The morning was a re-run of yesterday.
Got to St Nicks for 10am, 'Saint' John welcomed them and introduced me (John the Rotter) and the other people helping, took the group on a walk, and back to the centre and split them into their groups, me with the Rotters first and then, after a juice and biscuit break, the Saints.
I had taken in several cakes and quite a few bags of biscuits, all out of date and destined for landfill, rescued by lil ol me in a freegan moment, and gratefully snapped up by the various members of the recycling crew.
I got a phone call from Gladys during lunch asking if I could pop round and help her get some apples from a neighbour's tree which overhangs her property... the neighbours are students and take no interest in the garden at all, so it was good that she had these dozen apples or so. There were also some plums, which Gladys doesn't care for but I really like, especially if dried. So I picked them too and brought them back.
I did a little bit of shredding before 3.30 when I got tidied up to meet Sasiki in town, at the City Screen cafe/bar. I met her at Austin's funeral and agreed then to have a meeting with her to learn about the plans she has for YUMI : York Unifying and Multicultural Initiative, which are to have a centre where people can meet, display art, cook in a cafe (and eat in the cafe!) and have a garden where interesting foods can be grown. We had a wide ranging conversation, including about links with York in Transition, York Green Festival and others. We spent over an hour chatting.
Came home via Country Fresh where Rich was in good form and I came away with 3 boxes and a sack full of compostables... as well as bought potatoes, cauliflower, eggs and a cucumber.
Spent a good chunk of the evening sorting out plums, for drying.
Showing posts with label Composting education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Composting education. Show all posts
Wednesday, 30 September 2009
Tuesday, 29 September 2009
Tuesday 29th September 09
Gill woke me up just before she went to school with our youngest, and again when she came back after 9. So I got up then as I was due at St Nicks at about 10am, and got there in good time.
The school party were late, they'd come over from Harrogate and got stuck in traffic I think.
'Saint' John did intros and split the group into Saints and Rotters. Then he led all of us into the Nature Reserve and along the butterfly walk where he explained about the apple trees which arrived as pips at the tip with the Rowntrees apple waste and some grew on the top, and are now mature fruit-laden trees. Then to the stone circle and back to the Centre, stopping to look at the green roof.
I then took one group and did a half-hour composting session with them, encompassing what happens in landfills, what happens in an aerobic compost pile, we found lots of beasties including centipedes, millipedes, worms, springtails, woodlice, beetles. Then had a good poke around the Can Of Worms wormery. Then an open Q+A.
After a break I took the second group and we did the same again. I was finished by soon after midday.
Home via Freshways where I was given a lot of interesting compostables/edibles, some of which will have to go in a tumbler along with shredded brambles and hedge.
I got our youngest from school and spent quite a bit of time sorting things out in the garden and brought quite a bit back in for re-use.
Excellent day.
The school party were late, they'd come over from Harrogate and got stuck in traffic I think.
'Saint' John did intros and split the group into Saints and Rotters. Then he led all of us into the Nature Reserve and along the butterfly walk where he explained about the apple trees which arrived as pips at the tip with the Rowntrees apple waste and some grew on the top, and are now mature fruit-laden trees. Then to the stone circle and back to the Centre, stopping to look at the green roof.
I then took one group and did a half-hour composting session with them, encompassing what happens in landfills, what happens in an aerobic compost pile, we found lots of beasties including centipedes, millipedes, worms, springtails, woodlice, beetles. Then had a good poke around the Can Of Worms wormery. Then an open Q+A.
After a break I took the second group and we did the same again. I was finished by soon after midday.
Home via Freshways where I was given a lot of interesting compostables/edibles, some of which will have to go in a tumbler along with shredded brambles and hedge.
I got our youngest from school and spent quite a bit of time sorting things out in the garden and brought quite a bit back in for re-use.
Excellent day.
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
Tuesday 16th June 09
Both boys off to school today... I came down and sat bleary-eyed on the sofa until the house was empty, and then had breakfast, did my e-paperwork and then when Gill came back she persuaded me to come back to bed. We are very lucky to have this time... the low income and only working part-time does have it's upside.... plenty of time to do what we want to do...
But I couldn't stay in bed all day, much though that has some attraction, as I was expecting a visit from either Rowena or Adrian who have done a clear-out and found a stash of wood, much of it only fit to burn. So I did a load more work out the front, slicing the pear, apple and lilac logs from John Bibby, and splitting them and stacking round the back. It's a huge job... I'm only half-way through and I've already got a really good stack of split logs, perhaps 2m x 2m and nearly as high as me.
Adrian came after lunch, with a load of planks and other structural timber, and a whole lot of very dry and mostly all logged to the right size Leylandii chunks. I split these with the maul... they are easier when wet.
