Energy is a crucial part of the climate change debate. How we have used energy to generate power over the past 200 years is the reason we are faced with the threat of runaway climate change today and the decisions we make now about where we get that energy from will determine whether or not we will be able to stop runaway climate change in the future.

James Watt wasn’t to know when he invented his steam engine in 1769 that this miracle source of energy had a draw back. Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere that has not been in the atmosphere for millions of years. As it turns out, this is bad news for us because CO2 is a greenhouse gas, increasing

Fighting for a Sustainable Energy Future

Continued on Page 14

Birmingham Friends of the EarthCampaigning at local, regional and national level to protect the environment

NEWSLETTER AUG - SEPT ‘11

3 - Campaigns Digest

5 - Warehouse News

7 - Singing up a Storm

9 - What a Waste!

11 - New ASDA plans for Stirchley

13 - Membership Form

14 - Fighting for a Sustainable Energy Future (cont.)

17 - Cycling Investment in Birmingham

19 - Organic BBQ

20 - In The Media - HS2 - Biased Consultation

21 - Guest Article - Urban Harvest Community Project

22 - Volunteer Spotlight

23 - Contacts

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Our campaigners have had a fruitful couple of months with some great fundraising work at festivals and the organic barbecue at the Anchor.

We are also developing new campaigns strategies to take forward into the autumn to ensure we have maximum impact and remain the best place in Birmingham for those who care about the environment to volunteer.

Energy and Climate Change The Energy Bill has been delayed after much pressure was applied by groups like ourselves and this means that ministers will now have the opportunity to correct the inadequacies with the green deal that will cause the UK to fail to meet its emissions targets under the Climate Change Act. This pause also allows us to do some research

before launching into the next energy campaign.

This summer we are engaging people with a Big Energy Conversation to find out what they think and build our knowledge of the situation locally. The main article provides further information on this, as well as other aspects of why the energy debate is so important.

Local Shops Although we no longer have an action group working on local shops issues we still managed to use our expertise to assist the residents of Stirchley in their campaign against the Asda planning application, as mentioned in the article. A full response was submitted along with helping Super Stirchley to draft a generic response which people could fill in and send in themselves. We hope that this will help influence the planning committee’s

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Campaigns Digest

The Energy Bill has been delayed after much pressure was applied by groups like ourselves

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decision and that further damage won’t be done to independent retailers in this part of Birmingham.

Waste Our campaign to Halve Birmingham’s Rubbish has been gathering more and more support, with hundreds of signatures on paper and electronic versions of our petition. Councillors will be looking at the Municipal Waste Strategy later in the year, so the time is right to be really pushing for a change in the way the Council looks at waste issues.

We held a round-table discussion with community recycling groups, residents and other interested parties, which was jointly hosted by the Chamberlain Forum, a report of which will be published soon. We are also hoping that other events will be held before the start of the waste review to build the case for a new, smaller-scale, more flexible approach to managing Birmingham’s resources.

Transport The group are still looking at the High Speed Rail consultation and examining the impacts this will have on the city’s transport system. The deadline for this was at the end of July, so beyond that they will be looking at new ways to work together with other groups who want to promote cycling, walking and public transport in Birmingham to see how we can have most impact over the rest of the year.

The Government is currently consulting on a scoping document for UK aviation, so we are collecting evidence for case studies to submit for this, after attending an Airport Watch conference where the Secretary of State was present to engage in trying to get some consensus. We are still very worried about Birmingham Airport getting public money to subsidise the extension of the runway, so need to ensure that the Government does not permit massive expansion of regional airports instead of those in the South East.

Joe Peacock

Campaigns Digest continued

We are still very worried about Birmingham Airport getting public money to subsidise the extension of the runway

About 2 years ago the government created a scheme called the Future Jobs Fund (FJF). It was designed to get young people to do a 6 month paid work experience placement in a community organisation.

Birmingham Friends of the Earth took this as an opportunity to increase its capacity to promote positive environmental change. We have seen many people come and go on the scheme, each one contributing in different ways including outreach, design and construction skills.

In return each person has been given the chance to learn new skills and to polish old ones. They have had references written and the majority have ended up in jobs or training.

Sadly the scheme is coming to a close soon, but we thought this

would be a great opportunity to thank those who have worked with us through FJF.

