Winter is coming, and with it comes the looming spectre of our winter energy bills. Fuel poverty, market fiddling, and Parliament infighting are starting to creep into the headlines. The majority of these come around every year; mostly due to the weather, but partly due to there being nothing else to report in the cold season once Santa has been on his jolly way. However, this year is different. This year there is an Energy Bill going through Parliament, allowing

green is working

Continued on Page 12

Birmingham friends of the earth newsletter

Dec 2012 / Jan 2013

3 - campaigns’ digest

5 - in the media

7 - warehouse news

8 - guest article - Cycle Chain

9 - the big green debate - should charities work with the private sector?

12 - green is working (continued)

15 - let’s get moving!

16 - 20’s plenty for the council

17 - a trip to the tip

19 - review of ‘there’s something funny in the honey’

20 - volunteer spotlight

21 - become a supporter

22 - diary

23 - contacts

2

contents

Hello and welcome to my first Campaigns’ Digest! Hats off to Joe Peacock for an amazing three years as Campaigns Support Worker, and also thanks to Jake for covering the crucial weeks between me and Joe!

It’s been a busy first couple of months, with actions and events on both the national campaigns, having our say on issues through lots of consultations, as well as a really positive meeting with Councillor James McKay, the Cabinet Member for Green, Safe and Smart City.

Energy & Climate Change

Our latest action for the Clean British Energy (CBE) Campaign was a “Green is Working” stunt we organised in Birmingham City Centre, highlighting the potential for green jobs. Our next events are renewable energy photographic exhibitions, a great opportunity to take the CBE campaign into the community and lobby our politicians. See the centre article for more information about this.

Biodiversity

Our Comedy Gig “There’s Something Funny in the Honey” was an outstanding success. Over 170 people attended and

we raised hundreds of pounds for bee-friendly wildflower planting projects in Birmingham. If you want to know just how much of a success it was, then turn to Shaz’s article on the gig.

However, this isn’t the only thing that’s been buzzing recently, with stalls at the Martineau Gardens Autumn Event and the Kings Heath Skill-Share and Family Fun Day. We were also at the Conservative Party Conference, handing out apples to delegates with “pollinated by bees” stickers on them.

The Bee Cause is going into hibernation for the winter, which you’ll bee glad to hear means a break from all these terrible

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campaigns’ digest

puns, but watch this space as the bees will be swarming back in March!

Transport

We’ve been pretty busy on the transport front recently, giving evidence on canals and cycling to one of the Council’s scrutiny committees, as well as submitting our response to the national Draft Aviation Policy Framework. If that wasn’t

enough, our meeting on our new local campaign decided that we will look into local transport and air pollution issues, and so we’re already hard at work researching for that!

Recent big news was Birmingham City Council passing a motion in favour of 20 mph speed limits on Birmingham residential roads; as this is something we’ve campaigned on for many years, needless to say we’re pretty pleased.

Planning

As we went to press for the last issue, Stirchley ASDA was turned down for planning permission, a credit to all those campaigners in the local community who got involved in trying to stop the development!

The other big news is that Birmingham City Council are looking at how they can build tens of thousands of new homes in the city, apparently needed to accommodate the city’s growing population, including building on greenbelt in the Sutton Coldfield area. Naturally, we have our own views on this, and you can be sure we’ll be submitting them in our response to the consultation on the plans.

Waste

On the waste front, we’re doing a bit of research into the Council’s wheelie bin proposals and what they mean, including what other local authorities have done and what impact it had. By the time you read this, Friends of the Earth’s new national campaign, Make it Better, will have launched, taking a very important look into the sustainability of how products are made.

