---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: FW: City farms and community gardens e-newsletter Mar07
From: "Ken Elkes" <ken@...>
Date: Wed, March 28, 2007 7:53 am
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
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FCFCG

e-newsletter




Edition Five: March/April 2007


Welcome


Welcome to the latest edition of the Federation of City Farms & Community
Gardens' e-newsletter - an informative mix of news, updates, jobs and
funding opportunities. If you have had any problems receiving this
e-newsletter, please email ken@...




Contents:


Our e-newsletter service

Federation website updates


Federation website updates


Garden questionnaire reminder


Your local environment needs you!


Community Champions required


Talking tips on climate change


Food seminars


Charity champion sought for prize


Around The UK


Funding News


And finally...









Our e-newsletter service


This e-newsletter has been created for the benefit of all members of the
Federation of City Farms & Community Gardens, so please share it around by
forwarding to other key members of your project who have email addresses.
The layout of the e-newsletter is also printer-friendly - why not pin a
copy up on a notice board so that staff and/or volunteers can read it too.



We are always looking for feedback about our publications, including this
one, so that we can offer the best information service to our members. If
you have any comments on our publications, or would like to pass on ideas
for what we should feature, then please email ken@...




Federation website updates


The Federation website <http://www.farmgarden.org.uk/> is packed with
useful information, links to other organisations, news stories and
publications to download.



The latest updates to the members section of our site - exclusive to
Federation members - include a Spring BBC Breathing Places newsletter,
plus a number of Risk Assessment guides to download. If you have forgotten
the username and password needed to get into the Members Section, then
please contact ken@...



Back to top


Garden questionnaire reminder


Your fellow Federation member Nick Fry of Sydenham Garden, a community
project in London, is putting together a book to celebrate the community
gardens of Britain, which he hope will raise their profile to the public
and also encourage more people to volunteer.



The Federation sent out an email questionnaire on Nick's behalf to our
members a few weeks ago. Nick has got some responses back, but is still
keen for more replies. If you have the time then please locate the
questionnaire, fill it in and send it direct to nick@...
If you can't find the questionnaire then contact Nick for a copy using the
email address above.




Your local environment needs you!


Do you want to help create a cleaner, greener and more sustainable future
for everyone? Then join Every Action Counts - an initiative which
encourages community groups to create an action plan of simple steps to
improve their neighbourhoods.



The first step is to register your project online at Every Action Counts
<http://www.everyactioncounts.org.uk/> (please ensure you say you are a
member of the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens). Remember:
your group can do as little or as much as it wants, but you do need to
register to take part.



Back to top


Community Champions required


If you would like to spend a few hours of your time helping groups in your
community plan simple actions to improve their neighbourhoods, then you
should register as a Community Champion with the Every Action Counts
campaign.



A FREE, ACCREDITED two-day course is available to anyone over 18 to show
you how to use a toolkit which helps community groups create their action
plan.

Stop Press! If you register as a community champion, the Federation will
give your project a year's free membership! To learn more go to the Every
Action Counts webpage <http://www.farmgarden.org.uk/everyactioncounts> on
the Federation website.




Talking tips on climate change


Talk Action, a social and environmental organisation, is running a climate
change speaker training event in April to help people in the environmental
sector talk with more authority and passion about the subject. The event
takes place on Monday 30th April 2007 and you can visit Talk Action's
website <http://www.talkaction.org/> for more details.



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Food seminars


Food Links UK is organizing a series of seminars instead of an annual
conference this year. The first of these is: 'Where Does Ethnicity Sit
with Cultural Concerns? Sustainable Food and the Ethnic Consumer' and will
be held at Birmingham University on April 17th. Email Sarah Davies at
sarah@... to book your place. The event is free for Food
Links members. Non-members will be charged £40 for attendance. Find
further information on the Food Links website
<http://www.foodlinks-uk.org/> .




Charity champion sought for prize


The search is on for the winner of what Chancellor Gordon Brown has called
the 'Nobel Prize' of the charity world. The Beacon Prize is given to
individuals who have made a significant charitable contribution in giving
time, money or skills to a specific cause.