In other news, we have started to receive drawings back from our structural engineer for the planned refurbishment of the building. They include:

A new entrance;• A new set of stairs with platform • lift to improve disability access;A bigger meeting room;• Increased levels of insulation; and• The cafe coming downstairs.•

The structural drawings will allow us to price up these plans so we can put together a way to fund them.

The whole project is very exciting and if it happens, will generate income for BFoE to spend on campaigns.

Phil Burrows

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Warehouse News

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Sales, service, repairs, accessories. Bikes also built to your own specifications.

Open Monday & Wednesday to Saturday, 10am-5pm

0121 633 0730

SPROCKETCycles

Established over 15 years ago in the Friends of the Earth Building in Birmingham The Warehouse Café has a reputation as a quality provider of vegetarian and vegan food in Birmingham.

“Real people serving real food with local, organic and fair trade leading the way” Guardian Unlimited.

To see the delicious menu go to www.thewarehousecafe.com

For bookings and enquires

Telephone 0121 633 0261

Email info@thewarehousecafe.com

• 100% vegetarian and vegan;• A large selection of organic

and fairtrade products, most supplied and delivered by a workers co-operative;

• Vegan owners - no meat or dairy products sold.

Open Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri, Sat • 10am - 5:30pm,Thurs 10am - 6:30pm,• Sun 11am - 3pm.•

The shops and companies here have all come together because they are dedicated to working towards a healthier, more organic city.

So if you want to help make Birmingham a cleaner, greener place to live, or you just want to eat some good vegetarian food, then come to The Warehouse and see what’s going on.

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When art and politics connect, the results can be really powerful, thought-provoking communication. Not only does art refresh and inspire the parts other methods cannot, it’s rocking good fun too! Over the past few months, Birmingham Friends of the Earth have been working to support award-winning opera company The Opera Group on two Birmingham performances mixing up art and activism.

Save The Diva First, Save The Diva, a short opera focussing on climate change and consumerism, was performed guerrilla style by the Opera Group one Saturday in May at Brindley Place and the Bull Ring markets. We were on hand to explain the issues behind the performance to passers-by intrigued by the attention-

grabbing antics of our Valkyrie and Tenor as they consumed merrily away like the divas they were!

Seven Angels Second, Seven Angels, a full-scale opera based on John Milton’s Paradise Lost tackling the same themes, premiered in Birmingham on 18 July at the CBSO Concert Hall. Coordinator Roxanne and I were again present to provide information and the big picture.

We agreed the opera was great! With an amazing stage set made entirely out of books, and a backdrop of fantastic video art, our seven amnesiac angels acted out a tale of a fall from fragments of memories. A descent from Edenic

Singing up a Storm

With an amazing stage set made entirely out of books, and a backdrop of fantastic video art, our seven amnesiac angels acted out a tale of a fall from fragments of memories.

plenty through over-consumption, scarcity, denial and false solutions to … hope? Channelling our inner drama critic, we noted that the use of characters – the Consumer; his indulgent parents; the Servants that provide for his every need; the General; the Industrialists – as social and political archetypes was very Brechtian. The music was beautiful, but the script and staging made you think.

Calling all artists! We’d love to collaborate with sympathetic artists of all kinds – visual, musical, dramatical – to help bring environmental issues across

to the people of Birmingham in new and unexpected ways. If you’re interested, just make contact with us on campaigns@birminghamfoe.org.uk or 0121 632 6909 and we’ll work together to make something happen.

Finally, big thanks to the Opera Group for making this happen and to the CBSO for their support of our presence.

Tim Atkinson

This summer, we’re looking to:

Boost our knowledge of local people and organisations who are interested in renewable energy

Find out what people think the government should invest money in when it comes to building new energy infrastructure.

You don’t need to be an expert in this field, but if you have some time to help us in doing this research and starting the Big Energy Conversation, we’d really like to hear from you.

Contact Joe campaigns@birminghamfoe.org.uk or ring 0121 6326909

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Appeal for Volunteers

How can we improve Birmingham’s waste management system for the 21st century? This was the question tackled by a Round Table discussion on 14th July. Birmingham Friends of the Earth organised it jointly with The Chamberlain Forum, who promote neighbourhood regeneration in the city. We invited people who campaign on waste, those who implement practical recycling, and those who organise community-led regeneration efforts.

