January Newsletter now out!

29 January 2012

 Julian Paren, currently vice-convenor of Transition Black Isle, has circulated the latest newsletter to members:

January letter to Transition Black Isle members

This is a quiet season of the year as we heat our houses and make as much of the limited daylight as we can. Seed catalogues and the anticipation of Agric’s potato day keep us looking ahead to the time when the land is more fruitful. This is a good time to take stock on our personal ambitions for living more sustainably, and exploring ways of introducing our Transition ideas to the wider community.

Next week on January 30 there is a great occasion for TBI members to meet up again and take part in the event A Question of Vegetables where our inspiring experts will take questions on how to get the best from our gardens and allotments. I am sure we all have some tips to pass on and it will be good to see how much our panel share the same approach for increasing our independence from the supermarkets.

The Community Markets across the Black Isle are providing a weekly focus for talking to stallholders and for purchase of food and crafts direct from the producer. In these recessional times we are grateful for their attendance and hope that TBI members will continue to visit the markets. Please pass on to your friends your positive experiences of the markets, so that more people may support them. Last week’s Out of Doors programme on BBC Radio Scotland reported on stalwarts of these markets. First, Anne Thomas (TBI Director) discussed the proposed link road through Whin Park in Inverness that developers feel is necessary to provide a through connection from the Southern Distributor Road across the River Ness. Then the photographers whose stall includes their “Coffee Table” book on The Black Isle -Eilean Dubh, spoke feelingly about the scenery, wildlife and attractions of our area.

Next month we should have feedback from the Climate Challenge Fund about our Transport project that was described at our Members’ Evening in November. Last week The Energy Savings Trust organized a meeting in Inverness for Community Groups to see how their objectives in carbon reduction could be met with participation from groups like TBI. This meeting was attended by three TBI Directors (Martin, Wendy, Julian) and provided useful networking with The Climate Challenge Fund and with groups from Lochaber, Sleat and Applecross who had secured large amounts of funding through community-led initiatives. I hope the meeting will have positive outcomes for TBI.

My own conversion to the needs for a sustainable lifestyle came through my scientific work on ice cores and the glaciology of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, while working for the British Antarctic Survey. I am giving an illustrated talk for Resolis Community Arts at the Resolis Memorial Hall on Friday 17 February at 7.30pm entitled Going South – the Antarctic Experience. The evening will be an audiovisual extravaganza, but the reasons why the world should not ignore the science and why we need to plan a sustainable future will be the take-home message. Tickets are £5 on the door.

I look forward to seeing you in the near future. Do come to A Question of Vegetables our “Gardeners Question Time” on Monday 30 January at the North Kessock Mission Hall.

Julian Paren
Deputy Convener, Transition Black Isle