Julien Pritchard

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campaigns’ digest continued

We’ve had some good media coverage over the past couple of months, mainly around the “There’s Something Funny in the Honey” comedy gig and our CBE Day of Action “Green is Working” stunt. I’ve also been interviewed a couple of times for BBC WM.In the run-up to our comedy gig we’ve had articles about the event in the Birmingham Mail, Solihull News, and Sunday Mercury, to name but three. The Solihull News also interviewed our headliner Joe Lycett about the event, who had these kind words to say about BFoE and the Bee Cause: “They’re good eggs. They helped when I ran a campaign a year or so back about trying to improve the local bus services in and around Birmingham. I think projects like this are good as they make you realise how precarious our pathetic little existences are, if the bees go then we will follow!”We also gained some good coverage of our “Green is Working” stunt in Birmingham City Centre, getting articles in both the Birmingham Mail and the online Birmingham Post. As well as the action itself and the CBE campaign, the articles frequently mentioned the jobs from Birmingham’s solar potential, based on BFoE’s own research! I am quoted in the articles very much reinforcing this point: “Green is working – while the UK struggles

in a double-dip recession the low-carbon sector is growing, paving the way to new jobs. Many more jobs and business opportunities could be created here in the West Midlands if Ministers give the green light to renewable energy. “Birmingham Friends of the Earth’s own research shows that we could create 1,300 jobs in Birmingham just through realising the city’s solar energy potential. We want the city’s MPs to make sure that the Government resists George Osborne’s attempts to keep Britain hooked on costly foreign gas. The majority of the public want their homes to be powered by clean British energy from our sun, wind and sea.”I was also interviewed twice by BBC WM, once on the subject of charging for plastic bags, and once about Birmingham’s ranking of 25th out of 26 cities for cycling provision (see last issue of newsletter).Julien PritchardMore information:Hall Green’s Joe Lycett signs-up for bees benefit gig: http://bit.ly/Xyb5IZ Birmingham comedians create a buzz with charity night to save Britain’s bees: http://bit.ly/PPyKkP Green campaigners call for 1,300 new solar jobs in Birmingham: http://bit.ly/SX5mZG

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in the media

6

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

Open Wednesday to Saturday, 10am-4pm

0121 633 0730

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 Monday to Saturday, 10am-5pm

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.

6

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

Open Wednesday to Saturday, 10am-4pm

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

Telephone0121 633 0261

Emailinfo@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 Monday to Saturday, 10am-5pm

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.

warehouse

Pete Martin has been working with us as the Maintenance Volunteer Coordinator for 9 months now and it is quite easy to say that he has transformed the building during this period.

We wouldn’t have been able to get through the heavy rain without his valiant efforts to re-route the guttering and fix the roofs. We wouldn’t have been

able to install the explosion release panel for the biomass hopper without his carpentry talents. We wouldn’t have been able to complete all those fiddly little time consuming jobs that make life in the building so much easier, without his diligent and thought-out approach to maintenance. We wouldn’t have been able to work with so many volunteers, changing their lives and getting them jobs, if it wasn’t for Pete being Pete. In fact the only drawback to the whole thing is the amount of effort required to not smile when he is telling an inappropriate joke and his unnerving ability to (almost) always be right.

He doesn’t suffer fools gladly and has been impressive in his ability to get people to up their game. It is infrequent that you find someone as multi-talented, who is able to traverse the world of construction, management and paperwork in the same breath.

Thank you Pete for all of the work that you have done. If the funding doesn’t come in to keep you here, then I hope you will still come in to say hello and see how we are doing.

Phil Burrows

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warehouse news - a sad farewell

8

If you go down to the canals today, you’re in for a big surprise, because these days there’s a barge with a load of bikes on board! No, this isn’t some new-fangled way of the committing the Great Birmingham Bike Robbery, but a fantastic bike-based social enterprise project in the heart of Birmingham.

Cycle Chain have been going for over ten years, broadening opportunities for people with specific learning needs by using the bicycle as a learning tool and, at the same time, promoting cycling as a cheap, sustainable form of transport. They receive bikes from the police, give them a thorough refurbishment, and sell or pass them on to universities or the North Birmingham Bike Project. The reconditioning is used as a way of teaching people with learning difficulties some practical skills, by shadowing and assisting the bike mechanics as they work.

Cycle Chain now has a new project working from a barge on the Cambrian Wharf. The old cargo narrowboat, sold to them by British Waterways for £1, has been renovated in partnership with CENTRO as a bike storage

and maintenance area.

