St Martin's Food Festival 2021

On a sunny Sunday in late September, St Martin's put on a show of the best food and drink the island has to offer, in the second St Martin's Food and Drink Festival.

The Food Festival on Pool Green

Set on Pool Green, hundreds of people enjoyed eating, drinking, listening to music and soaking up the atmosphere. It was a great success with lots of positive feedback. But above all the event celebrated the great food and drinks we produce on this small island, just two miles long with about 150 residents. 

Polreath curry featuring local vegetables

Mitch cooking up local pollack and serving up crab

Apple pressing popular with all the local children!

Local musicians playing some great music - thanks to Hayley Boland and Arthur Godden

St Martin's vineyard selling wine and apple juice

SC Dogs rum and SC Salt

 

So many cakes from local bakers, as well as the cake and preserves competition

Fruit and veg from Scilly Organics

St Martin's School soup from local carrots and bakery bread rolls

Little Arthur cafe's pizzas and quiches

The bar, selling Ales of Scilly beer, SC Dogs rum and Westward Farm Gin

The Vineyard apple pressing session was really popular!

All photo credits to Bruce Frank. St Martin's Stores also were selling Troytown Farm ice creams from St Agnes.

We raised lots of money, about £2,500 - all the profits from the bar, cakes and curries, plus stall fees all went to charity. This is how it looked in the end:

The Island Hall and Cricket Club depend on events like this to keep going and cover their essential costs. But also supporting people to grow their own food in places like Malawi so that people can eat and grow crops sustainably feels like a great link between food in different countries. Super Seeds feeding families by Practical Action is a great project making a practical difference to people https://practicalaction.org/our-work/projects/super-seeds-feeding-families/

Last but not least,many thanks to many people who helped make it happen: Mandy & Holly, Jackie and her team on teas and cakes, Neil and his team on the bar, Mark for running around, Terry for technical stuff, all the stall holders, Arthur and Hayley for music, Jason and his team for curry (all money going straight in the pot), all the cake bakers, and lots of other people I've probably forgotten (sorry). 

We hope to be back in 2022!

Switching to a renewable electricity tariff - 2020 update

This year has seen enormous changes and challenges in society. But the Climate Crisis is still the biggest one facing the world. With declarations of Climate Emergencies seemingly everywhere, it can be easy to think "well what can I do?"
 
Everyone needs to play their part - individuals, businesses, cities, countries. So what are the easy options? One that should be quite quick, easy and cheap is:

changing your electricity supply to 100% renewable. All you need to do is select one of the UK suppliers who currently offer an entirely renewable tariff.


Cutting carbon
On Scilly the average house uses about 6700 kWh (units) of electricity per year (Reference). To translate this to carbon emitted, this depends on the amount of renewable electricity in your tariff. The UK average is 45% renewables, some offer more, some less:
 
100% renewable  0.48 tonnes CO2e/year
45% renewable    1.64 tonnes CO2e/year
22% renewable    2.12 tonnes CO2e/year
(Ref: Farm Carbon Calculator)

The average UK carbon footprint per person is 9.1 tonnes CO2/person/year (Reference), so changing a standard electricity supply (based on an average of 2.1 people per house) will mean a roughly 10% reduction in carbon emissions - immediately.

 
How much will it cost?
The simple answer is - not much; in fact you may be saving money! It all depends on the tariff, but it may not be as much as you think.

 

What are my options?

The table below is from Which? and is a good summary of options. The market is changing all the time and this was done last year, but it should broadly be right. As you can see there are a lot of options, so choosing can be difficult. The webpage is really helpful in navigating through the different credentials of each provider https://www.which.co.uk/news/2019/09/how-green-is-your-energy-tariff/ 

Ethics

It's worth noting that, whilst all the above companies supply 100% renewable electricity, there is a difference in ethics between them. This is explored well in this Ethical Consumer article https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/energy/shopping-guide/gas-electricity. 

It really centres around how much the company is investing in its own renewables, and what the companies' core ethics are. 

