Divest Falkirk

Climate Emergency The Time is Now- Ban Fracking!

 An informal evening hosted by Friends of the Earth Falkirk 

Thursday 30 May, Sewing Centre, Callendar Square, Falkirk, Just off the High Street. 7.30 9.30 Tea and Coffee and vegan soup will be served. 

All welcome

An opportunity to get an update from local and national anti -fracking groups as we complete the journey from a moratorium on fracking, through the planning system, to a full legal ban in Scotland.  

Mary Church, Friends of the Earth Scotland and Donald Campbell, The Broad Alliance will provide an updates before a discussion and catch up between groups with a common goal to bring the fracking debate in Scotland to a legal end

Youth Climate Strike at the Scottish Parliament

These two young people were involved in clearing and planting our community gardens 8 years ago and the stars of our three community garden videos. Now they have taken part in the most amazing global climate movement,the Youth Climate Strike, at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. Standing side by side with young people from across Scotland to remind the adults and politicians that it is their furure we are ruining and a call for immediate action! Taking a day of school to take action.They will be catching the 8:24 from Falkirk Grahamston to Edinburgh Waverley this coming Friday 22nd March.If any young people want to join them!

We are so proud of these two and all the young people across Scotland and the globe who are making the adults aware that this is the generation who are not prepared to accept the current shortsighted policies on climate change.
Another example that the community gardens have been growing environmental activists at the same time as local food.

Uprooted in Falkirk ​

We have now been made aware that the solicitors who allowed us to use the Bean Row Garden to grow vegetables for the past eight years have handed over their keys to a property developer and our gardens, both Bean Row and Kings Court, will be fenced off and turned into a building site. 

The Bean Row Garden was an essential element of Friends of the Earth Falkirk putting down roots in Falkirk. Both literally, we grow food for annual celebration Soup and Stovies Community Meal, and metaphorically, we were a group who were prepared to get our hands dirty and show a long term commitment to out area.

The efforts we have all put into Bean Row, and the other four gardens around the town centre, have resulted in recognition from RHS It's Your Neighbourhood Award with at least 4 Outstanding Awards over the years including 2018.

Over the past 8 years we have had a number of volunteers who give their labour and a number of members who have donate plants.  There has been  two amazing woman who have kept us right in the growing front, Corrie and Jean,  With Corrie moving down south Jean has been the growing guru who has kept the gardening team right.

Right from the start the harvest has always been the main ingredients of our Soup and Stovie community meal. Early own rhubarb was planted and rhubarb crumble has been the dessert for the majority of meals. Soup and Stovies has always been vegetarian and for the past 3 years have been totally vegan. The first crop to be planted was Broad Beans, what else could it have been on Bean Row. One memorable year we had a abundance of beans and broad bean homous was on the menu that year. 

We will have a soup and stovies this year. Hopefully, if not on Bean Row- as near as possible, to celebrate local food and volunteering. At the last meeting we looked at what options we have. The gardens all started off as part of a litter campaign so we will ensure that we do some Litter Picks in Spring to keep up the tradition. We may look at another pocket of land either for growing food or for guerrilla gardening- who knows were the next stage of the journey will lead.

Still Rooted in Falkirk

Friends of the Earth Falkirk is a local group of Friends of the Earth Scotland. Local volunteers campaign on international issues such as climate change and environmental justice, national issues such as waste, energy and transport and local issues such as food, litter and transport

link to FoE Manchester Plastic Free Christmas Newsletter

Friends of the Earth Manchester have devoted their December newsletter to support a plastic free Christmas open to access their PDF Manchester Newsletter.

Don't Waste Christmas

Seasonal Greetings.
Slow Down at Christmas

Be Creative    
Shop local/Shop Fairtrade

 

Don't Waste Christmas!
Reduce and reuse wrapping paper.

Why don't you be creative and make some personalised gifts for friends and family.

Avoid food waste-don't buy too much food. 
Visit Love Food Hate Waste website
www.scotland.lovefoodhatewaste.com

Buy locally grown, organic or fairtrade produce for your Christmas meal.

Take your own shopping bag when Christmas – refuse plastic bags

Exchange recycled, home-made or charity Christmas cards

Be safe and save energy by switching off Christmas Tree Lights overnight.



www.foefalkirk.blogspot.com

Rooted in Falkirk 

Friends of the Earth Falkirk is a local group of Friends of the Earth Scotland. Local volunteers campaign on international issues such as climate change and environmental justice, national issues such as waste, energy, Unconventional Gas and transport and local issues such as food, litter and cycling.

