email bulletin 7

Welcome to another “in-between” email bulletin of Manchester Climate Fortnightly.

The next MCFly will be published on Sunday April 5th

Dates for your diary-
Saturday April 4th
Chorlton Green Festival, St Clements Church
http://greenchorlton.org.uk/

Launch of “Call to Real Action”
Monday 6^th April from 7pm at Cafe Nexus, Dale St
http://www.calltorealaction.wordpress.com

a) Local news
Not a lot that we here at MCFly Towers are aware of.  That's not to say
there isn't a lot going on though. If you know of something that's
happened in the last week on climate change, locally, then please email
us!!

b) Upcoming local events
Monday 30th March
6pm to 9pm, come for what bits you want.
Call to Real Action- final draft reading (well, your final chance to read
whatever draft we are up to!)
Friends Meeting House, 6 Mount St

Wednesday 1st April - Financial Fools' Day at 12 noon.
*MERCi Carrot Mobbing*
The *Co-operative* Bank, Balloon Street, Manchester.
“Many people of course will be in London's Square Mile on Financial
Fools' Day highlighting the horrors of the financial industry.  Here at MERCi
we're always trying to focus on the good, and good deeds should be
rewarded.
MERCi staff and friends will be presenting The *Co-operative* Bank with
the first ever MERCi-Carrot.  The MERCi-Carrot is a reward for continually
working towards improvements with respect for the environment and social
justice.  The MERCi-Carrot will be presented to The *Co-operative* Bank in
the form of a MERCi Carrot Cake and Certificate.
For a successful carrot mobbing, we need a mob.  A BIG mob.  And it must
be a surprise!!!  So please come down to the first ever MERCi Carrot
Mobbing and help us thank The *Co-operative* Bank for their efforts.

c)international news stories of interest/importance
G20 meeting coming up on April 2nd, in London.  You'll be hearing about
it, unless you are in a coma. On Mars.

Let there be light. Lots of it.

Was anyone in the city centre last night? According to an article in the Manchester Evening News, you couldn't really tell it was Earth Hour (as organised by that well-known radical grassroots group WWF).

The Big Wheel kept on turning, mostly lit up. The Palace Theatre was ablaze (figuratively), "as did the lights of signature buildings in the corporate Spinningfields district off Deansgate."

Hmm. The best comment (if you're a hopeless curmudgeon) was a tweet by the following chap, http://twitter.com/CarbonHeart :

Just think turning lights off is a feeble gesture, like bailing the Titanic with a teaspoon. Detracts attention from more effective actions.

But I digress. The MEN piece closes with the following -

City centre spokesman Coun Pat Karney said: "Poor marks for Manchester, we have let the side down. Most of us were probably more preoccupied with putting the clocks forward that with Earth Hour, which saw many other city centres across the world dramatically plunged into darkness.

"It's a possibility that it wasn't well enough publicised in the city. I only started reading about it about a day or two before it was happening and I'm sure the majority of people had no idea it was happening. We can only apologise to the rest of the world and make sure we make a better effort next year."

Sure. I feel safer already. How about having a monthly Council backed one? To get people into the swing of things...

Lecture series on Conservation and Sustainability

Last night the second of a series of lectures on "Conservation and Sustainability" took place at Manchester University.

Zoe Garland and Leanne Rimmer of the Lancashire Wildlife Trust outlined their work, which is mostly with school children at present, under the title of "Inspiring change now: Making sustainable living second nature."

The next lecture is entitled "Buidling a low carbon-economy" and will be delivered by Mike Reardon, of Manchester City Council/AGMA. He is the lead on creating the "Environment Commission" (see MCFly's 17, 19 and 20).

His lecture will take place on Weds 22nd April, from 6 to 7pm, at the Michael Smith building at the University of Manchester (very close to the back of Jabez Clegg.)

More details will appear in next paper MCFly, out Sunday 5th April.

Further titles for lectures include "biodiversity loss and ecosystem change: consequences for people and the enviornment", "the return of the beaver" and 'forming an emissions inventory, energy scenarios and plans with stakeholders"

Cultivate our gardens!

This below is a few clippings from a very long press release put out by the Department of Communities and Local Government just now...

