Group News: September - December 2010

Local Groups’ Conference
Beatrice attended the national Friend of the Earth Local Groups’ Conference in September. Besides the serious stuff there are plenty of opportunities to meet other members and have fun too.

Some of the items discussed were:
  • Cancun - how is it going to be different to Copenhagen?
  • Local Transport Plans. These are being discussed now at all local levels up and down the country. Now is the time for us to act by contacting our MPs, councillors and Local Bus companies to see if we can improve public transport.
  • Waste - many incinerators are being proposed but they are actually causing more emissions than gas or coal-fired stations. And these incinerator companies are putting in clauses that if we do not accept their offer we, the tax payers, have to pay them up to £ 2 million for saying no.
  • Join the Moovement - what is feeding your food? Monsanto is coming in through the back door of Europe by genetically modified cattle feed and it is being accepted despite the vast majority of Europeans saying no.
Stalls
We dropped of some leaflets to a stall being organised for the University of Sheffield’s Ethical and Environmental Knowledge Week as no one was able to run a FoE stall during working hours.

A number of members from our group ran a stall at Sheffield Hallam University’s UKEcoNet conference which lasted three days.

Our group returned to the Peace Fair inside Sheffield Town Hall and raised the profile of the group, as well as raising funds by selling more DVDs and recycling unwanted items on the tombola. If you have any items for a future tombola then please contact us.

Due to the lack of resources we decided not to run a stall at Burton Street in Hillsborough and another one about food in Rotherham.

School Work
Matthew is going to talk to school children at All Saints High School about the impact their actions can have on the environment, and learn to take more responsibility for their actions.

Xmas Social
Seven members of Sheffield Friends of the Earth indulged in a 3 course Christmas meal at the Red Deer pub for our December Christmas social.