Another fantastic group writing for us again this week. This time with the duel purpose of love for books and planet, by providing a place for unwanted books to be loved again. Here it is, Free Books Southampton.
Free Books Southampton (FBS) is a volunteer led group based at the Third Age Centre (3AC),
in partnership with Transition Southampton. We take in donated books and redistribute
them to the community in Southampton and further afield.
“Second hand books are wild books, homeless books; they have come together in vast flocks
of variegated feathers and have a charm which is domesticated volumes of the library lack”
– Virginia Woolf
We are very lucky to receive generous book donations from different places; from
individuals, schools, libraries or shops etc, who are having a clear out and do not have space
for them. By taking books from us, you are reducing the amount of waste that goes into
landfills each year and you are helping to recycle valuable resources.
Most of the books we get given are in good, readable condition. However, we do receive
books that are worn and damaged. Those that are not in good nick get used in various arts
and craft projects at the 3AC and across the city. We encourage others to recycle books that
cannot be used for reading anymore and we can happily provide some for people to use in
their craft projects. Our own most favourite creation is the book hedgehog using such
books. Just two simple folds on a page repeated throughout the book can make a cute
creature. We have taught people how to make these at many events in Southampton.
We are a small team of volunteers who work together to sort through donations, put books
out on display, making them look presentable, running the Facebook and Twitter social
media sites, emails and giving books out at community events.
Being based at the 3AC means we can provide free books to those who want them 7 days a
week. All you have to do is stop by, browse our selection and help yourselves! We have
most genres ranging from; sci-fi, thriller, romance, non-fiction, autobiographies and children
just to name a few. There is no excuse to not read, there is something for everyone and they
are FREE!
We are very lucky to be supported by a great community in Southampton. We have been
asked to give books out at a number of events. Not only are we able to give books to those
in Southampton, more recently we were able to donate 271 books to Brikamaba Primary
School in Gambia. We would not be able to do things like this if we did not receive
donations! In 2017 we gave out 5166 books and we are hoping to beat that total this year.
If you would like more information about Free Books Southampton please do not hesitate to
send us an email booksforfree.soton@gmail.com, send us a Facebook message or drop by
the 3AC.
“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library” – Jorge Luis Borges
Hello and welcome to another CrowdLeaf newsletter 🙂 Vicky is away this week, usual service will resume when she’s back.
This weeks newsletter is jam packed full of green and sustainable goodness.
With two guest articles coming out in the last week, I point to the upcoming event as listed below, the Brave New World Variety Show Shindig and another fantastic company doing great things to make the world just that little bit more sustainable ‘The Eco Collective’ a fully vegan Supermarket for good.
Firstly our usual plea, anyone or any company who is organising green events, sells sustainable products or any other variation thereof is welcome to contact us about working together on boosting the green community and economy. As part of this we are also restocking our store and are looking for local providers to link up with our store so if you are interested, please email us.
This week just like the last has had some pretty interesting developments. Solar reached a peak at 28.5% of the UK’s energy this early May bank holiday weekend, producing more energy than nuclear and gas powered energy plants.
Again, there are some great events going on this month so please check them out and get involved. Once again last week Ryan @rwscarter was back on the airwaves to discuss all things green and sustainable with Xan Philips, you can listen again here.
Government unveils plans for business-backed plastics innovation hub
As mentioned in last weeks newsletter –
Now Morrisons is trialling bring your own tupperware to reduce plastic waste.
UK’s Most Polluted Towns And Cities Revealed
Terra watch: Rocks Could Have A Role In Combating Climate Change
AB InBev – the world’s largest brewer orders 800 hydrogen-electric trucks
Solar reached peak energy so far this year, on the hottest Early May bank holiday on record.
In pictures: Kenya’s coastal conservation heroes
Whitley awards for nature conservation 2018 winners – in pictures
Storage And Organisation Ideas For Recycling Centers
Swanage Pier Dive And Litter Pick 12th May
Southdowns Green Fair 13th may
Brave New World Variety Show Shindig in Southampton – 18th May
Sholing Valley’s Spring Fayre 2018 19th May
Tools And Tips For Reducing Plastic 24th May
Something we look to help businesses do in the future. If you are a business that is in the waste(not) business please get in touch –Mixed Plastic Banks In Southampton
Here is Southampton’s list on what to put into your blue lid recycling bin: What Can I Recycle?
