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.

Need a little help finding us!

The Under Lanche Community Farm for Dorchester and Poundbury residents is here:

View Under Lanche Community Farm in a larger map

Set-up

Please read the instruction booklet in the minim electricity monitor box or look at the

You Tube set-up video from British Gas (Note that the Transition Town Dorchester electricity use monitor loan scheme is not linked to British Gas or any commercial company).

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Follow the safety guidance carefully and if in doubt about the safety of your existing wiring call an electrician. Do not connect the minim transmitter to an unsafe installation (e.g. with loose, base or corroded wires near the meter or fuse box). If you have any questions about set-up please contact Transition Town Dorchester member Pete West on 01305 251378

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Simple tips

• Make a note of the date you first start using your electricity use monitor
• Make a note of your electricity meter reading at the same time
• If dual tariff Economy 7 meter you only need to note the daytime (normal rate) reading

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After 2-3 weeks check the accuracy of the minim electricity monitor. Check the electricity used over the last 30 days shown on the minim display compared to the electricity used as shown by your electricity meter. The minim may be inaccurate by up to 20% compared to the true reading from an electricity meter. This should be borne in mind, but does not affect its usefulness as a real-time electricity display.

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See how much electricity you have used over the last 7 days and compare with the last 30 days, once the minim has been in use for a month.

The reading on the left shows 70.29 kWh of electricity use used over 7 days or 10kWh per day.

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This reading shows 272.38 kWh over 30 days during late January and February, or 9kWh per day.

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Electricity use would be expected fall as less lighting is used during summer months and central heating pumps operate for fewer hours.

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British Gas customers explain how they have used their electricity monitors on this You Tube video

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

• 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
  

And we identified the need for

• 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!)

The Next Step

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!

You've read it here first....
Site confirmed!...
We are very please to announce that the Duchy of Cornwall have granted us a lease on 2 acres of land at Parkway Farm to the South of Weymouth College Construction Centre at Poundbury to establish a community garden and farm for Dorchester residents.

We are just finalising details from the Duchy about any site constraints and then there will be an on-site open day to launch the project, gather volunteers, support and ideas.

As yet we do not have a formal management group for this project, so we are looking for people to take on this exciting opportunity as well as getting involved in practical things.

Get your thinking heads on and ready the working boots!

To keep up to date with what's planned or to volunteer please email Ian at: -

food(at)transitiontowndorchester(dot)org


Steve

The Local Food Database for your perusal is up and running but expect a few hiccups until it's established. There are, however, precious few entries on it. It's your turn to help now.
If you happen to use any supplier of Locally sourced food e.g. eggs, veg, preserves, purchased from the roadside/farm gate, but not restricted to these please can you let me know. Maybe you know a Farm Gate meat/poultry supplier. Then I can enter the details on the database. Essential is a location (postcode, GPS co-ordinates) so we can find them, and desirable is a phone number and name.
If he hasn't done it already the database will be linked from the TTD website by Steve, Otherwise have a look here.
There's some good suppliers out there. Let's use them