Here we come a-wassailing!!
Fame at last!
Underlanche Community Farm was given a mention in a talk given a while ago by Rob Hopkins at the 2011 Tagore Festival held at Dartington. You’ll find it 24 minutes into the video which is called :
‘Transition as Cookery: my presentation at the 2011 Tagore Festival’
In today’s post on Transition Culture, Rob says “A couple of months ago I did a talk at the Tagore Festival at Dartington which eschewed Powerpoint and used objects sent in by Transition groups to tell the
story of how Transition unfolds. I really enjoyed it.” Here it is:
First Orchard Meeting
Here's what went on at the first Community Orchard meeting on 16th November 2010 in the Bakers Arms. The project is easy to get involved with, and anyone can join - why not get in touch?
Jenny outlined the philosophy of Transition – preparing for the twin challenges of climate change and peak oil and the importance of local food production for our community.
Jenny also explained the process (the long process!) of negotiation with Network Rail and the fact that our first access day was on 22nd of October when we were presented with the cheque from Stand Up Dorchester (£1,000) the comedy club. Network Rail put up a new boundary fence. Since being given access we have done some clearing and Lyn some brush cutting.
We have a rolling annual license to create an orchard. The licence does not allow for unlimited public access- we will have to have work days and events that are supervised.
Jenny asked if anyone would like to do anything else on the land e.g communally growing vegetables which we could also do. There was some interest in this and also soft fruit growing.
Also discussed the possibility of keeping bees and the fact that Transition had a bee expert who could give anyone interested bee tuition between Christmas and New Year. Kate and Sarah Jane expressed an interest.
The people in the railway cottages explained that the access path was owned by them and not a public right of way and it would not be ideal to have even more people using the path. We decided to ask Network Rail to put in a gate at the road side and prevent people needing to walk around the land on the path. The residents were also concerned that tree roots near the path would undermine the path. We decided not to plant trees too close to the fence but also reassured that the rootstocks we would be using would not be invasive.
We discussed the plans to clear the land and decided that it was probably going to need us to clear the brambles over the winter and then use Round-Up to kill the shoots in the Spring. Decided that we should clear and prepare the land this season and plant next planting season Nov- Feb 2011-12.
Jenny also explained that we were not allowed bonfires but Network Rail had agreed to supply us with a shredder to make mulch of the brambles.
We discussed the expertise in the room (considerable!) and other links we should make like Robin Walters from Shaftesbury Transition and the Squirrels from Symondsbury Orchard. It would also be good to visit Bridport Community Orchard which is quite active with lots of events. Engaging Kingston Maurward students and attending volunteer recruitment event in March may also be good.
We initially discussed having a mixed selection of trees some mainly for production but others for heritage and wildlife.
We decided on two work days to prepare for an open day to invite anybody and everybody to come and see the land. We decided the event should have a Tart and Cider theme and begin in the afternoon and then move to the Bakers Arms when it got colder in the evening. We decided the event should be at Wassailing time (we do have one mature apple tree already on the site) and be family friendly. Marion to find out when.
Ian agreed to run the mailing list for us.
The fixed work days – all welcome- everybody wearing strong boots and bring loppers and secateurs
Are Dec 11th 9.30-4.00
Dec 12th 1.00- 3.00
Dec 28th 11.00-4.00
Next meeting Bakers Arms
Thursday Jan 6th 7.oopm
Latest news
Network Rail have agreed to put in a new gate but will not finance the shredder too- so that is over to us.
Marion found out -
‘ Wassailing is traditionally done between Christmas and twelfth night, but that can be 17th January which apparently was twelfth night on the old calendar. That is a Monday next year, so maybe that weekend? Most of the festivities focus on the oldest tree, the guardian, or Apple tree man - so we have our one big tree, that’ll do! We could do with a song - do you know any bards? ‘
The volunteer Centre felt that the Orchard would be popular and we should supply them with some information. They can also provide First Aid training.
Ian will set up orchard@transitiontowndorchester.org
British Forests a thing of the past?
I knew that the new Conservative government would look for things to privatise, but it never even occurred to me that they'd consider selling off the UK’s natural heritage. Now it transpires they intend to sell around half of the 748,000 hectares of woodland overseen by the Forestry Commission - that's not just forested land by the way but includes a lot of moorland, heath and brownfield sites - and it will happen fast. By 2020, in fact.
Public access to Forestry Commission land is enshrined in statute, but once it changes hands that will no longer be the case. With very little legal effort the management of the land can be changed to allow golf courses, CentreParcs-style resorts, residential development, and commercial logging which probably would not afford the FC's balanced approach to biodiversity and landscape.