A £1 million fund to recruit a new generation of green-fingered apprentices to keep England's parks and green spaces growing, is being announced today by Housing Minister Margaret Beckett

Local councils will invite budding horticulturalists of all ages to apply for a traineeship scheme that will offer them the opportunity to improve their green skills and make sure our towns' and cities' green spaces stay green.

In the North West councils in Blackburn... Liverpool, Manchester, Oldham, Pendle, Preston, Rochdale, Salford, St Helens, Tameside and Wigan will be looking for people who can prove their gardening prowess...

Margaret Beckett will announce the new funding in a speech to leading experts in the green space sector as well as planners, developers and health officials at the ParkCity conference in London.

Mrs Beckett will say:

"These new apprentices will be green ambassadors in their communities, taking responsibility for our parks and open spaces and making sure they are of the highest quality for everyone to enjoy.

"Green spaces and green infrastructure should not be an added luxury. If we really are to tackle climate change, protect both our environment and our health, green spaces need to be at the heart of our communities.

"We will work closely with planners, developers and experts in the green sector to ensure we have the skills and resources we need to make this happen."

With the public health, environmental and social benefits of green spaces widely known, the new funding comes as part of the Government's drive for more top quality green spaces through programmes such as the Green Flag Scheme, as well as putting the green agenda at the centre of planning policy and housing growth.

Background
The apprenticeships are open to people of all ages and the 47 Local Authorities will be managing recruitment to each of their posts.

MCFly 020- Carbon Co-op

The Carbon Co-op has been set up to help small-scale renewable energy projects get going. It is being funded by North West Climate Fund to run a series of feasibility workshops. "Testing the model of a co-operative made up of units of 5-10 individuals, we've used social networks to recruit two test groups, one in Hulme in new build housing and one in new build flats in the city centre. We'll be using the workshops to look at how participants can reduce energy usage and carbon emissions and crucially how people can work together as supportive units to do this. Participants will use energy monitors too, as a way for Carbon Co-op to evaluate ongoing savings and we hope these groups will continue to work together in the future."

www.sicamp.org/?page_id=268 or jonathan@lowwintersun.info

MCFly 020- Council swaps food for your opinions!!

The Local Development Framework is a framework. About development. Locally. No, but seriously, it's a big ol' set of planning documents that take years (and years) to produce. Exciting, eh? Well, the Council hopes so, since they've made it one of their “Catalytic Actions” in the “Call to Action” document (see MCFly 15 etc).

The next stage of consultation on the Core Strategy - Refining Options - will begin on April 14 and finish on May 29. The Council is taking an exhibition bus on tour around Manchester. It's mostly daytimes, but there are some evening dates (Wythenshawe Tues April 7, and Rusholme Thurs April 16). Those evening bashes include a buffet for pre-registered participants, and MCFly will be at the Rusholme one, with its snout in the trough and its pen on t'notepad. Hope to see you there: you register by contacting Collette Holt on 0161 234 4579 or c.holt@manchester.gov.uk saying which evening and if you've any special dietary requirements. www.manchester.gov.uk/planning

You register as a consultee by going here:

http://manchester-consult.limehouse.co.uk/portal

More info about the LDF here: http://tinyurl.com/co9t4o, but it's written in Council-ese and so MCFly will try to get an English language bluffer's guide written...

The draft document was recently discussed at a "Communities and Neighbourhoods Oversight Committee" and can be dowloaded from here: www.manchester.gov.uk/downloads/Item_6_Appendix_Refining_Options_for_the_Core_Strategy.pdf

The relevant pages are 7-9 (out of an eye-watering 62).

For help and advice on Planning Issues, there's always Planning Aid

MCFly 020- Sustainable Communities Act

Manchester City Council is inviting individuals and groups to submit ideas for how their local neighbourhoods could be improved. Stuck for ideas? Surely you have opinions on at least one category:

Economic (provision of local services, the number of local jobs, planning policies that help achieve the aims of the Act).

Social (ending fuel poverty, promoting local food and ending food poverty, increasing social inclusion, measures to increase community health and well-being).

Environmental well-being (promoting local energy and energy efficiency, helping the environment, measures to reduce the level of road traffic).

Participation in civic or political activity (promoting greater participation in decision-making).

The deadline is Friday April 24. More details here: