fresh summer pickles – join one of our home preserving sessions!
From fresh pickles and relishes to juicy jams and jellies, making preserves is a fantastic way to capture the taste and nutrients of local, seasonal produce for the chilly, winter months and avoid wasting delicious fruit and vegetables. It is also a lot of fun!
Between June and October, we hope to organise a number of informal home preserving sessions in kitchens in and around Cambridge. Everyone is welcome – from complete novices to veteran canners!
For more information about taking part or to host an upcoming session (recommended group size 4-5 people), please email Helen.
Models wanted!
We are looking for some lovely volunteers to take part in a photo shoot campaign highlighting just how fabulous second hand things can look (“In praise of second hand”). We are looking for people to be in those photos and would love to hear from you if you’d like to take part. We are looking for the following people: a family with young children for a picnic scene, a couple who can punt (or two single people happy to pretend to like each other!), someone to pose on a bike, a male to showcase the coolest office in town, and some people ready for a night out. If you’d like to be part of this campaign or know any aspiring models please get in touch at info@cambridgecarbonfootprint.org. We hope to take the photos in August/September. See you in print soon!
Feminism and behaviour change
Because of the way domestic tasks tend to be divided, it is likely that under the current government-led agenda for behaviour change more responsibility for reducing carbon emissions will fall on women.
Read more at www.rorandall.org
Open Cambridge 7–9 September
Open Cambridge is a free weekend celebrating history, heritage and culture from the University of Cambridge which will take place 7–9 September 2012.
For one special weekend in September, Cambridge will open its doors and welcome everyone to share in its spectacular architecture, art collections, libraries and gardens. Open Cambridge features a variety of free pre-bookable and drop in events across the Friday and Saturday. Walks, talks, tours and exhibitions will highlight aspects of the City’s history and its rich heritage. A range of libraries, gardens, museums and historic buildings normally closed to the public will open up for families, local residents and community groups to discover and explore.
Advanced booking is essential on all tours, and is available online at: www.cam.ac.uk/opencambridge or by ringing 01223 766766. Bookings open on Monday 23 July.
Don’t lose green belt – we might need it to grow food
Like CCF, Transition Cambridge responded to the council’s consultation on the Local Plan and they have a interesting article on this in the Cambridge News: Don’t lose green belt – we might need it to grow food.