Awareness raising activities included hosting a talk by international peak oil expert Dr Mamdouh Salameh in March and a regular presence at the monthly farmers’ market as well as the Christmas market and the Fringe Festival. We had regular columns and press releases in the Haslemere Herald.

We lent our support to the National Trust’s Speckled Wood volunteer centre project, including raising over £800 pounds through sponsored roof shingles.

In May, we introduced ‘green drinks’ – an informal gathering held on the first Thursday of the month at the Georgian Hotel. It has proved a good way for supporters to meet, new people to find out about TH, and even get some TH business done.

We saw an early draft of the Campaign To Protect Rural England’s survey of Haslemere local food network, which we helped research. We anticipate that the report will be published early in 2012 and TH will look at ways to use the information and platform to further the local food network.

We enjoyed a fine Sustainable Harvest Picnic in the medieval barn on Imbhams farm, attended by around 70 people.

Our community garden group based at Roundhurst Farm changed its name to the Haslemere Community Veg Growers and produced a range of fruit and veg from the Spring to the autumn.

We are helping the Town Council with research on using the Hoppa Bus as a commuter bus during rush hour.

Towards the end of the year a group of TH members proposed a project on local food and heritage and made an initial enquiry into funding. This is ongoing. Meanwhile, in December Owyn Prandle and Clive Ardagh drew up a proposal for a local wood fuel/energy efficiency project and submitted it for first round funding. We are awaiting the outcome. These two proposed projects, perhaps combined in some way, offer exciting opportunities for TH to explore in 2012.

I would like to thank all TH members for their support through 2011. I want to make special mention of Adrian Wimbush for his excellent work on our website and efforts in running TH’s stall wherever it appeared, Ann Finlayson for keeping our accounts, Caroline Gowing for her deputy chairmanship and generally getting us organised, as well as all other steering group members.

Clive Davidson
9 January 2012

In the UK we will produce and throw away enough gift wrap to cover Guernsey and an estimated one billion Christmas cards will end up in the bin. We will waste food, use 750 million extra glass bottles and containers, discard 500 million extra drinks cans and produce over 3 million tons of extra waste, most of it at the expense of increasing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere and most will end up in landfill.

It does not have to be that way; here are ten sustainable tips from Transition Haslemere that will make your Christmas more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

The Christmas tree

Use a living tree in a pot and plant it out afterwards, or make sure you recycle it.

Christmas cards

Make sure the cards you send use recycled paper, and recycle them after Christmas.

Think about ‘green gifts’

Buy presents that don’t have a negative impact on the environment – think about giving experiences, donations to conservation causes, or make your own gifts.

Look for locally made gifts

Buy presents from local craft stalls and buy from your local shops.

Wrapping paper

Avoid the paper waste of wrapping paper and use old posters, magazines, or reusable scarves to wrap presents.

Defrost your freezer

Defrost your freezer before Christmas so it will work more efficiently and create more space to store leftover food so it doesn’t go to waste.

Buy local and organic food

Use as much food as possible which comes from local growers and producers, and source items such as turkeys from organic providers.

Green cooking of your greens!

Put the lid on your spuds and sprouts when they’re cooking.

Christmas meal leftovers

If you really can’t eat any more then use your left overs creatively.

Pass on unwanted gifts

Pass on an unused gift to someone who will appreciate it.

For more information please click here

The family event, which attracted 70 people, started with traditional games such as horseshoe throwing and bobbing for apples. The shared supper featured dishes made with as many local ingredients as possible.

The barn was decorated with local greenery and John and Maggie Barlow, the owners of Imbhams farm went out of their way to make us all most welcome, including baking the most delicious apple crumble made from local apples and their own grains.

A competition for the ‘food least travelled’ was won by Jane Devlin for a dish she baked in Chiddingfold which husband Bruce transported to the event by electric bicycle. The prize was a hamper of food donated by Crossways greengrocer in Fernhurst which comprised mostly of produce grown by local organic market gardener Rebecca Laughton.

There were also competitions for the best carved pumpkin and face drawn on a pumpkin with the pumpkins donated by The evening ended with dancing to music by local singer-songwriter David O’Brien and friends.

“The perfect autumn evening, the beautiful setting of Imbhams historic barn, the candlelit carved pumpkins and the warm and welcoming atmosphere made for a magical event,” said Clive Davidson, Chair of Transition Haslemere.

