Birmingham
friends of the earth Newsletter, Summer 2017
Inside This Issue 6
Invest in a Positive Future
8
Our New Air Pollution Campaign
18
BFOE Celebrates 40 Years
Contents Campaigns Digest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Invest in a Positive Future for You, Your Family and the Planet. . . . 6 Welcome to Our New Air Pollution Campaign!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Climate Refugees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Curious Bee-haviour. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Digbeth Community Garden Update. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 The Case for A Kite Mark for Ethics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Happy 40th Birthday to BFOE!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Divest West Midlands Pension Fund (WMPF) Update. . . . . . . . 20 What Else is Going On in Birmingham. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Move More Eat Well. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Uprising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Jubliee Debt Charity (JDC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Help! I Want to Compost, But Don’t Have a Garden!. . . . . . . . . 26 Support Your Local Feminists! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 West Midlands FOE Regional Gathering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Volunteer in the Spotlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Diary Dates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Contact Us . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 See the back cover for information on joining us at our AGM on Monday, 12 June! 2
Illustration designed by Freepik.
Campaigns Digest By Libby Harris
Hello and welcome to our summer newsletter. We have been very busy over the past few months developing our exciting new campaigns and hosted two events. On Sunday 2nd April we had a party to celebrate 40 years of being at the Warehouse. I’m pleased to say the party was a success! It was great to talk to people who have been involved with the group over the last 40 years and to talk about what the future holds. Then on Thursday 6th April we teamed up with Rail Future West Midlands to put on a transport themed Metro Mayor event. In this issue we will be taking a look at our new campaigns; air pollution and climate refugees, along with finding out what else is going on in Birmingham with guest articles from the Jubilee Debt Campaign, Northfield Eco Centre and Uprising. We will also be catching up with our nature campaign and Divest WMPF. Photo by BFOE.
Air pollution The poor air quality in Birmingham and the proposed Clean Air Zones have kept air pollution in the news. At our campaign planning day back in February we decided that our priority campaign for this year is going to be air pollution. Take a look at a Poppy’s article to find out more about the campaign and how you can get involved. Economics The Birmingham Pound held an open campaign planning meeting on Monday 27th March. The meeting looked at how the campaign has developed and how to take it forward. Keep up to date with Birmingham Pound news at brumpound.wordpress.com Continued on page 4... 3
Continued from page 3... Energy and Climate change At our campaign planning day we decided that our second main campaign for this year is going to be climate refugees. At the time of writing, the campaign is still in the early planning stages. The campaign will be raising awareness of the impacts of climate change on migration alongside asking for a recognised legal status for people who are displaced because of climate change. Find out more about climate refugees in Elena’s article. Nature Our new lead nature campaigner, Branwen has been busy preparing our new bee campaigns materials. We are enjoying taking part in the Great British Bee Count and you can follow our results on Twitter and Facebook. To take part, download the app (just search for Great British Bee Count in iTunes) and tweet us your pics. Waste I joined our lead waste campaigner, John Newson for a meeting with Councillor Jacqui Kenndy and Anthony Green, Director for Waste 4
Management at Birmingham City Council,for a discussion about the new waste strategy for Birmingham. We spoke about the need for a sustainable, greener waste system which included better recycling facilities and a food waste collection. How you can get involved We always welcome new people and there are many different ways you can get involved with our campaigns. Whether you have an hour or two to spare or a whole day please get in touch or come along to any of our weekly Monday evening meet ups (contact and meeting details on the diary page). Follow us on Twitter (@Bham_FOE) and Facebook (www.facebook. com/birminghamfoe) to keep up to date with our latest campaigns news. For more in-depth information on our campaigns take a look at our website (www.birminghamfoe.org.uk)
Illustration designed by Freepik.
S U P P O R T We are the only organisation in Birmingham that campaigns on Air Quality, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Energy, Transport, Planning, Waste and Recycling.
You can help us to do this in a number of ways: Take part in our campaigns. Join us as a supporter. Make a donation. Or you could receive our email updates and decide what you want to do when you know us a bit better.