If you’re a UK citizen or resident, please take a look at the links below and sign the online petition against the government’s plan. Better yet, send the link on to everyone that you’re on speaking terms with. Otherwise, the woods near you might just become a story to tell your grandchildren about.
Really really upset about this.
Andy
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/countryside/8082756/Ministers-plan-huge-sell-off-of-Britains-forests.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/government-plans-huge-selloff-of-britains-forests-2115631.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/oct/24/forests-government-heritage-private-developers
“They hang the man,
and flog the woman,
That steals the goose
from off the common;
But let the greater villain loose,
That steals the common
from the goose.”
(Anonymous, written around the time of the Enclosure Acts when vast swathes of common land were seized by private landowners)
and flog the woman,
That steals the goose
from off the common;
But let the greater villain loose,
That steals the common
from the goose.”
(Anonymous, written around the time of the Enclosure Acts when vast swathes of common land were seized by private landowners)
Transition Town Dorchester Local Food Survey 2010
To help us understand the current picture about local food in the Dorchester area, we're running a short and anonymous survey. Can you spare us five minutes?
Published by Hedgewizard 10th October 2010 | Food Group | Comments Off
Orchard contract finally settled!
We now have a licence for the orchard land- which means it will be ours as soon as I get to meet the Network Rail man and he gives us the key!
We have already secured insurance and risk assessed it.
If you are interested it would be great to see you at our first Orchard Group meeting to discuss our first steps and plan a party! We have already arranged a farm meeting on the 12th October at 7.00pm at the Dorset County Museum and thought that the orchard group could come together there.
Tell anyone you think might be interested - not just in planning or physical labour but documenting through photographs or writing about and publicising the project. Please let me know if you are interested but unable to attend and I will continue to mail you.
- Jenny Shackleton
- Jenny Shackleton
Dorset Apple Crumble Cake
This is a recipe that the Dorset Echo Saturday Supplement published a couple of years ago. They got it from Upwey Wishing Well Teahouse. We’ve modified it very slightly just to make it simpler - and, believe me, it can’t be simpler. When at our Food Group meetings it lasts about 5 minutes!
You need :-
For the base
6 oz (150g) self raising flour
4 oz (100g) butter or margarine - NOT the lite stuff, but butter is prefered
4 oz (100g) Caster sugar
2 medium or large eggs - depending on how rich you want it
A pinch of salt
A splash of milk.
For the middle
3 cooking apples - peeled, cored and chopped into 1½ cm (ish) chunks
1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder - or not if you prefer.
For the Crumble Top
6 oz (150g) self raising flour
3 oz (75g) butter or margarine. (See note above)
3 oz (75g) Caster sugar
Mix all the base ingredients together in a bowl and beat well adding just enough milk to get a thick consistency. With no milk the mix is just a bit too stiff.
Pour into a lined cake tin of approx 8 inch (20 cm) diameter.
Rub together the Crumble top ingredients until you have a sort of breadcrumb mix, then stop! DO NOT overdo this otherwise the topping will become hard. Try adding a handful of rolled oats for a different texture.
Powder the Apple pieces with the cinnamon then drop the them onto the mix as evenly as you can. You don’t need to press them in.
Sprinkle the crumble mix over the apples as evenly as possible. DO NOT pat down otherwise the topping will become hard. Sprinkle a spoonful of sugar over this.
Place in the middle of a pre-heated oven at Gas mark 4 (that’s about 150 deg. centigrade) for about ½ hour or until cooked. Check by stabbing the middle with a knife. If it comes out clean it’s done. If it has mix residue on it give it another 5-10 minutes and check again - and again - and ……………………………. Until cooked.
Best served warm with ice cream or fresh cream.
You could try ringing the changes. These 3 work “coz we tried ‘em”.
Use wholemeal flour instead of white. Just add the appropriate amount of baking powder.
Throw in a slack handful of raisins with the apples.
Throw in a slack handful of rolled oats in the crumble mix.
Enjoy
Community Farm Begins to Take Shape
The first meeting of the Farm crowd took place last night, with more than twenty people showing up for a pint and a chat about what we might do. While lots of things are still up in the air, one thing was decided very quickly; the social aspect of the project will be crucial, and absolutely central to its success.
With that firmly in mind, we're going to have a picnic event on Sunday 15th August, from 12.30 to 3pm at the site - there'll be some publicity between now and then, but put it in your diary and bring along anyone you can think of who would be interested!
We formed ad hoc groups to think about plans for
Nobody likes waiting, so we need to get an outline plan done as soon as possible so that we can get the spades out. Next Tuesday (20th) we'll be meeting at the Dorset County Museum at 7pm sharp. The first hour is for the interest groups (the top list) to get together again and come up with a wish list of what they'd like to do, with some idea of the space needed. At the end of that hour a representative* from each group will talk to the planning group, and by 9pm we should have a first list of the elements that the Farm will include.