At 3 I went to school to pick up our youngest, and cycled with him on to the Millennium Bridge and up to BikeRescue where the 'Specialised Rockhopper' reconditioned bike was waiting. Our little boy was delighted with this... it was £65, but well worth it as it is a good make, 18 gears and will last for years. I put his old bike on my trailer and zoomed off after him, as he is now twice as fast as he was!
Got home well before what time I told Gill I expected us to be back, and I continued outside for a bit, cutting the front hedge and putting some of it through the shredder. Then tea which was cauliflower and macaroni with the tomato and leek soup on top as a sauce..
I then had an appointment at the allotment with a bunch of University students who have an allotment but don't know about composting, and I had offered to do a talk going through the basics. There were about 8 of them, on a rather weedy allotment but with plenty of lettuce, strawberries, onions, potatoes and a fire area in the centre with pallets around it to sit on. I did a basic run through of what composting was, what kind of materials biodegrade, the conditions needed, some stuff about landfill and my composting ops here. I answered a few questions. Then we went to look at the existing composting areas, showing them evidence of a rat in one pile. They gave me some lettuce as a thank you for the time.
I went up to my half plot and did some clearance, opening up a path up one side using the hedge shears, and worked til 10.15 when it got too dark to continue...
A lovely chatty evening with Gilly, and feeling positive as we looked at photos of Randall and Annie's baby on Facebook. Ahhhh...
But I couldn't stay in bed all day, much though that has some attraction, as I was expecting a visit from either Rowena or Adrian who have done a clear-out and found a stash of wood, much of it only fit to burn. So I did a load more work out the front, slicing the pear, apple and lilac logs from John Bibby, and splitting them and stacking round the back. It's a huge job... I'm only half-way through and I've already got a really good stack of split logs, perhaps 2m x 2m and nearly as high as me.
Adrian came after lunch, with a load of planks and other structural timber, and a whole lot of very dry and mostly all logged to the right size Leylandii chunks. I split these with the maul... they are easier when wet.
At 3 I went to school to pick up our youngest, and cycled with him on to the Millennium Bridge and up to BikeRescue where the 'Specialised Rockhopper' reconditioned bike was waiting. Our little boy was delighted with this... it was £65, but well worth it as it is a good make, 18 gears and will last for years. I put his old bike on my trailer and zoomed off after him, as he is now twice as fast as he was!
Got home well before what time I told Gill I expected us to be back, and I continued outside for a bit, cutting the front hedge and putting some of it through the shredder. Then tea which was cauliflower and macaroni with the tomato and leek soup on top as a sauce..
I then had an appointment at the allotment with a bunch of University students who have an allotment but don't know about composting, and I had offered to do a talk going through the basics. There were about 8 of them, on a rather weedy allotment but with plenty of lettuce, strawberries, onions, potatoes and a fire area in the centre with pallets around it to sit on. I did a basic run through of what composting was, what kind of materials biodegrade, the conditions needed, some stuff about landfill and my composting ops here. I answered a few questions. Then we went to look at the existing composting areas, showing them evidence of a rat in one pile. They gave me some lettuce as a thank you for the time.
I went up to my half plot and did some clearance, opening up a path up one side using the hedge shears, and worked til 10.15 when it got too dark to continue...
A lovely chatty evening with Gilly, and feeling positive as we looked at photos of Randall and Annie's baby on Facebook. Ahhhh...
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
Tuesday 17th February 09
At about 10, Ian came round, as planned. He's a trainee teacher and a member of People and Planet at one of the Universities in York, and he's asked me to come to the primary school he's working in and do a days work on composting. He told me he wanted to learn a bit about the subject before I came in so I invited him here before going to St Nicks.
So I started by explaining 'from the basics' what composting was, assuming no knowledge, and was surprised to find that he did have extremely limited knowledge of lots of the basic facts about climate change and some of the processes connected with composting. For instance, when I asked him what he understood about climate change (I wanted to talk about the role of CO2 and CH4 in the greenhouse effect), he asked was it to do with ozone, which is almost completely unconnected with climate change. I was somewhat shocked by this... surely student teachers should know the basics of atmospheric science? Surely someone in People and Planet should know the basics? He does care about green issues, but I don't understand how someone can care but know so little. So, he got a pretty good overview of loads of the basics, such as the Carbon cycle, oil/coal/gas, plants and living organisms, how the greenhouse effect works, and of course decomposition and the role of composting in enabling individuals be more eco-friendly.
Next we had a little look down the garden at the assorted composting set-ups, wormeries, tumblers and the like.. and soon cycled off to St Nicks to see the resources there. He was pleased to get a good pile of leaflets which I hope will reinforce some of the stuff we'd covered earlier. We discussed what I would do in each of the 45 minute slots (I'm doing 5 classes) and what he would do with them beforehand.
