Open Space discussion groups
People formed break out groups or clusters around
different subjects proposed by different people at the day. There was a choice of 5 topics per haf
hour (10 topics in all over one hour) and people were free to move between the
discussions. Then each cluster fed
back to the whole group. I have summarised here 1) the notes each group took
while they were talking 2) a summary of the feedback as delivered to the whole
group.
1. Cultural Shift
1) Groups
2) Location local groups
3) Local community
4) Local media
5) Hubs
6) Following example
7) Leverage
8) Influence
9) Necessity
10) Unity through commonality
11) Education and courses
12) Growth through crises
13) Intuition
14) Attitude
15) Action
16) Projects
17) Recognition
18) Awareness of cycle
19) Karma
20) Roots
21) Meditation
Dreaming – vision – creative – media
Skillshare
Swapping time and skills
Need an exchange/database of what we’ve got in terms of skills
The school of everything.com
Time banks (lets)
Email group
Pulling in and supporting people who may not have access to computers – notice boards
Develop little local groups of skill sharing
Think about engaging young people and elderly people and cross culture swapping. Link up with youth groups and schools.
Develop mentoring schemes
Involve communities young people in developing planting schemes, where there have been vandalism
Get funding for projects like growing in schools
Find neutral public spaces where people can gather and share knowledge and experiences
Food enterprise
Consortium of food growers
Coopers UK Plunkett Foundation rural areas and potential to link in rural supplies
Good e.g. ‘Glebelands’ Manchester market garden growing all sorts of veg and supply veg box schemes and Unicorn food coop, speak to Adam and Lesley
Unlimited
Look at linking to existing veg box schemes and find out their gaps to establish a market
Need to be aware of greater benefits that could be got from involving people in process of food growing i.e. not just about price – need to tap in to local enthusiaism also need to be aware of a normal business model develops from a small group of individuals rather than starting off as a big organisation
Fair trade for this country
Emails: anna Seward, Paul Grassick: [email protected], [email protected]; Mik Marston Federation of City Farms/Soil Association
Guerrilla Gardening
Plant perennials, herbs, fruit trees – returning to care/prune them
Street gardening – window boxes, begin planting to get people started
Lots of people who want to plant, and care – rangers, school, allotment associations, improving community
Dumping grounds – how to start a community garden
Take back unwanted spaces
Japanese knotweed on open spaces!! Who deals with it?
How to Start
Just dig a patch and start
If no garden use planters and hanging baskets
Use tradition and intuition
Form group for complete beginners (Support group)
Learn from other people’s mistakes – trial and error
Access to information – library, internet, people
Fill a need (save money and fuel)
Precursors
Volunteering
Acquiring (getting hold of land)
Short of cultivable land
Community Land Trust
Shared ownership
Buying/leasing land – held in trust – way to raise investment
Who owns land?
Council
Public Authorities i.e. Coal Board
Landowners Duke of Norfolk
Rivelin Valley Sheffield
Land that cannot be maintained by council
Flytipping problem
Way of avoiding Council Regulations/Neglect
Removing from trees
Turfing off neglected plots
Flytipping
Fordhill Farm
Community Land Trust
Organic Meat
Sell Shared to Buy Land
Threatened by Developers
Organisations/Solutions
Greg Pilley (Based in Salford) Community Land Trust
Asset Transfer – sympathetic council – different models
Rural Problems
Farm sold, builds sold and land separately (horses!)
Landowners selling to developers
CAP/cost of agricultural land
Urban Problems
Houses vs. green space
Council selling to developers
Compulsory Purchase Order – public/state confusion
Financing – grants and subsidies
City Farm
Manage/own bits of land all over 20/25 year lease
Down own farm building
Registered charity/trust
Manage wall garden
Lack of security – council can take back
Advice “be opportunistic!” “move to Spain”
Pressure on councils to sell of assets not to transfer
Need access to land to address local food growing
Ownership Important for security, raising money through securing loans and imp?
Issues around price of land – Sheffield as expensive
Contamination
Philanthropy as source of land?
University a big landowner
Co-operative model? E.g. Scottish woodlands
Get together to buy land where cheaper to have a stake in land
United diversity – land trust – pay monthly to acquire more land
Local government accountability lack of trust of community groups
Gardening on the Radio
Sheffield allotment radio show
Red Cloud (musici ans – songs about food)
Grow Year Own
Sheffield Live starts 5 year FM licence on 29 Oct (93.2FM)
Accepting proposals for daytime shows
Pilot show – later picked up by Radio Sheffield? Not much competition
Promote arts events on allotments
Recipes
Get allotment officer in for questioning!
