Archive for February 2008

Transition Town Totnes

With just a few days to go before the deadline for entering the Big Green Challenge, here’s an inspiring story of how one town is preparing for a low-carbon future.

Transition Town Totnes is part of the Transition Network – communities that are working together to create a local timetable for reducing carbon emissions and dependence on oil. Through a range of working groups, Transition Town Totnes organises energy reduction projects that are fun, engaging and inspiring for all members of the community.

Projects in Totnes have included running renewable energy workshop, installing 50 rooftop solar water heaters and hosting an art exhibition with an environmental theme. Another initiative is the Totnes Pound, a local currency system that aims to encourage local trade and strengthen the local economy by keeping money circulating in the community.

The original Transition Town was Kinsale in Ireland and the initiative has now spread as far as Australia and New Zealand. You can find out about all of the towns involved at the Transition Towns Wiki.

If you’re interested in starting up a transition intiative in your town then check out the Transition Network conference which takes place in Cirencester from 11-13 April 2008.

Some last minute tips for ideas generation

Here are my top three tips for holding an effective ideas generation session - helpful if your group is still searching for its big idea or just needs a last minute injection of creative thinking!

1. Get everyone involved. Encourage everyone to share their ideas. Someone might have jotted down a gem of an idea in their notebook, but if they’re too nervous to speak up then you’ll never know about it!

2. Ban negative thinking. In an ideas generation session all ideas are good ideas. Quickly dismissing an idea as ‘bad’ or ‘impossible’ might hold others back from sharing their ideas – and a ‘bad’ idea might be the one that sparks a brainwave from someone else.

3. Find a fresh perspective. Try getting your group together in a different setting from your usual meeting place – a different perspective can help to encourage fresh thinking. Or if you’ve already identified a problem that you want to solve, then get together in a setting that helps you to focus on that problem.

You should also check out Doug Richard’s advice on how to come up with good ideas.

Remember that the deadline for entering the Big Green Challenge is Monday 3 March - so even if you’ve not yet finalised your ideas, it makes sense to start your application as soon as possible.

One more week to complete your application

A quick reminder that the closing date for the Big Green Challenge is now Monday 3 March - one week from today. That means you’ve still got seven days to think about your entry.

If you’ve not yet started your application form, get going on it today! Make sure you submit it by 11.59pm on Monday 3 March.

If you’ve got a question about applying for the Big Green Challenge, call the helpline on 020 7566 1465 or email admin@biggreenchallenge.org.uk.

Edinburgh Community Backgreens Association

Here’s a great example of a community working together to reduce carbon emissions and build a strong sense of neighbourhood and community spirit.

Since 2006, Edinburgh Community Backgreens Association has been working with households to turn neglected tenement backgreens into shared community green spaces. It’s established seven sites in Edinburgh, and the engagement and participation of local residents is central to the success of the community backgreens model.

Residents volunteer their time at monthly workshops to clear the rubbish and overgrowth and lay out the new community greens. A Green Caretaker – usually a tenement resident – is appointed for each backgreen, to oversee its development and provide a regular maintenance service.

The community backgreens provide a focus for community activity and facilitate the environmental sustainability of the tenement buildings. As well as space to grow plants, fruit and vegetables, the backgreens include play and relaxation areas, community composting and bike sheds.

You’ve got one week left before the deadline for entering the Big Green Challenge, so if you’ve been thinking about putting an application together with members of your local community, then get going today!

Alan’s carbon bugbears

When you’re trying to come up with great new ideas, the best place to start is with the problems. Here are some of my carbon bugbears…

• As a cyclist it surprises me just how many people use their cars to get about – particularly for short journeys. Then they’re surprised when they get stuck in traffic from the school run. There must be new ways to encourage cycling or walking – and these are healthier for you too.

• I can’t believe the amount of food we waste as a nation. About half the fresh food we buy gets thrown away and when people just throw this waste in the bin instead of composting it, it produces methane, a greenhouse gas. It’s even more worrying when you think how far it’s travelled to get to your bin!

• Do we really need everything wrapped in so many layers? From ready made sandwiches to electronic toothbrushes everything seems to be packaged up to excess. What’s more, we’re typically only using a tiny fraction of what we buy six months later. What can we do to reduce waste and encourage recycling?

• And how do we get people – particularly teenagers - to switch off lights? Now that would really reduce energy use in the UK.

Carbon Connections conference

Next week Carbon Connections will be hosting a conference to explore the topic of how knowledge transfer can stimulate low-carbon innovation.

Carbon Connections is a £3.5 million investment fund based at the University of East Anglia which aims to find new and sustainable ways of reducing carbon emissions. It drives low-carbon knowledge transfer and innovation by creating links between universities and industry partners.

The conference will showcase the 27 low-carbon innovation knowledge transfer partnerships already established. Visit the Carbon Connections website for case studies of some of these projects and if you want to find out more about the Carbon Connections conference then check out the preview podcast.