Link to Just Transition film with Grangemouth towards the end

https://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2018/11/09/a-just-transition-from-fossil-fuels-to-environmental-justice/

Outstanding Award from Its your Community for our Community Gardens in Falkirk

Soup and Stovies 2018

Friends of the Earth Falkirk had its annual Soup and Stovies lunch on Saturday 18 August at our Bean Row community garden. The event is a celebration of community volunteering and sharing of the vegetable plot harvest. Thanks for the food contribution for the three course vegan meal. Every course had some ingredients from under our feet at Bean Row.

Bean Row Urban Community Garden- The Big Dig

The weather forecast hadn't been promising but the day dawned mild and dry, perfect conditions for our 2018 Big Dig. We dug over the dormant soil, weeding and tidying as we went along, and prepared the soil for the planting of our potatoes and broad beans.

There was some discussion about the use of chicken pellets to fertilise the garden, but with gentle persuasion from Jean, and the addition of the rich brown earth from our very own on-site compost bin, our vegan principles were pacified!

Jean had chitted some early Rocket potatoes along with main crop Pink for Apple and Maris Piper. Norman dug a trench parallel to the fence and carried out the honours. Sandra prepared an area adjacent to the potatoes where she planted the broad beans - all the planting being carried out under the guidance of experienced gardener Jean.

We then split the crown of the rhubarb and removed the section nearest the wall to prevent the roots from becoming restricted by the barrier.

Norman had very kindly brought tea, coffee and scones which were most welcome at this point, and sustained us long enough to tidy the rest of the garden.

As ever, we enjoyed chatting with passers-by who stopped to ask about our endeavours, we are always pleased to be able to show what can be accomplished in our urban vegetable plot. 

Sandra 

Air Quality Figures for Falkirk

The, now annual, revelation from Friends of the Earth Scotland in the Sunday Herald of the most polluted streets does not have a Falkirk street in either of the top ten worst offenders for NO2 or for Particular matter. see link to Sunday Herald article here. Emilia Hanna, Air Quality Campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland have provided us with more detail from the results to enable us to explore the air quality issues in Falkirk.

A polluting, often gridlocked, stretch of Falkirk streets should be no surprise to Falkirk drivers. Main Street, Bainsford is the 12th biggest polluter in Scotland for Particulate Matter at 15.5 micrograms per cubic metre The street which leads to Main Street on the way into and out of Falkirk to the North is Graham's Road, the 16th biggest polluter for Particulate Matter at 14.5 micrograms per cubic metre. As the road gets narrower on Main Street the concentration is higher.

West Bridge, Falkirk has regularly been recorded within the worst offenders and is currently sitting at the 15th biggest NO2 polluter in Scotland. hardly a situation the town can be proud of.

The Bentley Effect Screening in Falkirk

The Bentley Effect documents the extraordinary tale of a community that defied the gas juggernaut - and won.

When the coal seam gas industry staked a claim on the Northern Rivers shire of Australia, alarm bells rang out. A critical mass of people from all walks of life – farmers, landowners, mums, dads, activists, scientists – organised themselves to rally against the unconventional gas invasion. Despite the enormous public opposition, the gas industry and the State Government were determined to see their gas plan through. What happened next set an historic precedent.

Join Brendan Shoebridge, Simon Clough and Ian Gaillard who each played an important part in the Bentley Effect story as they take their documentary around Scotland as part of the Bentley Effect 2017 UK Tour.

With the fight against fracking and unconventional gas in Scotland at a critical stage this year, we invite you to these special screenings to learn first hand how communities can protect themselves against unwanted unconventional gas development.

These events are FREE, though donations towards venue costs would be much appreciated.

Click above on the 'Register' button and then select the screening you wish to attend.

CONFIRMED SCREENINGS:

Monday 15th May: GLASGOW, 7pm at CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD with FrackWatch Glasgow

Tuesday 16th May: FALKIRK, 7pm at Falkirk Trinity Church, Manse Place, Falkirk FK1 1JN with Concerned Communities of Falkirk

Tuesday 16th May: KIRKINTILLOCH, 7pm at Kirkintilloch Miners' Welfare & Social Club, Saramango St, Kirkintilloch, Glasgow G66 3AA with Kirkintilloch Against Fracking and Torrance Against Fracking

Wednesday 17th May: EAST KILBRIDE, 7pm at the Murray Owen Centre, 1 Liddell Grove, East Kilbride, Glasgow G75 9AD with RIC East Kilbride and South Lanarkshire Against Unconventional Gas