The prestigious prize, supported by the Government's Cabinet Office, is
split into six categories with additional regional prizes for England,
Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The overall prize winner will
receive £30,000 to donate to the charity of their choice.



If you'd like to nominate someone for the Beacon Prize 2007, please visit
www.beaconfellowship.org.uk <http://www.beaconfellowship.org.uk/> to
download a nomination form. Alternatively, you can email
enquiries@... or telephone 020 7203 8290. Nominations
close on 1 May 2007.



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Around The UK


Northern Ireland: The directory of green spaces and local food sources,
called Growing For Life in Northern Ireland, has proved a great success.
Created jointly by Northern Ireland Environment Link and the Federation,
the directory features farmers markets, organic box schemes and training
sources as well as information on community gardens, farms and allotment
sites. The publication is now available to download directly from the
Federation website. <http://www.farmgarden.org.uk/>



Scotland: Scottish Biodiversity week will be held on 19-27 May this year.
Scottish Natural Heritage will be giving away free seeds to attract native
butterflies. There will also be a photo competition. Why not organise an
event at your project to coincide with Scottish Environment Week? The
website will be up and running soon at www.snh.org.uk/biodiversityweek/
but in the meantime you can contact Mariel Slater on 0131 446 2457 for
more information.



England: London Sustainability Weeks 2007 runs from June 3-17 and this
year's theme is climate change. Last year 270 events attracted half a
million people and were staged by a mix of community groups, local
authorities, NGOs and charities. If you want to run an event this year,
log onto www.lovelondon.org.uk <http://www.lovelondon.org.uk/> and
register or contact Katie Watson on 020 8968 4602.



Wales: Growing edible plants is a central theme of the RHS Spring Flower
Show <http://www.rhs.org.uk/flowershows> in Cardiff, which runs from
Friday 20 April to Sunday 22 April. A highlight will be the South Rise
Leisure Gardeners Society allotment garden of the future, 'Tomorrow's
Garden Today', which is designed to grow fruit and veg all year round by
using renewable energy from solar panels and wind turbines to avoid CO2
emissions.



Back to top


Funding News


The Home Office Connected Fund

The Connected Fund, covering England and Wales, is designed to support
small, locally managed community groups and organisations tackling gun and
knife crime and gang issues in their local areas. This can be through
kick-starting new initiatives or boosting ongoing projects, or through
help with capacity building. Round Six of the fund is focussed on
activities that tackle gang issues. Next Application Deadline: 12/04/2007



Kelly Family Charitable Trust

This trust gives support to community projects that provide direct
benefits and make a difference to the lives of local people. The Trust
will consider both capital and revenue grants, and is particularly
interested in innovative projects that work in partnership with other
local activities to improve overall quality of life. Applications will
also be considered for core funding from relatively new organisations
seeking to establish themselves.

Grants are usually given in the range of £1,000 to £5,000 for
local/regional registered charities. For more information Tel: 0131 315
4879 or email armstrong@...




And finally...


Thanks to our London development worker Catherine Miller for spotting this
interesting assessment in a FACE report about young people's perceptions
of food, farming and the countryside. One anonymous 13-year-old is quoted
on the subject of farmers: "They're all old. They've got sad lives,
because all they do is look after animals. They can't go out clubbing or
anything".

For more youthful wisdom go to report on the Face website
<http://www.face-online.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=857&Ite\
mid=826>
.



Back to top




Contact Details



Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens,
The GreenHouse, Hereford Street, Bristol BS3 4NA
Tel: 0117 923 1800 Fax: 0117 923 1900

www.farmgarden.org.uk <http://www.farmgarden.org.uk/>











--
Jenny Bull
mobile 07747713208

Eastside Roots Community Garden Centre
Trinity Community Arts,
The Trinity Centre,
Trinity Rd.,
Bristol,
BS2 0NW

eastsideroots@...

Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength
that will endure as long as life lasts. (Rachel Carson)