Thurs 1 March, 7pm Manchester Climate Action meeting about a demo in Central London on Thurs 3 May. At the latest OK Cafe, which is at the Gamecock Pub, Hulme.
Mon 5 March, 7pm at Friends Meeting House, 6 Mount St (city centre) – Second MCFly book reading group – “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood. Discussion facilitated by MCFly co-editor Arwa Aburawa…
Tue 6, 2pmCommunities and Neighbourhoods Overview and Scrutiny Meeting, Committee Room 11, Manchester Town Hall. Regular meeting, with cycling in Manchester and how it can be encouraged as an agenda item…
Tue 6, 4.30 – 6.00pm
Adaptation to Climate Change and Desertification: Perspectives from National Policy and Autonomous Local Practice in Malawi
Dr Lindsay Stringer (School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds)
Chairwoman: Dr Tanja Bastia
Room G6, Humanities Bridgeford Street
Part of the development@manchester seminar series
Tuesday, 6th March 2012 at 5pm ‘Going Beyond Dangerous Climate Change: Exploring the void between rhetoric and reality in reducing carbon emissions’ – A lecture with Prof. Kevin Anderson Room 3, University of Manchester Students’ Union, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PR
Wed 7 March, 2-3pm “Low carbon, sustainable communities” by Visiting Professor Graham Hillier, Rayleigh Room, Faraday House
Weds 7 March, 3-5pm, Joint Planning, MARC and Geography event ‘Perspectives on Carbon’, Hanson Room Humanities Bridgeford Street, University of Manchester
3.00 pm – Dr Vince Gauci (Open University): Wetland carbon exchange responses to global change
4.00 pm – Dr Aidan While (Sheffield): Carbon control and the urban business model
Wed 7 March, 7.30-9.3pm Didsbury Film Society showing of ‘The Garden‘. St James and Emmanuel Church, Barlow Moor Rd, Didsbury £4.50, includes wine/drinks/nibbles, good conversation afterwards!
Weds 7 March, 7pm “Beginners Guide to local (in)action on climate change” at the OKasional Cafe (‘The Gamecock Pub’, On Boundary lane in Hulme – just five minutes from the Oxford Road junction with the Phoenix/Royal Northern College of Music. The postcode is M15 6GE.)
MCFly co-editors Arwa Aburawa and Marc Hudson give a brief interactive overview of – the Manchester Climate Change Action Plan, the Greater Manchester Climate Change Strategy, the Environment Commission. Who wrote these plans? What is good about them? What is actually HAPPENING, and what can people and organisations in Manchester do to make more – and better – things a reality?
Length – 90 minutes. Intros/ice-breakers, 25 mins of talk from us and then structured activities and small-group work
Thursday, 8 March, 4pm Social Capital and the Determinants of Personal Consumption
Professor Partha Dasgupta will deliver a public lecture at Whitworth Hall, The University of Manchester
Thursday, 8 March 10am – 12noon First Food Futures Forum, Friends Meeting House
Food Futures will be hosting its first Forum on Thursday 8 March at the Friends Meeting House. The Forum is an opportunity for people in the city who are working on food issues or are interested in finding out more about Food Futures to hear about what is going on, meet other people with an interest in food and contribute to developing ideas and taking an active role in improving food in Manchester. It is hoped that the forums will become a regular feature of the Food Futures calendar.
Space is limited so if you would like to attend please email v.robinson@manchester.gov.uk to register your place. Further details will follow.
Thurs 8th “Planning for Low Carbon Living”. free one-day workshop at Manchester Town Hall. To book, email kirsty.mitchell@cse.org.uk
For more info, see here.
Thurs 8 and Fri 9 March
Consumption: A Multi-disciplinary Point of View
Conference in Honour of Partha Dasgupta,
Sustainable Consumption Institute, The University of Manchester
Thurs 8 Inaugural Greater Manchester Green Business Awards, Manchester Central. More details at Enworks site…
Thurs 8, 7pm Manchester Green Party monthly meeting. Friends Meeting House, 6 Mount St
Sunday 11th, 10:30 am Scrub removal on the Hardy Farm SBI with Friends of Chorlton Meadows. Meet: Jackson’s Boat Bridge Note: Jackson’s Boat pub car park is for pub customers only. Please park either at the Sale Water Park Visitors’ Centre or in the Chorlton Green area and walk from there). If you have any questions, please e-mail Dave Bishop or phone 0161 881 6276
Mon 12 to Sun 18
The second annual Climate Week is being planned for next spring. As with the 2011 Climate Week, thousands of events and activities are being organised across the UK, showcasing real, practical ways to address the challenges of climate change. To find out more go to http://www.climateweek.com, email info@climateweek.com or telephone 020 3397 2601.