The timing is good, as Birmingham City Council is reviewing its Waste Strategy in 2011. There is a danger of some grand, top down engineering solution being agreed, with most people excluded from any consultation. Instead our Round Table looked at what is wrong with the current system and what we would really want for the 21st century. What emerged was an impressive degree of consensus and common thinking on the principles that should guide our planning for the future. A report has been written summarising the findings and has been sent to key councillors.

Birmingham has a rubbish-producing strategy. Each year 350,000 tonnes of rubbish are thrown into black bags and taken to the incinerator to be burned. The recycling initiative is a recent ‘bolt on’ to this system. The

situation dates back to a 1994 contract between the City Council and Veolia, who under it virtually own our municipal waste, as fuel for their incinerator. Efforts to divert waste to reuse, recycling or composting have been marginalised ever since.

We heard about some inspiring examples of community-led recycling in Birmingham, but they remain insecure and small scale, compared to the huge amounts being burned. The Round Table decided that for the future, we need to leave behind the ‘throw-away society’ and have a system that is primarily about salvaging wastes, recovering value, while creating jobs and opportunities for people.

The first step would be removing the smelly food waste and other ‘putrescibles’ from the bin bag. This

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What a Waste!

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would remove the food source of the expanding rat population, which caused 60,000 calls to Pest Control in 2008-2010. It can become a source of renewable biogas when digested in plants, such as those which Aston University has designed and obtained EU funding to trial http://www1.aston.ac.uk/ebri

What remains will be not so much rubbish as materials capable of being recycled. Unwanted items such as furniture, clothing, toys and household goods can be repaired then sold by cooperatives, charities or social businesses. The approach is not to dispose of our wastes but to salvage and use them. The new system can be trialled in part of the city, then rolled out when the contract with Veolia expires in 2019.

Further Information and Take Action

The Round Table findings are in the report “What a Waste!” which can be downloaded from our website www.birminghamfoe.org.uk/waste or ordered at reception in the Warehouse, Allison Street for a donation. Here you can sign the petition to halve Birmingham’s rubbish, or go online at http://www.birminghamfoe.org.uk/waste and find a link to the national campaign to halve Britain’s rubbish.

Chamberlain Forum is at http://www.chamberlainforum.org

Read “Birmingham Waste Strategy 2006-11” via http://www.birmingham.gov.uk

Unwanted items such as furniture, clothing, toys and household goods can be repaired then sold by cooperatives, charities or social businesses.

Stirchley has, for some time, been a little neglected, suffering like other small shopping areas, from the seemingly unstoppable drift to the big supermarkets and the larger retail centres with their national chain stores. A lack of significant investment from the City Council hasn’t helped either.

Many local residents, like myself, are quite content with the one existing Co-op superstore backed up by a range of small high street shops, such as the popular local greengrocer. The area has also been boosted in recent times by the arrival of the innovative and vibrant Stirchley Community Market, with the exciting addition of a Community Bakery opening very soon.

Large areas off the lower High Street have been left derelict for many years, with the land held by rival supermarket Tesco, who are waiting to build their own supermarket virtually opposite the existing Co-op. The City Council has recently given Tesco planning permission to build their store, leading to the loss of the indoor bowls centre and the inevitable closure of the Co-op.

So now with Asda planning its own supermarket at the back of the upper High Street, off Fordhouse Lane, we could have two huge new supermarkets.

So what is the problem – won’t this revive the area?

No, far from it, the precedent tends to be that big supermarkets undermine small retailers, often forcing them out of business and weakening the local supply chain, further reducing local employment. Research has shown that spending in local shops can generate up to four times as much to the local economy, compared to any national chain. And the threat is not only to Stirchley, but also to other retail centres including Cotteridge, Kings Norton Green and Kings Heath.

An already congested Pershore Road will become virtually gridlocked with the additional traffic created by the two new supermarkets.

Additionally, FOE has long been concerned about the way leading supermarkets treat suppliers, particularly farmers in Britain and globally; seemingly focused, as they are, on cheapness at all costs.

At the time of writing we are awaiting the outcome of the planning enquiry, which closed on July 7th, and there will have been a further meeting of the local campaign against the Asda plan on July 19th.