We came back home for lunch.
After lunch I got myself ready to go to Coppergate for the launch of the Viking Festival... I put extra wick on my fire devil sticks and had a test burn to make sure that I still had the knack of working with fire, as it's been a few years since I've done it. Then at 3.30 I gathered up the fire stuff, wooden yoyo balls, wooden devilsticks and a couple of black flowersticks (which look more rustic than some of the day-glo stuff I have) and my insurance documents, risk assessment etc, and cycled down to the Jorvik Centre to get costumed up and ready to take part in the launch event.
Fairly soon after I got outside, Gill and the boys turned up... they initially didn't recognise me in my non-gaudy clothes.
The launch went very smoothly... I did some workshops in the marquee whilst the VIPs were eating, and some more workshops outside the marquee in the arena area. Then I got the nod to bring that to a close, and the half-dozen Vikings did a kind of warrior routine... not exactly a fight scene, but a demonstration of the different weapons and shield work. They finished and the wax torches were lit and held aloft, I lit my devilsticks and did a 2 and a half minute show... quite a few drops (showed how difficult it was! ahem!) but apparently was still impressive. My son took a film of it on Gill's camera, so once we were home I was able to see the whole performance, which was good.
I cycled home, beating the rest of the family who had gone into town on the bus... and found a colleague from the Hull Road Ward Planning Panel waiting for me... I'd forgotten to deliver the paperwork to one of the other volunteers (which I had said I would do) and the meeting hadn't taken place... oh dear! Duh me.
I had a slice of nutloaf for tea and some bought pizza.. 'Yorkshire Pizza' from Thomas's, and some fruit.
Gill and I had a game of Scrabble late on (still playing at 1am) and it looks like she's going to win... again!
So I started by explaining 'from the basics' what composting was, assuming no knowledge, and was surprised to find that he did have extremely limited knowledge of lots of the basic facts about climate change and some of the processes connected with composting. For instance, when I asked him what he understood about climate change (I wanted to talk about the role of CO2 and CH4 in the greenhouse effect), he asked was it to do with ozone, which is almost completely unconnected with climate change. I was somewhat shocked by this... surely student teachers should know the basics of atmospheric science? Surely someone in People and Planet should know the basics? He does care about green issues, but I don't understand how someone can care but know so little. So, he got a pretty good overview of loads of the basics, such as the Carbon cycle, oil/coal/gas, plants and living organisms, how the greenhouse effect works, and of course decomposition and the role of composting in enabling individuals be more eco-friendly.
Next we had a little look down the garden at the assorted composting set-ups, wormeries, tumblers and the like.. and soon cycled off to St Nicks to see the resources there. He was pleased to get a good pile of leaflets which I hope will reinforce some of the stuff we'd covered earlier. We discussed what I would do in each of the 45 minute slots (I'm doing 5 classes) and what he would do with them beforehand.
We came back home for lunch.
After lunch I got myself ready to go to Coppergate for the launch of the Viking Festival... I put extra wick on my fire devil sticks and had a test burn to make sure that I still had the knack of working with fire, as it's been a few years since I've done it. Then at 3.30 I gathered up the fire stuff, wooden yoyo balls, wooden devilsticks and a couple of black flowersticks (which look more rustic than some of the day-glo stuff I have) and my insurance documents, risk assessment etc, and cycled down to the Jorvik Centre to get costumed up and ready to take part in the launch event.
Fairly soon after I got outside, Gill and the boys turned up... they initially didn't recognise me in my non-gaudy clothes.
The launch went very smoothly... I did some workshops in the marquee whilst the VIPs were eating, and some more workshops outside the marquee in the arena area. Then I got the nod to bring that to a close, and the half-dozen Vikings did a kind of warrior routine... not exactly a fight scene, but a demonstration of the different weapons and shield work. They finished and the wax torches were lit and held aloft, I lit my devilsticks and did a 2 and a half minute show... quite a few drops (showed how difficult it was! ahem!) but apparently was still impressive. My son took a film of it on Gill's camera, so once we were home I was able to see the whole performance, which was good.
I cycled home, beating the rest of the family who had gone into town on the bus... and found a colleague from the Hull Road Ward Planning Panel waiting for me... I'd forgotten to deliver the paperwork to one of the other volunteers (which I had said I would do) and the meeting hadn't taken place... oh dear! Duh me.
I had a slice of nutloaf for tea and some bought pizza.. 'Yorkshire Pizza' from Thomas's, and some fruit.
Gill and I had a game of Scrabble late on (still playing at 1am) and it looks like she's going to win... again!