No longer sponsored by Royal Bank of Scotland. And will include the second Annual (cough cough) Stakeholder Conference, this time focussed on “behaviour change”
Mon 12th, 6pm Using the “Climate Activist Development Scheme” at the OKasional Cafe (location to be announced)
What is it? How does it work? An opportunity to try out an early version of a tool for finding out what you already know and can do, and then sharing those skills and knowledge with other people
Length – 60 to 90 minutes
Mon 12, 6.45 to 8.30Engineering Solutions to the Energy Crisis. Mike Koefman, Lauren Collins and James Woudhuysen will introduce a discussion on how science can help engineer solutions to the looming energy crisis
Manchester Salon. £5/£3. Book here.
Tuesday, 13th, 5pm – 6pm
‘Emissions and Energy Scenarios – A Focus on the UK’ A talk with Maria Sharmina
Room 4, University of Manchester Students’ Union, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PR
Tuesday 13th, 6-8pm Eco Streets: Celebrating South Manchester’s commitment to tackling climate change
ZION Arts Centre, 335 Stretford Road, Manchester, M15 5ZA
This celebration event will showcase the work of the nine successful Eco Streets projects in South Manchester. Projects include food growing at Fallowfield’s secret garden and education and learning at the new Chorlton Apiary at Scott Avenue Allotments.
For more details please contact Rachael Stoney at Groundwork on 0161 220 1000 or Rachael.stoney@groundwork.org.uk
Tuesday 13th 6-8pm GreenSpirit Greater Manchester
Friends Meeting House, 6 Mount Street, Manchester, M2 5NS
This year GreenSpirit Greater Manchester will be hosting an event in the week leading up to the Manchester: A Certain Future conference. It will be a chance to feed our ideas and thoughts into the main conference. It will be an informal and fun evening, with a bring-and-share supper held at the Friends Meeting House.
If you would like to come along or find out more, please contact Nicola Percival on 01625 572894 or email Nicola.percival@soulsustainability.co.uk
Tues 13th, 7.00p.m. (refreshments will be available from 6.30p.m.)
Famine and Food Security – does Genetic Modification have a role to play?
Cockroft Lecture Theatre, Manchester Conference Centre
You are invited to join an open discussion and question time on the theme of Famine and Food Security. This discussion will bring together experts to look at this topic and also to examine what role, if any, there is for genetically modified produce in addressing the issues of Famine and Food Security.
This event is a joint venture between the British Council and the British Science Association as part of a series of British Council Dialogue events.
Confirmed speakers are:
Kidist Kibret (University of Nottingham) – an Ethiopian student conducting research into yams as a food diversification strategy
David Hall-Matthews (University of Leeds) – the social and political causes of famine and food security
Christine Foyer (Centre for Plant Sciences, University of Leeds) – biotech approaches to improving crop yields
Booking is not required.
Questions can be submitted on the night or in advance to Addam Merali-Hosiene, Regional Officer for the North of England for the British Science Association on 0161 306 1599 or
addam.merali-hosiene@britishscienceassociation.org
Tues 13 March 6.45 for 7pm til 9pm, The Behavioural Challenge of Climate Change: Where we are at, and where we need to be’. A discussion of the latest climate research and some solutions to address the challenges.
Hosted by Manchester Friends of the Earth. Speakers:Prof Kevin Anderson, Director, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change.- talking about latest research, current understanding and projections for the future to understand the scale of the challenge.
Friends of the Earth national campaigner Mike Childs- talking about Friends of the Earths current strategy and choice of campaigns to address the challenge.
Dave Coleman, Director, Cooler Projects CIC- talking about how Manchester as a city is responding to the challenge via the Manchester Carbon Literacy Project.