To find out more visit the Super Stirchley website at: superstirchley.wordpress.com

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New ASDA plans for Stirchley

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Campaign MeetingsMonday Night Meetings – 7:30pm at the Birmingham FoE Warehouse, Allison St

1st August: General Meeting 8th August: Campaigns Action Meeting 15th August: Campaigns Action Meeting 22nd August: Campaigns Action Meeting 29th August: Bank Holiday

5th September: General Meeting 12th September: Campaigns Action Meeting 19th September: Discussion Meeting – Nuclear Power 26th September: Campaigns Action Meeting

Other Events7th August: Birmingham Carnival 8th - 10th September: Friends of the Earth Local Groups conference 22nd September: In Town Without My Car Day

Farmers’ MarketsBirmingham University: 4th Wednesday of the month 9am-2pm Harborne: 2nd Saturday of the month 9am-2pm Kings Heath: 1st Saturday of the month 9am-3:30pm Kings Norton: 2nd Saturday of the month 9am-2pm Moseley: 4th Saturday of the month 9am-3pm New Street: 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month 10am-4pm Solihull: 1st Friday of the month 9am-5pm Sutton Coldfield: 2nd Friday of the month 9am-3pm Jewellery Quarter: 3rd Saturday of the month 10am-3pm Stirchley Community Market: 1st Tuesday of the month 4pm - 8pm

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We are the only organisation in Birmingham that campaigns on Climate Change, Transport, Local Shops, Planning, Waste and Recycling. You can help us do this in a number of ways;1.) By taking part in or our campaigns 2.) By joining us 3.) BothWhichever route you decide, you are helping to change your environment for the better. Making sure that those who pollute, monopolise or despoil locally, nationally or internationally are accountable. There are two ways to join us...

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Annual supporter fees are a minimum of:

• £16 (waged) • £10 (unwaged) • £20 (joint/family)

Please return with standing order or cheque to: Secretary, Friends of the Earth, 54-57 Allison Street, Digbeth, Birmingham B5 5TH.

Contact Details

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To: Friends of the Earth Birmingham Ltd.,

Account no: 50 72 58 30 Sort Code: 08-60-01

Unity Trust Bank, 9 Brindley Place, 4 Oozells square, Birmingham B1 2HE

This replaces any previous standing order in favour of Friends of the Earth Birmingham.

Signature: ...................... Date: .........

greenhouse gases causes global average temperature to rise, which in turn causes many knock on effects including heat-waves, melting ice caps, mega-floods, mega-droughts, forest fires, and species extinction.

So obviously we have a huge motivation to stop burning fossil fuels as soon as possible. The stakes could not be higher. Aside from the need to stop pumping massive amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere (over 500 million tonnes in the UK alone last year) there are other reasons to move away from our reliance on fossil fuels. Firstly, the days of cheap oil and gas are over. People don’t need reminding of that when they are filling up their cars or

heating their homes. Secondly, we’re interested in security of energy supply. In the uncertain world of the future, we don’t want to be dependent on foreign supplies of oil or gas.

What are the means by which fossil fuels can be reduced and eventually phased out? The first priority, everybody agrees, must go to energy efficiency. The second priority is massive investment in renewable energies. The Energy Bill 2011 is the Government’s attempt to help improve energy efficiency in homes and businesses, and to deliver low carbon energy supplies. The centre-piece of the Bill is legislation to bring in the Green Deal. This aims to encourage households to make energy efficiency improvements, such as loft and cavity wall insulation, by providing low-interest up-front capital for homeowners, funded by a charge on energy bills at a later date. The scheme is designed so that estimated savings on bills will always equal or exceed the cost of the work.

In addition to the need to dramatically reduce our carbon footprint (homes account for 27% of UK carbon emissions), there are a large number of people living in fuel poverty due to poorly insulated properties. A household is defined as being in fuel poverty when it needs to spend more than 10% of its income in order to keep warm. There are believed to be over 4.5

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Continued from front pageFighting for a Sustainable Energy Future

15

million people in the UK living in freezing conditions through self-rationing and disconnection – with private tenants among those at highest risk of fuel poverty. In the very worst insulated and poorly heated rented homes (just under 700,000 rented homes in England have an Energy Efficiency Rating of F and G) over 40% of households live in fuel poverty. It costs the NHS in England an estimated £145m annually to treat people made ill by living in these dangerously cold homes.

