Due to a steady drizzle, the event mainly took place inside the BLCG yurt which was erected for such eventualities. So instead of a tour of the garden John Green, from BLCG project, told members about the history of the garden and the long time it had taken to bring the project to fruition. Perseverance certainly has paid off as members were able to see when the drizzle stopped and they could stroll around the fantastic gardens, which also include compost toilets and cob oven. See http://hometown.aol.co.uk/johnbaps/ for full details.
WRAP
Bronwen Jameson from the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) then outlined details of their national Love Food / Hate Waste campaign. A (WRAP) study has just revealed that we throw away a third of the food we buy. WRAP is working with a number of groups including the WI and she challenged CAGs to think of new initiatives to reduce food waste. She gave a number of helpful tips, such as the truth about sell-by dates, cooking the right amount, portion sizes and interesting recipes for left overs. Details can be found at www.lovefoodhatewaste.com
Oxfordshire County Council
Chris Cousins, head of sustainable development at Oxfordshire County Council talked about options for countywide food waste disposal and discussed the various treatment options available. It was explained that it was still at the exploratory stage and that as evidence suggests that there is no ‘right' solution, the Council is adopting a ‘technology neutral' stance in the tendering process.
Start composting
Frances Buckel updated the groups on the Master Composter Scheme; the Oxfordshire County Council programme to encourage local communities to start composting at home. Master Composters offer support to people who are already home composting and may be having difficulties, and encourage others to start. For more details of events or about Master Composters contact Eiles on 01865 815908 at or visit www.homecomposting.org.uk
Frances invited questions on any problems people might have with their compost and gave out top-tips on troubleshooting.
Build your own wormery
As the sun came out, the group moved outside to watch Simon Kenton give a practical demonstration on how to make a fully functional DIY wormery for under £15, using reclaimed materials. This proved very popular with all present, especially a number of children who enjoyed playing with the worms! Full details of how to build the wormery can be downloaded here. Many of the materials required can be sourced from Orinoco, www.oxorinoco.org. The completed wormery was donated to Barracks Lane Community Garden to thank them for holding the event.
The event ended with groups being able to explore the garden and chat about what they had learnt as well as participating in an excellent vegetarian lunch provided by Global Deli.
For Further information:
Contact the CAG Project Manager
Email Simon Kenton