Newsletter April 2008
Welcome to the April edition of the Sustainable Ottery Newsletter.
If a friend asked you to come on holiday with them to a seedy bed and breakfast in a run down area would you go? Or would you prefer to go to a modern hotel with fresh fruit for breakfast in an exciting and lively location?
Getting people to take action in response to climate change and concerns about rising fuel costs can be like trying to get people to go on that first holiday.
But creating the second holiday destination is much more fun and is what being a Transition Town is all about. Read on to find out how to be part of this exciting adventure.
Sustainable Ottery Launch Event
After a very successful year many people have heard of Sustainable Ottery but not everyone knows what a Transition Town is. We invite you to come and hear how we can create that second holiday destination in Ottery as a Transition Town in the face of rising fuel costs, financial insecurity and concern about climate change.
Rob Hopkins, permaculture teacher and transition towns originator, will be our Key Speaker. He is an engaging speaker and will take questions after the talk.
There will be an opportunity learn more and get involved in working groups that interest you, for example Food, Energy, Resources, Transport, Creativity and Factory Future.
Come and be part of this historic event. The King’s School, Thursday 15th May 7.30 pm.
Entry £3.00/£2.00 concessions/free to under 19’s. Tickets on the door or in advance from Roberts and Tourist Information in the Square.
Factory Future
More than 70 people including several members of Ottery town council turned out to the first public meeting of the factory future group at the end of March. There were a range of speakers from outside Ottery with experience in preparing plans to develop sites as community assets
The meeting agreed to see how we could work with East Devon District Council, the factory owner, conduct a community appraisal, raise the necessary funding and come up with an exciting plan for the future of this important site.
To get involved in the Factory Future Working Group , contact Helen Collinson,
Helen@hcollinson90.freeserve.co.uk -- Tel 01404 814078
Community Market
The first Community Market takes place on 26th April and there will be a great range of stalls selling things from books to plants, pottery to cakes. The doors of the Institute open at 9.30am and will go on all morning until 12.30pm. Refreshments will be available, supplied with the help of the local WI.
These markets will be on the last Saturday morning of each month, with the exceptions of October and November (18th and 22nd respectively). Do come along and join in the fun. We hope it will become a vibrant part of community life in Ottery. If you would like to rent a stall, contact Diana Jones on 811761. Stall hire is just £3 a time.
Permaculture Course
Phil Portman, a local Permaculture trainer has agreed to run an Introduction to Permaculture course on Saturday 19th April here in Ottery, at the Institute and over 30 people have signed up for what is going to be a great introduction to this subject.
Permaculture is a practical approach to growing food, building houses and creating communities that uses resources in a sustainable way. For some people it is just a better way of growing vegetables, while for others it is a way of life.
For more information please contact Ian on 01404 812213 or email him on otterypermaculture@googlemail.com
Energy Working Group
If you’re confused about the myriad number of things that we’re urged to do to reduce our carbon emissions in the home, we’ve got help for you. Peter Addie, who lives in Dalwood, is ahead of the game on this one. He generates more power from renewable sources than he can use, and grows much of his own food. He’s coming to talk about the many practical things we can do to make our houses more energy efficient. The benefits are that it saves money as well as reducing carbon usage. Put the date in your diary: 13 June 2008 at 7pm in the Institute.
One thing you can do now is sign up to 100 per cent renewable energy with Good Energy. Sustainable Ottery has negotiated £30 off the first bill for Ottery residents who move to Good Energy before the end of June 2008. Sign up online at
www.good-energy.co.uk or phone 0845 456 1640 quoting QW30T.
Pixie Day in Ottery, 21st June, will see a brand new performance of a play that has been devised and created by students at Kings School. Using their responses to the environmental issues facing us, the performance is being created with two community arts workers working with the students under the banner of Community & Environmental Arts, a new company based in Ottery. Please come along to Land of Canaan at 4pm and see how the Year 7 and 8 students have interpreted their own ideas in an exciting innovative way. The working title for the piece is “Taking Over The World” and it has been funded in partnership with Awards for All and King’s School.
Sustainable Ottery welcomes new members. Anyone interested in finding out more can come along to a meeting, join one of the working groups (energy, heart and soul, arts and creativity, factory future, plastic bags and packaging, locally produced food, and transport) or email: info@sustainableottery.org.uk. See www.sustainableottery.org.uk for future events.