Birmingham FOE have been campaigning hard since the end of last year to ensure that Birmingham’s MPs support amendments to the Bill that will lay the foundation for the green

overhaul the UK desperately needs. We met with half of them and held a public meeting with Selly Oak MP Stuart McCabe in June, in partnership with the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition.

The Bill completed its Committee Stage a couple of weeks ago when it was scrutinised in detail and amendments were made. We are campaigning for every council to do its bit with local carbon budgets. We called for a legal minimum standard of energy efficiency for rented accommodation by 2016. The Government agreed to this, but have stated that the regulation could not start until 2018 (why do we have to wait seven years?!) and there were a number of loopholes. We are also campaigning to make it an offence to market F and G rated properties to let and to protect tenants who make energy efficiency requests to landlords from eviction. Friends of the Earth nationally have been doing a great job, working with a broad coalition of organisations, and the shadow cabinet to ensure the Bill is fit for purpose.

Hard on the heels of the Energy Bill, on 12 July 2011, the Government published ‘Planning our electric future: a White Paper for secure, affordable and low-carbon electricity’. The report states that “with a quarter of the UK’s generating capacity shutting down over the next ten years as old coal and nuclear power stations close,

more than £110bn in investment is needed to build the equivalent of 20 large power stations and upgrade the grid.”

So energy will be high on the agenda in 2012 when Parliament puts flesh on the bones of the Electricity Market Reform white paper with another energy bill, this time dealing with how we generate our electricity in the UK. Friends of the Earth want to make sure that we are able to present the case for renewables as forcefully as possible. In order to do this we are doing some research!

This summer Birmingham FOE will be interviewing and building

alliances with people involved in local renewable energy projects for the Big Energy Conversation. We will be scoping out potential institutions that might want renewables but haven’t got them yet. We would like to hear the views of local businesses that supply or work in renewable energy; to pick the brains of local organisations that currently benefit from renewables; and to speak to individuals to root out the best examples of green energy projects in and around the city.

The best/most interesting examples we find will be made into case studies that will help Friends of the Earth develop a big new campaign on renewable energy in the autumn. If you work in or use renewable energy we would like to hear from you.

Make no mistake, the scale of the challenge is immense. The Government has committed the UK to the target of cutting greenhouse-gas emissions by 80% by the middle of the century. If we are to have any chance of achieving this goal it is crucial for all of us, especially young people, to get involved. It’s easy to set targets. It’s up to us to make sure our politicians deliver on their promises. Our grandchildren will thank us for it.

Robert Pass

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Make no mistake, the scale of the challenge is immense. The Government has committed the UK to the target of cutting greenhouse-gas emissions by 80% by the middle of the century.

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Cycling Investment in Birmingham

There are many reasons to cycle. As a sustainable form of transport, it benefits the environment by reducing CO2 emissions made by cars (many of which are only travelling on short journeys) and also cuts down the amount of harmful pollution in the air. At the same time, it is a good form of exercise, is free, and is fun – I, for one, find that I am buzzing when I get off my bike after cycling to work.

The popularity of Birmingham’s Sky Ride on the 3rd July suggests that there is an enthusiasm among residents to get their bikes out. 15,500 people took part and there was a real sense of occasion as people streamed along the blocked off streets over the course of a whole day. Despite this phenomenon, the conditions for cycling in our second city are not always ideal (as mentioned in the last newsletter) - Birmingham has few designated cycle lanes and it can feel unsafe on some of the city’s main roads during rush hour.

We know that some cities in Europe, such as Amsterdam and Copenhagen, have prioritised cycling as a form of transport and the good results in these places show what is possible. Now, cities in the UK are also strongly supporting cycling as a mode of transport. A recent survey suggested that Oxford leads the way for the most cycle parking facilities while Leeds

tops the table for the amount of dedicated cycle pathways. In London, too, the introduction of ‘Boris bikes’, a bike hire scheme, has drastically raised the profile of cycling in the Capital.

Significant investment has also occurred in Bristol, which beat Birmingham to be designated as the UK’s first Cycle City by the Government in 2008. This award led to £23m being spent in the last three years and the project has had encouraging early results with an increase in the number of cyclists in the city by one third.