Whichever way you get involved, you are helping to make Birmingham green and sustainable!
For donations go to http://localgiving.com/birminghamfoe
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Invest in a Positive Future for You, Your Family and the Planet By Roxanne Green
Birmingham Friends of the Earth is the only local FOE group to own our own building, and at the start of April we celebrated our 40th birthday by launching an ambitious plan to transform the building for the next 40 years, asking members of the public to make an investment in community shares of between £250 and £10,000 to raise the funds we need to regenerate the building.
Illustration designed by Newelement / Freepik. Photos by James Benwell.
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Over the past 40 years the Warehouse has been the base for all of our activity – housing everything from practical recycling and home insulation projects to the current mix of meeting and office space and green and community businesses. I am immensely proud of everything we’ve achieved over the past 40 years, but we know that we can do so much more. To stay relevant over the past 40 years we’ve constantly had to evolve and react to a changing world. We know that now we need to change to deal with the challenges of the next 40 years. We plan to transform the building into a practical example of energy-efficient eco-renovation in action, with full disabled accessibility and the space that our social enterprise and charity tenants need to grow. We hope to demonstrate a community-led form of regeneration which works with existing buildings and local
people rather than tearing them down. That’s been our dream for a long time and we’ve finally got an opportunity to make it come true. But we can’t do it on our own. If you believe in what we do, if you believe in taking local action to fight global injustice, if you believe that together we not only can create a better world but that we must – take this leap with us. Join us and be part of our transformational change.
Check out photos from our 40th birthday celebration on page 18!
Invest here: http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/ unlocking-the-warehouse 7
Welcome to Our New Air Pollution Campaign! By Poppy Buckingham
Why are we running this campaign now? With the city’s plans for HS2. Every year an estimated 40,000 people in the UK die prematurely due to air pollution. For Birmingham, the annual figure is around 891. Air pollution in Birmingham is having a long term, detrimental impact on our lives. Birmingham City Council has to create a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) by 2020. We want this to happen and need it to be as large, effective, clean and sustainable as possible to have the greatest possible impact. We’re also joining the call for a New Clean Air Act. We need to make sure that the current protections and laws which help hold the government to account on air quality and the environment remain enshrined in UK law after Brexit. Illustration designed by Freepik. Photo courtesy of https://www.foe.co.uk/go/clean-air-kit
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Our campaign aims • To engage with the public to raise awareness of the poor air quality and the health impact • To lobby the city council and West Midlands Combined Authority to make sure that the Clean Air Zone is as large, effective, clean and sustainable as possible The campaign so far • We’ve responded to the council’s recent consultations on air quality, potential cycle routes, and potential new emissions standards for taxis.
• In April we helped run the Keeping the West Midlands Moving Mayoral Transport Forum, where we put questions to the mayoral candidates about public transport and air pollution. • We’ve put up 10 Clean Air Kits which we’re using to test Birmingham’s air quality at key locations. We’re sharing the results with the public to highlight the poor air quality and using them to put extra pressure on the council. • We’re also encouraging our members and supporters to
get Clean Air Kits too. It’s an opportunity to get involved with a huge national experiment, testing the air quality in your area. The results are collected by Friends of the Earth at www.foe.co.uk/page/ national-air-pollution-map. How to get involved We are looking to grow the campaign and are always happy to welcome new members. If you would like to learn more about our campaigns, please feel free to contact us or pop along to weekly campaign meetings.
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Climate Refugees
The hidden cost of climate change By Elena Campos Ingram
We’re all aware of the devastating effects of climate change to our planet. Increasing temperatures are causing glaciers and ice caps to melt, which in turn are causing floods and rising sea levels, as well as droughts, desertification and more extreme weather events.
For the planet and many of its animals (including us!) this spells disaster. According to a new report from the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) global warming will force up to 150 million ‘climate refugees’ to move to other countries in the next 40 years.
Illustrations designed by Freepik. Photo courtesy of https://act.foe.co.uk/act/demand-protection-climate-refugees.