Monday, 11 August 2008
Friday 8th August 08
I started the day by doing a collection round with a wheelbarrow, calling out 'Bring out your Biodegradables' and 'Cooked food, raw food, cardboard, tissues, anything compostable' and got a good load plus lots of positive comments and laughter.
At 12 I did a workshop in the Permaculture area on composting... the sign-writers had changed my title (something like 'How home-composting can reduce your carbon footprint') to 'How composting can save the Planet' which I found quite funny... but it drew a crowd of three who were all eager to hear my 'What it is, how to do it, why, and info on Master Composter schemes' talk, followed by a question and answer session. At about 12.50 I asked my lad if he'd get his stuff from the tent and we then scooted along to the entrance to meet Gill and our youngest who'd got a train to Harrogate, bus to Ripon and a 'Little Red Bus' service up to Grewelthorpe.
We had a quick walk around the site and ended up at the crew mess tent for something to eat. Gill had brought a birthday cake for our youngest who has his birthday over the weekend, and that was fun as the whole table sang to him. We then went to the entrance so Gill and the boys could get the 2.30 bus back to Ripon.
I continued working during the afternoon, and later when it chucked it down watched a film in the solar cinema called 'On the Verge' which was brilliant. I bought a copy of the DVD too. I had some fun in the evening when I went to see a band called The Electric Brains, and I blew up a load of long modelling balloons which people waved around. I really loved the theramin.... the chap playing it could really play it, not just make sounds, but get tunes out of it and that's not at all easy... a fab gig.
At 12 I did a workshop in the Permaculture area on composting... the sign-writers had changed my title (something like 'How home-composting can reduce your carbon footprint') to 'How composting can save the Planet' which I found quite funny... but it drew a crowd of three who were all eager to hear my 'What it is, how to do it, why, and info on Master Composter schemes' talk, followed by a question and answer session. At about 12.50 I asked my lad if he'd get his stuff from the tent and we then scooted along to the entrance to meet Gill and our youngest who'd got a train to Harrogate, bus to Ripon and a 'Little Red Bus' service up to Grewelthorpe.
We had a quick walk around the site and ended up at the crew mess tent for something to eat. Gill had brought a birthday cake for our youngest who has his birthday over the weekend, and that was fun as the whole table sang to him. We then went to the entrance so Gill and the boys could get the 2.30 bus back to Ripon.
I continued working during the afternoon, and later when it chucked it down watched a film in the solar cinema called 'On the Verge' which was brilliant. I bought a copy of the DVD too. I had some fun in the evening when I went to see a band called The Electric Brains, and I blew up a load of long modelling balloons which people waved around. I really loved the theramin.... the chap playing it could really play it, not just make sounds, but get tunes out of it and that's not at all easy... a fab gig.
Thursday, 8 May 2008
Thursday 8th May 08
I took the children to school and then spent over 2 hours finishing preparing the compost I took in on Monday (going through it by hand and removing plastic etc for the bin, and uncomposted sticks etc for reinclusion into a current heap) and then shovelling a large pile of soil onto the sheet next to it, mixing them up and shovelling it into 5 large plastic pots that Julia bought so we can plant up our veggies.
Home at 11.35 and there was a message from BBC Radio Northampton asking me to participate in a phone-in regarding the huge amount of food waste which is thrown in bins every day (there's a report out from WRAP which analysed 2000 bins and they have extrapolated those results to suggest daily figures for things like unopened yoghurts and whole chickens just thrown away, see http://www.wrap.org.uk/wrap_corporate/news/wasted_food_now.html and 'Love Food Hate Waste http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/) so they're ringing me at 1.15 to go on the radio, live, re composting.
But it wasn't food waste composting which they were interested in,it was my compost toilet! Daft buggers, always looking for the weird and wacky... Never mind, it's part of the cycle....
So a funny afternoon thinking about the media's preoccupation with the unusual, rather than asking me about food waste composting, which would have been much more useful to their listeners. At 2.50, David came with some LETS paperwork which I was meant to get photocopied and get delivered, and he left his wallet on the table. I went to school to do the Green Thumbs Gang and the pots were still in the after school club area, which is supposed to be for their sole use from 3 til 6, so a Dad went to get one of them, and I helped him get another, and we suffered some abuse from the people running the after school club, very unprofessional and over the top. I was quite upset as they used this language in the presence of children and I think they were being bad role models. I may very well write a letter of complaint... a polite one, but stating that this aggression and use of language was inappropriate.
Anyway, we got 3 of the huge pots of soil into position and the children planted one up with Cara maincrop potatoes and one with Marco garlic. We had a chat about beans and I gave them each a bean to plant, my favourite 'Jack Edwards Climbing Pea Bean' which I grow every year. They planted the beans and some flower seeds, then we went to look at the little greenhouse and last week's seeds... the broccoli and spinach was through, but not the parsnips or spring onions...