Pledge Your Commitment To Improving Hampshires Recycling Habits
This brilliant website gives tips and ideas about food waste and how to reduce it.
Instead of throwing out or bagging up (to gather dust) all those clothes children quickly grow out of this is a brilliant website to buy or sell unwanted children clothes. It is run by a busy mum who also knows what it’s like with ever growing children and the endless amount of clothes children accumulate.
‘Last year a quarter of the clothing we got rid of was simply thrown away. That’s a staggering 300,000 tonnes that went into landfill. So many of those items could have been re-used and enjoyed by a another child, instead of contributing to the destruction of the planet.’
Please join us on Facebook, like and share with fellow environmental and wildlife enthusiasts where we will keep you up to date with climate change, sustainable and wildlife and conservation news and anything else green.
We would also like to start adding a directory to our newsletter, making it more accessible for everyone to gain information, join other environmental groups or eco-friendly businesses that sell eco-friendly products. If you or someone you know are interested, please contact us. We can also help advertise and advise on any campaigns and fundraising events, with the option to advertise on our webpage, facebook and newsletters.
Equally if you have an article or blog which is relevant to the local or global cause of making the world cleaner and greener or feel there is an issue that could be part of a discussion, then feel free to send it over and we can publish it.
Contact us via our website:
Look us up on Facebook or drop us an email:
vicky@crowdleaf.org.uk
ryan@crowdleaf.org.uk
On behalf of CrowdLeaf,
Vicky & Ryan
Please come and check out our store to support our cause and green community!
London Air Pollution Live Data
See you next time!
This is a guest piece by an active campaigner on plastic pollution and one who is pushing, as we are, for action from above.
The person behind the petition that asks for the CEO’s of all major UK super markets to drop or change the use of plastic for food wrapping, to no wrapping where it not needed, compostable if it is possible and as minimum recyclable. CrowdLeaf.org.uk are fully behind this and we offer a range of green and environmentally responsible products in the CrowdLeaf Store.
The petition can be found at : https://www.change.org/p/stop-supermarkets-using-unrecyclable-food-packaging
My name is Simon Goldsmith, I started a petition to ‘Stop Supermarkets using non-recyclable food Packaging’ because l got so annoyed when trying to recycle and reading on most of the plastic packaging ‘This plastic is not currently recycled’.
This made me think how much of our supermarket food packing is not currently recyclable. I found a large majority of it is the fruit and veg and to be honest 90% of this does not need any sort of packaging.
This made us change the way we shop, to finding a farm shop and buying all our fruit and veg from there. I appreciate this is not achievable for everyone, as some farm shops can be considerably more expensive and not convenient.
The final push for me was on our family holiday to Porthtowan in Cornwall. We were shocked by the micro-plastics on the beach.
As a consumer, we can’t choose how our food is packaged, the Supermarkets have an environmental obligation to make the packaging environmentally friendly. A consumer needs to be able to trust and respect the corporation they are buying from.
I understand the Supermarkets don’t package the food themselves but they have the power to make the producers comply.
Hopefully my petition will raise awareness and put pressure on the Supermarkets to change.
The more single-use plastic that is produced means it will eventually end up in landfills in developed countries and rivers and oceans in developing countries, then getting moved around the world’s oceans.
I believe the plastic problem needs to be tackled at both ends, one to reduce the amount of plastic being produced and two to clean up the current plastic in circulation in the oceans.
Currently in the UK there is no service industry cleaning our beaches, only volunteer organisations like Surfers Against Sewage.
I would like to setup a service industry which cleans our beaches in the UK and provides a use for the plastics. The only way the plastics are removed from the ocean is if the beaches are cleaned on a regular basis, currently the plastics get washed up and then moved again by the tides.
This is a serious problem as the fish are eating the plastics and we are eating the fish, the whole food chain is being affected. The effect the plastics are having on the wildlife is detrimental, and this is only getting worse.
