tRANSITION NEWS AND EVENTS
Extinction Rebelion
Extinction Rebellion is an environmental pressure group with the stated aim of using civil disobedience to compel government action on climate breakdown, biodiversity loss and the risk of social and ecological collapse.
The Plymouth branch of XR meets from 7:00 to 9:00 pm every Wednesday, and starting on January 8th 2020 this will be at The Quaker House, 74 Mutley Plane, Plymouth PL4 6LF. The meetings are to plan local action for the Climate and to join in with national action. Everyone is welcome to this growing movement for Climate Justice.
As with many events ER meetings are suspended for the foreseeable future.
Good News
Plymouth is the first UK city to achieve "Plastic Free" status. Plymouth Waterfront recieved the accreditation from Surfers Against Sewage on Wednesday 6th of June 2018, and this has now been converted into Plastic Free Plymouth for the whole of the city.
Free Refill Devon scheme
As part of Plastic Free Plymouth, Transition Plymouth took up the Refill Devon initiative. Now you can cut out the need for buying water in a plastic bottle when you're out and about in Plymouth. Instead drink quality draught water, freely supplied from the tap by cafés, pubs and shops who have signed up to the scheme. Look for the distinctive blue and white sticker in their windows, take in your own bottle or reusable coffee cup and have it filled up without charge. We now have 56 refill stations in the city.
Click on this link to get the refill app:https://www.refill.org.uk/get-the-refill-app/
If you're a business who would like to offer this service to the public, and there are plenty of good reasons for signing up to it, you can phone 01752 255088 for a chat about it or a visit.
We’re lucky in Plymouth to be supplied with draught water through the mains supply that flows to us from Dartmoor, running through granite which makes it as soft as any in the UK. As you probably already know, you need only a little soap or detergent to get a good lather and this shows how soft the water is: no build-up in your electric kettle or other water-heating appliances either. It's great for drinking too, better than a lot of bottled water which has recently been found to contain many more micro-plastic particles than tap water. Ask yourself this question: if you were in the wilderness would you rather drink still water from a pond or a free flowing stream? The choice is yours.
Here’s a short cartoon that gives you more information about it. It’s from the U.S., but the situation is much the same here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se12y9hSOM0
If you're still buying bottles water, why is that? Is it something you've simply got used to doing? How long has the water you're buying been sitting around in plastic? The bottled water industry is certainly less regulated than South West Water. Why are you paying for water in bottles when you can have 1,000 litres of water flowing from your tap for £2.00. That means 5 litres for just 1p and if that’s not a bargain I don’t know what is. So perhaps, for yourself and for the planet, it’s time to change your habits.
Plymouth Food Waste Partnership
This initiative, to campaign for a city-wide domestic food waste collection service, continues to build. We have been meeting regularly for over three years now to develop a strategic approach to achieving our goal. This is a challenging and worthwhile project and we welcome anyone with an interest in this field along to one of our meetings.
Our feasibility study about a domestic food waste collection in Plymouth has been published. It's available on the PFWP Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/947259895313746/
Why is it overwhelmingly the right thing for Plymouth? Phone 01752 255088 for a one page review of the facts.
If you agree that the council should start collecting food waste along with the two-weekly
brown bin collection, click on this link to let the council and your MP know : WriteToThem
Or email directly to: [email protected]
If you're interested and want to get involved the contact is Penny Tarrant, phone: 07967 141863, or email [email protected]
NOTE: In the May local election of 2018 the council changed from Conservative to Labour control, and since Labour pledged in their manifesto to introduce a food waste collection pilot study, we're still waiting for news about that.
Movement Medicine
Ailsa is currently taking a break. To hear when these classes are resuming, you can join the Transition Plymouth mailing list, or contact Ailsa directly to join her mailing list.
This free-style dance class is held monthly in the city centre on a Saturday morning. It's at Burgess Hall, behind the Unitarian church, entrance in Princess Street near the Catherine Street corner.
The fee is on a sliding scale of £8 - £12 and the time is 10:00 am to 12:15 pm. To encourage you to commit to giving yourself this space, Ailsa is offering any three classes at a lower rate if you pay in advance. If you would like to make that commitment to yourself, choose what you can afford between £20 and £30 and let me know.
Here is a video about Movement Medicine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NeLHzGRepk
The teacher is Ailsa Lucas, who has this to say about it:
You may ask yourself "What does this have to do with transition?" Well, it doesn't have to.... but it can. Movement medicine can
help us to access and integrate the wisdom of our bodies, hearts and minds. Many of us have learned to focus most of our
attention in our heads, yet our bodies and hearts are also vital aspects of our responsiveness to life. As we learn to listen to the messages from each we can be more in touch with what really matters to us, opening ourselves to dream what could be, and find
more passion, clarity and energy for change.
The ways we let ourselves move and hold ourselves back, on the dance floor, reflect the ways we allow ourselves to be in the rest of
our lives. These classes are a safe place to find the freedom and power we need to take action in line with our values in all aspects
of our lives. They can help to liberate us to "be the change we want to see in the world".
If you have any questions do be in touch. My email is [email protected], or phone 01803 849039/07999 486059.