Not only this, but they have applied to put in bike racks on the moorings next to the barge, so that they can offer secure supervised cycle storage as well as maintenance. Cycle Chain mechanics will work with people with learning difficulties on the upkeep of bikes, and provide supervision of the bikes, which are locked onto the new racks on the quayside. They will charge £1.50 for cycle storage and £30 for a full maintenance check whilst the owner is at work. The volunteers will also be on hand to talk to people about bikes and the work of Cycle Chain.

In the summer, this social enterprise also plans to further increase the services they provide by offering bike hire and cycle tours, again with people with learning difficulties being at the forefront of communicating with the public. This is a very inspiring project and we can’t wait to see bike storage and maintenance available out of a canal barge in the centre of our city! Julien Pritchard

Cycle Chainguest article

9

the big green debate:

should charities work with the private sector?Welcome to our new feature; The Big Green Debate! We hope to generate an interesting and thought provoking discussion about campaigning and the issues we care about.

This first Big Green Debate is about how much charities and NGOs should work with business, with Imogen Rattle making the case for greater partnership, and Roxanne Green pointing out the pitfalls.

Please note that there may be a certain amount of devil’s advocate in this debate, and the views expressed may not be the real opinions of the writers. Julien Pritchard

yesThe 21st century so far has been the century of the multinational company. Over half of the world’s largest economies are now not countries but businesses. There has been a corresponding shift in the roles of state, civil society and business away from centralised environmental regulation to hybrid agreements between communities and businesses, such as payment for ecosystem services and a rise in public-private partnerships to manage environmental issues. Meanwhile, global environmental summits such as Durban COP-17 and Rio +20, which focussed on the role of national governments in delivering a sustainable future, have struggled to make headway.In this context, a refusal by

noIt’s no secret that charities and NGOs have been having a tough time of it over the past few years, and it can be tempting to think that to survive they need to work with companies from the private sector, either for financial reasons or for other perceived benefits such as increased profile. Although there may be instances where this is true, collaboration with private companies carries a lot of risks and should be approached with caution.

A lot of large multi-national corporations now have corporate social responsibility policies, which mean they will be looking to work with charities to deliver these responsibilities and demonstrate positive values. While it could be argued that it is about time big business

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yes - continued....NGOs and charities to engage with businesses, and to instead pursue relationships only with government and community groups, not only reduces their ability to influence some of the most powerful players in the environmental arena, but also isolates them from the community and government groups with whom they seek to engage. If everyone else is working with business, NGOs risk losing touch with the debate if they do not. This is not to suggest that the third sector has to uncritically accept the business agenda. Businesses undoubtedly cause environmental damage, and their social effects are at best mixed. However, surely it is better for NGOs to work with them directly to mitigate and prevent that damage, while campaigning for tighter environmental legislation, rather than focussing efforts solely on encouraging governments to regulate business, an activity which, in a time of economic downturn, they seem unwilling to undertake and reluctant to enforce. Initiatives such as that between Oxfam and M&S to encourage clothes swapping,

show how such NGO-business collaborations can provide innovative mechanisms to encourage sustainable behaviour, providing the elusive triple win of social, environmental and economic benefits.In the long term, to achieve a sustainable future we need an economic model that does not rely on infinite growth within finite environmental limits. The role of business within this has yet to be determined. But, in the short term, business is likely to play a critical role in addressing issues such as climate change, which they have helped to create. Designating them as the enemy and refusing to engage ignores the complexity which is at the heart of many sustainability issues. Imogen Rattle

...the 21st century has been the century of the multinational company...

the big green debate continued...

no - continued ....redressed the ethical balance and undid some of the damage it has done, more often than not there is a sales angle for corporations and the motivation is still profit. ‘Greenwashing’ has become an insidious scourge.

Work carried out in collaboration with large corporations tends to carry heavy PR requirements that overshadow any actual community activity. Companies will generally insist on their logos featuring prominently and the

charity that has actually done the work gets no recognition or publicity. In these instances, the community is reduced to tools to be used in a marketing campaign and their needs are not responded to at all.

By working with the private sector, charities may feel that they are having a positive effect on business practices and actions, but even if this is true they are adding an appearance of legitimacy and endorsement to these companies – which will encompass their entire activity, the good and the bad bits. A company will want to work with a charity because of the benefit it will have on its reputation, but the charity needs to be very wary of the effect that will come to its own reputation.