I would like to be able to do more and the petition is just a starting point.
There is a beautiful bottom-up revolution underway in the energy market, but like all revolutions there is hurdles the question is can the state facilitate the green revolution, I think it should. This requires putting into reverse how the state has been seen in market interventions as a monolithic agent ‘crowding-out’ competition. I believe that the state can and should act smart and counter to popular opinion ‘crowd-in’ the market, breaking the hegemonic cartel of the ‘Big Six’. As of 2013 renewable energy provides a mere 21.7% of all electricity generated across the globe, so it is time to harness the ‘green revolution’ going on in the energy market and push for a sustainable future not turn our backs on it.
Despite government attacks on ‘Feed in tariffs’ there is still a green light on sustainable energy solutions in this race against time and despite being the new tool in the arsenal crowdfunding seems to be meeting the demand for these solutions. Crowdfunding allows substantial sums to be made up from small contributions. Now with a boom in crowdfunding it is time the new far lower barriers to participation so everyone can make a difference no matter how large or small their contribution. The most significant barrier to participation to-date has been regulation and patents, but ideas do not need the support of the ‘Big Six’ to make it to market any longer as the crowd can facilitate the struggle towards a democratic and dynamic market model.
In the past, we have seen a number of promising ideas surrounding tackling the energy crisis being bought by large multinational corporations and never seen again such as the original design for electric car batteries. This cycle cannot be allowed to continue. Crowdfunding has the potential to empower groups of people who feel a responsibility towards the planet and allows them collectively wield their power, to take a moral stance fostering a sustainable difference. The short-term or short-sighted moves on energy pursued by governments and corporations, such as the controversial plans for fracking, or rip off nuclear plants run by China, can, if we want it to be a part of the past not the future. For this and many other reasons, green crowdfunding and a municipalisation and publicity owned and conscious energy market is not going anywhere but up. Evidence suggests that the really big challenges facing society, such as energy and climate change, cannot be met by the state, large companies, well-intentioned individuals or any other agent acting alone, so putting the values of co-operation into our heads, hearts and policy is now surely non-negotiable.
There is serious scope for intervention and municipalisation in the energy market, councils have socialised consumers to bargain a better price going someway towards helping ease fuel poverty. This proves that when society pulls together then there can be a real drive towards significant change. Crowdfunding, community funds and co-operative solutions offer the possibility of a seismic change; this is never truer than in sectors of strategic and societal significance such as renewable energy and financing innovative solutions. Large scale ‘crowd-led’ projects have taken place in Norway and Denmark for example which has contributed towards reducing carbon emissions while this stronger form of energy security has allowed these countries to continue without worry to expanding their business and industrial bases. Cooperatives and collaborative finance tend to play a much larger role in the energy markets of these countries; one of the largest wind turbine Cooperatives in the world is in Denmark, where 50% is owned by a ‘crowd’ of 10,000 investors and 50% by a municipal utility company.
Co-operatives across the country following examples of other co-operatives across Europe have begun issuing community-based shares a form of online crowdfunding with voting rights to tackle this sort of problem. There have also been Housing Association schemes aiming to tackle fuel poverty by installing solar cells on residents’ roofs to lower the cost of energy this had success with Leeds Housing Association using Abundance a green energy crowdfunding platform. There is no reason as to why the councils could not build their own solar farms, wind turbines or perhaps invest in any other form of clean or renewable energy independently using their pension funds or council budget. Nottingham Council have done just that setting up Robin Hood Energy as a municipal not-for-profit enterprise.
Going forward these green shoots from the crowd, municipal authorities and cooperatives will be put under real strain, but together tackling fuel poverty, sustainability and an un-equitable market will be enough to ride the wave. This hegemony will not last forever in its place will be a truly public interest, democratic and dynamic energy market with people not profits at its core. There is many ways to get involved in crowdfunding for renewable energy and local community cooperatives, you won’t be alone in doing so.
Oringally published on : https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/the-green-shoots-of-crowdfunding/11/11/ it is an older piece and all facts were acurate at the time.
