Community Grown Food

I'm facilitating this forthcoming FREE EVENT on Tues 29 March in Cardiff

Allotments & Community Grown Food Event 

As part of its Sustainable Development Framework, the WLGA have begun working in partnership with the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens [FCFCG] on community grown food issues.

The WLGA and FCFCG are organising an event for local authority officers involved in planning and managing allotments and community growing sites.  This event is an opportunity to:

• inform Local Authorities about developments currently taking place within the community growing sector in Wales (and further afield);
• highlight what support is available through the Allotment Regeneration Initiative [ARI] and the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners [NSALG]. It is an opportunity for ARI to extend their successful remit into Wales and engage and consult with council staff responsible for managing allotments in Wales and for the WLGA to also be proactive in addressing the growing demand for the provision of allotments etc – which ultimately relates to food security and sustainable development, as well as health and well-being, biodiversity and regeneration.

What is the aim? This is an exploratory event to: enable the development of ways to promote good practice in allotments management and provision in Wales; promote resources that can facilitate good practice; develop models of good practice from the event; facilitate the development of supportive networks; signpost to organisations that can give help and support; offer constructive and productive delivery. It is also an opportunity to consult and establish circumstances, needs, barriers, etc

What are the desired outcomes?

• Development of an active, supportive, network in Wales in which council staff responsible for the provision and management of allotments can identify their needs, aspirations and barriers in order for support organisations to develop methods of meeting same;
• The establishment of a definitive list of council staff responsible for the management and provision of allotments in Wales;
• This will all help and support the strategic direction of council allotments’ services and land use planning at a localised level in Wales.

Further information from Gill Clarke at the WLGA

Wales Sustainable Business Summit (2)

Jane Davidson, Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing

I've been making sure that our policies enable the things that we're able to do best in Wales. Businesses can and do contribute to our policies and actions in Wales. What does it mean to make SD our central organising principle? We must have a positive vision to take it forward, with an understanding of what a sustainable Wales will look like as we create new sense and opportunities.

SD is much more than an environmental agenda - it's about a better quality of life for our own and future generations, delivered in a way which delivers social justice, enhances the cultural environment whilst living within environmental limits. We will take our share of resource use down to within One Planet's worth of resources within the lifetime of one generation.

Moving towards a zero waste society in Wales by 2050, with every local authority having statutory waste composting targets. I've seen many green jobs being created by recycling.

Simms recycling in Newport is the largest in the UK, and reflection on Wales' commitment to being a low carbon nation. Energy and the way we use it is critical; 80-90% reduction in fossil-fuel based fossil fuels are essential by mid century.

Through your commitment and care for communities, resources, energy and environment, you can make a difference to your business as well as the future.

The SD Charter has over 50 leading businesses in Wales, ranging from PwC to organic dairy cooperatives, working together. They'll do this by:

Future prooofing - e.g. M&S' Plan A 180 actions by 2018 because it's the right thing to do, and customers want it

Early leader advantage - as a small nation we can provide

Future markets - low carbon technologies have huge opportunities to tap into a $3tn low carbon market

Waste, energy reduction works - £43k to £27k cost in waste cost, with an extra £40k from re-sale of waste at Sharp in Wrexham

Consistency of reporting on CSR can create long term benefits for customers and sustainability.

Environmental awareness will take you into an area of making different decisions. Greening the workplace saves money and attracts new employees.

Wales' SD approach and long-term clarity, generally supported by all parties within the Assembly will give confidence to locate and grow in Wales.

We recognise that the Assembly Govt needs to set big targets and deliver on carbon reduction and behaviour change, with an extra £5m of funding over the next three years. We will take climate change into account in all of our decision making.

Wales Sustainable Business Summit

Carwyn Jones:

We're interested in maximising the long term wellbeing of our people. Talking of vibrant communities and avoiding damage or degradation to our planet whilst making profit.

Wales has been strong on tackling climate change, with a moral imperative even where the solution is complex. We know that the world cannot afford to wait and we need to do what we can in Wales - this has huge implications in all areas, and is vital to the success of our economy. Nicholas Stern's 'risk of -20% to world economy' needs to be taken seriously.

'To turn the crisis into an opportunity we need a vision and the determination to push it through'

In the field of renewables, there are huge opportunities for Wales, and the environmental benefits need to be mirrored by and econimic spin off. We want to see companies leading the world, showing susccessful companies who are contributing towards a sustainable future, making profit on the way.

One of the greatest prizes of all is to safeguard our planet for future generations.

Big Sustainability Summit (3)

David Pencheon, Head of SD at UK NHS

"We're crisis junkies - our objective is to get to the end of the clinic"

Steps in the NHS that are starting to work:

1. Understand / communicate / listen to find the win-wins
2. Embed vision and task as part of current job
3. Measure, compare, track progress
4. Work on efficiency and transformation simultaneously

Reasons for action? Save money. Comply with regulation. Enhance. Reputation. Improve health. I think that part of the problem is that we're fascinated with disease, but not health.

1% leverage

For many years, I’ve had the privilege of paddling, riding off road and planning change with Amazonas Explorer founder Paul Cripps. Along the journey, Paul joined 1% for the Planet; as a direct result, he’s planning to plant a million trees in the Andes. Not bad for 1, a small number. Watch an interview with Paul here.

YouTube – LATA Foundation – Reforestation Project, Peru.