In summary, changing to a renewable electricity supply is the quickest way to cutting 10% off your carbon emissions, often with very little - if any extra cost. So what are you waiting for?!

Apple Day 2019

Electricity suppliers

Given all the news recently about a Climate Emergency - that our planet is warming up more rapidly than thought, due to all the activities of humans, there is an urgent need to cut the greenhouse gases (carbon) we emit. Within the next 30 years - preferably sooner, we need to cut our 'carbon footprint' (the amount of carbon we all emit) by 80%.
 
That represents a massive change in the way we live and think. What's more, we need to start as soon as possible. So, where to start? What are the easy wins?

In this blog we look at the easiest option by far - changing your electricity supply to 100% renewable. All you need to do is select one of the suppliers below, who are the 14 UK suppliers who currently offer an entirely renewable tariff.



Cutting carbon
On Scilly the average house uses about 6700 kWh (units) of electricity per year (Reference). To translate this to carbon emitted, this depends on the amount of renewable electricity in your tariff:
 
100% renewable  0.63 tonnes CO2/year
21% renewable    2.49 tonnes CO2/year
12% renewable    2.70 tonnes CO2/year
(Ref: Farm Carbon Calculator)

The average UK carbon footprint per person is 9.1 tonnes CO2/person/year (Reference), so a standard electricity supply (based on an average of 2.1 people per house) will mean a roughly 10% reduction in carbon emissions - immediately.

 
How much will it cost?
The simple answer is - not much; in fact you may be saving money! 

The table below shows the costs (pence per kWh and annual standing charges) for different renewable tariffs. This can also be compared to the EDF and SSE standard (low renewable %) tariffs.

Switching energy suppliers should be a straightforward process.

Ethics

It's worth noting that, whilst all the above companies supply 100% renewable electricity, there is a difference in ethics between them. This is explored well in this Ethical Consumer article https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/energy/shopping-guide/gas-electricity. 

It really centres around how much the company is investing in its own renewables, and what the companies' core ethics are. 

However, in carbon terms, renewable is renewable!

In summary, changing to a renewable electricity supply is the quickest way to cutting 10% off your carbon emissions, often with very little - if any extra cost. So what are you waiting for?!

Apple day 2018

On Sunday 9th September we once again hold our annual Apple Day at
Trenoweth Community Orchard on St Mary's. Come and join us if you can to
see the orchard at one of the best times of the year - now with some
lovely new benches!

Getting involved in the Orchard

We are very keen for more people to get involved in the Community Orchard at Trenoweth. This is a description of what it is and how it works.

If you would like to get involved or find out more, please email Jonathan Smith jonathan@scillyorganics.com or find Transition Scilly on Facebook and leave a message.

Trenoweth Community Orchard Management Terms by Transition Scilly on Scribd

Projects for 2018

 Following input from the community at last week's meeting, Transition Scilly will concentrate on these projects in 2018:

Community Orchard

• Improving the management of the Orchard

• Increasing the number of people visiting

• Improve amenities for the Orchard

• Increase the reach of the orchard to include fruit trees in gardens that people need help pruning/planting/harvesting

• Celebrate key points in the orchard year

• Provide easily accessible advice on orchard management

Waste

• Support measures to reduce plastic waste

• Look at opportunities to turn waste in to resources, especially waste wood

Water

• Raise awareness of water issues on Scilly

• Look at the feasibility of water fountains in public places

Transport

• Encourage the creation of a car club for locals on St Mary's using electric vehicles run on low carbon electricity

Outreach and engagement

• Increase the number of articles in local magazines/papers and on websites

• Improve communication, including a redesigned and updated website

• Engage with and provide representation to key documents, such as the Local Plan

• Celebrate the achievements of all community groups and voluntary work

If you would like to get involved in some of these projects please get in touch on Facebook, send us an email enquiries@transitionscilly.org.uk or just look out for more news about upcoming projects and events.

Our thanks to those people that turned out last week and to the Scillonian Club for hosting us.

