Sustainable Bristol

Communities

A society in which we are reconnected with each other and our natural surroundings and living in integrated communities in which we celebrate diversity and value individuals and community invovlement.

Big Green Week Programme Details

by Paul Rainger

01 February 2012

Bristol’s BIG Green Week 2012 outline programme details reveal a packed schedule of world class talks, art, and entertainment.

Peter Madden, Chief Executive of Forum for the Future, who helped develop  BIG Green Week said:

“Bristol’s BIG Green Week is a celebration of green ideas and action which aims to challenge and motivate people to engage with the sustainability issues we face. It is also a fantastic opportunity to hear some world class speakers, get involved in some fun activities and enjoy the buzz in one of the UK’s greenest, most dynamic cities.”

And organisaers of the nine day festival say to watch out for more confirmed speakers and event news over the next few months.

Saturday 9 June:

Love Life, Love Local Food – the UK’s biggest ever Farmer’s Market (in association with the Soil Association) radiating out from the famous St Nic’s covered market hall in Bristol’s old medieval centre.

Sunday 10 June:

Love Life, Love My Bike – the first-ever World Electric Bike Championships with a time trial race on Park Street in the centre of Bristol. The world’s top manufacturers, with celebrity riders, competing for the top crown for electric bikes; plus a gravity powered downhill ‘soap-box’ Go-Kart Grand Prix, and electric bike ‘taster sessions’ for the public.

Monday 11th to Friday 15th June:

A daily stream of events, including:

7.45 – 8.45am The Morning Muse (Green Talk) Colston Hall

– an eight-minute breakfast time provocation and open discussion (also to be broadcast online).

9 – 10am Thought for the Day, Bristol Cathedral

– a chance to reflect on the spiritual side of our connections with the natural world.

10.30am – 12pm, Wonders of the Planet, at the Watershed

- a week-long film programme screening some of the BBC’s greatest hits produced by Bristol’s world famous Natural History Unit over the last 40 years.

12.30 – 1.30pm Festival of Green Ideas Colston Hall

– a lunchtime think-a-thon, with short talks followed by Q&A.

2 – 4pm Film Documentaries & panel discussion Watershed

6 – 7.30pm The BIG Green Lecture (Schumacher) Council House

- our BIG daily daddy of an event, with keynote guest speakers, with virtual link ups with speakers overseas. Plus live poetry or music. Webcast live by Bristol City Council.

8 – 10pm The BIG Green Event (various venues)

– music at St Georges, comedy at Colston Hall, poetry at the Bristol Old Vic, Green Talks at the Arnolfini.

10 – Midnight Late Lounge (various venues)

- hosted by the bar of the venue for that evening’s BIG Green Event (above). Have a drink, mingle and discuss.

Saturday 16, Sunday 17 June: the Festival of Nature

- Europe’s biggest free nature festival held in a tented village across the Bristol harbourside (with schools’ day of the Friday).

Sunday 17 June: Bristol’s Biggest Bike Ride

- this annual traffic-free family ride, organised by Bristol City Council, starts and ends at the Festival of Nature giving a huge finale to BIG Green Week.

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Bristol Big Green Week’s outline programme released

by Paul Rainger

19 January 2012

Britain’s leading green city, Bristol, will be hosting the UK’s festival of environmental talks, art and culture in June.

The outline programme, released today, for Bristol’s BIG Green Week 2012 which runs from 9–17 June – reveals a packed schedule of world class speakers, art, entertainment and family fun, kicking off with a celebration of local food with the UK’s biggest ever Farmer’s Market on Saturday 9 June, followed by a Sunday showcase for electric vehicles.

From Monday to Friday (11-15 June), BIG Green Week will host a daily stream of speaker events to explore the latest green thinking, including the Morning Muse, Thought for the Day, the Festival of Green Ideas, a daily Big Green Lecture and evening entertainment at the Big Green Event.

Wildlife lovers will have the chance to see some of the BBC’s Natural History Unit’s greatest films, with daily showings at the Watershed; there will be art on display at the Royal West of England Academy; BIG Green Week exhibits and activities at the Arnolfini, Colston Hall and the M-Shed; a packed programme of Fringe events; and outside art and audio installations will transform the public space.

The week will culminate in the Festival of Nature on 16-17 June – Europe’s biggest free nature festival held in a tented village across the Bristol harbourside, and Bristol’s Biggest Bike Ride on Sunday 17 June when thousands are expected to join the family ride. Read the full press release here to find out what’s in store for June 2012.

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Major Green Festival for Bristol in 2012

by Helen Burley

18 November 2011

The city of Bristol is to host a world-class festival of sustainability from 9^th – 17^th June 2012, bringing together leading global experts and thinkers to share ideas and inspiration on developing a green future.