If we say that we need a new economics and criticise the powers that maintain the status quo, how much credibility will we have if we then work with the same organisations that profit most from an unequal society? Charities need to remain independent to maintain their relevance and to offer a meaningful alternative for a better world.Roxanne Green

11

A company will want to work with a charity because of the benefit it will have on its reputation...

a once in a lifetime opportunity to radically change the way our power market works. This means that it’s time to take action and show Ministers that the public wants Clean British Energy.

The Clean British Energy (CBE) campaign has been in hibernation recently, but on 13th October we joined other local Friends of the Earth groups to take part in the CBE Day of Action. The stunt used Saatchi & Saatchi’s famous 1979 Conservative campaign image of a queue forming behind an unemployment office with the words “Labour isn’t working” emblazoned above it. For our stunt the plan was to form the iconic queue, but have it running through a banner stating “Green is working” with everyone in the queue donning green hard hats. The symbolism is straightforward; we would represent the thousands of jobs that have been created from the growth of green industry, such as renewable energy firms, and the potential for future growth bolstering our economy and creating more jobs.

In the UK, close to a million green jobs have already been created, with a large proportion

of these jobs coming from the energy sector. Thanks to excellent research conducted by volunteers at Birmingham Friends of the Earth, we also know that roughly 1,300 jobs could be created by the creation of a solar industry in Birmingham. Add to this the different research centres into new technologies at Birmingham’s universities, and pioneering schemes like

Birmingham Energy Savers, and our city is in a great position to be at the forefront of a cleaner, fairer and more efficient energy market, combining large national renewable energy projects with community energy schemes.

We rallied the troops, and a few friends from Greenpeace, on a fine Saturday morning

12

green is working continued from front page

13

in Victoria Square for the CBE Day of Action stunt, and we made quite a sight. Not quite Lord of the Rings battering the gates of Gondor, but still a very welcoming amount of support. With everyone there and in good spirits, the banner was erected, hard hats placed neatly on our heads, and an orderly queue emerged around the fountain outside Birmingham’s library. Although this may be an over-dramatisation of the stunt, it was a fun few hours on a Saturday morning, and it was great to see such a turn out, allowing us to get excellent media coverage and spread the message of the growing green economy.

Stunts like ours were performed around the country; a 250 strong queue was formed outside the treasury in London, which included green business and NGO bosses. Also ‘in’ on the stunt was everyone’s favourite business woman Deborah Meadon. All in all, both locally and nationally, the Day of Action was a huge success and has given us a great platform to build from.

Everything sounds good at the moment for CBE, but the truth is more stories are appearing, showing us what we are up

against. What is probably not a surprise to most people, but has come as a shock to news outlets and Ministers, is that energy pricing is being manipulated by energy firms to ensure bigger profits. Two whistle blowers from a price-reporting agency called ICIS raised concerns about manipulation of wholesale energy markets, with one saying he saw suspect trading activity in Autumn 2011.

This first story has been quickly followed up by reports of Conservative MPs being recorded expressing their views on wind policy. Chris Heaton-Harris MP was caught admitting he hadn’t read much reliable research about the effect of wind turbines on birds, saying “The ‘bird blending’ phrase really hurts [the RSPB]. How true or not, I’ve got no idea because I’ve not seen any half-decent research about this.” He then went on to publicly criticise the RSPB for their support of wind energy stating, “Certainly [wind turbines] have a very bad interaction with bats and a number of species of birds … there really is the evidence out there and there are now international studies pointing at this.”

It is also been revealed that,

14

according to Tory MP Peter Lilly, the Chancellor George Osborne “regrets” the government’s commitment to renewable energy. With the cabinet reshuffle allowing climate change skeptics into pivotal positions, it is going to be a tough push to ensure our future is clean and sustainable.

The next phase of the CBE campaign is beginning now and it is time to increase the pressure. A substantial part of this campaign has been petitioning and calling on individuals and organisations to switch their energy suppliers to greener alternatives, but the campaign is now picking up momentum as it moves into the next phase. This will concentrate on lobbying MPs and getting them to send our message to Parliament, making sure there are no missed opportunities when the Energy Bill goes through.

