Leeds Sustainability Network (Yorkshire, UK)

Featured Group: Leeds Sustainability Network - Post Carbon Newsletter #23

Shelby Tay — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 10:55:07 -0800

Article featured in the January 2007 issue of the Post Carbon Newsletter. Click here to view the rest of the newsletter.

by Joe Atkinson, Group Coordinator

Leeds Sustainability Network is a network of small businesses, environmental groups, sustainability professionals and individuals in Leeds who want to help the city to become more sustainable, to help people save money in the process, and maybe even have some fun along the way!

In addition to being a member of the Relocalization Network, we are affiliated with Powerswitch, the UK campaign to raise awareness and discussion about Peak Oil and its causes and consequences. We also have strong links with the Leeds Permaculture Network, who are involved in projects such as designing and planting a forest garden at Swillington organic farm.

So far our group has focused on building a local profile as well as developing content for the website and building up a list of subscribers to the email list. The key element of this was putting together a directory of local businesses & organizations that are in some way concerned with sustainability.

Another aspect of the group’s activities has been to identify other groups and active individuals in the city who are working towards similar goals (especially the local permaculture group, Schumacher Society and the Stop Climate Chaos coalition) and build relationships with them. We have also developed links with sympathetic staff at the local authority.

Goals for 2007 include organizing a local “green expo” event and possibly merging with other local groups interested in pursuing the Relocalization agenda. And we are considering the idea of an energy co-operative and advice service. The aim of this project is to enable citizens in fuel poverty to gain access to energy saving technologies by simplifying the process of applying for grants/subsidies, as well as providing a mechanism to make the necessary capital available.

We also aim to use our knowledge and experience of sustainability to support Leeds City Council in their efforts to meet the wide range of sustainability challenges that the 21st century has in store.

A new project that we hope to pursue in 2007 is the production of a film looking at Leeds' prospects of making the transition to sustainability. The film is intended to briefly summarise the twin challenges of climate change and peak oil and explore the city's opportunities to become more sustainable as well as identifying the obstacles standing in the way. It will also seek to examine what is currently being done by local government, businesses, academics, and grass roots groups to envision a sustainable Leeds and to turn that vision into reality.

To learn more about Leeds Sustainability Network, visit our website at www.leeds-susnet.org.uk.

Leeds Sustainability Network (Yorkshire, UK)

Leeds Schumacher Lectures, Autumn 2006

joepowerswitch — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 05:57:02 -0700

Start: 2006-09-15 19:30

End: 2006-12-10 14:00

LEEDS SCHUMACHER LECTURES 2006
MAKING THE SUSTAINABLE CITY A REALITY

The annual series of Schumacher Lectures, held in Bristol every year since 1980, has become synonymous with the kind of deep and radical thinking on issues of sustainable and human-scale development, and its relationship to social, cultural and spiritual issues, that was pioneered by Fritz Schumacher, author of 'Small Is Beautiful', and that is vitally needed if we are to meet the huge challenges of our contemporary situation. Schumacher Lectures have also been held for the last 9 years in Manchester, but the torch has now passed again to Leeds after a gap of 10 years; it is our intention to make this an annual event from now on.

The Leeds Schumacher Lectures 2006 will focus on turning the deep ideas of sustainable urban development that have emerged over the years from the Schumacher community into practice. This involves connecting the everyday lives of people with strategic decisions and vice versa. In order to achieve this, it has been decided to link the lectures to a series of follow-up weekend workshops that engage real-life issues in Leeds; the intention is to bring those directly involved with these issues into direct contact with radical, leading-edge thinking from around the world.

Help is requested from anyone who is able to assist with distributing publicity for the lectures and courses, either through EMail networks, via mailings, newsletters, etc, or is willing to distribute leaflets by hand. Other volunteer help will be needed nearer the time and at the events - please contact David Midgley at david@ecodata.co.uk or by phone on 0113 262 7914 if you are able to help in any of these ways

The programme for the lectures and courses is as follows:

Susan Roaf:             Solar Cities
Lecture Sept. 15, weekend course Sept. 15-16
Susan Roaf, former professor of architecture at Oxford Brookes University, was convenor of the recent ground-breaking Solar Cities Conference. For the last ten years she has researched the relationship between energy, the environment and buildings. Not content with a merely academic approach, she built her own ground-breaking solar electric house in Oxford, the first in Britain. She publishes widely on many topics, including the traditional building technologies of developing countries, and is co-founder of the International Organisation for Teachers of Architecture.