Bristol’s BIG Green Week will include a strong cultural element with music, theatre and comedy performances, a film festival, and new art, all reflecting an environmental theme. Street art and exhibitions will transform the city centre. And the week will culminate in the Festival of Nature, Europe’s largest free natural history festival.

Bristol is one of the UK’s leading cities for sustainable development and Bristol’s Big Green Week – the first week of its kind in the UK – will tap into the city’s rich resource of green expertise and practical experience. The event is jointly curated by Bristol Green Capital, Forum for the Future, and Bristol Natural History Consortium, and supported by Bristol City Council.

Confirmed speakers include: the IPCC’s chair, Rajendra Pauchauri,  TV’s Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud; National Trust chief executive Fiona Reynolds; leading green writer and thinker Jonathon Porritt; the Eden Project’s Tim Smit; author and thinker Sara Parkin; campaigner and writer Tony Juniper; and author and activist Andrew Simms.

Peter Madden, CEO of Forum for the Future, said:

“We want people to come to Bristol’s Big Green Week to be educated, inspired and have fun. We’re banishing environmental doom and gloom, and offering instead a rich programme of inspiration, with culture, talks and performance. Our goal is to create a world-class event, mentioned in the same breath – and attracting the same buzz – as the Edinburgh, Hay and Cheltenham Festivals.

Bristol City Council Leader Barbara Janke said:

“Bristol is an ambitious and vibrant green city so it is a fitting location for such an exciting, landmark festival. Bristol’s Big Green Week will act as a showcase for the city’s many environmental organisations and projects, and reinforce our credentials as one of the leading green cities in Europe.”

Alastair Sawday, chair of Bristol Green Capital said:

“Bristol is buzzing with imaginative projects and creative ideas, and the exciting programme of events being planned for Bristol’s BIG Green Week reflects that. The need for change has never been greater, and I’m pleased to say that Bristol is as the forefront. But we have much more to do, and it will be exhilarating to host people from across the UK and Europe to share good ideas. I’m looking forward to it.”

For more information about Bristol’s BIG Green Week see www.biggreenweek.com

 

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Bad news week…

by Helen Burley

04 November 2011

It’s not been the best week for progress on sustainability.  While the world’s political leaders meeting at the G20 in Cannes were focused on fixing the increasingly fragile global economic system, the US Department of Energy revealed that global carbon dioxide emissions increased by a “monster” six per cent last year.

While China and the US are the source of much of the increase, the European Environment Agency reported last month that Europe’s emissions rose by 2.4% in 2010.

Given that a proportion of China’s emissions come from manufacturing goods for export to Europe, the overall picture is not looking good.

Meanwhile at a national level, the UK Government’s announcd proposals for major changes to the Feed in Tariff, cutting the incentives available for people wanting to install solar PV electricity. The funding had been a key trigger for community schemes aiming to increase the take up of renewable energy and cut carbon emissions, including here in Bristol, but as proposed, the changes could have “devastating effects”, leave solar firms facing bankruptcy and affect 25,000 jobs.

Local initiatives on climate change appear to be suffering more generally as a result of the government’s austerity measures, combined with the new localism agenda. A Green Alliance report found that 37% of local authorities were deprioritising their commitment to climate change (or did not have a commitment in the first place).

A further 28% were reducing their commitment, often focusing just on cutting emissions, rather than a wider environmental agenda.

One officer reported: “the sustainability function within my local authority has been deleted and the climate change function has been discontinued”.

Better news is that 35% of local authorities remain firmly committed and think that they may do more as a result of the government’s localism agenda, with Local Enterprise Partnerships, such as the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership, and Neighbourhood Partnerships flagged up as potential opportunities.

In the same week that the Energy Minister Greg Barker announced his proposals to slash the solar panel incentive, he instructed the government’s Committee on Climate Change to investigate the role councils can play in cutting carbon emissions.

David Kennedy, chief executive of the CCC, said the report was likely to recommend some form of carbon targets for councils, but targets alone were unlikely to deliver deep cuts in emissions.

Local action is of course key to bringing down global carbon levels – but if we are going to make progress at the global level, local and national policies need to work together and encourage individuals, business and local authorities to move to a sustainable future.

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Shining a light on Bristol’s independent shops

by Helen Burley

24 October 2011

As far as I’m concerned, Bristol’s independent shops play a huge part in contributing to the quality of life in the city – it was one of the things I raved about when I moved here five years ago, and visitors I take shopping are often envious.

Bristol is particularly well provided for in terms of local high streets. The Gloucester Road has been celebrated as one of the best independent shopping streets in Bristol, but other parts of the city also do well – and a Bristol Independents campaign has been launched to keep them alive.