Home and soon off to town to go to Mail Boxes Etc where I get my photocopying done. Whilst in there someone came in and overheard me mentioning the Radio interview, and asked me several composting questions.... another excellent opportunity to spread the word... and then my friend Catherine H came in, and she's working in 'Education for Sustainable Development' (ESD) and I offered my services as an exciting presenter in her school. There'd be no payment, but the youngsters would have a chance to work the rotaseive and hear about composting...
Home via David's to give his wallet back but he'd gone out after cancelling his cards, he'd not bothered to ring us up and ask if he'd left it here! He'd shared his distress with his downstairs neighbour and so I left it with her. Later I got a message thanking me for finding it and returning it.....
Tea and soon it was time to go to the York Eco Action meet up at the Black Swan. A well-attended meeting, I wrote an impromptu agenda and facilitated the meeting. Everybody seemed happy with this.
At about 10, closed the meeting and cycled off to see another friend whom I don't know that well, and we soon found ourselves having a very deep talk. This person told me that they were contemplating comitting suicide as life was very tough, had been for 20 or more years and it didn't look like it would ever get better. I was a good listener and offered some possible solutions and I hope that I will be able to find a counsellor/advocate for this person, to help with one of their problems. Because I am very open, some people find it easy to be open with me, and I have some very interesting conversations and relationships. This talk had me in tears as the thought of this person killing themselves was so very sad. I was told when it was time for me to go that talking to me had helped. I offered to be a sounding board whenever I was wanted; I also offered the person the opportunity to visit me and Gill. Now to try to find someone who might be able to help... not too sure where to find a counsellor/advocate person but I'll try.
Home by midnight, a chat with Gilly and then a good chat with K over the water, who has got her compost bins up and running and suprised me by agreeing to recycle her urine on the heap. I didn't think she was the type! Assumptions can be so wrong....
Very late to bed, well after 2am...
Home at 11.35 and there was a message from BBC Radio Northampton asking me to participate in a phone-in regarding the huge amount of food waste which is thrown in bins every day (there's a report out from WRAP which analysed 2000 bins and they have extrapolated those results to suggest daily figures for things like unopened yoghurts and whole chickens just thrown away, see http://www.wrap.org.uk/wrap_corporate/news/wasted_food_now.html and 'Love Food Hate Waste http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/) so they're ringing me at 1.15 to go on the radio, live, re composting.
But it wasn't food waste composting which they were interested in,it was my compost toilet! Daft buggers, always looking for the weird and wacky... Never mind, it's part of the cycle....
So a funny afternoon thinking about the media's preoccupation with the unusual, rather than asking me about food waste composting, which would have been much more useful to their listeners. At 2.50, David came with some LETS paperwork which I was meant to get photocopied and get delivered, and he left his wallet on the table. I went to school to do the Green Thumbs Gang and the pots were still in the after school club area, which is supposed to be for their sole use from 3 til 6, so a Dad went to get one of them, and I helped him get another, and we suffered some abuse from the people running the after school club, very unprofessional and over the top. I was quite upset as they used this language in the presence of children and I think they were being bad role models. I may very well write a letter of complaint... a polite one, but stating that this aggression and use of language was inappropriate.
Anyway, we got 3 of the huge pots of soil into position and the children planted one up with Cara maincrop potatoes and one with Marco garlic. We had a chat about beans and I gave them each a bean to plant, my favourite 'Jack Edwards Climbing Pea Bean' which I grow every year. They planted the beans and some flower seeds, then we went to look at the little greenhouse and last week's seeds... the broccoli and spinach was through, but not the parsnips or spring onions...
Home and soon off to town to go to Mail Boxes Etc where I get my photocopying done. Whilst in there someone came in and overheard me mentioning the Radio interview, and asked me several composting questions.... another excellent opportunity to spread the word... and then my friend Catherine H came in, and she's working in 'Education for Sustainable Development' (ESD) and I offered my services as an exciting presenter in her school. There'd be no payment, but the youngsters would have a chance to work the rotaseive and hear about composting...
Home via David's to give his wallet back but he'd gone out after cancelling his cards, he'd not bothered to ring us up and ask if he'd left it here! He'd shared his distress with his downstairs neighbour and so I left it with her. Later I got a message thanking me for finding it and returning it.....
Tea and soon it was time to go to the York Eco Action meet up at the Black Swan. A well-attended meeting, I wrote an impromptu agenda and facilitated the meeting. Everybody seemed happy with this.
