Guest speaker: Tony Davies
Tuesday 27th October from 7pm to 9pm
at the Herb Garden Café, Llandrindod
The uplands of the Elan Valley has areas of an under-utilized grass, 'Molinia caerulea' (Purple moor grass, Molinia). Molinia is a dominating species, and the spread of Molinia is having a damaging effect on species diversity, habitat quality, fire risk, access for recreation and agricultural productivity.
A project funded by the Welsh Government has been completed to look at methods of reducing the dominance of Molinia and the improvements to the habitat created by this removal. Experimentally processing the harvested biochar into Biochar has also been part of the project.
Biochar is produced through a process called pyrolysis that heats biomass with limited amounts of oxygen present. The carbon rich biochar resists degradation and can lock up carbon in soil for hundreds or even thousands of years.
Soil rich in biochar has improved water and nutrient retention and has potential commercial usage within the market garden and other growing sectors.
About the speaker
Tony Davies is a tenant farmer at Henfron Farm in the Elan Valley with a passion for renewable energy and sustainability. Tony is the fifth generation of the Davies family to farm at Henfron Farm, his ancestors having first moved to the farm in 1860. For more information please visit the Henfron Farm website.
Admission to the meeting is free. A donation will be requested to contribute to the costs of refreshments.
A poster to help promote this meeting is available to download.
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Guest speaker: Andrew Twigger
Emergency Planning Officer, Powys County Council
Tuesday 22nd September from 7pm to 9pm
at the Herb Garden Café, Llandrindod
Pandemic Flu, Flooding, Severe Weather, and loss of Energy sources are among the major risks to the community. In his talk, Andrew will describe the various organisations that are involved nationally and locally in dealing with these risks. In particular he will cover the Dyfed Powys Local Resilience Forum, which has the responsibilty to plan for, respond to, and recover from emergencies in our area.
The Community Risk Register for the Dyfed Powys area assesses the most significant risks to the community, and Andrew will go through those that are most relevant in the Llandrindod area. As well as describing how the Emergency Planning services prepare to deal with these issues, he will look at how individuals and households can best prepare themselves to mitigate the impact of major events.
Admission to the meeting is free. A donation will be requested to contribute to the costs of refreshments.
A poster to help promote this meeting is available to download.
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Tuesday 28th July from 7pm to 9pm
at the Herb Garden Café, Llandrindod
With guest speaker Roz Brown
Update: Permaculture and Forest Garden Information sheets are now available.
Fifteen years ago Martin Crawford moved from conventional organic gardening to creating a forest garden from a bare field. Today Martin Crawford's garden is a fantastic example of what can be achieved with a minimum effort input to produce abundant crops of edible trees, plants, shrubs and ground cover. In this film he takes us through the seasons of his garden and shows the huge range of plants that can be grown.
The film will be introduced by Roz Brown who will also be talking after the film about the close links between Permaculture and Transition.
We've watched this film over again when we want something gentle and inspiring ... and every time we've come away having focused on something that escaped us before.
Amazon reviewer
Admission to the meeting is free. A donation will be requested to contribute to the costs of refreshments.
A poster to help promote this event is available. Please download and display.
Read more about July 2015 Social Meeting - A Forest Garden Year
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Tuesday 23rd June from 7pm to 9pm
at the Herb Garden Café, Llandrindod
We invite you to a very special meeting where George Marshall will be giving a talk based on his new best selling book:
Don't Even Think About It:
Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change
The most important book published on climate change in the past few years
George Monbiot, The Guardian
George's book provides a witty, insightful, and groundbreaking take on one of the most urgent questions of our time: Why, despite overwhelming scientific evidence, do we still ignore climate change?
In his presentation George will talk about some of the many and varied reasons his research has uncovered for our inability to ignore this threat to our very existence. He will also provide answers to some of the other intriguing questions that his research has thrown up, including
- How will extreme weather events affect our attitude to climate change, and could they make us less concerned?
- Why have scientists, normally the most trusted professionals in our society, become distrusted, hated, and the targets for violent abuse?
- Why do the people who say climate change is too uncertain become more agitated about the threats of cell phones, meteorite strikes or alien invasion?
- Why does having children make people less concerned about climate change not more
Admission to this special meeting is free. A donation will be requested to contribute to the costs of refreshments.
A poster to help promote this event is available. Please download and display.
Read more about June 2015 Social Meeting: George Marshall - Why our brains are wired...
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Tuesday 26th May from 7pm to 9pm
at the Herb Garden Café, Llandrindod
How might agriculture have to alter as a result of climate change?
What changes can we make now to reduce our impact on the environment?
Do you want to eat less meat, but are unsure how to begin?
Come to the Herb Garden to find out about stock-free organic growing and vegan and vegetarian cooking.
The meeting will include a presentation, food tasting, a short film and a discussion session.
The presenters are Dorienne Robinson and Sian Meredudd.
Dorienne has been a vegan for twenty years. She is a qualified teacher, therapist and chef, and has taught Vegan and Vegetarian cookery and nutrition. For her Masters Degree in Advanced Environmental and Energy Studies she analysed the ability of Powys to feed its population in 2020 in the light of post peak oil and climate change. She also proved the ability to produce fruit and vegetables in Powys on a commercial scale by developing Allt Goch Organics at St Harmon, which became a centre for training and demonstration.
Sian became vegetarian in 1976 and ran a Vegan Society stand at the National Eisteddfod each year from 1986 till 2012. She edited and mostly wrote a small bilingual magazine called the Wales Vegan/Figan Cymreig from 1985 till 2015 which has now moved to an online publication. As a member of Compassion in World Farming she learnt about stock free farming. She is a keen organic gardener and practices Vegan Organic Nurture and finds that no-dig gardening with the addition of mulches and compost on undisturbed soil works well for her, the worms and the produce!
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