Now Bristol Council has launched an enquiry to examine best practice in supporting local high streets and in making them vibrant and diverse places to visit. They want to hear from people about their local high streets and have launched an online questionnaire. There’s a separate set of questions for businesses to complete.

The enquiry will take place on 11 November and wants to hear people’s views about what they like, what they don’t like – and what can be done to improve them.

The Bristol Independents website also has some tasty recipes.

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Bristol Green Doors shortlisted for SW Green Energy Award

by Helen Burley

11 October 2011

Bristol Green Doors – the innovative Bristol project to raise awareness and share experience of eco-refurbishment – has been shortlisted in this year’s South West Green Energy Awards, in the Best Community Initiative category.

The first ever Bristol Green Doors weekend in September 2010 attracted visitors from across the country, keen to learn more about people’s experiences of retrofitting their homes – and a second big event is now being planned for a follow up weekend in spring 2012.

Visitor feedback suggested many were planning on carrying out energy efficiency work in their own homes – or thinking about installing solar panels.

The Bristol project faces stiff competition from across the south west region, with three other projects from Devon and Cornwall also making the shortlist. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in Bath on 9 November.

Bristol Green Doors co-ordinator Dan Weisselberg said:

“We are absolutely thrilled to have been nominated for this award. Bristol Green Doors is all about bringing the community together to share knowledge and experience so that we can help each other make our homes warmer, more comfortable and fit for the future.”

Householders interested in opening their homes as part of the 2012 Bristol Green Doors weekend should register here.

 

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Don’t be fooled by the sun

by Helen Burley

30 September 2011

The welcome return of the sun this week is just the latest spell of weird weather to have hit Bristol in the last 12 months – from heavy snow in early December to soaring temperatures in February. It’s perhaps no wonder that the apple tree in my garden is so confused it’s producing blossom again.

But while we can enjoy the unusually warm weather now (apparently we should thank the jet stream), there’s no getting away from the fact that autumn is round the corner and cold weather will follow.

Time then to take a tip from nature and get ready for winter… and where better to start than at home?

Tackling household energy use is well-recognised as a key priority, not just for Bristol, but across the developed world. With energy prices rising, it makes sense to minimise household energy use as much as you can – and making our homes more energy efficient makes carbon sense. Our homes are responsible for some 27 per cent of the UK’s carbon emissions.

You would then have expected Bristol’s Centre for Sustainable Energy’s (CSE) offer to provide loft insulation to 1,000 homes in Bristol to have been welcome news.

But surprisingly, takers were slow in coming forward.

Maybe Bristol’s lofts are already well-insulated – although that doesn’t seem likely. Maybe the people who need insulation didn’t hear about the offer? Maybe the weather was too warm?

This is just one incident, but the principle is important if the government is serious about implementing its Green Deal. If people don’t accept free measures, it seems unlikely that they’ll be up for a Green Deal loan – even though the costs are not upfront.

Getting the message out on energy efficiency is a challenge – but it is one that Bristol is embracing on all fronts, with a host of local initiatives reaching out to communities to show them that they can benefit.

From encouraging simple affordable measures, through to running training courses and more advanced workshops.

CSE, for example, has launched a draught-busting scheme, designed to get volunteers sharing tips on how to draught-proof doors and windows with their friends and neighbours. Anyone getting involved gets £20 of free draught-proofing kit.

More in depth advice is available through the MakeyourhomeEco short courses which are running at CREATE and St Werburghs Community Centre in October, designed to enable householders to make cost-effective changes to their own homes.

Perhaps when the temperature drops, the message will start getting through?

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Working co-operatively

by Helen Burley

23 September 2011

As the economy teeters on the edge of recession and businesses around the world struggle to secure credit, the UK co-operative sector has seen a healthy expansion, reporting an increase in turnover of 21% since the start of the credit crunch in 2008.

Indeed the shared-ownership model seems to be very much in vogue. Just this week the government launched a consultation on the possible mutualisation of the Post Office – which would give staff, customers and potentially local communities a stake in how the business is run.

Bristol has long been home to a number of successful co-operatives, from Bristol Credit Union to the Bristol Wood Recycling Project. And the emphasis on local ownership and control has made the model attractive to a growing number of sustainability initiatives.

Later this year, Bristol Energy Co-operative, will open up its membership with the aim of developing the city’s green energy economy, putting solar PV on community buildings.

The Community Farm at Chew Magna, one of the projects helping feed Bristol – is a Community Benefit Society – a not-for-profit entity which exists for the benefit of people, rather than its members.