At about 10, closed the meeting and cycled off to see another friend whom I don't know that well, and we soon found ourselves having a very deep talk. This person told me that they were contemplating comitting suicide as life was very tough, had been for 20 or more years and it didn't look like it would ever get better. I was a good listener and offered some possible solutions and I hope that I will be able to find a counsellor/advocate for this person, to help with one of their problems. Because I am very open, some people find it easy to be open with me, and I have some very interesting conversations and relationships. This talk had me in tears as the thought of this person killing themselves was so very sad. I was told when it was time for me to go that talking to me had helped. I offered to be a sounding board whenever I was wanted; I also offered the person the opportunity to visit me and Gill. Now to try to find someone who might be able to help... not too sure where to find a counsellor/advocate person but I'll try.
Home by midnight, a chat with Gilly and then a good chat with K over the water, who has got her compost bins up and running and suprised me by agreeing to recycle her urine on the heap. I didn't think she was the type! Assumptions can be so wrong....
Very late to bed, well after 2am...
Wednesday, 13 June 2007
Wednesday 13th June 07
Well such a busy day... I had expected to go to Clifton and sign a cheque for LETS, and pick up my compostables and get back in time for a lunch date with Jo.
So I took the boys to school but when I got back I got a phone call continuing yesterday's chats with St Nicks about a school wanting a composting talk. This time the school had rung up and said they DID want the session, 1 til 3. As I didn't want to muck up my lunch too much, I offered 1.30 to 2.30, to do both classes together. Then another phone call, saying yes they wanted the talk/demo, but not at St Nicks, but at their school! Fortunately this was in Holgate, and easy to get to, so I agreed to do it, even at such short notice. I then rang the school and confirmed the times, the address and what they wanted. The talk was part of a healthy living, healthy planet week! Great!
So I cycled along to Clifton via Millers Yard where I picked up 2 sacks of orange halves and coffee grounds, and at Liz's I signed a couple of cheques using our new Coop Bank account. Glad to be shot of Abbey, bunch of losers!
Then to Out Of This World where there was some stuff, not a vast amount, and then to Nationwide to get a cheque for the Polish roofer Artur for fixing the studio roof, and to the Coop Bank to pay our quarterly gas bill, just £10!
Then onto the Hes Road veg shop where Richard had 3 boxes of gear for me so got home nearly at 12 with a heavy load of compostables and some only just out of date tofu...
Gill had made my sandwiches so I was able to go to the University quite quickly, with various things like a carrier bag of unriddled mature compost, a few examples of manky fruit and veg and a riddle. I met with Jo and we cycled to St Nicks and had lunch together, good chats but not enough time really. At 1pm I picked up some handouts for the children and got off to Holgate and arrived at the school with 5 mins to spare.
The talk went well... like this:
Started by asking if they'd done anything about recycling this week, and what they'd learnt.
When someone mentioned composting I told them that's what I'd come to tell them about.
I asked who had a compost heap or compost bin in their garden, and over half put up their hands. So I said that as most of them knew all about composting, should I continue? I answered myself by saying that some people didn't have a compost heap, so they had to hear all about them.
I explained that composting was a natural process which happened all over the World, in grasslands and woods, at the bottom of hedges and in gardens, anywhere where plants and animals dropped leaves, branches, fruit, poos and dead bodies. I mentioned fungi (mushrooms and moulds) and bacteria, insects and worms, millipedes and woodlice, slugs and snails, and the words decaying, rotting, biodegradable and spoilt.
Then I went through what could and cannot be composted and explained thet everything which came from living things (justabout!) could be composted, but that minerals, rocks, metals and synthetic things, generally could not, and gave examples of these. I didn't mention the problems I've had trying to compost coconut shells and seashells!
Then came the practical demo, where I riddled some lumpy compost and found a few worms, rove beetles, woodlice but not much else creey crawly, and some uncompostable things like glue strips from cardboard boxes and a twist tie, and a pile of nice-looking fine-grained compost.
I then said how it could be used... mixed in with some soil as a planting medium for pots of tomatoes or other veg and flowers, or as a top-dressing or mulch.
Then I told them why it is good, by asking them what they think happens to stuff which is thrown away and not recycled... and we got to landfill. I explained about anaerobic decomposition in landfills and methane and leachate, and the problems these pose. Also the fact that landfilled stuff has to be collected and driven to the tip, whereas stuff composted at home doesn't need taking anywhere in a motor vehicle. Ant that landfill is running out and in some areas the landfill is becoming landform, and hills are being made or rubbish.
If things are composted, some of the carbon which may have left the landfill as methane (20 times as powerful a global-warming gas as carbon dioxide) gets trapped within the soil where it improves soil structure and helps hold on to moisture. Soils with compost have healthier plants as compost has nutrients which feed plants and there are other benefits to plants too, such as increased disease resistance. Also home composting helps people learn about environmental issues and helps them take personal responsibility for their waste.
