Initiating Group Minutes - 10 Mar 10

Minutes of Initiating Group Meeting - Wed 10th Mar

We started by celebrating our achievements so far this year - which are many!! Particularly developing the constitution and the progress on website development, the draught busting and the pruning training... We have also made some good progress generally at widening the net of people involved...

Action Points from this meeting

Contact sponsors for each food growing site – various
Sponsors to each site to identify steps required to develop project and feedback – various
Continue conversation on different planting/ growing options in Queens Park – Elaine
Speak to Sean Faulkner re community orchard idea for Tiverton Park – Elaine
Contact Kensal Rise Primary School, Mallories and Islamia re seedling project – Jane
Feedback from Seedling planning meeting – Michael
Display Transition Network and LTN logos on website – Petica/ Jane
Feedback to Petica’s questions on ning – all
Contact Emma Jaya to discuss next stage for logo project – Careen
Contact Kilburn library re managing lending of energy meters – George
Inviting new members to initiating group – Jane and Elaine

1. Food Growing and Gardening
This was at the top of the agenda as this is where we all feel we most urgently want to make progress...

Going through the process of identifying, planning, funding and gaining permission for each gardening project is going to take time and effort, so we need to be structured in our approach. It also means that we are unlikely to have any official projects off the ground in time for spring 2010 planting. But that shouldn’t stop us from going through that process so that we have projects ready and under way for spring 2011.

We have made a list of ideas for food growing spaces (see attached spreadsheet), which is quite long. We have identified a sponsor who is responsible for taking each potential project forward. We now need to make contact with each of these sponsors and identify the next steps for each project.

On specific sites we discussed:

Careen is going to investigate what is required to set up a project on the green space next to the new playground on Willesden Lane, opposite the Olive Tree.
The site we’ve been offered in Queens Park next to the sandpit in the playground is too dark and not suitable for a community allotment. Elaine is going to continue the conversation to see if we can come up with a better space, or else make use of an existing flowerbed, or even suggest inter-planting fruit and veg amongst the existing plantings.
Tiverton Park. Elaine is going to speak to Sean Faulkner (Head of Brent Parks) to suggest a community orchard/ fruit tree planting…

Michael has also drafted a letter to send to the Kilburn Times asking people to come forward with ideas for growing spaces, and has created a set of leaflets which we can post through people’s doors.

2. Seedling giveaway

Martin/ Michael have identified a number of volunteers to host greenhouses to help grow on seedlings over the next few weeks.

Michael has identified the following venues for distribution so far: St Marks Church, Kilburn Triangle Residents Association, Kilburn Library Open Day, Princess Frederica’s primary school

Jane has already spoken to Friends of Salusbury Primary School and we can have a table next to the Friday cake sale in the playground when we need it.

Jane is also going to try to touch base with Kensal Rise primary school, Mallories primary school and Islamia.

Michael – can you give any feedback from the Seedling planning meeting that happened subsequently on 18^th Mar?

3. Prize veg contest.

Polly Pollock and Katy Gibbons have volunteered to help organise. Polly is in touch with friends who have been involved with the veg competition at the Lambeth Country Show, to get feedback on how that was organised.

It would be good to co-ordinate with the seedling giveaway to launch the competition and create awareness.

4. Website update

The web group is progressing well, with a talented and enthusiastic team – both making improvements to the .ning site and also in touch with the Transition Network over future more ambitious developments.

The new Transition Network site is now up and running and our details have been updated here.

We still need to put the Transition Network and London Transition Network logos up on our site.

Petica has circulated a list of questions on the ning site for feedback.

5. Logo competition update from George and Careen...

The year 10 graphics class at QPCS has submitted their draft ideas. This has shown that this project is perhaps more difficult than originally envisaged. Chris Wells has very kindly provided detailed feedback to the class, and is going to be involved in developing this further in conjunction with Emma Jaya and the class.

6. Banking and spending update from David.

We now have the bank account up and running so can invoice the council to receive our grant.

This should lead to various projects that were to be funded by the grant getting underway quite quickly.

For example we can buy the energy meters (for which we budgeted 8 at £380) which we intend to loan out to members. George is going to see if we can get the library involved in helping to co-ordinate this scheme.

7. Adding new people to the initiating group. We agreed that we should keep growing the initiating group until we hit 9 and that way we are ok if some want to step back for a bit or would like to rotate off... Michael will be leaving the group in July, and George will only be able to do so much when new baby arrives in April

8. AOB
Feedback from the Handbook Club: the first meeting was a good success, c15 attending, and afterwards Richard Walker, a new member, volunteered to set up a Transition section in the Library. This is now up and running - see his forum discussion on the website. Next Handbook Club meeting is Monday 22^nd Mar.

Feedback from the Brent Action against Climate Change. Quite a diverse collection of groups - perhaps a bit more focused upwards at politics and activism than our local and solutions agenda... but we should discuss how we want to relate to the group (assuming it develops).