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Climate refugees are people who have been forced from their homes because of climate change. There are many countries at risk of the effects of this. For example, about half of Bangladesh’s population lives less than 5 metres above sea level. In 1995, Bangladesh’s Bhola Island was half-submerged by rising sea levels, leaving 500,000 people homeless. What’s more, scientists predict that Bangladesh will lose 17 % of its land by 2050 due to flooding caused by climate change. The loss of land could lead to as many as 20 million climate refugees. Climate change also causes drought. Somalia is facing the worst drought in its history – with up to half the population (6m people) in danger of starvation this year. Faced with such prospects many Somalians will more than likely emigrate to neighbouring countries. What will happen to these people? We know that climate change will force millions from their homes, but will they even be recognised as refugees? ‘Climate’ or ‘environmental’ refugees are not legally recognised classifications and therefore these people are not protected
by international laws. They face greater political risks than refugees who flee their homes due to conflict or political oppression because there is no legal framework to protect them or uphold their basic human rights. Unlike traditional refugees, climate refugees may be sent back to their devastated homeland or forced into camps. We need to address the scale and human cost of climate change. In order to do this the formal legal definition of refugees needs to be extended to include those affected by climate change. Friends of the Earth are going to be campaigning for the rights of climate refugees, if you would like to join us in this fight, watch this space!
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Curious Bee-haviour By Branwen Messamah
With Spring finally here, bees are starting to bumble around foraging for nectar, spreading pollen and joy. The next time you spot a bee, you should know that there’s a lot more to bee foraging than just pretty colours and fragrant flowers. UV Bees Many animals can see colours beyond the spectrum of light that humans can see, and bees are no exception. Though limited in the lower range of the spectrum (towards red), bee vision extends beyond ours in the higher ranges; they can see ultraviolet (UV) light. The ability to see these UV wavelengths reveals patterns on flowers invisible to the human eye. More contrast makes flowers easier to spot, and sometimes flowers even have ‘runway’ markings to lead bees directly to the goods.
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Bee-lectricity It sounds like science fiction, but in addition to super-vision, bees can interpret electrical fields. As bees fly through the air, they acquire a slightly positive charge. Plants usually have a slightly negative charge, but these change temporarily during and after a bee’s visit. Bumblebees can detect this change and avoid them, knowing that these flowers are low on supplies. Dancing Bees Honeybees communicate through dance, specifically the ‘Waggle Dance’. Summertime for honeybees often means travelling further to harvest food for growing colonies. This means that bees returning to the hive need a way of effectively communicating the best locations to the rest of the colony, so that they can help harvest efficiently. Roughly, the dance involves moving in a figure of eight and “waggling” the abdomen. The information lies in the angle of the dance in relation to the sun, and the dance’s duration; one second of waggle is
roughly equal to 750 metres. By interpreting these dances, we can understand more about where bees are foraging, and so where to focus our efforts to help them.
Sources https://www.visualnews.com/2013/04/08/ hidden-patterns-how-a-bee-sees-theworld-of-flowers/”https://www.visualnews. com/2013/04/08/hidden-patterns-how-abee-sees-the-world-of-flowers/
Don’t forget to participate in the bee count this year between the 19th May - 30th June, and marvel at the powers of the humble bee. Visit foe.co.uk/bees for more on bees and how you can get involved in the Bee Cause.
https://phys.org/news/2013-02-beeselectrical-fields.html”https://phys.org/ news/2013-02-bees-electrical-fields.html
Illustrations designed by Freepik. Photo by zirconicusso / Freepik.
https://www.theguardian.com/ environment/2014/apr/03/honeybeesfly-further-in-summer-to-find-food-studyshows”https://www.theguardian.com/ environment/2014/apr/03/honeybees-flyfurther-in-summer-to-find-food-study-shows 13
Digbeth Community Garden Update
Keep up to date with the latest developments:
Twitter @DigbethGarden
Facebook www.facebook.com/ digbethcommunitygarden
Website https://digbethcommunity garden.wordpress.com
Illustrations designed by Freepik. Photo by BFOE.