Thursday 18th May: EDINBURGH, 5.30pm Screening Room G.04, 50 George Sq, University of Edinburgh, EH8 9LH with OurForth Portobello and Tommy Sheppard MP

The Bentley Effect UK Tour is running through May and June 2017. Details about dates and locations can be found here, and you can donate to the tour here. More information on The Bentley Effect film can be found at www.thebentleyeffect.com

BIG DIG Community Gardens Saturday 8 April

Friends of the Earth Falkirk 

The Big Dig 

Bean Row Community Garden  Saturday 8 April  11.3o to 1.30pm
Come at any time during the session to help up prepare and plant our community garden on Bean Row, just off Falkirk High Street.        All welcome

Solidarity with Lancashire from Falkirk Community Groups

A number of representatives from Community groups around Falkirk and surrounding areas gathered at the Kelpies to drink awareness to the Scottish Government Consultation on Fracking and to send solidarity to the communities in Lancashire which are sadly on the front line of the fracking industry at present. The Falkirk event was co-ordinated by Scotland against Fracking 

"Residents across the Falkirk area know what it is like to live on the fence line of polluting industries. There is no such thing as clean fracking. The industry is not needed and not wanted anywhere in the UK and should not be allowed anywhere" Norman Philip, co-ordinator of Friends of the Earth

For more information on the public consultation visit the dedicated website set up by Friends of the Earth Scotland:   WWW.STOPFRACKING.SCOT 

West Bridge Street, Falkirk still on list of shame

“Air pollution from traffic is a public health crisis, claiming thousands of lives each year and particularly harmful for small children, pregnant women and people living in poverty. For people living in an official Pollution Zone or near traffic-choked streets, breathing in toxic air is an inescapable fact of life. It should not be this way, we have the right to breathe clean air just as we have the right to drink clean water.”

               

Friends of the Earth Scotland Air Pollution Campaigner Emilia Hanna

                                                                                                            

Top 7 most polluted streets for Particulate Matter in 2016

Figures in microgrammes per cubic metre (μg/m3).

        Perth Atholl Street - 21

Edinburgh Queensferry Road - 20

Edinburgh Salamander St - 20

Aberdeen King Street - 19

Crieff High Street - 19

Falkirk West Bridge Street - 19

Edinburgh Glasgow Road - 18

The Scottish air quality objective is 18 (μg/m3), so all these sites fail the objective.

The Air Quality (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2002 required this objective to have been met by 2010.

Traffic-derived air pollution, mainly composed of fine particles and toxic gases, has been linked with cancer, allergies, asthma, strokes, heart attacks, restricted foetal development, damaged lung development in children, and more recently, the onset of dementia in adults. It causes 2500 early deaths in Scotland each year, and is second   only to smoking in terms of its mortality impacts.

"It is no surprise that, yet again year after year, West Bridge Street in Falkirk continues to beach the Scottish limit as there is no evidence of Falkirk Council changing the road layout to address the issue.”

Friends of the Earth Falkirk co-ordinator Norman Philip

Robin Hood's Sherwood Forest faces fracking threat from Infos

Ineos to conduct seismic survey for shale gas and could be working within 200m of the 1,000-year-old tree Major Oak, documents reveal...Guy Shrubsole, a Friends of the Earth campaigner, said he expected the move to search for shale gas under Sherwood Forest to become a new rallying point. He said: “I can’t think of anything more iconic in the English mindset to go for. You’d have thought they’d have learnt from the mistakes of some of the other fracking companies to avoid it, but they’ve gone straight for it.”

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/01/robin-hoods-sherwood-forest-faces-fracking-threat

Food for Thought Food Festival

As promised at the food event I had thought of some films I wanted everyone to see to introduce some organisations and some food concepts. Below you will see links to organisations and films. Click on the hyperlinks at your own leisure and watch in the comfort of your home when every you like.      Enjoy and Learn!

