NORWICH: Introducing Kitchen Conversations - Low Carbon Cookbook - 24 August

Last month the Low Carbon Cookbook project met, as usual, for delicious supper of shared dishes (from rainbow summer slaws to foraged cherry plum pie) and afterwards discussed the Burning Issues embedded in the present industrialised food system. We looked at the scarcity of water, the destructiveness of supermarkets, peak phosphates, and how we can change the menu, both practically and philosophically, in our daily lives and neighbourhoods.

We also decided to open out these monthly discussions and invite everyone to take part in a conversation over supper on all aspects of food and carbon reduction.

Our first Kitchen Conversation will be on Eating Local for Real on Wednesday 24 August at 6.30pm at Jo Balfe's new cafe The Nectar at 16 Onley Street, just off the Unthank Road. Jo is a member of the TN Permaculture group and gives regular workshops on cooking and eating local and raw food. We'll bring our own local low carbon dishes to share and Jo will be offering drinks and pedal-powered desserts.

We'll be holding our second Low Carbon Kitchen Conversation at Norwich FoodCycle Cafe in September. These free community meals are cooked up each week at the Friends Meeting House kitchens from food that would otherwise be thrown away, donated by local shops, restaurants and market stalls (including surplus veg from Norwich FarmShare).

Everyone is welcome at both events. Details and times will be added soon to the calendar. Watch this space! Charlotte Du Cann

Bicycle blender outside The Nectar; Low Carbon Cookbook Crew; blight-free organic potatoes at The Spuds Don't Work anti-GM rally outside the Forum

Kitchen Conversation 1: Eating Local for Real at The Nectar Cafe, 16 Onley Street. KC 2: Food and Waste will be at FoodCycle, Friends Meeting House, Upper Goat Lane in September. For more details contact Charlotte Du Cann rootshootsandseeds@hotmail.co.uk

NORWICH: Grapes Hill Community Garden - Grand Opening - 7 August

Since the Grapes Hill Community Garden opened its gates to the public on 2nd July it has proved a hit with people and wildlife alike.

We had a great evening in the garden on Sunday 10th July, after St. Benedict's Street Fair. On other days people come in to enjoy the garden's peace and tranquility. People appreciate the garden's wealth of vegetables, herbs and ornamentals, with the wildflower meadow being a particular favourite.

The garden is attracting birds and insects too. A pair of blackbirds nested in a courtyard backing onto our garden and the parents foraged for food here. Bumblebees, butterflies, moths, ladybirds and hoverflies are moving into the garden and we're keeping a note of what we see.

On Sunday 7th August we have our Grand Opening Day. This starts at 11am when Will Giles from Norwich's Exotic Garden officially opens the garden. There will be food, drink, music, ice cream, face painting, competitions, plant sales and information about the garden, until 3pm.

There will also be a one-off chance at this event to join the Grapes Hill Community Garden Group for half price until the end of 2012 for £5 (waged) or £1.50 (unwaged).

Admission to the garden is free - please come along and see Norwich's newest green space. Jeremy Bartlett.

Above: Drinks and food in the garden - 10th July 2011. Photo copyright Grapes Hill Community Garden Group. Visit our website or our Facebook page for more information.

Bungay Beehive Day - Sunday 24th July, 10.30am - 4pm on Castle Meadow

Bungay Beehive Day is a celebration of the honeybee and other pollinating insects along with the plants they love. It’s a first-of-its-kind event organised by Bungay Community Bees (BCB) as part of the Bungay Festival and aims to promote awareness and enjoyment of the key relationship between people, plants and bees.

Although we’ll be celebrating “all things bee” our theme will centre on the importance of insect pollination and how everyone can grow and protect flowers to support bees and other insects in our local environment. Come and find out what our group is doing and what each of us can do in response to the worldwide honeybee crisis and to help restore balance in our overstretched environment.

Central to the day and the marquee will be an observation hive provided by Waveney Beekeepers, so everyone can see how honey bees work within a hive. There wil also be a display of our recent venture into top bar hives. A wide diversity of stalls will be busy giving both information all about bees and bee-friendly plants and everything you need to know about becoming a beekeeper and also selling plants and seeds, bee-related crafts and of course honey! There will be an activities area for children from making a bee swarm to to a flower mural and on the stage there will be a lively series of workshops and talks running through the day.

So if you want to know how to make a bee hotel and beeswax candle, find out about natural beekeeping, bumblebees or how to plant a 'patch in a pot' of bees' favourite wildflowers, this is where you need to be!

We’ll have guest speakers from both the innovative River of Flowers project talking about creating urban meadows in green corridors, pollination and bio-diversity, and the Natural Beekeeping Trust on beekeeping on an earth-friendly scale. On the Bee and Flower walk we’ll visit a variety of ‘green spaces’ in Bungay (including the burgeoning Library Courtyard Community Garden), on the lookout for the wild (and not so wild) flowers that the bees are visiting. There will also be a talk on the healing power of honey. And throughout the day you’ll be able to talk to Bungay Community Beekeepers about all our activities and even join the group if you haven’t yet subscribed.

Oh, and calling all bakers. If you bake and bring along a honey cake and enter it into the competition, you could win a £15 gift voucher from BCB organiser and master cake maker from Three Willows Café, Gemma Parker.

