Banner Making Workshop – Thursday 26^th November, 5.30pm – 6.30pm

Ready for The Wave, the UKs biggest demonstration on climate change (Sat 5 December, London)

Christmas Crafts Day – Friday 27^th November, 10am – 4pm

Handmade cards, decorations, gift boxes. Save money and avoid the shops!

DECEMBER

POSTPONED Cycle Maintenance Course – Thursday 3^rd December, 10am – 12am POSTPONED

(Part 1) Bike safety checks, setting up a bike, mending a puncture. Booking Essential: 0121 448 0119

Bike safety checks, setting up a bike, mending a puncture. Booking essential: 0121 4480119

Part 2 will take place on Thursday 21st January 2010 and will cover adjusting brakes and gears.

Garden Planting Day – Thursday 3^rd December, 1pm – 3.30pm

Help to grow Northfield Ecocentre’s organic garden!

The Wave (London Climate Demo) – Saturday 5^th December, all day

The UK’s biggest demonstration in support of action on climate change, London. Coach booking: 0121 448 0119

Santa’s Green Grotto – Saturday 12^th December, 10am – 1pm

Family activities, craft stands and of course a Green Santa!

HOW DO I GET TO NORTHFIELD ECOCENTRE?
Northfield Ecocentre
53 Church Road
Northfield
B31 2LB

Telephone: 0121 448 0119

• We are part of the same building as Oulsnam Estate Agents next to the Adult Education Centre on Church Road.
• The Ecocentre has no parking. We encourage you to walk, cycle or take public transport when you visit us. Buses to Northfield include 18, 27, 29, 44, 61, 62, 63 & 144. If you must drive you can park in Northfield Shopping Centre or behind the telephone exchange (P on map).

Staff Changes

Dave Watton, joint Coordinator, has left the Ecocentre to take up new challenges. We are sad he has left, thank him for all his efforts and wish him well for the future. We will soon be advertising for the role of Assistant Coordinator.

Free Regular Sewing Group

Due to the success of our sewing workshop in May we have a regular group meet every Friday morning between 10am and 12pm. This is a free drop in session open to everyone. Come along if you are interested in making things for your house, for you, and your family. Whether you are experienced or a complete beginner you will be able to learn new skills and make wonderful items reusing old materials. Make your home your own, run up some curtains, draught proof your home for winter with draught excluders and curtains, bring along that mending, finish that project you started and reuse rather than throw away.

Northfield Ecocentre working in partnership with Birmingham Scouts

Over the last month we have had some great events. Local Scouts, Beavers, Cubs and Explorers have worked hard volunteering for us and thanks to them we now have some wonderful posters, a fantastic scarecrow in the garden, lots of compost, sets of Lego to help us fundraise and a pond.

The 100th 1st Bournville Beavers created some amazing recycling bins for our waste display in the Ecocentre. When you visit look out for a dragon made of recycled paper and cardboard, and a robot made from recycled plastic. Pictures will be up on the website really soon www.northfieldecocentre.org

Schools Workshops

Our schools programme is now up and running. We have delivered a series of successful workshops to local key stage 2 children looking at ways to save energy and fight climate change. We will be developing our programme over the summer months and will send out details in advance of the Autumn term. If you would like information about these workshops before then please get in touch, more details are also available on the Teachers section of our website www.northfieldecocentre.org .

Take Action

Birmingham City Council plans to light up Spaghetti Junction so it can be seen from space. This is a huge waste of energy and money which will completely undermine the city’s efforts to cut carbon emissions. Is this also how we want Birmingham to be known to the world – as a city of concrete road structures? To find out more visit icsuttoncoldfield.icnetwork.co.uk

Read our petition and join us in asking the Council to use lottery money more wisely www.northfieldecocentre.org

Northfield Ecocentre Out and About

We will be at the 3 Estates Summer Festival in Kings Norton on Saturday 1st August and will have a stall at Kings Norton Farmers Market on Saturday 8th August. Come and find us for a chat and to get your free energy saving lightbulbs. If you would like to help out on the stall please get in touch.

Wildflower Garden Visit

Visit a small home garden in West Heath which has been developed as a wildlife garden over many years with 150 recorded wildflower species. See how the area is managed & wildlife encouraged and delight in the ever-changing scene.

Between 2pm and 5pm on Saturday 25th July. 5 minutes walk from 27 & 45 WM buses; 145 Bromsgrove bus, 146 Redditch bus. To book a place (maximum 10 people), phone John & Barbara Marshall on 0121 458 3686. Alternative arrangements will be made if wet.

Top Tip

These warmer (if not drier) months are the perfect time to prepare for the winter. Get your home insulated now to save yourself money and cut your carbon emissions when the cold hits. Nearly half of the heat (that you have paid for) lost in a typical home is through the walls and loft. You could save around £250 per year with cavity walls and loft insulation. Most companies now offer large discounts thanks to government funding, you may even be able to get it fitted for free.

Find out more from the Energy Saving Trust:
www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Home-improvements/ Free advice for householders – call 0800 512 012.