Public Discussion, Â Everyone welcome, refreshments provided.
Green Fish Resource Centre, 46-50 Oldham Street, Manchester M4 1LE
Weds 14 March, 10 to 4pm
“Community Rights Made Real Workshop” – Tameside
Free! Book here.
Weds 14 March
cities@manchester Inaugural Lecture
Professor Ash Amin (University of Cambridge): Q&A and Public Lecture
1-2.15pm: Q&A with Ash Amin, Cordingley Lecture Theatre
Kevin Ward (Professor of Human Geography) will lead an informal Q&A session with Prof. Amin about his work, career and publications.
5-6.15pm: ‘Resilient Urbanism’- Lecture by Ash Amin, Chaired by Stephen Milner, Serena Professor of Italian. Cordingley Lecture Theatre. Followed by a wine reception.
Weds 14 March, 7.30pm to 9pm Growing Food in the City: local food in Havana and Manchester Levenshulme Inspire, 747 Stockport Rd
organised by Levenshulme Green Party.
Thurs 15th, 1-2pm cities@manchester brownbag :‘Creating a sustainable Manchester: can the UK’s first industrial city blaze a trail for sustainable living?’ Mike Reardon, former Strategic Director, G.M. Environment Commission, University Place, 5.204.
Thursday 15th, 6.30 to 8.30 Carbon Coop and retrofit options…
Yard Theatre Work for Change, 41 Old Birley Street, Hulme M15 5RF
Free, informal, food provided
The Carbon Co-op and residents in Hulme from Homes for Change (the Yellowbricks) and Bentley House (the Redbricks) and in Moss Side from the The Avenues Residents Association have been working with energy experts URBED on detailed assessments of the properties for both retrofit options (insulation etc.) and community renewable heating systems.
This is not a consultation about any planned developments, so don’t get your hopes up, we are just trying to build up models of how communities might take control of energy usage and want to find out what people think about both what is possible and desirable. Advice will be on hand though for anyone interested in taking the ideas forward.
Have your say, get involved, eat free grub!
Places are limited, RSVP: info@carbon.coop or call 0161 408 6492
Friday 16 March Stakeholder Conference, 12.30 to 5.30 at MMU. Probably sold out by the time you read this…
Sat 17 March National Anti-Fracking meeting in Manchester, 11 to 6pm, Methodist Hall, Oldham St.
You are welcome to come for all or part of the day.
Come to first session, 11-12.30 to find out more about fracking: why it is a disastrous development for climate and local environments, its history in the U S and why we can and must stop it spreading in the UK. Speakers include:
John Broderick from Tyndall Centre on Climate Change,
Tony Bosworth from Friends of the Earth
Will Cottrell from Frack Off
Speaker from the Co-op
12.30-1.30 Reports from anti fracking groups around Britain and Northern Ireland
2-4pm workshops on: the companies behind fracking
extreme energy (shale gas from fracking, tar sands oil and other new sources of fossil fuel)
fracking, more basic info ( if people require this)
the legal process around fracking and how to resist it
direct action
4-6 Planning future campaigning and possible national coalition against fracking
Sat 17 March“An economy for the 99%” Ideas, stories and tactics from around the world. What would a global economy that really worked in the interests of people look like, an how can we make it happen? Come to a full day event of informative and inspiring workshops and speakers, all addressing these questions.
At Manchester Metropolitan University. Register here.
Sun 18, 11am-5pm Energy Advice day at Brookburn School, Chorlton Brookburn Primary School Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester M21 8EH
Carbon Co-op are teaming up with Ecospheric and Action for Sustainable Living to deliver an energy advice day at Brookburn School, Chorlton on Sunday 18th March 2012. All are welcome, please sign up here.
We’ll have:
– 15 minute consultations with ‘Dr Carbon’ (North West retrofit expert Charlie Baker, owned of the Chorlton Superhome)
– Small scale workshops to introduce householders to the basic concepts of retrofit and energy saving
– Toys and tools to explore and engage with energy saving
– Stalls from AFSL and Ecospheric
Monday 19th, 5.30pm to 7pm EMERGE 3Rs: Zero Waste CelebrationEMERGE is a Manchester – based social enterprise promoting the idea and practice of the 3Rs: REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE Join them from 5.30-7pm on 2012 at Brazennose House West, Brazennose Street, Manchester, M2 5AS
· Yummy Love Food Hate Waste Cookery Demonstration…
· Zero Waste Exhibition
· Reduce Reuse Recycle Tips & Info
· EMERGE & FareShare showcase
Come and have your say on what EMERGE should be doing to help the community reduce waste!