Talks 11am Bee Guardians: Natural Beekeeping Trust 12 noon Bee and Flower Walk 1pm Bee corridors and biodiversity: River of Flowers 2pm Healing Power of Honey 3pm Bumblebees.

Workshops 11-12.30 Wildflowers for gardens and making bee Hotels. 2.30-4 Wildflowers for allotments and vegetable gardens and making bug hotels. Ongoing making beeswax candles and beeframes; children's activities: making puppets, mobiles, masks and bee and flower mural.

Honey cake competition: Bake and bring along a honey cake with the most delicious winning a £15 gift voucher. 3pm Judging

Everyone is welcome. Refreshments are available.

If you would like to help out on the day please let us know.

Contact Gemma: enquiries@humblecake.co.uk or Mark: markintransition@hotmail.co.uk or Tel. 01502 722419

Bungay: Midsummer Celebration at the Library Community Garden - 24 June

Bungay’s library courtyard is positively blooming this summer as its beautiful, new wildlife garden comes into its own with a great burst of activity.

Colourful chamomile, cornflowers, poppies and foxgloves catch the eye, not only of library visitors but bumble bees and many other insects. And there are plenty of feathered visitors too, including a pair of blue tits who have successfully reared a family of youngsters in one of the new bird-boxes.

To celebrate the success of this flourishing community project and to boost the ongoing Save Bungay Library campaign, a Midsummer Evening is being staged at the library courtyard on Friday, 24 June, from 7-10pm.

All library supporters and well-wishers are invited to come along. Drinks and nibbles are provided and local musicians will add to the atmosphere, playing acoustic instruments.



Over the past year, this underused courtyard space has been transformed into a hive of activity. This spring pupils from Bungay Primary School saw the bulbs they had planted last Autumn emerge from the earth and burst into bloom. On May Day Sustainable Bungay held a second Give and Grow Day, exchanging seedlings, seeds, flowers and veg (and growing tips!) and establishing a permanent plant and produce corner.

During the drought, the library staff and volunteers have been kept busy watering the assorted herbs, wildflowers and young fruit trees, relying on tap water when the rainwater butts ran dry. The busy staff are seeking someone who is willing to spend a few minutes each week, sweeping the courtyard to keep it looking spick and span. Dustpan and broom will be provided! A shed with tools and compost for garden maintenance is now in situ.

Sara Johnson, who redesigned the courtyard garden with the project’s working party, is really pleased with its progress. “I’m delighted - after the freezing conditions of the winter and now a prolonged drought – that it’s established and positively thriving.”

For more details about the midsummer evening, or if you would like to contribute any refreshments, please contact the library staff or email: info@sustainablebungay.com.

Transition East Summer Gathering - 25/6 June

Last year Glenn and Jeannie hosted the first gathering of Transitioners from Suffolk, South Norfolk and North Essex at their farm in Framsden. This year they’re making their farm available for a two day gathering from 10.00 on 25th June, so come along to meet other Transitioners, share experiences, swap ideas, enjoy each other’s company and celebrate.

There’s even a village Barn Dance in a C15th barn – that’s something you definitely can’t get at Glastonbury!

In true Transition fashion, this will be a self organising weekend, with agenda and workshops arranged using Open Space. Workshops are expected to start around 13.30 on Saturday and to continue on Sunday.

Camping is free and self catering, on grass or in a barn. A loo and shower are available.

The (optional) barn dance starts at 7pm on Sat 25th and costs £5 (children £2).

Transition East summer gathering 25th/26th June - Hill Farm, Framsden, Suffolk IP14 6HAContact Glenn & Jeannie for more info and if you want tickets for the dance please let them know asap: hillfarm@helmingham.com or jeannie@hillfarm.eclipse.co.uk or 01473 890737.

Pic: meeting of Transition East food projects in Ipswich at Oak Tree Low Carbon Farm

Norwich FarmShare - Open Day - 11 June

It's Open Day down on the farm at Postwick on Saturday 11 June! Join us on the farm for a family day out. Bring a picnic to share!

We’ll be offering tours of the farm, introducing you to all the crops we’re growing and showing you the wildlife that shares our site. We’llh ave an opportunity for anyone who wishes to join in with the work onthe farm for an hour or so, and lots of fun activities for children. We’re also looking forward to a chance to share with you all the plans we have for the future. Absolutely everyone is welcome on the day: we hope to make it a real celebration of everything we’ve achieved so far. Please bring your friends and families along, the more the merrier. There will be lots of FarmShare members on hand to answer any questions you have and a chance to sign up if you haven’t yet.

Additionally, existing members are invited to join us a little earlier on the day at 12.00 for our Quarterly General Meeting. This will take only half an hour and is a great chance to catch up with what’shappening and take part in the decisions we make about the farms. As always, please contact us if you have any questions. Laura Creen

For latest Norwich FarmShare update click here.

Photo: Field of Dreams by Elena Judd

Transition Training in Wivenhoe, Essex

The fantastic 2 day Transition Training takes place in Wivenhoe on 4th and 5th June.

Due to external funding via Community Matters, Transition Town Wivenhoe are offering places for the amazing price of only £10 + £10 returnable deposit!!

Places are filling up so please get in touch if you are interested.

Transition Network Trainers are Marina O'Connell and Gerri Smyth.