Its the season to be organic

Food for Thought Film Festival

Introduction to Nourish Scotland     

www.nourishscotland.org  

https://youtu.be/Gl4QPb7OUwg   3.52mins

Introduction to The Fife Diet 

fifediet.co.uk 

https://vimeo.com/47484452      11.37 mins

Why does Fairtrade mean sustainable trade?

http://youtu.be/i2em5C5pJtw      3.29mins

There is a lot of talk about sustainability at the moment, but what impact can Fairtrade have in building a sustainable future for us all? Watch their animation to find out more …

La Via Campesina in Movement… Food Sovereignty now!

https://vimeo.com/27473286     20mins

An introduction to Via Campesina, the international peasant movement

https://viacampesina.org/

Soil Association- Earth Worm   https://youtu.be/iOakParsq34   0.54mins

Friends of the Earth Falkirk Community Gardens

An introduction to the four community gardens cared for by Friends of the Earth Falkirk music: Karine Polwart- Daisy, hope films 2013- 3.27 mins http://youtu.be/wRrNebnOSUY 

Big Dig 2013 http://youtu.be/F0Pq7-uMUDc
hope films music: Tunng- It Breaks 2013- 2.24 mins! 

www.foefalkirk.blogspot.com

foe-scotland.org.uk                   

Another Meal is Possible Falkirk Workshop

The Friends of the Earth Falkirk food event on the 1 November was an invitation to talk about a meal. You can’t talk about food without getting hungry so the event started with food. Soup made with local. organic produce and Fairtrade tea and coffee. 

The workshop started with an introduction to some of the food campaigns Friends of the Earth Falkirk have been involved in over the past 7 years. The group have explored local food through shared meals where people are encouraged to bring a dish and talk about the food issues which the dish represent. The concept of a LOAF meal. *Local, Organic and/ or Fairtrade The phrase was shared at a talk on the Fife Diet by Mike Small in Falkirk at the start of the Fife Diet project. The six themes of the Fife Diet were shared with the group:

Eat Local (80/20 split)
Compost more
Waste less
Be more organic
Eat less meat
And grow some of their own food

Friends of the Earth Falkirk have campaigned on all the Fife Diet themes. This has included stalls to promote of local food on Falkirk High Street, workshops in reducing packaging waste within the community which led to an action outside Morrison’s Supermarket with group members dressed as peppers wrapped in cellophane with the banner “Let us breath” to highlight that individual peppers were being packaged totally unnecessary in the store.

Over the past 5 years the group has also developed 4 community gardens in central Falkirk, including a vegetable garden just of Falkirk High Street. The highlight of the community garden year is the Soup and Stovies event which produces a meal from the harvest from the vegetable garden. A meal which is rooted in Falkirk and celebrates local  food and volunteering.

There was 9 participants at the workshop 4 members of the local group and 5 guests who responded to the invitation to (talk about) a meal. Norman Philip, who was facilitating the session, explained there was talk about a food event would simply be “preaching to the converted”. It was hoping that everyone at the session were passionate about food and would be willing to share their passion.  The hope for the session was that those present would consider some individual actions they could take and help shape future Friends of the Earth campaigns on food in Falkirk.

At the start of the workshop everyone was given a paper plate and asked to draw their favourite meal. People were then asked to share their favourite meal and explain where they get the ingredients from.

By sharing what everyones favourite meal was within the group there was discussion about the emotional link to food. Someone shared their birthday meal that has become a family tradition, someone else shared their favourite dish which their mother used to make which they now are able to make, including growing all the ingredients them self. Other themes included the pleasure of food and importantly the taste of food. The aim of this first exercise was to highlight that food is not just a commodity which we buy and sell. When people explained were they bought, or for some grew, the ingredients there was a discussion about the lack of local food available in Falkirk. The few shops that have sold local food in Falkirk Town Centre have either closed or moved out of town. Supermarkets have dominated the food market, even for “converted” shoppers who care where their food comes from. There ware some great examples of locally produced food, including flour, veg box boxes schemes and dairy. And some examples of attempts to improve access to local food that hasn’t worked, like the monthly Friday farmers market, which people think is a shadow of its former self.

Using the themes of Local, Organic and Fairtrade people were asked to think of some of the options available that could make their favourite dishes more sustainable.

People Matter

The second exercise involved thinking about all the people who would be involved in the production of their local meal taking into account every ingredient- including herbs, spices, and oils. This prompted a discussion on the hidden people involved in the growing, processing, distribution and retail of food, which is often invisible- both in terms of the conditions of the workers and within the price of the food. Even people who grew a lot of their own food recognised the human web which surrounds their diet. 

How can our food be so cheap, in relative terms, when so many people are involved in the food system which feeds us?

The Environment Matter

The third section of the discussion considered the energy involve in the production of our food and the impact on the environment. 

What are the energy inputs required to get our food to our tables?

Think about the need for oil at every stage of of the production of your meal.