Sustainable Harvest Picnic 2009

Sustainable Harvest Picnic

Saturday October 15^th 5.00 – 8.00 pm

Imbhams Farm

Adults £2.50, children free

Join our family picnic in a celebration of local food.

• Bring the family
• Bring a dish to share (preferably made from locally sourced food)
• Bring a drink
• Meet with other Transition Haslemere supporters

 Enjoy:

• Live music
• Carved pumpkin competition
• Prize for the food least travelled
• Pumpkin face painting competition
• “String Beans” and other fun activities

Entrance by invitation only to supporters of Transition Haslemere.

To see pictures of the 2009 picnic click here

To apply for tickets for this year’s picnic click here

With more people now growing their own fruit and vegetable,s or looking at ways to take advantage of seasonal food prices, there is renewed interest in traditional and modern methods of preserving food.

We are all used to having a freezer these days, but often we simply use to store products we buy already frozen. Freezing homegrown produce is quick and simple, but is not always the best or only way to preserve flavour, texture and vitamins. Also, some foods aren’t suitable for freezing – lettuce or uncooked potatoes, for instance. However, if you are going to freeze your vegetables and other produce, there are useful techniques such as blanching that can help improve taste and texture.

People have been drying fruit, vegetables, herbs and meats since ancient times. Again, there are a variety of techniques appropriate to different foods that can improve the process, such as sun drying, air drying, smoking and baking. Our climate isn’t ideal for drying, of course, but you can get relatively inexpensive dehydrators on the internet that will work for a wide range of foods.

Pickling is another method with a long history. Like many preserved foods, pickles have come to be enjoyed in their own right and are now produced to be eaten all year round. Cheeses are another example of where a preservation method has created foods that are now valued in themselves and not just something stored in a cupboard for the dark days of winter.

Vacuum packing is a modern technique popular with food manufacturers, but is now increasingly used by smaller producers. Small vacuum packing machines are now available at quite modest prices, making it possible to use the technique at home on a wide variety of foods. Vacuum packing can also be used in conjunction with freezing to extend storage life.

Then there are canning and bottling. Many people still make jams with the fruits of the summer – and marmalade in winter with Seville oranges – although canning is something of a lost art. However, like bottling, canning requires only relatively simple inexpensive equipment and some patience in order to capture the taste and colours of garden produce.

Finally, some foods don’t require any special processing or treatment and can simply be stored appropriately to last a winter or more. Root vegetables were designed by Nature for this purpose. Potatoes, parsnips, carrots, onions and many others can often simply be left in the ground until they are needed – if pests aren’t a problem. Otherwise they should be lifted, allowed to dry and then stored in a dark ventilated place.

For all these food preserving methods there is now a wealth of information on the internet, and many helpful books are also available.

One thing to remember, whatever method you choose – always label and date what your preserve. It’s easy to forget just what you put in a package or can and when. And don’t forget to eat the products by their ‘use by’ date.

Here are some useful links for further information:

www.allotment.org.uk

www.lovefoodhatewaste.com

www.lowimpact.org/linkspreservingfood.html

Our buying decisions can have an affect on the natural environment, on our local economy, on the sustainability of production processes or on the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.

To help us make greener choices in what we buy, there are a number of questions we can ask when we look to purchase something. What is it made from? How was it produced? Where was it produced? How did it get here? Where do the profits from its sale go?
The answers to the questions won’t always be clear, and sometimes you might have to balance out competing considerations – for example, produce that is local but non-organic versus produce that is organic but transported from a distance.
Here are some general tips if you want to shop greener and promote sustainability.

• Read the label – ask yourself if the item is from a sustainable source.
• Shop locally – you will be supporting your local economy as well as saving on the carbon emissions of travel.
• Buy locally produced goods – support your local producers, for example by shopping at the farmers market held on the first Sunday of the month from 10am to 1.30pm in Haslemere High Street. The produce is fresh and you can talk to the producers themselves.
• Take your own bags – the world doesn’t need any more plastic shopping bags.
• Use charity shops – ‘reduce, recycle, reuse’ is the green mantra. Charity shops are the high street’s great recyclers.
• Use auction sites like e-Bay, free goods sites like Freecycle and sale sites like Gumtree – you can often get good quality used items very cheaply. They are also great ways of getting rid of unwanted possessions – getting cash for them and saving on landfill.
• Get together with others and buy basic items in bulk – larger packs of many basic goods are cheaper and come with less packaging.
• Don’t forget the library if you are looking for a book or DVD – read and return.