An orchard year

Here are lots of great photos of 2017 in the community orchard at
Trenoweth on St Mary's. It's been a very productive year and the whole
site has looked great. Here's to a great 2018!

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Planning for 2018

We have got to the time of the year when it's time to take stock, celebrate what we've done and look forward to the next year. We've organised a get together at the Scillonian Club on Tuesday 12th December at 8pm.

We hope to see new and familiar faces, discuss what we've done and welcome new ideas and enthusiasm! If you can't make the meeting but would like to get involved, have questions or suggestion please email enquiries@transitionscilly.org.uk

Blossom Picnic at the Community Orchard

On Sunday 15th May we're holding a picnic at the Community Orchard at
Trenoweth to celebrate the apple blossom and the start of a new growing
season. Everyone is welcome to come and enjoy the orchard, sample some
of last year's apple juice and find out more about this wonderful orchard.

It runs between 12 and 2pm and is free of charge - just bring yourselves
and a picnic.

To get to the Orchard, go past the Wildlife Trust offices at Trenoweth,
towards Innisidgen. Go under the pines, then turn right on the track
that goes downhill. There's a field of vines on your left, then the next
one is the Orchard. Please try and walk or cycle up if possible.

Autumn news from Transition Scilly

Apologies for our lack of blogs recently. Summer is a busy time for
everyone on Scilly, where we have our heads down just concentrating on
tourism!

Anyway, this is just a note to say that we're intending to hold a series
of work parties up at the Community Orchard at Trenoweth. There are also
some other ideas for events and activities in the pipeline this
autumn/winter.

The best place to check for updates is our Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/transition.scilly, where we post relevant
information and interesting links to other sites.

Orchard picnic

On May 11th we'll be holding our annual Orchard Picnic at Trenoweth
community orchard. All the details on the poster here.

Fingers crossed for a nice sunny day...

The crucial link between energy and the economy

Money is simply a convenient means of exchange, but the system which determines how money is exchanged and valued is economics. Right? Well...partially. A new report 'Perfect Storm - energy, finance and the end of growth' argues very strongly that the rise of any economy has been directly proportional to the energy available to that society.

In fossil fuels we are essentially plundering a resource built up over 100 million years. A litre of oil has the energy equivalent to about 5 weeks human labour. As a society we're not replenishing the resource, so it's like we're children having a party with the inheritance of a dead rich relative. A phrase in the report illustrates this point well:
"The exercise of putting one gallon of fuel into a car, driving it until the fuel runs out and paying someone to push it back to the start-point also illustrates the huge difference between the price of energy and its value in terms of work done...it would cost $6,420 [of human labour]
to get the car back to the start-point. On this rough approximation, then, a gallon of fuel costing $3.50 generates work equivalent to between $5,460
and $7,380 of human labour."

Capitalist economies need to grow to survive, as recent years have starkly illustrated. Given the direct correlation between the economy and energy, it seems we need an infinite supply of energy in order for the economy to grow infinitely. Clearly this is not viable - non-renewable fuels are so called for a reason. New types of energy such as tar sands and gas fracking are being found (and exploited) to back up falling supplies from conventional energy sources like oil wells.

But quite apart from the poor to terrible environmental impacts these sources cause, there is an underlying principle that may render their extraction uneconomic very quickly. It is called EROEI - Energy Returned On Energy Invested. Think of a brand new oil well in Saudi Arabia 50 years ago. All you had to do was drill down, tap the well and the oil would gush out; here EROEI could be 100:1. Compare that to extensive refinement of tar sands - you need to put in huge amounts of energy to extract a small amount of oil; here EROEI could be as low as 3:1.

The report makes this startling conclusion:
"If EROEI falls sharply [to around 10:1] much more of the gross energy is consumed in the extraction process, resulting in a corresponding squeeze
on the energy available to the economy. The essentials may still be affordable, but the leverage in the equation is such that energy available
for discretionary uses diminishes very rapidly indeed. There, through the EROEI squeeze, goes the car, the holiday, the bigger home, the MP3,
the meal out, toys for the children, the afternoon at the golf club or the soccer match. If EROEI falls materially, our consumerist way of life is over."