I’m going to put a proposal in this week, people interested contact me Andy Healey 2617747
Community cafes
Sheffield fruit
Short term lets? – location
Stall? Van?
Supply of local food – Abundance
Look for blossom in Spring for location of fruit
Veg? Small groups on allotments, surplus café – Heeley City Farm Courses and training
Identifying existing groups – old people’s food group,
voluntary/community sector, catering infrastructure
Education
Burngreave New Deal for Community – already lots of different cafes
Different options and formats
People together, eating together and eating healthily
Shared lunches – food swaps – shared meals – inclusive – multicultural
Sharrow – café – grass roots level – lunch clubs – pilot scheme (measurable)
‘place’
Picnic – each Sunday 2 people to facilitate – advertise locally – word of mouth
Lots of different projects spread across the city – umbrella to oversee communication general public understand ‘café culture’ challenge ‘legislation’ excludes smaller groups
Allotment ‘visitor centres’ farm shops, cafes
Birmingham – one allotment site has its own pub!
Growing Grow Sheffield
Website, length, blog, immediate way of continuing work (who to maintain) Viral – following examples, teaching local responsibility
Allotment matching – abundance
List of aims and wants – lobbying council – Grow Sheffield info in new allotment packs
NON PARTISAN HUB Funding for co-ordinator?
Higher level meetings and make attractive
Low Key Monthly Meetings – activity based
Dating agency model – Maps (privacy?) Database – Knowledge Bank
Steering Group – how representative co-op (flexible) model rather than charity
Biodiversity and Climate Change
Info on crop diversity and local plant varieties and sources of plants and seeds i.e. garden organic
Link to biodiversity experts and groups
Events for adapting to climate change
Discussions that involve everyone to find possible solutions to include advertising on a global
Variety is key
Design to cope with weather fluctuation
Connecting green spaces in Sheffield
Joined up thinking
Transition towns – looking at a number of issues together with subgroups we need one in Sheffield, share knowledge
What is the best way to bring together people interested in a number of issues?
What information is available on the impacts of climate change in Sheffield? Regional climate change plan and regional spatial strategy
Making links to councillors etc that growing strategy and green spaces and increased biodiversity can help reduce the impacts of climate change
Links between growing, climate change, health, biodiversity
Should get involved in Campaigning and grass roots action and lobbying
Education – all levels – schools, uni, next generation
Joined up thinking for a sustainable future
Regeneration so that all people have quality green space locally.
People love biodiversity/nature!!
2. Group feedback
How to Start
2 levels – theoretical/spiritual
– practical
How to combine – have a compelling vision and skills
Acquiring land
Different ways of acquisition
Know rich people! to donate the land
Monthly contributions
Sharing skills
Email group, local networking
All skills, timesharing, engage all age groups in community
Sheffield Live
5-year community licence
Potential for daytime programme
People to talk about different ways of producing food
Promotion – who will listen?
Cultural Shift
Grouping – get people to talk – internalise. Use radio can use music/fun
Use other skills
Need Mainstream media
Intuition – use it?
Biodiversity and Climate Change
Make the links
Transition
Research how CC will affect food growing and then adapt
Connect ? Campaigning
Community Cafes
Many ways – existing/new/stalls
Sourcing – surpluses
Could start simply
Link with community work
Birmingham PUB!
Guerrilla Gardening
Find the spaces – wasteland
Ownership/permission/community
Involvement/responsibility
Food Enterprises
Power systems – large organisations
Can reduce diversity
Be realistic – avoid grant funding
Fair Trade mark for UK?
Put small growers together
Growing Grow Sheffield
Very open idea
Could be umbrella/hub
Does it need a Committee?
A lot of work just for Abundance
LOBBYING – non-partisan
Website a good start
Steering Group to take away today’s ideas
Are others doing this?
SUSTAIN – London based project
Need for paid workers
Smaller group meetings e.g. different community to plan
Abundance for next year
Keep talking – next meeting?
Venue – blind centre, local pub, small room in Council Offices (Gillian Creasy)
Use contacts list
NEEDS..
Need in-road to council
Not a list of needs but give suggestions
Work with individual councillors – green party
Try partnership working
Use creative lobbying methods
How to use ‘force’ for change
Refugees may have knowledge..link with them and provide funding
Use the school of everything.com
Heeley City Farm courses
25/10 Rain Gardens talk at Sheffield Wildlife Trust
Grow Sheffield website a link to all these other initiatives
Work with Sheffield Wildlife Trust – grow food on nature reserves.