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By Adam McCusker
Since the start of the year we have been busy with maintenance and tidying up. We planted blackthorns and hazel to thicken up the hedges and to improve the habitat for birds, clean the air by the car park a little and hopefully provide us with nuts and sloe berries. We also planted a couple of grapes in the raise beds which hopefully will climb over the back wall. March is the ideal time to start gardening for the summer. So since then we have been busy planting
seeds and tending to the raised beds as well as completing our tyre-based stage. We had a clear up of the shelter and put together some furniture in preparation for the start of the events season, minding the hordes of frogs as we worked! If you fancy getting involved, we hold a volunteer workday every 3rd Saturday of the Month. Keep up to date with the latest developments and upcoming events by following us on Twitter or Facebook or check out our website.
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The Case for A Kite Mark for Ethics By Dan Jones
I am learning a new language. It’s always hard when finding your way with anything new; you hear more experienced, fluent speakers engaged in virtually impenetrable dialogue that sounds extremely important and marvel at how clever they are. As you learn, you begin to pick out one or two words or phrases that mean something to you and whilst you quietly celebrate your progress, it usually just demonstrates how very much more you have yet to learn. But it will be worth it in the end. The language I’m learning is a global language in every sense of the word – I’m learning to speak green. I have always felt aligned to the fundamental principles of looking after the planet, looking after each other, and that small acts of kindness towards the environment and those who share 16
it contribute to a better place for everyone. However, when you begin to delve into the subtleties of the hows, whys and wherefores, it can be daunting for a newbie like me to make sure the particular brand of crisps you toss thoughtlessly into your shopping basket doesn’t make you a hypocrite to the cause. The issue is: I understand that supporting my local independent shops is good. Buying Fairtrade is good. Buying free range eggs is good. By comparison, choosing products is relatively straightforward but when it comes to services, how do I know if my bank is organised ethically? How do I know which eateries pay their frontline staff a fair share of the company profits? How do I know if my electricity provider pays its full tax bill? Media-whipped scandals go some way towards enlightenment but for the vast majority of decision making, it can be hard to divine
the good guys from the bad guys (and alas nothing in life is ever quite as simple as that anyway.) Furthermore, in the past I hadn’t even considered the ethical side when it comes to services. There is a clear Fairtrade logo for individual products but how do I know if the energy powering my laptop has been delivered ethically? Wouldn’t it be great for those of us who want to make ethical choices if service providers had to declare their green status? A kite mark for ethics, perhaps. It would go some way to helping a novice flex his new linguistic muscles; “that company pays its fair share of tax but needs to cap the salary of its Chief Execs”; “I always use this electricity provider because it actively seeks to pay its full tax quota in spite of cheaper options available.”
a way forward unless enough people make the case for it; but people won’t make the case for it unless people first embrace it as a way forward. In the meantime, small acts of pooling what we do know about service providers are a step in the right direction; a website of collated knowledge, a database of companies, some kind of rudimentary “score” that can be used as a compass by which we determine who is most deserving of our patronage. Those who seek to expand their business then begin to consider the ethical arguments when it comes to choosing what and how they do things and therein lies progress… This doesn’t happen overnight, either, and pooling what we already know is only the first step on the road to empowered decision making. But it will be worth it in the end. Illustrations designed by Freepik.
Such ideas are not implemented overnight and in typical Catch-22 style, it can’t be embraced as 17
Happy 40th Birthday
to Birmingham Friends of the Earth!
We all had a great time.
Liz talked about our heritage project.
