Dear Transitioners

This is just a quick update on dates for your diary.

Plastic Free Monmouth:  Tuesday 26 June, 7.30 at the Robin Hood – note change of date:  Please come + get involved.  This is a campaign in which everyone can ‘do their bit’, be it changing the way you do things at home or where you work, or at the school, church or community group that you are involved with.  We have loads of ideas + information, + plans for the summer months.

It’s fun + it’s exciting – promise! – especially as it’s part of a wider campaign with groups similar to ours in Chepstow, Abergavenny + Usk, + with enthusiastic backing from MCC who unanimously voted this week to proceed with achieving Plastic Free County status for Monmouthshire.

Summer Play Scheme Lunches:  Tuesday 26 June, 7.30 at Ty Price (yes, sorry, it’s at the same time as the Plastic Free meeting):  Working with the Ty Price Community Centre, the churches, WI, Rotary Community Champions + others, we are set to provide around 50 packed lunches for children attending the Summer Play Scheme at Overmonnow Primary School – but we need volunteers to prepare the lunches – every weekday morning for four weeks starting Monday 30 July.  Please contact mail@transitionmonmouth.org if you can help – even a couple of mornings would be great + much appreciated.  We are also short of around £750 to fund the 1,000 lunch packs so all contributions welcome!  Thank you.

Carbon Consciousness + Carbon Saving:  Tuesday 10 July, 7.30 at the Robin Hood:  A discussion evening led by Martin Burgess from Aberystwyth University:  Time to sit back from the daily hectic round of activity + ponder on why we are doing this, what we want to achiever, how do we go about it.  If you would like to participate in a Focus Group discussion at 3.30 that day (£25 honorarium to participants), please contact vivienmitchell@yahoo.co.uk

MCC Climate Change Champions:  Wednesday 11 July, 7pm at Ty Price.  This group has met quarterly for over 10 years + includes representatives from around the county.  Plastic Free will undoubtedly be on the agenda.  Contact vivienmitchell@yahoo.co.uk for further details

Members’ Meeting:  Tuesday 17 July, 7.30 to 8.30 at the Robin Hood for updates on our various projects – Food Sense, Plastic Free Monmouth, flood prevention, Nature Isn’t Neat, plans for the autumn + beyond – then time to talk about whatever is on your mind.  Come + chat!

iNeed Hope Festival:  Saturday 21 July, 1pm – 7pm on Vauxhall Fields – see their Facebook page for all the fun.  We will have our Beans Stall there + our Plastic Free Monmouth display.  Contact anneggleton@waitrose.com if you can help, even for an hour or two

And the Local Produce Markets:-

Abergavenny – Thursday 28 June – 9.30 to 2.30
Usk – Saturday 7 July – 10 till 1
Grosmont – Saturday 14 July – 10 till 2 – see the Grosmont Market Facebook page

Ann Eggleton, Chair
Bryan Miller, Deputy Chair

Plastic Free Monmouth goes from strength to strength with huge support + interest, not just from our members but also from the community.  We have attended four events with our display + given out hundreds of leaflets – + we have the whole hearted support of the County Council.  The Strong Communities Select Committee gave unanimous support to a Plastic Free Monmouthshire + this will now go for ratification to Full Council.

Our various groups – Schools, Local Businesses, Individual/Household Action, Community Spaces + Groups, Events, Town Council – are all working hard to meet the requirements of the Surfers Against Sewage criteria in order for the town to achieve Plastic Free status.  If you want to be involved please contact Anna Hill – plasticfreemonmouth@gmail.com or via the Plastic Free Monmouth Facebook page, + please post stuff on that page, especially good news about what’s happening at local schools, businesses, community spaces.  Or come to our next Plastic Free Monmouth meeting – 7pm on Thursday 28 June at the Robin Hood.

We have been reminded that we, as well as similar groups in other towns, all started around 2005 with trying to get rid of plastic carrier bags.  It was called ‘Doing a Modbury’ following a campaign by a wildlife photographer (who happened to live in Modbury) who was appalled by the damage to wildlife + the countryside that she saw whilst photographing.  Her campaign caught on, leading to Government legislation (Wales was way ahead of Westminster), consumption was reduced by nearly 90% + has led to a permanent change in behaviour.  We can do the same with all the other awful single use plastic stuff!

Lunches for children during the summer holidays – part of our Food Sense project – is well on its way but we still need more people to make up packed lunches each weekday morning over the period 30 July to 23 August – so, if you have the time to get your sleeves rolled up, please let us know your availability for a 9.30 am start at the Ty Price Community Hall.  We will produce a rota so even if you can only manage a couple of mornings that would be a great help – email mail@transitionmonmouth.org with any availability you might have.

RECS – our flood prevention project – has been a dream – hard work but the benefits have been enormous by way of community involvement, having the various agencies working together, + of course, of great benefit to the environment.  We are very grateful to all who have participated.  We started this in January 2016 + our consultants, Atkins, will present the outcomes on Monday 18 June with Community Engagement Sessions at 1pm + 3pm in the Shire Hall;  please email vivienmitchell@yahoo.co.uk for further information.

Now here’s the diary for the next few weeks:-

Members’ Meeting:  Tuesday 12 June, 7.30 at the Robin Hood – Plastic Free Monmouth, Summer Play Scheme lunches, flood prevention, woodland management, Chippy Playground + anything else you want to talk about!

Transition Monmouth Coffee Morning:  Saturday 16 June, 10 till 12 at Ty Price:  Fairtrade refreshments, homemade cakes, plastic free stuff + friends old + new!

RECS – our flood prevention project:  Monday 18 June at the Shire Hall for presentation of the final outcomes with fascinating maps + ideas for action – Community Engagement Sessions at 1pm + 3pm.  If you wish to attend the Stakeholder Presentation in the morning please let us know

Plastic Free Monmouthshire:  Thursday 21 June, 11.30 at County Hall to discuss arrangements for the Usk Show

Abergavenny Community Canteen:  Saturday 23 June, 7 for 7.30 at Holy Trinity Church Hall – a spicy chickpea + vegetable dish followed by desserts prepared by the Syrian refugees living in the town – raising money for the Abergavenny Town of Sanctuary Group – book at abercommunitycanteen@gmail.com

Plastic Free Monmouth:  Thursday 28 June, 7pm at the Robin Hood:  Come + hear about the latest developments in this exciting campaign

MCC Climate Change Champions:  Wednesday 11 July, 7pm at Ty Price.  This group has met quarterly for over 10 years + includes representatives from around the county.  Plastic Free will undoubtedly be on the agenda – further information (in due course) from vivienmitchell@yahoo.co.uk

Members’ Meeting:  Tuesday 17 July, 7.30 – details to follow

And, as ever, there are your Local Produce Markets:-

Grosmont – Saturday 10 June – 10 till 2 – see the Grosmont Market Facebook page
Usk – Saturday 17 June – 10 till 1
Abergavenny – Thursday 28 June – 9.30 to 2.30
Usk – Saturday 7 July – 10 till 1
Grosmont – Saturday 14 July – 10 till 2 – see the Grosmont Market Facebook page

We hope to see you soon, hopefully at the Robin Hood for the Members’ Meeting on Tuesday 12 June, our Coffee Morning on Saturday 16 June + other of the great events happening in the next few weeks.