Birmingham, by contrast, has planned to invest just £1m over 4 years in the city’s new Cycling Strategy. It is perhaps not surprising given the scale

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of ambition that just 1.5% of residents here currently go to work by bike. Cycling campaigns group Pushbikes responded to our article about this saying that it is at least a step in the right direction, particularly given the current economic climate, and that we should work to ensure that what is promised in the cycling strategy is delivered.

Since then, there has been good news due to a major initiative to promote cycling in North Birmingham, for which the Government has agreed to provide a grant of more than £4.1m toward the overall cost. To make sure that this project creates a positive outcome, it is important that the

money is spent wisely and builds on the good practice put forward by organizations such as the CTC – the UK’s National Cycling Organisation – in its ‘New Vision for Cycling’. At BFOE, we certainly believe that this exciting award can be the beginnings of a step change in cycling provisions for the future.

We are looking to work together with cycling organisations to ensure that Birmingham starts taking cycling seriously as a form of transport for getting around every day. We want to work with Pushbikes, CTC, Sustrans and others, to try to get more money invested in making Birmingham a proper cycling city, where getting about on two wheels is considered better than on four and cycling is not just an occasional leisure activity when roads are closed.

Cycle City: http://www.betterbybike.info/cycling-city-project

North Birmingham initiative: http://birminghamnewsroom.com/2011/07/6-7m-boost-to-cycling-in-north-birmingham/

New Vision for Cycling: http://www.betterbybike.info/cycling-city-project

We know that some cities in Europe, such as Amsterdam and Copenhagen, have prioritised cycling as a form of transport and the good results in these places show what is possible.

Our 12th Organic Barbecue in support of the Anchor’s Organic Beer festival on Friday 8th July was a great success.

Thankfully, the weather held for us in the evening after a rainy start to the day and 70 burgers were grilled and sold to hungry customers in the garden. It’s great to think that we’re carrying on this tradition, which has been done every year this century!

Once again, we were successful in making a profit to add to our campaigns funds. However, the main purpose of the night is to raise awareness of organic food, support local retailers and producers; the burgers were all from Rossiter’s in Cotteridge and the rolls from LOAF in Stirchley.

Next time you’re having a barbecue (when you’re lucky enough to have good weather for it), try to think whether you could support local producers with what you buy and make as much of it organic as possible. Remember, it’s better for your health and that of the planet, as well as being really tasty!

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Organic BBQ

This month we revealed how the Council have been trying to manipulate figures to exaggerate levels of support for HS2.

The Birmingham Post ran a story entitled “Birmingham City Council HS2 survey results ‘misleading’, says Friends of the Earth” in which we were extensively quoted and Councillor Whitby (Conservative Leader of the City Council) even had to backtrack a little saying the poll “could have been more ‘robust’”.

I was quoted as saying: “This was one of the most biased surveys we have ever seen, based on a propaganda sheet purporting to give facts about HS2. It is a shocking example of the Council appearing to consult but actually setting out to gather evidence to back high speed rail.”

Our position was given prominence at the end of the article, as they reported “Birmingham Friends of the Earth said HS2 would not fit into a sustainable transport system, reduce carbon emissions, or significantly

benefit the city’s economy.”

Unfortunately, the largest three parties all still support the plan and despite the Government claiming to be “consulting” on High Speed Rail, in fact they are also just trying to sell the idea; at the consultation event, one of our members was told by a member of staff that it would be “Amazing for Birmingham”. David Cameron has also said: “the Government is committed to HS2” and the plan wouldn’t be de-railed by opposition – doesn’t sound like a fair consultation, then.

The pro-HS2 campaign have also been running some awful adverts claiming that it is only rich landowners in the South East who are against HS2 and that they’re going to stop jobs going to Birmingham and Manchester, when in fact the people who’ll benefit are mainly in London and those rich enough to travel on High Speed Trains.

Some claim that if HS2 isn’t built, they’ll build more roads instead, but we believe this to be a totally discredited transport strategy and the need to reduce the number of car journeys becomes ever more pressing with rocketing oil prices and the UK missing its air pollution targets in all major cities. How Birmingham could benefit from better local transport and fewer cars!

