Don’t forget!

Regular Community Farm workdays are held every month

on the 2nd Saturday and the 4th Sunday

10.00am – 3.00pm…

……and it’s not all work………we have a  Shared Lunch (bring what you like) and cups of tea on tap…..lots of chat – get to know someone new?……..A good social gathering interspersed with shared growing, sowing, weeding, watering, feeding hens, getting some exercise, planning our next project, a share in the harvest……. and lots more. What could be better!

Why not come down and join in!

(You’ll find us behind Parkway Farm Business Centre and Weymouth College Skills Centre off Middle Farm Way, Poundbury)

Apples!!

Come and help us grow some in the centre of Dorchester at the ‘Railway Community Orchard‘

We have regular workdays on the 1st Saturday and the 3rd Sunday every month and you’ll find us there from 11.00am until 3.00pm.

The orchard is being created on what was an area of overgrown land and we’ve been very busy clearing away brambles and sycamores and planting trees and fruit bushes……and we’ve got lots of ideas…bees…pond…wildlife…picnics,

but we need your help….so put on your strongest boots, bring your ideas and some lunch and come down and join in!

See you there!

( You will find us along the footpath behind the garages at the eastern end of Monmouth road or from the footpath alongside the railway at the eastern end of Alfred Road (which is at the back of Dorchester South Station).

When Lorraine Wong (right) decided to borrow an electricity monitor from our loan scheme, she had very little idea how much electricity she was using in her everyday life.  Six months later, at the close of the scheme, the monitor has helped her to make behavioural changes that have saved her money, reduced her carbon footprint and won her a prize of a local food hamper for her efforts!

Lorraine says: ‘The biggest surprise was how much energy my ceiling lights used as they are all halogen bulbs, so I decided to limit my use of these and use table lamps instead’

She has made many other changes too, such as making sure she dries her laundry out on the line, rather than using a tumble-drier, and washing clothes at a lower temperature. She says ‘I leave nothing on standby, and now I only turn my router on when I am actually using my computer’. Well done Lorraine!

The aim of the electricity monitor loan scheme was to help people to make a sustainable reduction in their consumption of energy. Sixteen participants in this free scheme were able to see their electricity usage in real time using a monitor with a portable display which helped them to understand where energy was being wasted in their homes. They were also invited to attend meetings where energy saving advice was available, and everyone that gave feedback at the end of the scheme reported that they had made a saving.

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:

http://youtu.be/6XSykiCewdc

Come and have a look!

We’re getting on!

Our next workday is this Sunday the 22nd of May.

Shared Lunch (bring what you like) and cups of tea on tap.

A good social gathering interspersed with some work. What could be better!

Ian

AGM Saturday 7th May

And this year we’ve negotiated with the Railway Orchard folk to hold the event at their site.
Come and have a look at one of our projects and DON’T FORGET to bring some plants to swap.
The Orchard Group will be having a workday until about 2 pm when the AGM – I mean – Birthday Party gets underway.
Shared food, so don’t forget to bring something if you can. Tea and Coffee on tap, and you never know, someone may bring some alcohol!
If you don’t know where the Orchard is it’s accessed via the footpath either behind the garages at the eastern end of Monmouth road or from the footpath alongside the railway at the eastern end of Alfred Road (which is at the back of Dorchester South Station).

And on a serious note -
The Steering Committee wants to change TTD’s status to a Company Limited by Guarantee. This needs discussing, you may want to know the reason, and vote on it at the AGM.
Also if anyone would like to volunteer to bear one of the offices of TTD don’t be backward in coming forward.
There will also be a quick resumé of projects.

Join in. It’s your Transition Town!

Come and help put the polytunnel up! – It’s your farm!

In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that plastic bags weren’t good for the environment.
The woman apologized to her and  explained, “We didn’t have the green thing back in my  day.”

That’s right, they didn’t have the green thing in her day.  Back then, they returned their milk bottles, Coke bottles and beer  bottles to the store.The store sent them back to the plant to be  washed and sterilized and refilled, using the same bottles over and over.  So they really were recycled……  But they didn’t have the green thing back her day.

In her day, they  walked up stairs, because they didn’t have an escalator in every store and office building. They  walked to the grocery store and didn’t climb into a 300- horsepower machine every time they  had to go two blocks.  But she’s right. They didn’t have the green thing  in her day.

Back then, they washed the baby’s nappies because they didn’t have the throw-away kind. They dried clothes on a line,  not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 240 volts – wind and solar power really did  dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that old lady is right, they didn’t have the green thing back in her day.

Back then, they had one TV, or radio, in the house – not a TV in every room.  And the TV had a small screen  the size of a pizza dish, not a screen the size of the state of  Scotland. In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn’t have electric machines to do everything for you.
When they packaged a fragile item to send in the  mail, they used scunched up newspaper to cushion it, not styrofoam or  plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, they didn’t fire up an  engine and burn petrol just to cut the lawn. They used a  push mower that ran on human power.   They exercised by working so they didn’t need to go to a health club to run on treadmills  that operate on electricity. But she’s right, they  didn’t have the green thing back then.

They drank  from a fountain when they were thirsty, instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. They  refilled pens with ink, instead of buying a new pen, and  they replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing  away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.
Back then,  people took the bus and kids rode their bikes to school or rode the school bus, instead of turning their mums into a 24-hour taxi  service. They had one electrical outlet in a room, not an  entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances..
And they didn’t  need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites  2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza  joint.

But that old lady is right………..
They didn’t need the green  thing back in her  day.

It’s your farm!

Come and help put the greenhouse up, plant an apple tree or a fruit bush or help finish the raised beds. The big push is on to get everything sorted for Spring Planting!

Saturday April 9th from 10 am on…. We will have a shared lunch so we can have lunch there and continue the work so bring something along!

Follow us on twitter: @UnderLancheFarm