After the meeting the planning group will spend a couple of weeks (probably) putting a draft plan together - then we'll all get together and argue about it for a bit. Once that's out of the way we can agree a timeline for turning our scrubby field into somthing we can all be proud of!
*Everyone's welcome to stay, of course - the reps thing is just to keep things as short as possible!
Published by Hedgewizard 14th July 2010 | Events, Food Group, News, Projects | Comments Off
The farm will be a venue, rather than just a place to grow food.
With that firmly in mind, we're going to have a picnic event on Sunday 15th August, from 12.30 to 3pm at the site - there'll be some publicity between now and then, but put it in your diary and bring along anyone you can think of who would be interested!
We formed ad hoc groups to think about plans for
- growing areas including raised beds, fruit cage etc
- a wildlife pond
- livestock (chickens, bees, pigs etc)
- structures such as polytunnel, straw bale building
- social areas, such as picnic/BBQ zone, kids garden
- drawing up a first draft of the site's PLAN
- A 'steering group' (small number of people who keep tabs on the project as a whole)
- An official scrounger (one or maybe two people to badger local businesses and organisations for donations, materials, organic waste etc
- A funding finder, who can identify and apply for grants etc as the project develops
- A liason person, who can forge links with other local projects and organisations and act as a point of contact for them (may be part of scrounger job!)
Nobody likes waiting, so we need to get an outline plan done as soon as possible so that we can get the spades out. Next Tuesday (20th) we'll be meeting at the Dorset County Museum at 7pm sharp. The first hour is for the interest groups (the top list) to get together again and come up with a wish list of what they'd like to do, with some idea of the space needed. At the end of that hour a representative* from each group will talk to the planning group, and by 9pm we should have a first list of the elements that the Farm will include.
After the meeting the planning group will spend a couple of weeks (probably) putting a draft plan together - then we'll all get together and argue about it for a bit. Once that's out of the way we can agree a timeline for turning our scrubby field into somthing we can all be proud of!
*Everyone's welcome to stay, of course - the reps thing is just to keep things as short as possible!
Community Farm Open Meeting
7pm Tues 13th July, the Skittle Alley, Borough Arms (Goldies)
It's official! Transition Town Dorchester has secured a first plot of land for the Community Farm project, and the Farm & Garden is ready to move from paper to plot. There was a lot of interest on site at the Open Day, and 13th July will be the event where it all kicks off.
Lots of people will have something to say, and by the end of it there'll be a knot of folk ready to nurse the Farm into being: twelve months from now they'll all be old friends, and the Farm will be in the papers as the summer harvest comes in. There'll be quite a buzz. Why not be part of it?
The land, a two-acre plot at Parkway Farm (to the South of Weymouth College Construction Centre at Poundbury) will be used to establish a community garden and farm for Dorchester residents. The Duchy of Cornwall has been most helpful in making all this possible in a comparatively short time, and has given us some tremendously flexible and sensible guidelines for developing the plans. Making this happen is going to be great fun!
From this...
For more details, mail the project leader Ian at farm@transitiontowndorchester.org.
Published by Hedgewizard 4th July 2010 | Events, Food Group | Comments Off
It's official! Transition Town Dorchester has secured a first plot of land for the Community Farm project, and the Farm & Garden is ready to move from paper to plot. There was a lot of interest on site at the Open Day, and 13th July will be the event where it all kicks off.
Lots of people will have something to say, and by the end of it there'll be a knot of folk ready to nurse the Farm into being: twelve months from now they'll all be old friends, and the Farm will be in the papers as the summer harvest comes in. There'll be quite a buzz. Why not be part of it?
The land, a two-acre plot at Parkway Farm (to the South of Weymouth College Construction Centre at Poundbury) will be used to establish a community garden and farm for Dorchester residents. The Duchy of Cornwall has been most helpful in making all this possible in a comparatively short time, and has given us some tremendously flexible and sensible guidelines for developing the plans. Making this happen is going to be great fun!
From this...
...to who knows what!
For more details, mail the project leader Ian at farm@transitiontowndorchester.org.
Ourganics Saved!
Congratulations Pat!
Nearly a year ago, I wrote a post about how Pat at the wonderful Ourganics in Litton Cheney was having to tackle the Council's Planning Department to get consent to keep doing what she was doing. Well not only was she successful, but now she has permission to change her shed into a multi-purpose barn - which will allow her to plan properly for future years. Pat has a really vital role in opening people's eyes to the possibilities of sustainable living in Dorset - you can read the original post here.