It makes a strong case that the world economy is the brink of an unfolding collapse, which would change our way of life very significantly, very quickly. The timescale...about 10 years. The Transition to a new way of living would seem a little more urgent then...

You can download the full report here:
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/files/2013/01/Perfect-Storm-LR.pdf

Developments in the orchard

The Trenoweth Community Orchard is developing further in 2013, with a
new sign, some benches and full public access coming. There will be an
opening event on 11th May, more details coming soon. The intention is to
celebrate what we've established, encourage people to enjoy the space
and help manage it. There is also a rather special new memorial stone in
place too.

More to come soon...

Farmers and growers meeting at Pelistry

On a lovely sunny day last Friday, the inaugural meeting of the Scilly
Farmers and Growers' Initiative was held. Gordon and Mervyn Bird kindly
invited every commercial farmer and grower on Scilly to their farm at
Pelistry on St Mary's.

The farm covers around 70 acres and includes flowers, grass, fodder
crops and beef cattle (they also used to grow a lot of veg). It also
hosts a summer campsite for school children. It's a truly family farming
business and the enthusiasm and hard work of the whole family, spanning
three generations, was heart warming and encouraging.

Enthusiasm from everyone was very forthcoming and a feeling that this is
an important initiative to help progress farming and growing on Scilly.
Support from the project will enable skills development, co-ordination,
collaboration and help with access to capital investment in businesses.

Transition Scilly will be engaged with the Initiative on future
projects, including the Scilly Food Festival this September.

Orchard work day - Sunday

The Community Orchard at Trenoweth is looking more like an orchard as each month goes by. The trees are growing nicely and there's a fair amount of fruit on the trees at the moment - not bad considering they're only two years old.

We're organising a work party at the Orchard this Sunday (24th June) 3pm to 5pm to do some tidying up, mowing and other bits and pieces - and a chance to sit down and enjoy the peace and quiet of the orchard. Come and go as you please, everyone welcome.

Later in the year we're planing a community apple pressing session, so if you have spare apples you can put them to good use.

We're on Facebook

We've decided to have a presence on Facebook as it's quicker and easier to update, and easier to reach out to more people.

There are updates very regularly of relevant news and information, so have a look and send us a 'Friend Request' if you're on Facebook.

http:www.facebook.com/transition.scilly

Where does the energy for our electricity come from?

If you needed convincing that the UK is not exactly energy secure, this map produced by Good Energy should do it. By contrast, UK produced renewable energy has minimal carbon emissions, is an infinite resource and does not depend on other countries.



Source: Green Energy, Renewable Energy Company

Source: Green Energy, Renewable Energy Company

The Carbon Map

The Carbon Map

Understanding carbon emissions and the impacts of climate change can be extremely difficult to comprehend sometimes. There are many different ways to represent carbon emissions - current, historical, per person, per country, etc.

We read about the impacts of climate change but it's really hard to visualise it on a global basis. Where are the large populations and how much are they likely to be affected by a changing climate?

The Carbon Map is a fantastic interactive tool where you can overlay different aspects such as population growth, CO2 per person and GDP with area, climate impacts and historical carbon emissions. This is highly recommended to increase understanding of climate change and its effects.


http://www.carbonmap.org/#

New solar PV FiT rates

The Government have issued new rates of Feed in Tariffs (FiTs) as of April 1st for Solar PV installations. The rates are more or less the same as they were in March, 21p/kWh for domestic properties, but they are now linked to energy efficiency standards.

All buildings the panels are fitted on must achieve Energy Performance Certificate grade D or above. This will be achieved on newer properties, but older properties may need more insulation to bring them up to the required level.

Rates of return for Solar PV are still good, if your building can meet the extra requirement. Two installers, Paradise Power and Plug in to the Sun are able to do installations of panels on Scilly.
Solar PV FIT Rates April 2012