First Goal Set

Your Big Small Ideas

Do you have a big idea? Are you working on the first small part to get it off the ground? We want to hear from you.

Envirolution always aimed at being more than just a festival. We dreamt that the environmental movement would sweep over the city and we could be a on the crest of the wave.

Unfortunately the revolution has been a little slower in coming and it looks like the grassroots will have to work even harder to be the ones to get it moving.

We want to bring together five initial ideas/start up/small businesses that are working with the right ethics as a ‘Envirolution Incubator’. We can combine our forces and skills to shake Manchester into action.

If this sounds like you, it sounds interesting or you simply want to find out more get in touch.

[Picture of Coffee Cranks Cooperative, a very inspiring example to us all.]

Compost Champion 2014

In the build up to another Bank Holiday Extravaganza in Platt Fields Park, and as part of International Compost Awareness Week, we have nominated Tidy Planet’s Rocket Composter as our Compost Champion 2014.

The Eco Garden Update

Waking up to the sun streaming through the window, leaving the house without your coat and gloves and seeing flowers poking through under the trees… spring is definitely here!

After battling through snow for the last few volunteer days we should now be rewarded with some more volunteer-friendly weather. The next volunteer day is Wednesday 17th April from 1pm (also 15th May).

Jobs for the coming months are to work on the bee bed, create a plant guild around the plum tree, continue work on mint corner and prepare the rest of the Eco Garden.

 

 

 

 

 

Wednesday In The Park – 20th March from 1pm

We are testing out in the run up to this festival the idea of running our own Once A Month volunteer days in Platt Fields Park. This is inspired by the event that we hosted at the park as part of Student Volunteer Week in February.

We will be in the park on the 20th March from 1pm continuing the work on the Eco Garden to get it looking good not only for our festival but for many years to come.

We will be clearing more bramble, continuing to repair the Living Sofa and maybe even more cobbing!

It would be great if folk could join the Facebook Page or leave a comment on here so we have an idea of numbers. And then just come and find us at the Lakeside Centre. Thanks.

Creating a Bee Bed in the Eco Garden

We are going to create a bee friendly growing bed in the Eco Garden. The bed will be in flower from as early in the year to as late as possible. The idea is that multiple flowers will have nectar available at anyone time.

Platt Fields Park

Eco Garden

Since our second event in the summer 2011, we have adopted Platt Fields Park as our home. There has been a recent history of environmental and community art projects being based in the area to the south of the lake, known as the Eco Garden.

This is glade-like area where you can find flower beds, willow structures, a clay oven and a living sofa. The park is a perfect place to escape the frenetic pace of urban life and the Eco Garden is one of the best places in all of Manchester’s green spaces.

If you would like to find out more or get involved with the Eco Garden click here.

Friends of Platt Fields Park

The single biggest factor that makes Platt Fields so special is its community involvement. Nothing symbolises this more than the Friends of the Platt Fields Park who will be celebrating 20 years in 2014.

We have been working closely with the FoPF since January 2012 to become part of the great work that they do.

The Anchors

We have been part of the discussion in the park to think about a new model of community involvement. The thinking is that the current funding and budget situation is not going to have a positive effect on the management of green spaces and that the potential for communities from the parks is not fully realised.

The Anchors – Please click to see the foundations of a new way of working. Your comments would be greatly appreciated.

OAM

One of the successes of the work in Platt Fields is the monthly Sunday ‘Once A Month’ volunteer days, or OAM’s. These have been running every third Sunday for over 6 years and offer people a chance to participate in improving the park.

We have been helping with these since early 2012 and also run a smaller Wednesday afternoon session which is concentrated on the Eco Garden.

If you would like to get involved click here

Boathouse

As part of the Anchor concept, groups agree to look after or contribute to an element of the park in return for a given benefit. We have taken on the care of the Eco Garden in order for it to be at its best for the Envirolution Festival.

An added benefit of this has been our access to the Boathouse. We use the space to store and create art installations, signage and anything else creative needed for the event. This often doubles up as community art workshops next to the lake for people who are enjoying the park and happen to wonder by.

Wednesday In The Park

The sun has come back to our sky so it must be spring! We are back in the park every Wednesday to take on some of the challenges of the Eco Garden.

From Gais’s Garden by Toby Hemenway

Today was supposed to be a session looking at the guilds that we could grow to improve the growth and productive of the fruit trees. We did manage to begin the germination of some of the bulb species to protect from the grass.

However, as often happens, we were interupted by the opportunity to grab one of the park wardens. The job at hand was the re-seeding of the green sofa, which first needs completely emptying and re-filling.

Over much of February we have been cutting back the willow to control the growth and attempt to harvest useable sticks. It is great to see some park users have been busy using the excess sticks to create a little play den.

Happy Tu B’Shevat – The New Year for Trees

Tu B’Shevat on the Jewish Calender is the New Year for Trees, but who would have thought after the week that Manchester has had that today would have turned out to be a perfect day for tree planting.

Envirolution Pop Up Farm

Pop Up Farm

Envirolution Pop Up Farm began from listening to the very inspirational words of Paul Clarke talking about Pop Up Farm. The idea of taking environmentally friendly initiatives into school, all of which, would be free to implement as they would either save the school money or generate an income was fascinating.