Refreshments provided. If you have any questions, please contact Nicola on 0161 223 8200.
Tues 20, 6pm – 7pm ‘Ecology as the new Opium of the People’ – Prof. Erik Swyngedouw lecture-and-a-curry
Location: Room 4, University of Manchester Students’ Union, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PR
Weds 21 March
To our social, educational, energy, food and green tech innovators…. After 18 months of  diary wrangling, the city’s leading ‘doers’ can swop notes with a keynote TED speaker and global sustainability pioneer on re-engineering organisations for a low-carbon future, jobs and getting out the recession at MERCi Bridge-5. They’ll be flexible time slots, relevant material & clear cut delivery. Full programme to follow…
Wednesday, March 21, 6 to 7.30pm Life Friendly Event: “Keeping on: sustainable art-activism” at Chinese Arts Centre, Market Buildings
Thomas Street Manchester
Platform is a London-based group of artists, environmentalists, human rights campaigners and activists who work together on issues of social and environmental justice. Founded in 1983, their current focus is on getting society off its dependence on oil because of its human rights, resource justice, and climate change impacts. The major campaigns and creative initiatives at the moment include finance (getting British investors to withdraw from backing Tar Sands extraction in Canada), cultural sponsorship (driving a wedge between Tate and BP, Shell and Southbank Centre), and corrupt corporate practices (revealing Shell’s complicity in militarised violence in the Niger Delta). This talk and discussion will look at some of the strategies and lessons learnt over many years to enable artists and activists to keep on making work that challenges the status quo and speaks truth to power, while at the same time sustaining ourselves, our imaginations, and our communities.
Book here.
Weds 21,8 to 11pmA Reasonable Cause, A mixture of Music, short film a talk about something green and as much fun as we can have.
This month we have the delightful sounds of Folkin El, and the stunning Violet Youth.
We have David Barlow, Environmental Strategy lead on Biodiversity from Manchester City Council. Films, drawing and more.
See ye there. (at Kraak Gallery, 11 Stevenson Square)
Thurs 22 March
Michael ‘climate change is crap’ O’Leary as keynote speaker at 20212 Institute of Directors North West annual conference
Radisson Edwardian Hotel, Peter St
Thursday 22nd, 7.00-8.30pm Carbon Coop meeting in Moss Side
Claremont Pub 124 Claremont Road, Moss Side M14 4RR
Free, informal, food provided
Can our homes be made energy efficient, if so how would that work?
We need to cut the average amount of energy our homes use by 80% to deal with climate change and rising fuel bills. Carbon Coop have been having a look at the options and want to know what you think would work, what wouldn’t and why.
The Carbon Co-op and residents in Hulme from Homes for Change (the Yellowbricks) and Bentley House (the Redbricks) and in Moss Side from the The Avenues Residents Association have been working with energy experts URBED on detailed assessments of the properties for both retrofit options (insulation etc.) and community renewable heating systems.
This is not a consultation about any planned developments, so don’t get your hopes up, we are just trying to build up models of how communities might take control of energy usage and want to find out what people think about both what is possible and desirable. Advice will be on hand though for anyone interested in taking the ideas forward.
Have your say, get involved, eat free grub!
Places are limited, RSVP: info@carbon.coop or call 0161 408 6492
See here for details.
Thursday March 22nd 7pm An evening of information and discussion on how to make our homes warmer, more energy efficient and cheaper to run. St Clement’s Church, Edge Lane, M21 9JF
Chorlton Refurb presents:
-Local home owners describing successful improvements.
-Energy efficiency experts to answer your questions.
-News on the Government’s Green Deal.
-Findings from Chorlton LEAF.
