Fracking public meeting - 28 January, Grangemouth Town Hall

Time: 7pm to 9pm
Place: Grangemouth Town Hall, Bo'ness Road, Grangemouth, FK3 8AN
Time: 7pm to 9pm

Organisers: Falkirk Greens
Facebook event page: facebook.com/events/1519547514982481

Confirmed Speakers:

• Professor Andrew Watterson (School of Health Sciences, University of Stirling)
• Andrew Kinnell (Stirling SSP)
• Norman Philip (Friends of the Earth Falkirk)
• others to be confirmed

There will be a second peaceful protest outside Ineos's head office in Grangemouth on January 25th, organised by "No Fracking Falkirk". See facebook.com/events/750775465014490 for details. 

Community Garden Update January 2015

The highlight of 2014 had to be the, now annual, Soup and Stovies day at our Bean Row Urban Vegetable Garden where the food on offer was produced from the harvest just off the High Street . The other annual event for the volunteers from Friends of the Earth Falkirk included collecting an “Outstanding” rating from the It’s Your Neighbourhood Awards hosted by Keep Scotland Beautiful. For getting the highest rating for two years in a row the group received a second award at the ceremony  this year, a Certificate of Distinction.

News came that the group’s original garden at the Old Polish Club on Arnot Street, was likely be removed to allow access for the demolition of the old club and the development of housing during 2015. The group removed the majority of plants from the garden but ensured that the look of the garden was not compromised while it remained in place. The group looked for new garden opportunities and cleared litter and weeds from the the car park of the new Salvation Army Furniture Store in the centre of town. It is currently unclear if this garden will develop into a group project during 2015 due to developments at the site.  

The main aim for the group this year will be to ensure that the three remaining gardens enhance the town centre and continue to address the issues of litter and waste within the town. Campaigning will continue to promote local food and composting through our Bean Row Garden.

Friends of the Earth Falkirk will be presenting a workshop at the Falkirk Litter Strategy Awards evening at the end of January.

Happy New Year

Hope 2015 is treating you well so far. 

On the last Wednesday of January- January 28th, our usual meeting evening, there is a Fracking meeting at Grangemouth Town Hall- 7pm to 9pm. The meeting hosted by the Falkirk Green Party will have representatives from a number of political parties, Professor Andrew Watterson, Stirling Uni on the Health Risks to workers - http://rms.stir.ac.uk/converis-stirling/person/11350, and me, Norman Philip, representing Friends of the Earth Falkirk. We are able to have a stall at the event and it is hoped that as many members as possible are able to attend the event. It should be informative and an opportunity to keep up to date with Unconventional Gas issues, both on our doorstep and across the whole central belt of Scotland. 

A second Fracking Demonstration will be held outside INEOS Grangemouth on Sunday 25th January, 2pm. The December gathering was well organised and, despite the bitter cold, wind and rain, there were representatives from communities across Falkirk and the central belt. Our group were represented and it is hoped we will have a presence at the latest latest event.

This Wednesday, 14th January, The Macrobert at Stirling Uni is a screening A Dangerous Game http://www.macrobert.org/event/a-dangerous-game/?dm_i=1NNM,33CTR,AJDDUF,B3HQD,1  a follow up to the inspirational You’ve Been Trumped. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion. I thought this might be a good opportunity for a group outing if people want to go along together. I would be happy to co-ordinate car sharing if anyone wants a list to Stirling. If you would like to arrange a lift or offer space in your care just reply to this email.

On Thursday 29th January Friends of the Earth Falkirk have been asked to provide a workshop on community gardening at the Falkirk Council Litter Strategy Awards. The cog core group will meet before this event to prepare the 20 minute workshop.