Find out about grants available and whether you can get free insulation:
www.warmfront.co.uk Warm Front – Freephone 0800 316 2805

If your house does not have cavity walls you still have a number of options. Come to visit us and ask how you can insulate your home.

Remember to come and visit us when you get a chance, we are open:
Thursdays 4pm – 6:30pm
Fridays 10am – 1pm
Saturdays 10am – 1pm

We are happy to help you with any green, sustainable or energy saving queries. Get in touch on 0121 448 0119

Is a Sustainable Christmas possible?

Although summer has really only just begun many of us are now thinking about what we can do at Christmas (not me personally, I’m not that organised!). A time when everyone buys new things, often with lots of packaging, we all eat good food and hopefully have a wonderful time. Can we do this is a sustainable way? We would love to hear your ideas and tips for a sustainable Christmas to help us plan our event.

We hope to see you soon

Georgia Stokes

Northfield Ecocentre Coordinator

0121 448 0119

New World Solar Installations Ltd
Units 1-3,Waterloo Industrial Estate
Burhill Way, Chelmsley Wood
Birmingham, B37 6RF

www.newworldsolar.co.uk

“Many of you were unable to make the date because of other commitments so we would like to give you plenty of notice of our new date.

“Can you make Saturday 10th January at 10am? If you would like to come you do need to let us know in advance, just send an email or you can now call us on 0121 448 0119 – we will be at the Ecocentre Wednesday – Friday.

“We would like to meet you all face to face, find out how you would
like to be involved with the Ecocentre and hear your ideas.

“We look forward to meeting you all.”

Georgia Stokes & Dave Watton
Northfield Ecocentre Coordinators
53 Church Road, Northfield, B31 2LB.
[contact-form]

We would like to meet you all and get to know you. We want to hear how you would like to be involved with the centre and what you would like to see the Ecocentre offering to the community.

So, we are organising for people to meet up on Saturday 13th December at 10am at the Ecocentre – it’s 53 Church Road, Northfield, B31 2LB. Please do bring others if they are interested.

Please do let us know if you are coming for insurance reasons but also because we will provide some mince pies to get us in the festive spirit.

Our phone line should be operational from Thursday 11th December so you can call us on 0121 448 0119.

If you can’t make this date but would like to meet up with us just get in touch and we’ll sort something out.

Thank you for your interest and support. We look forward to meeting you all.

Best wishes

Georgia Stokes & Dave Watton
Northfield Ecocentre Coordinators

[information supplied by email]

*What is Northfield Ecocentre?*

Northfield Ecocentre will work with the community to find practical ways to live better and protect the environment. Our newly refurbished building will demonstrate a range of energy efficient design features, while visitors will be able to access advice and information on saving money, reducing waste & cutting carbon emissions in the home, at work, at school and through travel. We hope the centre will have something for everyone: home owners, tenants, landlords, young people, parents, schools and businesses: we look forward to welcoming you all.

*We need your help**!**

We are now looking for volunteers to help us set up and run the
centre. Doyou have a few hours a week or more you could spare, or do
you have specific skills you can offer us? Here are some areas we would
particularly like some help with.

* Do you have green fingers? We are looking for a keen, experienced gardener to help us convert the current lawn to a permaculture garden. Working with us to design the garden, this person would also lead a team of volunteers to
create the shared vision.

* Are you an artistic visionary? All of our communications need to be informative, accessible and eye-catching to engage people and persuade them to take action. Do you have the skills to help us design the graphics for posters, wall displays, leaflets and exterior signs?

* Are you an i-ecowarrior? The centre has web space. We are looking for someone who, using their skills as a website designer, can help us make this an interactive, engaging and informative space for all members of the community.

* Green champions: Have you already made changes to your home or workplace to reduce your carbon footprint? We would like to hear about your success stories. We are hoping to set up an energy group where people can share their experiences and ideas to reduce consumption and switch to more sustainable sources.

* Are you good at dealing with the public? When the centre is open we will need help on our reception desk to greet visitors, answer their questions and give them advice and information.

If you have the skills and the time to help us get the Ecocentre up and running, please do get in touch.

**Children’s art competition**

We are launching an exciting competition for local children to design a new cartoon character to feature in our Ecocentre displays and on our website.
This character could be an animal, a human or anything else that you think could work. Let your imagination run wild! You might want to think about people or animals affected by climate change or a character who would be
good at finding solutions.

The winner will be invited to the centre to receive a special eco-prize and will see their creation come to life as a guide in our displays.

*Please get your entries to us by Friday 19th December and pass this information on to anyone you think would be interested.*

You can send artwork to Northfield Ecocentre, Church Road, Northfield, B31 2LB or email them (see form below).

*Get in touch!*

As coordinators, we are responsible for making sure the centre caters to thecommunity’s needs so we would like to hear from you. Please send us suggestions for events or activities the Ecocentre could facilitate or any other ideas you have.

Information supplied by:
Georgia Stokes & Dave Watton
Northfield Ecocentre Coordinators
EMAIL THE CENTRE DIRECT USING THE FORM BELOW
[contact-form]