To do this we are planning to host an exhibition using photographs from a national Friends of the Earth competition, as well as local photographs we will source ourselves. The national competition was a joint venture with Good Energy, asking people to produce

photographs that captured the beauty of renewable energy generation, both physically and ideologically. Many of these photos are certainly breath-taking and can be seen on the national Friends of the Earth website. We decided for our own exhibition we should add photos that are more relevant to Birmingham, showcasing the potential for rooftop solar power in the city. MPs from across the city will be invited to the event, offering the chance for informal discussion around the photographs and an opportunity to ask officials to show their support for the campaign.

We have high hopes that the exhibition will be a great focal point for getting the public interested in what’s going on in the energy sector, showing them how much of an effect the upcoming Energy Bill may have on them, and hopefully how much effect the public can have on what goes into the Bill. There is a lot to get involved in with the Clean British Energy campaign at the moment, and although it is a very ambitious campaign, right now is a very important time for us to work towards securing our energy future.Jacob Williams

green is working continued

15

let’s get moving!

Birmingham Friends of the Earth are excited to announce that we have a new local campaign. A special discussion meeting was held on Monday 29th October to decide which cause we should be shouting from the rooftops about to the people of this great city.There are of course many environmental issues in Birmingham that would benefit from the spotlight of a BFoE campaign, but the area where we felt we could make the biggest impact was transport. It was agreed that a transport campaign could encompass many issues, including promoting cycling (an area in which we achieved considerable success with Bike Trains last year), a more efficient bus service, the reopening of the South Birmingham train line, and an awareness raising campaign about the impact our transport system has on the health of our planet and the people on it. Birmingham is the second most polluted city in Britain, the impact of breathing in tailpipe pollution is a major cause of heart and lung disease and premature death among our citizens. It is a little reported fact that diesel fumes are classified

as carcinogenic. In short, our dirty fossil fuel-powered transport system is putting people and the planet in great danger.Come along to one of our Monday night meetings (7.30pm at The Warehouse) if you feel as passionately as we do that this city must get moving towards a pollution free future! Robert Pass

Birmingham is the second most polluted city in Britain, the impact of breathing in tailpipe pollution is a major cause of heart and lung disease

There was good news this month as Birmingham City Council passed a resolution calling for 20mph to be set as the default speed limit on residential roads across the city. The resolution means Birmingham joins the growing ranks of councils taking this decision; so far 34 local authorities have agreed to this policy. The new limit will be introduced in a phased programme in consultation with local communities.We’ve long campaigned for a reduction to the speed limit in residential areas. The Council decision comes after a report by the Campaign for Better Transport named Birmingham as one of the worst cities for cycling and pedestrian provision, ranking it 25 out of the 26 cities surveyed in its ‘car dependency scorecard’.Statistics show that lower speeds are safer. Last year, there were 28 fatal car accidents in Birmingham and a further 395 led to serious injury. Also, excessive speed is estimated to be behind a third of road collisions. The new policy will benefit children and other vulnerable road users, make roads less daunting for cyclists and stop residential streets being used as rat runs.As well as the safety benefits

there are environmental and health gains. Domestic transport accounted for 20% of UK greenhouse gas emissions in 2009 and is a key area for reduction. Improving road safety encourages school children to walk and cycle with huge benefits to their health whilst reducing emissions from the school run. Less than 50% of children walk to school and even fewer cycle - 0.4% of Birmingham school children, against an already poor English average of 1% - so there’s the potential for a big improvement. For those who continue to drive, a lower speed limit can smooth traffic flow, reducing fuel-intensive stop-start driving and so decreasing emissions.The Council’s decision reflects a wider cultural change under way amongst drivers themselves. A 2005 report by the National Centre for Social Research found 72% of drivers questioned supported 20mph speed restrictions in residential areas while the 2012 report indicated 60% of drivers would be prepared to reduce their motorway speed in order to reduce emissions.It’s certainly a very positive and exciting beginning, so let’s make sure the Council continues to say 20’s Plenty for Us! Imogen Rattle

16

20’s plenty for the council

I had never been to the Household Recycling Centre in twenty five years of living in Birmingham.