Mutually-owned businesses have thrived in the UK for generations – and indeed the first co-operative was created in Rochdale in 1844. Co-operatives world-wide now represent some 800 million members and employ 100 million people. In the UK, there are more than 5,000 co-operatives with an annual turnover of £33 billion.

Even putting the precarious nature of the global economy to one side, it seems there’s a lot to be said for a business model that puts shared ownership and “co-operation” at its heart. Co-operatives can opt to focus on aims, not just profits – they are accountable to individual members, not corporate investors, and at the local level, can focus on the needs of a particular community.

According to Ed Mayo, the secretary general of Co-operatives UK: “The values of shared ownership, shared wealth and democratic control appear to provide resilience in the face of economic adversities.”

The United Nations has declared 2012 the international year of coopertives as an international celebration of how co-operatives build a better world.

As UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: “Co-operatives are a reminder to the international community that it is possible to pursue both economic viability and social responsibility.”

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It’s the government’s big ‘Ideah’

by Paul Rainger

21 March 2011

It’s the government’s big ‘Ideah’, says former environment secretary John Gummer. It’s not the NIMBY’s charter that some fear; oh no, it’s the very beating heart of the Big Society – “I Decide the Environment Around Here”.

Yes, the Localism Bill is on its way through the British Parliament, en route to heralding the biggest change in planning policy since the Second World War. At least with the Bill’s publication in December, some sense of what Localism might really mean in practice has emerged. But will it end up being a force for good in shaping, rather than breaking, sustainable communities? The truth is, right now, nobody really knows.

Certainly the public sector managers I speak to cling, almost limpet-like, to the ‘opportunity’ offered by Localism, amid the otherwise stormy waters of financial cuts. So can we collectively shape this agenda for what we want – a positive force for sustainability?

Here are some quick thoughts to stimulate your thinking:

• ‘Community-led’ neighbourhood developments could be a springboard for eco-builds, likely to be much more attractive to local people than bog-standard housebuilder estates. And if both the councils, who are required to provide technical support as neighbourhoods draw up their plans, and the government, who are promising funded sources of help and advice for communities, include an embedded requirement for sustainable development, so much the better.
   
• The community ‘right to bid’ for and to ‘nominate’ neighbourhood assets/services has so far focused on the obvious things like libraries, shops and pubs. But what about that bit of unused or derelict land asset that would make an ideal community allotment? How about the rural village that replaces its virtually non-existent bus service with its own demand-responsive shared transport? (a sort of community Whipcar) Could the ‘infrastructure levy’ invest in community-owned renewables that provide the community with an income to help maintain these assets over the next 25 years?
   
• If we can’t use the ‘general power of competence’ as a licence to innovate, we may as well give up now! Green bonds anyone? Public services delivered by a low-emission integrated travel network? How about a charter for acceptable DIY traffic-calming in council-designated 20mph zones, as some communities have already tried for themselves in Bristol?

Of course you can probably think of lots of examples that would be really bad for creating sustainable communities too.

So will the bill end up being a force for good or bad? That depends on all of us, and what we do to innovate and to really push the boundaries.

But it could be great fun. Let the battle for localism commence!

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Good Living Guide to Green Bristol

by Paul Rainger

05 November 2010

About eighteen months ago I was enjoying a coffee with Bristol publisher and green guru, Alastair Sawday, chatting about ideas for books celebrating Bristol’s large green movement. So it’s with enormous pleasure that next month sees the publication of the first of two books doing just that.

Bristol – A guide to good living is a handy-sized guidebook that showcases the good living and green activities happening right across the city-region that help make Bristol a UK leader when it comes to sustainable living.

Its 224 pages take the reader on a journey through vibrant neighbourhoods and micro-communities, each one overflowing with green ideas and enterprise, and includes tours, case studies, directory listings and a pull-out illustrated map.

Publisher Alastair Sawday says, “The guide is intended to help others share the genuine pleasures of sustainable living by joining projects or getting involved in events. Community orchards, holistic health centres, micro-energy production, waste and recycling initiatives are just some of the things already happening – and not in a niche kind of way. Now it’s all mainstream.”

Peter Madden, Chief Executive of independent sustainability experts Forum for the Future, who wrote the afterword to the book says, “Bristol is home to some of the most exciting and fun environmental initiatives in the world, and is increasingly getting an international reputation for sustainability. This guide will show both residents and visitors why Bristol is such as great place to live, work and play.” 

The book aims shows that making changes in your life to live more sustainably doesn’t have to be difficult and you could make a profound difference to the future of your city and the planet.

Bristol – A guide to good living, is a joint venture between Alastair Sawday Publishing and the Bristol Green Capital Momentum Group. It is available from 18th November in Bristol book shops and retail outlets, priced £9.99.  

For more information visit www.goodliving.org.uk

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