Finally I told them about York Rotters and the 3 free compost bins which the school could have, and the cheap bins that householders can get.
Then I asked for questions... I had dealt with questions during the talk and demonstration, but there were lots of other questions, may of them about composting poo and my compost toilet. One lad asked if compost heaps could go wrong and another asked about unwanted beasties, both excellent questions.
So that was my hour, after which I gave out the handouts and had a brief look at their 'rolypig composter' in their school yard, and then collected my stuff and cycled briskly home, and went to collect the kids.
After tea, which was a nutloaf Gill made earlier and a from-the garden-spinach and free-tomato stirfry, plus a blue cheese sauce for me, I watched a great programme about cleanliness in hospitals, and a 'non-violent-direct-action' where volunteer cleaners went in to 10 hospitals. Then at 8 I loaded the trailer and, in the rain, went to the allotment to plant pumpkins/squash, a cucumber and several beans. Very satisfying!
Got back shortly before 10 and went onto the computer to chat to my friend in Atlanta and process my emails and start my blog... what a day!
So I took the boys to school but when I got back I got a phone call continuing yesterday's chats with St Nicks about a school wanting a composting talk. This time the school had rung up and said they DID want the session, 1 til 3. As I didn't want to muck up my lunch too much, I offered 1.30 to 2.30, to do both classes together. Then another phone call, saying yes they wanted the talk/demo, but not at St Nicks, but at their school! Fortunately this was in Holgate, and easy to get to, so I agreed to do it, even at such short notice. I then rang the school and confirmed the times, the address and what they wanted. The talk was part of a healthy living, healthy planet week! Great!
So I cycled along to Clifton via Millers Yard where I picked up 2 sacks of orange halves and coffee grounds, and at Liz's I signed a couple of cheques using our new Coop Bank account. Glad to be shot of Abbey, bunch of losers!
Then to Out Of This World where there was some stuff, not a vast amount, and then to Nationwide to get a cheque for the Polish roofer Artur for fixing the studio roof, and to the Coop Bank to pay our quarterly gas bill, just £10!
Then onto the Hes Road veg shop where Richard had 3 boxes of gear for me so got home nearly at 12 with a heavy load of compostables and some only just out of date tofu...
Gill had made my sandwiches so I was able to go to the University quite quickly, with various things like a carrier bag of unriddled mature compost, a few examples of manky fruit and veg and a riddle. I met with Jo and we cycled to St Nicks and had lunch together, good chats but not enough time really. At 1pm I picked up some handouts for the children and got off to Holgate and arrived at the school with 5 mins to spare.
The talk went well... like this:
Started by asking if they'd done anything about recycling this week, and what they'd learnt.
When someone mentioned composting I told them that's what I'd come to tell them about.
I asked who had a compost heap or compost bin in their garden, and over half put up their hands. So I said that as most of them knew all about composting, should I continue? I answered myself by saying that some people didn't have a compost heap, so they had to hear all about them.
I explained that composting was a natural process which happened all over the World, in grasslands and woods, at the bottom of hedges and in gardens, anywhere where plants and animals dropped leaves, branches, fruit, poos and dead bodies. I mentioned fungi (mushrooms and moulds) and bacteria, insects and worms, millipedes and woodlice, slugs and snails, and the words decaying, rotting, biodegradable and spoilt.
Then I went through what could and cannot be composted and explained thet everything which came from living things (justabout!) could be composted, but that minerals, rocks, metals and synthetic things, generally could not, and gave examples of these. I didn't mention the problems I've had trying to compost coconut shells and seashells!
Then came the practical demo, where I riddled some lumpy compost and found a few worms, rove beetles, woodlice but not much else creey crawly, and some uncompostable things like glue strips from cardboard boxes and a twist tie, and a pile of nice-looking fine-grained compost.
I then said how it could be used... mixed in with some soil as a planting medium for pots of tomatoes or other veg and flowers, or as a top-dressing or mulch.
Then I told them why it is good, by asking them what they think happens to stuff which is thrown away and not recycled... and we got to landfill. I explained about anaerobic decomposition in landfills and methane and leachate, and the problems these pose. Also the fact that landfilled stuff has to be collected and driven to the tip, whereas stuff composted at home doesn't need taking anywhere in a motor vehicle. Ant that landfill is running out and in some areas the landfill is becoming landform, and hills are being made or rubbish.
If things are composted, some of the carbon which may have left the landfill as methane (20 times as powerful a global-warming gas as carbon dioxide) gets trapped within the soil where it improves soil structure and helps hold on to moisture. Soils with compost have healthier plants as compost has nutrients which feed plants and there are other benefits to plants too, such as increased disease resistance. Also home composting helps people learn about environmental issues and helps them take personal responsibility for their waste.
