‘A greener more resilient Stoke Newington, how can we make it happen?’

 Can you help us answer this question? We’re holding an Open Space event on 21^st April at St Paul’s Church, West Hackney. Open Space is conference with the boring bits taken out. You can share your dreams and ideas and find help to turn them into reality. Best of all you’ll meet lots of good people, there’s lunch and plenty of tea and cake.

The last Open Space (2010) was an amazing day with lots of great ideas. It brought Hackney Bike Workshop to Stoke Newington and launched Hackney Harvest. 

We live in difficult times. The ongoing economic crisis is quietly overshadowed by the ecological one and last summer’s riots show us things are far from right- it’s easy to have nightmares. At Open Space we dare you to dream.  What shall we do? How will we do it? See you on the 21^st.

P.S Rosie from Pangea Chorus will be doing a singing workshop from 10am to get you warmed up.

Click on the link on right to register.

The Arcola Theatre in Dalston has been successful in winning funding under a Department of Energy and Climate Change project called the Local Energy Assessment Fund (LEAF). 

The Dalston Energy Angels project involves running home energy audits, conducting thermal imaging surveys and building up a waste wood supply network for the Arcola's biomass boiler which will be installed later this year.  

There will be a particular emphasis on working with people in fuel poverty and engaging a diverse range of Hackney residents around Dalston. 

If you are interested in finding out more or volunteering to help out with this exciting new project then please come along to the launch event at the Arcola Theatre on Ashwin Street near Dalston Junction on Wednesday 29th February from 5 to 7pm.

Please contact jamie@arcolatheatre.com for more information. 

Update: Next Stoke Newington bike workshop will be on the 13th not the 6th as suggested in the mail out. There will be a workshop at the Mare Street site on the 6th. Apologies for the confusion.

On Saturday 3rd December there's going to be a party to raise funds for Hackney Bike Workshop. Transition Town Stoke Newington has been working with Hackney Cyclists to bring free bike maintenance workshops to Stokey once a month and Hackney Cyclists run workshops down near Mare Street on two other Tuesdays .

But we need to raise funds to keep this fantastic service happening so we are organising a knees up at the Royal Sovereign on the 3rd Dec. 

See http://hackneybikeworkshop.com or the flyer below for more information.

Hope to see you there!

Next Stoke Newington Bike Workshop and social will be on Tuesday 13th December

Here's a great opportunity to catch up with what's going on in the many Transition initiatives scattered around London. 

Rob Hopkins will be coming down and talking about his new book, The Transition Companion. Read on for more info and a link to purchase tickets...

London Transition Groups Gathering with Rob Hopkins on his new book The Transition Companion 

Come along for some inspiration, some celebration, and a bit of a shindig! 

Come and share what you're up to and what you're learning. Whether you’re already involved in Transition or just interested to know more, all are welcome 

With London Low Carbon Zones, Project Dirt and the London Low Carbon Communities Network 

Venue: GLA, Rooms 4&5, City Hall, The Queen’s Walk, London SE1 2AA

Thursday December 1st 

6.30pm for a 7pm start (finish time tbc) 

Tickets in advance only, to purchase a ticket send a message to Anna here.

Before Fri 18th £7 and £3 (concs). After Nov 18th £8 and £4 (concs) 

Copies of The Transition Companion available on the night

Pangea Chorus will be starting up again in late October and running weekly workshops on Monday evenings for 10 weeks. If you are keen to join a local choir then please read on...

Winter Workshops

It's getting chilly out and darker too. It's just that perfect time of year for looking forward to a cosy collection of delightful songs and people to brighten your Monday evening. We're meeting in the run up for Christmas every Monday night at the Boiler House on the George Downing Estate to drink tea, catch up and sing some original arrangements of well loved songs. 

This time I'm including Gabriel's Message, Auld Lang Syne, There's A Change In My Life and many more. The idea is to keep the set eclectic, just the right amount of challenging, and, most importantly – harmonious. Workshops will start on Monday 24th October

Please sign up if you think you can make most rehearsals. It's 6.30pm until 8.30pm. Suggested donation of minimum £3 – please give what you can. We will be performing at a few local events in December – dates TBC.

