It’s been a busy few months for Transition Keynsham’s different groups. Hopefully autumn will bring with it a bit of time to stop and think! Read on for a short round up of what we’ve all been up to. Do get in touch if you’d like to get involved in any of our projects.

KCE was one of three community groups to benefit from Waitrose’s Community Matters scheme in September. We’re just waiting for final confirmation about how much we’ve raised, but we’re hoping to get some really useful leaflets about energy saving printed up to give to Keynsham residents.

 

We’ve been busy networking with other local community energy companies over the summer, and looking for large-scale roofs to kick start our first solar project. You may have heard that the government is in the process of consulting on changes to the way that it subsidises renewable energy, which makes for very uncertain times for energy groups! But we’re working on new models, and we’re very hopeful that there will still be a way for community owned energy projects to go ahead in the future.

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TK Food Group
 

TK’s food group has been running an apple abundance project over the past couple of months – you may have seen us with our press at the farmers’ market or the food festival. We’re collecting excess apples from people’s trees in Keynsham and Saltford and distributing them to Chandag Junior School, Charlton House Day Centre, Community @67 and Keynsham Children’s Centre.

 

The project has been a real success, with the children at Chandag Junior in particular delighting in their Friday apple delivery. We’d love to be able to give fruit to more schools – but we need more volunteers to help pick and deliver the fruit! Please do get in touch if you’d be interested in helping out next year, when we’ll also be making our own community cider…

 

We are very grateful to Keynsham Town Council for their grant to enable us to buy a press and apple picking equipment.

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Plot in the Park

We’ve been ‘digging in’ at our veg plot by the café in Keynsham Memorial Park on the first Saturday morning of every month. Over the summer we’ve had artichokes, courgettes, strawberries, garlic, an enormous pumpkin (which was donated to Community @67’s veg box scheme) and much more. Pop along and help yourself to what’s left of our harvest, or to join our next dig in on Saturday 7^th November. 
 

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The Wombles

The Wombles have been busy again.  This time, around 20 Wombles (aged from 10 months to well, shall we say, late middle age!) joined in with the Marine Conservation Society's Big Beach Clean.  You may have noticed that we don't have a beach in Keynsham (!), so Wombling was done alongside the river by the Lock Keeper pub.  This prevented the rubbish getting into the river and travelling on to the sea/beach, so there was method in their madness!  Around 30 sacks of rubbish were collected.  The new Womble Watch Area stickers were trialled too. These are stuck onto sacks of rubbish, so that members of the public will be able to see where Wombles have been at work! 
 
Keynsham Wombles will be litter-picking at the Winter Festival again this year.
 Anyone who would like to help is more than welcome and can contact Erica on womble@transitionkeynsham.org.  There will also hopefully be another 'Big Womble' early in the new year.  If you have any ideas of an area that needs a really big clean-up, please email on the above address.'
 

Ongoing

Community veg plot DIG IN session You can find us the first Saturday of every month on the plot from 10.30 on the plot in the Memorial park near to the cafe.

Farmers Market Each month you can find us at the Farmers market in Market Walk.  Where you can come and say hello as well as bring a bike to our bike clinic.
 

Wombles - Become part of the ever growing army of Wombles in Keynsham download a flyer here: http://bit.ly/13MyOIS