Rox gave an inspiring speech. 18
Darren gave a bee keeping demonstration
It was a great opportunity to catch up with friends
See page 6 to find out how you can become a part of our building’s future, through our community shares initiative! Illustrations designed by Freepik. Photos by James Benwell
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Divest West Midlands Pension Fund (WMPF) Update By Kay Edwards
We have been busy working on the campaign: October 2016 found us outside Birmingham Cathedral, collecting signatures in costumes –courtesy of BFOE volunteers. We also headed off to the Fossil Free Network Gathering .This was an inspiring weekend with lots of support for the campaign. WMPF is being pooled with eight funds forming the Central Pool. We began to consider the challenges and opportunities this brings with a campaigner from Divest Shropshire. In November at the ‘Tread Lightly on this Earth’ conference we gave a brief introduction to Divest WMPF which was well received. We continue to build these important links with faith communities. In March we delivered a talk at the West Midands FOE Regional Gathering, gaining a new member for our team. 20
Leading up to the Mayoral election we asked candidates to speak out in favour of a fossil free West Midlands and commit to “take all possible steps to divest the West Midlands Pension Fund of its investments in fossil-fuel industries.” At time of writing one candidate has made the commitment whilst another backed gradual transition to a Fossil Free West Midlands. We expect responses imminently from the other three candidates. Divest WMPF was invited to campaign at Birmingham Flat Pack Festival in April, where our new badges and postcards were a great way to build public support. Also in April we were involved in a training event hosted by 350.org. This was aimed at building local campaigns through learning about creative actions, tactics and strategy. For the Global Divestment Mobilisation in May we are organising two events to highlight climate impacts and the need
to break ties with fossil fuel companies. These will target WMPF and Birmingham City Council to build momentum for divestment.
received support from Councillors from the Lib Dem and Labour groups. A motion is hoped to be raised in June.
As part of the Divestment Mobilisation aimed at WMPF (based in Wolverhampton) we will present the Pension’s Committee with a letter explaining the developments of the last year. Following this we will be pursuing the opportunity to speak at a committee meeting.
Please contact us if you would like to join the campaign team.
We continue to lobby Birmingham City Council. At present we have
www.facebook.com/DivestWMPF
lllustration designed by Freepik. Photo courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/ DivestWMPF/
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What Else is Going on in Birmingham Move More Eat Well
By Katy Barry
Move More Eat Well is an exciting new initiative, launched in January, to improve the health and wellbeing of people living in Longbridge, Northfield, Cofton and Rubery. It is supported by Birmingham City Council and is being delivered by a consortium of partners Health Education Service, Sport 22
Birmingham, Sustrans, Garden Organic and Northfield Ecocentre. Our mission is to encourage and support people to live a healthy and balanced lifestyle using physical activity, healthy eating, sustainable travel and organic food growing. We will be organising a large range of community activities in the area over the next three years. These will be around the themes of ‘move
more’ (e.g. active travel, cycling tuition, sports, active hobbies) and ‘eat well’ (e.g. food growing, healthy cooking). Current activities include: individual and group cycling tuition; bike maintenance classes
for adults and children; healthy eating sessions and food growing at community allotments. The programme will develop and expand in the future so join in and feel healthier with Move More Eat Well! For further information or to get involved (either participating or volunteering), please contact us: Telephone: 0121 448 0119 Email: info@movemoreeatwell.com Web: www.movemoreeatwell.com Facebook: /movemoreeatwell Twitter: @movemoreeatwell
lllustration designed by Freepik. Photo courtesy of https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/growing-together-food-growingcourse-for-families-tickets-32729616163?aff=es2
Uprising: Helping young people achieve their leadership potential By Elena Campos Ingram
Uprising is a UK-wide, youth leadership organisation. It aims to equip 18-25 year olds from underrepresented backgrounds with the skills, networks and confidence to fulfil their leadership potential and transform the world around them through social action.
I am currently taking part in Uprising´s Environmental Leadership Development Programme. Through this programme I have had the opportunity to attend sessions with local environmental organisations and meet some of the leading Continued on page 24... 23
Continued from page 23... figures in the environmental field in Birmingham. I have also been able to develop my leadership skills by taking part in sessions with experts in skills such as networking, public speaking and personal branding. Lastly, as part of the programme I am now setting up my own environmental social action campaign and putting into practice the expert knowledge imparted to us by campaign groups such as change.org, Greenpeace and of course, Friends of the Earth. 24
My group, The Nature Network, will focus on getting families in and around Birmingham to enjoy nature locally. You will be able to find us at Stirchley FĂŞte on the 27th of May, running a potted plants decorating and planting activity for children and speaking to parents about all the fantastic opportunities to get involved with nature in Birmingham. Photo courtesy of http://www.uprising.org.uk/ birmingham
Jubilee Debt Charity (JDC) By Sanjive Mahandru
Who are they? They are part of a global movement demanding freedom debt slavery and aim to replace the current financial system with a new one, putting people first. Debt and more debt. Most of us are trapped in some form of monetary debt! Are we all handcuffed to the system? Credit cards, loans, mortgages, all are debt. Are we all spending beyond our means? I found out about JDC at a stall at Birmingham university, where they explained what governments and business are doing round the world with taxpayers and shareholders money.