Herbert Girardet:            Cities of the Future
Lecture Oct. 27, weekend course Oct. 28-29
Herbert Girardet is President of the Schumacher Society and is internationally recognised as one of the world's leading thinkers on sustainable urban development. His long record of intensive research and practical involvement in the issues uniquely qualifies him to address the deep strategic problems of creating an authentically sustainable and humane urban environment. As Research Director of the World Future Council, he is also uniquely qualified to comment on the crucial issue of the need for a new level of political vision and leadership in tackling the momentous issues we are now confronting.

Ezio Manzini:             The Sustainable Everyday
Lecture Nov. 3, weekend course Nov. 4-5
Ezio Manzini is Director of the Interdepartmental Centre for Research on Innovation for Sustainability, Milan, and is perhaps the world's leading expert on sustainable design, with a focus on solutions that encompass both environmental and social quality. His concept of the 'Sustainable Everyday' - sharing of local initiatives that enhance quality of life and build community solidarity while contributing to environmental sustainability - has won widespread recognition as a key element in the emerging new strategies of sustainable development.

Peter Harper:            Building Sustainable Communities
Lecture Dec 8, weekend course Dec. 9-10
Peter Harper is Head of Research and Innovation at the Centre for Alternative Technology, Wales, where he has been involved in a unique experiment to create a sustainable community for over 25 years. A biologist, horticulturalist and author of the Natural Garden Book, he coined the term ‘alternative technology’ in 1972 and has been a leading force in the movement since.

Times, Venues, Bookings, Costs:

Schumacher Lectures: 7.30 p.m. Fridays at Leeds Metropolitan University
Gaia Co-op Weekend courses: 10 a.m. Saturday - 2 p.m. Sunday at The Epicentre, Meanwood Valley Urban Farm
Individual lectures £7.50 (concessions £5) - all 4 lectures £25.
Weekend courses £75, (concessions £50) - entire programme £250
For further information and bookings please call 0113 262 7914 or Email info@sustainablefuturesleeds.co.uk

Leeds Sustainability Network (Yorkshire, UK)

Oil Crash film night

joepowerswitch — Mon, 15 May 2006 09:31:47 -0700

Start: 2006-05-24 19:00

End: 2006-05-24 22:00

OIL CRASH
A double bill of films exploring the impacts of the coming decline in world oil production and strategies to meet its challenges.

The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream

As we enter the 21st century, serious questions are beginning to emerge about the sustainability of the suburban way of life. With brutal honesty and a touch of irony, The End of Suburbia explores this way of life and its prospects as global demand for fossil fuels begins to outstrip supply.

Leeds Sustainability Network (Yorkshire, UK)

Leeds Sustainability Network Website goes live!

joepowerswitch — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 09:05:22 -0700

Find us here: http://www.leeds-susnet.org.uk

Please report any problems to joe@powerswitch.org.uk

Leeds Sustainability Network (Yorkshire, UK)

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joepowerswitch — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 06:47:11 -0800

Leeds Sustainability Network (Yorkshire, UK)

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joepowerswitch — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 06:46:51 -0800

Leeds Sustainability Network (Yorkshire, UK)

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joepowerswitch — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 06:42:34 -0800

Leeds Sustainability Network (Yorkshire, UK)

Transport

joepowerswitch — Sat, 11 Mar 2006 07:05:58 -0800

With dwindling oil supplies increasingly rendering personal car use an expensive luxury for the rich, what actions can we take to ensure alternatives exist?

Leeds Sustainability Network (Yorkshire, UK)

Energy

joepowerswitch — Sat, 11 Mar 2006 07:02:46 -0800

With energy prices continuing their relentless rise and the threat of future supply intermittency, what actions can communities in Leeds take to reduce demand and guarantee provision of energy when they really need it?

Leeds Sustainability Network (Yorkshire, UK)

Food

joepowerswitch — Sat, 11 Mar 2006 06:56:44 -0800

How can Leeds go about re-localising its food production and distribution? Some lessons can be learned from the Cuban example, but not all the measures taken in Cuba will be suitable, or be a cultural fit with Leeds...

Leeds Sustainability Network (Yorkshire, UK)

Welcome to Leeds Sustainability Network!

joepowerswitch — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 14:16:23 -0800

Not much in the way of rules here - just keep it nice and friendly please?

Leeds Sustainability Network (Yorkshire, UK)

Leeds Sustainability Network (Yorkshire, UK)

joepowerswitch — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 13:29:07 -0800