Finally I told them about York Rotters and the 3 free compost bins which the school could have, and the cheap bins that householders can get.
Then I asked for questions... I had dealt with questions during the talk and demonstration, but there were lots of other questions, may of them about composting poo and my compost toilet. One lad asked if compost heaps could go wrong and another asked about unwanted beasties, both excellent questions.
So that was my hour, after which I gave out the handouts and had a brief look at their 'rolypig composter' in their school yard, and then collected my stuff and cycled briskly home, and went to collect the kids.
After tea, which was a nutloaf Gill made earlier and a from-the garden-spinach and free-tomato stirfry, plus a blue cheese sauce for me, I watched a great programme about cleanliness in hospitals, and a 'non-violent-direct-action' where volunteer cleaners went in to 10 hospitals. Then at 8 I loaded the trailer and, in the rain, went to the allotment to plant pumpkins/squash, a cucumber and several beans. Very satisfying!
Got back shortly before 10 and went onto the computer to chat to my friend in Atlanta and process my emails and start my blog... what a day!
Thursday, 22 February 2007
21 Feb 07
Today Keely the York Rotters worker phoned first thing and asked if I'd go to St. Nicks and present some composting info to a group of kids from Harrogate who were coming over to visit the Environment Centre. Keely was unable to do it as her son was off school ill, so I agreed to be there for 12.30 and do three 15 or 20 min spots. I do a compostables colletion on Wednesdays so I cycled to town at full speed, trailer rattleing, and went to Out Of This World, just one potato sack of biodegradables today, perhaps 20 kg. I popped into the shop too as my wife wanted some vegan pate, and OOTW is just about the only place I can buy this. I could go to Alligator but although it's nearer, it's off my usual route, and I'm a shareholder in the Creative Cooperative Ltd, who are the parent company for OOTW, so I don't have a problem buying stuff there.
Came home via Oxfam, who have the cheapest 600g 'fair trade' coffee, one of my addictions. I'm not sure how 'low carbon' one of these tins is every 8 weeks or so, but the fair trade-ness makes me feel better about drinking coffee. I've tried two other brands and definitely prefer Cafe Direct.
Home just in time to say bye to my wife who's off to Scarborough by train to see Uncle Tom who's had a fall and is in hospital. We're both very fond of him and hope that if he has to move out of his current housing, because of his increasing care needs, he'll be able to come to York.
Made the usual large pile of sandwiches for lunch and quickly gathered my composting stuff together; a bag of finished compost, an old duvet cover to riddle onto, and my Rotaseive. Kids love having a go with the Rotaseive, a circular riddle which has a handle to move a bar over the top surface of the mesh, allowing the small composted particles fall through, leaving sticks and larger bits in the riddle for putting back in the compost heap, or using for mulch. The 3 talks went well, the groups also having a talk about the wind turbine and the recycling work that St. Nicks does.
Home in time to cycle to school and pick up my children, and we all cycled home after I had collected fruit skins/cores from the playground bins and popped them in one of the 'dalek' bins I've installed at school. I do wish the school had a proper system for collecting this material seperately. I'm sure the children would be willing to put the materials in the correct contaainer if only they were labelled correctly. I am loth to hassle the school AGAIN about this... so I just get on with what I can do.
Came home via Oxfam, who have the cheapest 600g 'fair trade' coffee, one of my addictions. I'm not sure how 'low carbon' one of these tins is every 8 weeks or so, but the fair trade-ness makes me feel better about drinking coffee. I've tried two other brands and definitely prefer Cafe Direct.
Home just in time to say bye to my wife who's off to Scarborough by train to see Uncle Tom who's had a fall and is in hospital. We're both very fond of him and hope that if he has to move out of his current housing, because of his increasing care needs, he'll be able to come to York.
Made the usual large pile of sandwiches for lunch and quickly gathered my composting stuff together; a bag of finished compost, an old duvet cover to riddle onto, and my Rotaseive. Kids love having a go with the Rotaseive, a circular riddle which has a handle to move a bar over the top surface of the mesh, allowing the small composted particles fall through, leaving sticks and larger bits in the riddle for putting back in the compost heap, or using for mulch. The 3 talks went well, the groups also having a talk about the wind turbine and the recycling work that St. Nicks does.
Home in time to cycle to school and pick up my children, and we all cycled home after I had collected fruit skins/cores from the playground bins and popped them in one of the 'dalek' bins I've installed at school. I do wish the school had a proper system for collecting this material seperately. I'm sure the children would be willing to put the materials in the correct contaainer if only they were labelled correctly. I am loth to hassle the school AGAIN about this... so I just get on with what I can do.
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