This is because I don’t own a car, like tens of thousands of other Birmingham people. The trip took me two buses and a long walk to the site in Lifford Lane, which is operated by Veolia for Birmingham City Council. There were no other pedestrians but plenty of queuing cars. The facility is not “local” nor is it convenient. I was left wondering if the energy saved in recycling was being lost in all the car journeys.

There are about twenty separate waste streams you can contribute to: skips for soil, batteries, drinks cartons, clothing, fridges, etc. This confirms that Veolia do

have a use and an outlet for almost every kind of waste. Therefore, recycling isn’t a technical problem, it’s an organisational problem. The site’s not laid out in an obvious way, but people who go there do try to separate their wastes. The inconvenience factor means that most people in the city don’t do this, and there’s no incentive to do it. Lifford Lane and the four similar sites are facilities, but together they don’t make a system.

Re-use is better than recycling, but I could see furniture, toys and other things in skips that could be re-used. We need something like the Re-useful Centre in Leamington Spa, and I understand there is to be a trial for this at the Sutton Coldfield site (Norris Way). Full details of

17

a trip to the tip

18

Household Recycling Centres are on the Council’s website: www.birmingham.gov.uk

Given that Birmingham’s composting and recycling rate is 32%, the gap between the household waste that could be recycled and what is recycled is clearly immense. Bin bags and bulky waste are all incinerated in Birmingham at great cost. The new 60% target rate for Birmingham City Council will require a big change to the current wasteful system.

On street corners and in parks in Westminster I have seen “bring sites” – a cluster of bins that include plastic pots and drinks cartons. Even the street sweepers have their own recycling bins. Bristol has similar clusters of bins that people can walk to, as well as food waste collection and a range of materials collected from the door. The top local authority in the country has recently passed 70% recycled or composted, so we know how to do it. Blaming the public in Birmingham for not recycling is not good enough.

One Bin Bag

When you read this, I shall have met my target of producing just one bag of rubbish for the

Council in 2012. This extreme recycling was done by rigorous separation of all the items that could rot, which were stored in a kitchen caddy until rotten, and then out to the compost bin in the garden. Cans and bottles went through the washing up and then out for the doorstep recycling collection, along with all paper and card. Plastic wrappings I rammed into pop bottles to save space. There was hardly anything left and there was no smell.

I think I have shown that making rubbish is fundamentally unnecessary, if the “putrescibles” are kept separate from the recyclable or reusable items. People have written to me saying they do something similar. This calls into question the £30 million a year spent by Birmingham City Council for waste disposal and the 282,000 tonnes of CO2 emitted from the Tyseley rubbish incinerator. Post-2018, I hope that Birmingham can become a recycling city, instead of a rubbish city.

For deals on compost bins, go to www.birmingham.getcomposting.com or call 0845 130 6090 John Newson

a trip to the tip continued

19

A massive thank you is in order for all those who were involved in our ground-breaking comedy gig; from everyone who helped organise the event, to those who attended and brought their friends and families. We sold 183 tickets and raised nearly £1000.For our first attempt at running an event of this kind this is a brilliant result, of which we are very proud. The comedians were really nice and very generous, providing thought-provoking pre-gig interviews and making us laugh all night, in return for cake and fruit provided by Birmingham Friends of the Earth volunteers. They also helped the evening run smoothly, and The Glee Club ran an extremely slick and professional operation, taking a lot of the pressure off our shoulders and enabling us to focus on what we needed to do.As well as being a fundraising event, aimed to raise money for the Bee Cause, the gig was also an important awareness-raising event. Many of the people who attended would not have known about the importance of bees to our economy, our ecosystems and our food supply, if it were not for this comedy evening. Also, people not already involved in Birmingham Friends of the Earth