society on a worldwide basis. Ghana, because of debt, is now spending 3 in every 10 dollars of government income on external debt payments and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is insisting on further spending cuts of nearly 20% per person. 90% of government debts to private lenders in sub-Saharan Africa are owned under UK law. We can demand a change in UK law so that all private loans to governments are disclosed. To get involved visit www.birmingham.jubileedebt.org.uk
African countries, South America countries, have to pay so much interest that money is taken away from essential services; education, healthcare, and, god forbid, food for the poorer sections of the community. Debt and interest payments are affecting the most vulnerable in
Photo courtesy of http://birmingham.jubileedebt.org. uk/gallery-of-pictures-at-jdc-events/
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Help! I Want to Compost, But Don’t Have a Garden! By Poppy Buckingham
Like most people in Birmingham, we don’t have a food waste collection and also don’t have a garden. This makes composting difficult, almost out of the question. Last autumn, I heard about the Bokashi kitchen composter, so I gave it a go. What is it? It is a relatively small, air tight bin, which can fit on a kitchen counter or in a cupboard. The bin uses a bran-based material called Bokashi which helps with the fermentation of the food waste. Each time you
put food waste in the bin, you put a little bit of Bokashi in too. You can put all of you food waste in, including fish, meat, dairy and cooked foods. At the end of the fermentation process, the waste can go into the regular composter. The process also creates a liquid, which can be used as a plant feed or even to help keep sinks, toilets and septic systems fresh. Does it work? There is an obvious draw back to this product. If you don’t have a garden or a regular compost bin, then the end result will likely end up in the bin anyway. We don’t have a garden but knew someone who lived a short distance away who welcomes our extra compost. The fact that it is largely odour-free and compact has meant that we could compost at home and transport it elsewhere.
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Photo courtesy of http://www.organicseed. co.za/bokashi-composting/73-bokashi-kitchencomposting-kit.html
It also means that we can compost more, reducing the amount of waste which might otherwise end up in a bin bag. The process should not produce bad smells, at least when the bin
is closed. If you do get bad smells, it means something’s not right. Don’t worry if it does go wrong occasionally. It did for us the first time, but it’s been fine since.
Support Your Local Feminists! By Roxanne Green
Q: If 8 March is International Women’s Day, what happens the rest of the year? A: Discrimination. In a world where one in three women experience violence at the hands of a male partner, where less than a third of UK parliamentary representatives are women, where 85,000 women are victims of rape in the UK every year but only 15% ever get reported to the police, we still need International Women’s Day. It’s a day where we can highlight the continuing injustice of patriarchy and stand together and say: ‘We are not going to put up with this shit any longer’. Most importantly it’s a day to celebrate
and stand in solidarity with all the amazing women already fighting against injustice across the world. Climate change is a feminist issue; women are disproportionately affected by its impacts and are central in the fight against it. On 8 March we saluted the environmentalists, human rights defenders and activists in our international movement: women like Berta Caceres, an indigenous campaigner in Honduras who was murdered last year. Here in Birmingham there is no shortage of women to celebrate; these are just some of the dynamic, inspirational women taking action with Birmingham Friends of the Earth: Continued on page 28...
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Poppy Buckingham
Libby Harris
Lead air pollution campaigner at BFOE. Also campaigning for climate justice & a fossil free future!