If you would like to join us please email me at rosanna.schura@virginmedia.com to let me know.

About Pangea Chorus

Pangea Chorus is an independent choir which started at Stoke Newington music venue Pangea Project. Pangea Chorus will now be joined by Transition Town Stoke Newington for weekly sessions in 8-week projects of choir singing for anyone who loves to sing.

Pangea Chorus embraces many styles ranging from Bowie to Bluegrass, South African township, soul and folk. We learn both by ear and with scored music (reading music is not at all necessary) and places much emphasis on the social aspects of choir singing and the community spirit that Transition promotes.

Rehearsals happen at the Boiler House, George Downing Estate, Stoke Newington, N16 6BE. Details of projects and performances will all be posted here on the TTSN website in the Pangea Chorus group page.

The second set of Pangea Chorus sessions will happen every Monday from 6.30pm until 8.30pm starting on 24th October and running until 12th December.

Calling all gardeners! This Saturday Hackney Council will be giving away a large batch of compost at Hackney Marshes:

Here's something amazing: Anna Hughes is cycling all the way around the coast of Britain in aid of charity. Anna is involved with the bike maintenance workshops and is very active in all things  environmental in Hackney.

She's on day 34 of her journey, having started at Tower Bridge a little over a month ago, and in total will be cycling 4,500 miles anticlockwise around the country. In just five weeks she's already covered 1,900 miles and is currently on Arran up on the West coast of Scotland.

Anna is making this epic trip in aid of two fantastic causes, Sustrans who do amazing work developing sustainable transport and supporting cycling in the UK, and Transition Network who support the development of the Transition movement around the world. 

It would be great if you could support these chaities by sponsoring Anna or you can show your support by pledging to cut your carbon footprint at The Do Nation (or both!). 

You can follow Anna on her blog, on twitter or facebook to find out how she's getting on.

This coming Monday we're having a little catch up meeting and sharing a meal from 8pm at the Boiler House on the George Downing Estate.

All are very welcome, please bring a little dish for people to share. 

On Friday 2nd September, Transition Leytonstone will be hosting a talk from Nicole Foss, a radical blogger who goes by the name of Stoneleigh and who is touring the UK at the moment. 

Nicole blogs about economics on a fascinating website called The Automatic Earth, and is one of the few analysts seriously considering the impacts of resource depletion, in particular peak oil, in their assessments of the global economy. 

This talk is highly recommended, however the results of her analysis are definitely not encouraging, but should be listened to. The event is free but donations are very welcome and there will be a pay bar (which will probably be needed after the talk).

If you can't make it then you can view a recording of a previous presentation online via a paid for streaming service.

A Century of Challenges 

Friday 2 September, 7.00 for 7.30pm 

Leytonstone Social Club, 603 High Road, Leytonstone, E11 4PA

On Saturday there will be a great opportunity for people who want to start urban organic growing but are unsure about how to get going. 

Even better there is a £5 discount for TTSN members so the day long course will only cost £20. See the flyer and drop Sarah a line at the email given at the end if you are interested in taking part:

Organic Food Growing Workshop

Want to grow your own organic food?

Not a gardener but want to understand and reconnect with the natural processes behind the food you eat?

Join Ecologist journalist and organic food growing enthusiast Sarah Bentley for an introduction to sustainable gardening in the city.

One Day Workshop will include: 

- Making and using natural plant feeds

- How to utilise urban waste

- Seed sowing & seedling rearing

- Growing in small spaces

- Chemical free pest control

- Composting

- Companion planting

- Biodiversity and interconnectivity

- Food politics

The workshop is suitable for beginners and gardeners wishing to evolve their understanding of how to grow in a way that works with and supports nature.

Date: Saturday August 6^th 11am-4pm Location: Hackney

Cost: £25 (£20 concessions) includes a homemade organic lunch with fresh, locally grown ingredients

To book a place or for more information contact: sarahgrows@gmail.com