Chorlton homes are some of the least energy efficient homes in Manchester as they are older, bigger than average and solid-walled. What can be done? Chorlton LEAF, funded by Dept of Energy and Climate Change, is a project that aims to find out. 20 comprehensive energy assessments are being carried out on typical Chorlton homes, investigating household behaviour and building performance and making detailed and practical recommendations. All the reports will be available at http://www.chorltonrefurb.net. On the night there will be a free prize raffle for a detailed home energy assessment and an opportunity to sign up for a very reduced price thermal imaging survey.
7pm Refreshments and Stalls
7.30pm Presentations and Discussions
Sat 24 March
Science of Herbs Workshop (£75)
The Science of Herbs Workshop is a one-day course aimed at anyone who wants to gain an understanding of what it is that makes herbs work. The design of the course allows the attendee to immerse themselves in the world of herbs and herbal medicine, exploring groups of complex pharmacologicaly active compounds found within herbs and some of their beneficial interactions.
Sunday 25th March 10:30 am Litter pick on Ivy Green Meet: Ivy Green car park (This is on Brookburn Road opposite the Bowling Green pub).If you have any questions, please e-mail Dave Bishop or phone 0161 881 6276.
Sunday March 25thManchester LETS trading event at ArcSpace, St Wilfrid’s Church, Hulme.
The event is open to LETS ‘newbies’, and experienced ‘traders’ alike. Whether you are an individual, family, sole trader, or local business, your presence at the Spring Fair will be welcome! It will be a great opportunity to open an account in Manchester LETS if you haven’t already done so, meet other members, and start trading using your very own Manchester Pounds. If you have goods or services to sell, and wish to have a stall at the event, please call Julia on 0161 232 8839 or email julia.farrand@afsl.org.uk to find out more about the terms and conditions, and to arrange this. You don’t have to have anything to sell right now to come to this event. You can start trading straight away in LETS – you can spend Manchester Pounds before you have even earned any!! Or just come along to find out about LETS and see what it has to offer you. There will be a fresh fruit and veg stall on the day, selling a range of produce at 50% Manchester Pounds and 50% sterling.
Entrance to the event is £1 sterling, and one Manchester pound. Don’t worry if you haven’t got a LETS account yet, as we will be able to set this up for you on the day. http://ManchesterLETS.Org
Thursday 29th March, 4pm til 7.15pm FeedingManchester #9
MERCi, Bridge 5 Mill,
22a Beswick Street, Ancoats, Manchester, M4 7HR.
Food will be served during the workshop.
* We shall be introducing the two new Feeding Manchester co-ordinators Rob Allen and Beth Creedon.
* Discussing and collaboratively planning our campaign for supporting Greater Manchester’s sustainable food movement.
* Hearing an inspiring case study of how small organic food enterprises in Manchester have strengthened their resilience through working collectively.
* Along with the usual mix of socialising and networking the events offer something for everyone involved in Greater Manchester’s sustainable food movement. For more info contact chris@kindling.org.uk
Thursday 29th March from 7pm “Plants and Plans” Biodiversity in Chorlton – St Clements Church, Chorlton
This fringe event for the Chorlton Big Green Festival will be an evening of short films, speakers and discussion on biodiversity in Chorlton. it will look at what is being done, what people can do and why they should do it.
Register at event-brite: http://smefchorlton.eventbrite.com
Speakers and community leaders from South Manchester’s most vibrant projects will explore the BIODIVERSITY theme ‘Plants and Plans’
Find out about ‘The Local Nature Partnership for Manchester’
from Partnership Chair, Paul Burroughs, Red Rose Forest
Choose discussion and activities to get involved in:
‘Wildlife is Everywhere– It’s Even Here, Where You Live with Dave Bishop (Friends of Chorlton Meadows)
‘Pop-up Farms schools project’with Matt Rowe (Transition Chorlton)
EM and Bokashi Save the World?with Giles Bradley
‘The Manchester Peregrine Falcon project’by Jenni Bailey (RSPB)
‘The Urban Beekeeper’by Dave Rome
‘South Manchester Environmental Forum – the future’with Joe Hulme (SMEF Development Group member)
Arrive 6.30pm for refreshments and networking.
Prompt start at 7pm
Finish at 9pm
Saturday 31 March
Chorlton’s Big Green Festival, an annual celebration of sustainable living in Manchester. St Clement’s Church, Edge Lane, Chorlton
manchester climate monthly 