Been campaigning with BFOE for 3 years, passionate about fighting for a fair & sustainable world & supporting activists!
Jodie Etheridge
Franziska Hollweg
Campaigning for BFOE for a couple of years on lots of different issues. Particularly passionate about recycling and sustainable farming.
BFOE climate change campaigner. If everyone did small things for the environment it will have a huge impact. Actions have consequences!
Molly Luke
Elin Strom
Climate Change is happening right now! Molly does all she can to campaign for divestment from fossil fuels.
Campaigned in Sweden, South Africa and Birmingham. Climate change is global, Elin does all she can to spread awareness no matter where in the world she is.
Branwen Messamah
Trying to make the world a bit less rubbish. Teaching, tree planting, clean-ups & shouting at people who step on coral. Now for the bees! Photos by BFOE.
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West Midlands FOE Regional Gathering By Stuart Minal
On a cold but sunny morning in March I found myself wandering around an unfamiliar part of Birmingham trying to locate the Birmingham Midland Institute for my first Friends of the Earth West Midlands Gathering. As I always expect to take a wrong turning when going somewhere new, I unexpectedly found myself at the venue half an hour early, having made no mistakes at all... highly unusual! It was great to see so many members of regional groups. I spoke to members of FOE including groups from Dudley, Hereford, Walsall, Wolverhampton and affiliated groups. It was nice to see that our Birmingham group weren’t outnumbering the others. After tea and an overview of the last years highlights from Jenny, Community Activism Team Leader, and Chris, Midlands Regional 30
Campaigner, some of the groups explained to us what they’d been campaigning on which can quite often be different to what we focus on. The Wolverhampton group told us about their inspiring campaign for zero waste, and Burton Conservation Volunteers told us about their work ‘out in the field’ coppicing, dead hedge laying and the like. The Hereford Group told us about their walk to London to highlight the antifracking movement and Libby, our Campaign Support Worker successfully laid out what our new climate refugee campaign is all about, despite having stage fright! After a shared lunch, the afternoon was focused on two sets of 3 workshops. I chose ‘How To Campaign For Clean Air’ and ‘How To Reach New Audiences Through Clean Air Campaigning’, because I wanted to concentrate on our new Clean Air campaign. Aaron and Claire did a great job hosting
these workshops, explaining the problems and the solutions we should work towards. Chris kept us all in order when were in danger of drifting off at a tangent. We also did a solidarity photo to show support for those in Lancashire who are on the frontline fighting against the fracking drills of Cuadrilla, who have the cheek to call us “The unacceptable face of the charity sector� for daring to challenge their wanton destruction
of our green and pleasant land. After a lengthy, fun and inspirational day, most of us retired to Edmunds Brew Pub round the corner, for more chat and some fine ales. Marvellous!
Photo by Jenny Thatcher.
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Divest WMPF The WMPF, which manages the pensions for all the region's council employees, has significant investment in fossil fuels.These investments expose the pensions to risk. The share prices of the top 5 fossil fuel companies have fallen over the last 5 years.
Tell the WMPF to take this opportunity to contribute to a greener future and move away from fossil fuels by: Sign our petition Write to your local councillor Volunteer
www.birminghamfoe.org.uk/divestwmpf 32
DivestWMPF
@DivestWMPF
Volunteer in the Spotlight Ben Mabbett
How long have you been volunteering with BFOE? I’ve been involved for 14 years now. How did you first find out about BFOE? I first heard about Friends of the Earth local groups when studying in Liverpool. I meant to go along to the group there, but was too busy with exams, so when I moved to Birmingham I looked up BFoE. The rest as they say, is history! What do you do at BFOE? I’m a campaigner on town planning and green buildings, but I also dabble in other campaigns too. In addition I sit on the Management Committee that runs the organisation and I use my professional skills as an architect to help maintain and develop The Warehouse; our wonderful environmental and social campaigning hub here in Digbeth!
Photo by BFOE.