Joe Peacock

In The Media – HS2 – Biased Consultation

2017

Some claim that if HS2 isn’t built, they’ll build more roads instead,

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Birmingham FOE member, Nigel Baker, has teamed up with the woman behind ‘Edible Erdington’, Eleanor Hoad, to launch Urban Harvest – the UK’s first scheme to turn surplus garden fruit into secondary produce as a commercial venture.

Urban Harvest is set up as a not-for-profit social enterprise that aims to show how a business can be economically viable whilst still retaining core environmental and social principles.

Urban Harvest grew from a project called ‘Prepare’, run by Eleanor as Artist in Residence in Erdington for Birmingham City Council. After noticing how much fruit goes to waste in the city’s gardens, Eleanor began to view Birmingham as a scattered orchard. She knocked on doors and offered to harvest surplus fruit with a group of volunteers. Erdington residents were very receptive to the idea, with many people feeling guilty about all their fruit going to waste every year. She made a fruit press, turning fruit into fresh juice, as well as giving it away as pickles, jams, dried fruit or fresh at a Kingstanding school and events in Erdington.

Eleanor’s project showed just how much surplus fruit there was in Birmingham and that people were enthusiastic to support a scheme that stopped it going to waste. After BFOE’s Edible Birmingham event last October, Nigel and Eleanor

discussed how to turn the Prepare project into an independently viable city-wide project. They reasoned that by simply offering the service of harvesting, clearing up and taking away surplus fruit, people would be happy to make their excess fruit available.

Most of the fruit collected will, of course, be apples and pears, but they also intend to harvest damsons and plums. Initially, they will be using Pershore College’s juicing and bottling facilities, but aim to set up their own artisan juicing and bottling facility in Birmingham after the first season. They will also be making fruit-based preserves such as jams and chutneys, and next year hope to begin making Birmingham’s first home-grown cider!

They particularly want to hear from fruit tree owners who would be interested in buying back apple juice and other products, enabling them to proudly proclaim that they are drinking juice from their very own trees.

To find out more about Urban Harvest go to www.urbanharvestbham.org

Urban Harvest Community Project

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Volunteer Spotlight

Joe Peacock interviews Julien Pritchard

How long have you been involved with BFoE? I first came to a meeting about 18 months ago

How did you first find out about BFoE and what made you decide to get involved? I had already been volunteering with national FoE for about 9 months by that point and decided I wanted to start doing stuff on local transport issues, so I got involved with the transport group.

What do you do at BFoE? Mainly I look into issues like HS2 and write articles for the newsletter or website. I’ve contributed to the work we do on consultations for

the Local Transport Plan, the Big City Plan and other similar pieces of work. I’ve also helped out at events like the public debate on High Speed Rail.

What do you think is the most important environmental issue and why? The economic system that we have at the moment and how that is exacerbating climate change and driving unsustainable economic growth.

What’s your best green tip/ advice? Get involved in activism and try to change the world.

I’ve contributed to the work we do on consultations for the Local Transport Plan, the Big City Plan and other similar pieces of work.

Contact us:Friends of the Earth (Birmingham) The Warehouse 54-57 Allison Street Birmingham B5 5TH

Tel: (0121) 632 6909 Fax: (0121) 643 3122

E-mail: info@birminghamfoe.org.uk

Web: www.birminghamfoe.org.uk

Friends of the Earth is:- The largest international network

of environmental groups in the world, represented in 72 countries.

- One of the UK’s leading enviromental pressure groups.

- A unique network of campaigning local groups, working in more than 200 communities in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

- Over 90% of its funds come from its supporters.

Birmingham FoE:Campaigns at a local level to effect environmental change (in ways which feed into national and international policy) through:

- Direct action

- Lobbying

- Education

- Empowering others to take action

- Participation and representation through public fora

Chair: Benjamin MabbettCampaigns Co-ordinator: Roxanne GreenCampaigns Support Worker: Joe PeacockElectronic Design & Communication Officer: Daniel RileyGeneral Manager: Phil BurrowsTreasurer: Margaret LynchAviation: Joe PeacockClimate Change & Energy: Robert PassWaste: John NewsonPlanning: Benjamin MabbettTransport: Martin StrideNewsletter Editors: Katy Barry Zoe WrightWebsite Editor: Phil BurrowsTalks: Joe Peacock and othersAll enquiries and callers welcome.Find us on page 74 of the B’hamA-Z, grid ref: 4A

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