were able to see what we stand for and what we do. The evaluation forms filled in on the night suggest that people thought the event was good value for money and would be interested in attending similar events in the future. Everyone I’ve spoken to about the gig agreed about the positives.From a personal perspective, I am proud of what we have achieved. I put a lot of work into this event, sometimes spending more hours on the gig than my actual job! The time was well spent in the end, but at many points it looked like our efforts were going to be in vain. We pooled our resources, pulled together and triumphed. The highlight from my point of view was getting two standing ovations for my mini stand-up routine (thanks to our brilliant compere for the evening, Joe Lycett).Thanks to this event we now have significant funds for The Bee Cause campaign, and we want to use the money as effectively as possible. If you would like to share any thoughts on how the money should be spent we would love to hear from you, email us on campaigns@birminghamfoe.org.uk. Maybe we will see you at the Glee Club next year? Shaz Rahman

review of ‘there’s something funny in the honey’

20

Julien Pritchard interviews Amin Din

How long have you been involved with BFoE?

I came in 2010 as a volunteer decorator. I then worked in the Warehouse co-ordinating the maintenance volunteers before I got a job somewhere else. Now I’m back as a volunteer.

How did you find out about BFoE?

A friend told me that it would be a good organisation to volunteer for, and so it’s proved!

What do you do here?

I’m now a volunteer decorator improving the look of the inside of the building by giving it a much needed lick of paint! Depending on time, I also plan to improve the look of the

outside of the building in the summer!

What do you like about working here?

The people you meet here are great. There are loads of different interesting characters that come in and you start talking to them. It was a nice place to come back to because of that friendliness!

What have you learnt from volunteering with BFoE?

I’ve done a leadership course, gained a lot of people skills, and also confidence in talking to people.

What do you think is the most important environmental issue and why?

Poor waste and recycling systems. It can often be a lot of effort for people to do the right thing in terms of recycling. When I first came here I was surprised by the recycling and how everything had its proper place to be recycled.

What’s your best green tip/advice?

Get out to the end of the road and recycle!

volunteer spotlight

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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: .........

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campaign meetings - mondays 7:30pm3rd December - General Meeting10th December - Discussion Meeting on anaerobic digestion17th December - Christmas Social24th December - No Meeting31st December - No Meeting

7th January - General Meeting14th January - Action Meeting21st January - Action Meeting28th January - Action Meeting

diary

other events1st December: Get Fractious Climate March in London4th December: Stirchley Community Christmas Market – Stirchley Working Men’s Club11th December: Green Drinks – Locanta Restaurant Ludgate Hill12th December: Ramblers’ Walk – Handsworth Leisure Centre; visit www.ramblers.org.uk for details19th December: Ramblers’ Walk – MAC Cannon Hill Park; visit www.ramblers.org.uk for details8th January: Green Drinks – Locanta Restaurant Ludgate HillSee Northfield Ecocentre for their many events and workshops www.northfieldecocentre.org

farmers’ marketsBirmingham University: 4th Wednesday of the month 9am-3pm (except December, when it’s 5th December)Harborne: 2nd Saturday of the month 9am-2pmKings Heath: 1st Saturday of the month 9am-3:30pmKings Norton: 2nd Saturday of the month 9am-2pmMoseley: 4th Saturday of the month 9am-3pmNew Street: 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month 10am-4pmSolihull: 1st Friday of the month 9am-3pmSutton Coldfield: 2nd Friday of the month 9am-3pmJewellery Quarter: 3rd Saturday of the month 10am-3pm

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 Facebook: facebook.com/birminghamfoe Twitter: @Bham_FOE

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-ordinators: Roxanne Green & Robert PassCampaigns Support Worker: Julien PritchardGeneral Manager: Phil BurrowsTreasurer: Margaret LynchAviation: Adam McCuskerClimate Change & Energy: Jacob WilliamsPlanning: Ben MabbettTransport: Martin StrideWaste & Recycling: John NewsonNewsletter Editors: Michaela Hodges Steven D Quirke Zoe WrightWebsite Editor: Phil BurrowsFundraising & Membership Co-ordinator: Shaz RahmanCommunications Officer Michaela HodgesTalks: Julien Pritchard and othersAll enquiries and callers welcome.Find us on page 74 of the B’hamA-Z, grid ref: 4A

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Birmingham friends of the earth

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