What do you think is the most important environmental issue and why? Climate change is definitely the most important, as it threatens the whole planet, its wildlife and the human population, but it’s also something we can all work together to tackle all over the world. However, our appalling air pollution is a massive issue locally too, but luckily a lot of the things that help solve climate change, help air pollution too. What’s your best green tip/advice? One of my lecturers always said that the job of an architect is to try to make things better. But I think that’s a great mantra for everyone, not just architects; so keep trying, and keep making things better! 33
Diary Dates Campaigns meetings Mondays 7:30pm
15 May Action Meeting: Movement for Growth Transport Planning, WM 22 May Action Meeting: Planning Refugee Week/ Share Offer 29 May No Meeting, Bank Holiday 5 June General Meeting 12 June AGM 19 June Action Meeting: Climate Refugees 26 June Action Meeting: Air Pollution 3 July General Meeting 10 July Action Meeting 17 July Action Meeting 24 July Action Meeting 31 July Action Meeting 7 August General Meeting These all take place at The Warehouse and are open to everyone whether or not you have been before. We have two types of meetings: 1. General meeting: First Monday of the month and involves an update on each of our campaigns 2. A ction meeting: Skills share or interactive discussion or an activity which supports one of our campaigns.
Our events 12 June Birmingham FOE AGM 34
Other events 2-4 June Friends of the Earth Basecamp, Castleton, Peak District 10 June Solihull Go Green Fair, Mell Square 25 June Billesley Lane Allotments Open Day 1 July CoCo Mad – Cotteridge Park 1 July Moseley Festival Street Fair, Moseley Village 22 July: Perry Hall Park Open Day
Farmers’ markets Kings Heath 1st Saturday of the month 9am – 3:30pm Solihull 1st Friday of the month 9am – 5pm New Street 1st & 3rd Wednesday of the month 10am – 4pm Sutton Coldfield 2nd Friday of the month 9am – 3pm Harborne 2nd Saturday of the month 9am – 2pm Birmingham University 4th Wednesday of the month 9am – 2pm Moseley 4th Saturday of the month 9am - 3pm
Contact Us Friends of the Earth (Birmingham) The Warehouse 54-57 Allison Street Birmingham B5 5TH Tele: (0121) 6326909 Email: info@birminghamfoe.org.uk Web: www.birminghamfoe.org.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/ birminghamfoe Twitter: @Bham_FOE Instagram: birminghamfoe Friends of the Earth is: • The largest international network of environmental groups in the world, represented in 72 countries. • One of the UK’s leading environmental pressure groups. • A unique network of campaigning local groups, working in more than 200 communities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. • Over 90% of its funds come from its supporters. Birmingham FoE: We campaign at a local level to effect environmental change (in ways which feed into national and international policy) through: • Lobbying • Education • Empowering others to take action • Participation and representation through public fora.
Contacts Campaigns Co-ordinators Roxanne Green & Shaz Rahman Campaigns Support Worker Libby Harris General Manager Philip Burrows Treasurer Margaret Lynch Air Pollution Poppy Buckingham Climate Change & Energy Molly Luke & Tim Thorpe Economics Libby Harris Nature Branwen Messamah Planning Benjamin Mabbett Waste & Recycling John Newson’s Newsletter Editor Catherine Palgrave Newsletter Graphic Designer Shannon Lattin Website Editor Philip Burrows Talks Libby Harris & others All enquires and callers welcome
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Join Us for Our AGM! 7:00pm, Monday 12 June The Warehouse, 54-57 Allison Street, Birmingham, B5 5TH
Agenda 1. Apologies for Absence 2. Minutes 2016 AGM 3. Matters Arising 4. Annual Report and Accounts: • Warehouse Report; • Campaigns Report; • Finance Report. 5. Exemption from full audit and appointment of independent examiner 6. Election of Management Committee 7. Any other business (A bring and share buffet will be served from 6.30pm and the meeting should conclude by 9.00pm) Birmingham Friends of the Earth Limited. A Community Benefit Society. Registered under the Co-operative & Community Benefit Societies Act 2010. Registered Number: 22063R. Registered Office: 54-57 Allison Street, Birmingham B5 5TH.
Illustration designed by Freepik.
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