The energy used to produce our food also has an impact on the communities which live by the production of that energy and the agrochemical products used in the global food system. Less than three miles from the workshop there is an oil refinery operated by Ineos and a gas plant operated by BP, with a pipeline direct to North Sea oil platforms.  Also in the town of Grangemouth there is a Syngenta factory, one of the biggest biotech corporations in the world, and Calachem who also produce agrochemicals. Friends of the Earth Falkirk have campaigned on the Environmental Justice issues associated with a community living on the fence line of so many polluting factories in one town. 

The exploitation of onshore oil and gas through Coal Bed Methane and Shale Gas through drilling and Fracking is the latest threat to the communities around Falkirk would be risk   of contaminate of our food system.

Food sovereignty

To finish the discussion Norman introduced the group to a new concept- Food sovereignty 

Norman showed a picture on Via Campesina he took on the streets of Paris during the UN Climate Change Talks.

Food sovereignty is the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems.

 [Nyeleni]

https://nyeleni.org/    

The Nyéléni forum collated a set of six 'Pillars of Food Sovereignty' which now form the accepted definition of Food Sovereignty:

1.    Focuses on food for people - values the right to sufficient, healthy, culturally appropriate food, rejecting the proposition that food is just another commodity.

2.    Values food providers - values and supports contributions from all food providers, and rejects policies, actions and programmes that undervalue them.

3.    Localises food systems - brings food providers and consumers closer together

4.    Puts control locally - places control over natural resources in the hands of local food providers and respects their rights

5.    Builds knowledge and skills - supports the passing of wisdom to future generations, rejecting technologies that undermine, threaten or contaminate this (e.g. genetic engineering)

6.    Works with nature - values the contributions of nature, and rejects methods that harm beneficial ecosystem functions, damage the environment & contribute to global warming  

Individual pledges and community action

The session ended with the reminder that even by preaching to the converted there is a hope that everyone who attended would take some personal action following the discussion and inputs. 

Individual Actions

Increase the amount of local food and eat and support Scottish growers more often

I have become too reliant on supermarkets again- commit to move back to alternatives 

Focus on packaging of food

By direct from local shops and local producers 

cook from scratch more

Find more locally sourced veg etc

I will buy grains elsewhere versus supermarkets

What should Friends of the Earth Falkirk Campaign on:        Campaigns Rooted in Falkirk 

Reskilling

I’d like to see a resource of where to buy local food and information on how to start gowing food myself. 

Engage with procurement in Falkirk Council for food to buy specific local organic foods

menu planning so overall budget may actually be reduced.

Community cooking and eating sessions

promote food for free  Rasps, Elders, Rosehips, Haws

More gardening\ food growing

DAMNING VERDICT ON FRACKING FROM SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT STUDIES

DAMNING VERDICT ON FRACKING FROM SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT STUDIES

A series of reports published by the Scottish Government today (Tuesday 8 November) contain damning evidence on the impacts of developing a shale gas fracking and coalbed methane industry in Scotland.

The reports say:

Climate Change Impacts: developing an unconventional gas industry will make it harder to meet our climate targets; left unregulated the emissions footprint due to methane leakage could be substantial

Health: there is sufficient evidence to determine that a number of air and water born environmental hazards would be likely to occur as a result of UOG operations; evidence that UOG workers health could be at risk from the use of silica in fracking operations; evidence of other UOG hazards that could pose a risk to the health of nearby residents

Economy: unclear if industry commercially viable; current low oil prices mean extremely challenging climate to develop UOG; central production scenario would only contribute on average 0.1% GDP, see a direct spend of £2.2bn in Scotland up to 2062, and only bring 1,400 direct and indirect jobs

Transport: increase in traffic from could result in more noise, emissions, road damage and accidents; local communities could experience increase in traffic numbers over many years

In his statement to the Scottish Parliament this afternoon Energy and Climate Change Minister Paul Wheelhouse MSP emphasised the importance of remembering that shale gas and coalbed methane resources are located in the most densely populated part of country.

Friends of the Earth Head of Campaigns Mary Church said:

"Fracking is bad for the climate, bad for public health and won't do much good for the economy. That's the damning verdict of the independent studies published by the Scottish Government today, echoing the concerns of communities across the country.

"The economic case for pursuing an unconventional gas industry in Scotland simply doesn't stand up, while the risks of doing so could be utterly devastating for communities and the environment. No state has had a moratorium on fracking, looked at the evidence and decided it’s a good idea.

"Support for fracking is at an all time low. People just don't want this dirty, dangerous industry. We are confident that when the Scottish people are given a chance to have their say in the forthcoming Government consultation, the answer will be a resounding 'no' to fracking."