Finally, and most important of all – buy only what you need. Avoid waste – it will only end up in landfill.

Let us know by either replying to the newsletter, posting on our Facebook wall (click here) or tweeting us @GreenHaslemere. We’re offering a £25 voucher for the Lower Roundhurst Farm shop for the best response.

We’ll also be taking suggestions on our stall at the Farmers’ Market (Sunday July 3rd) – so come and say hello and share your best green tip!

Here are some tips for greener, more fuel efficient driving.

• Watch your speed. Driving at 50-60 mph is usually most efficient. Driving over 70mph rapidly increases your fuel consumption and your carbon emissions. It can cost up to 25% more in fuel to drive at 70mph compared with 50mph.
• Try not to accelerate or brake sharply. Harsh acceleration and braking can use up to 30% more fuel. They also add to the wear and tear on your car.
• Switch off the engine if you think you will stationary for more than two minutes – for example, while you are waiting at the Hindhead traffic lights.
• Drive when the traffic is lightest if you can. Avoid rush hours and the school run, as well as congested routes where the traffic is stop-start and your journey time is longer. Sometimes just a twenty minute delay can enable you to miss heavy traffic.
• But don’t adjust your driving time if it means you’ll be in a hurry. If you’re stressed you will tend to drive more erratically and less economically.
• Try to combine errands so you only have to make one trip.
• Arrange to car share with work colleagues or for the school run.
• Remove any unnecessary items from your car. Extra weight means extra fuel consumption. If it is not inconvenient, only half full your tank for the same reason.
• Remove your roof rack unless you need it. Roof racks increase wind resistance, which can make a significant difference to your fuel consumption.
• On warm days, driving with the windows open increases the drag on your car and your fuel consumption. But so does using the air-conditioner. So which should you choose? The general rule is for slower driving – under 45mph or so – open the windows. On motorways and faster roads, use the air conditioner.
• Keep your tyres at the right pressure for your load and for the season. Under-inflated tyres increase your fuel consumption.
• Have your car serviced and checked regularly to make sure it is performing at its optimal level.

Finally, relax and enjoy the trip – you’ll probably drive better and more efficiently.

Join us again for our monthly get together and chat over a drink or two at the Georgian Hotel on Thursday June 2nd between 7.30 and 9.30 pm.

As usual we will have representatives from our Haslemere Community Veg Growers, our Transport and Energy Group, our Schools Group and Steering Group on hand. Do join us for some green conviviality.

All are welcome!

Figuring out the comparative cost effectiveness of each of these measures can be tricky so we have provided some analysis and guidelines on our website at www.transitionhaslemere.org. There are a number of grants and subsidies available for some of the measures, such as free loft and cavity wall insulation for the elderly. You can find out information about these at the Energy Savings Trust website at www.energysavingtrust.org.uk, or call them on 0800 512 012.

You don’t have to spend a huge amount to conserve energy and reduce your bills. Here are some other things you can do that will save you money while also cutting your carbon emissions.

• Hang washing outside to dry instead of using your dryer. It’s also kinder on your clothes, especially those with elastication or printed patterns or logos.
• Turn down the temperature of your water heater now that outside temperatures are higher.
• Turn off your towel radiators.
• If you have empty space in your fridge or freezer fill it up with used milk cartons filled with water. Your fridge or freezer will have to work less hard, and therefore use less electricity, to maintain its temperature when you open and close the door.
• Eat more salad – which avoids using energy for cooking.
• And while we are on the subject of food, shop locally and buy local produce wherever possible. A good place to do this is at the farmers’ market, which takes place from 10am to 1.30pm on the first Sunday of each month in the High Street – next one on Sunday 5 June.
• Walk or cycle to the shop if possible. It’s surprising how much you can carry comfortably in a rucksack. Waitrose also lends out a bicycle trailer to take your shopping home.
• Grow your own vegetables. If you don’t have the space at home, or the time or the confidence to do it all yourself, then you can join the Haslemere Community Veg Growers – who you can find on Facebook or this website.