Barriers, Antidotes, Projects, First Steps…

Further to our inaugural meeting on 19 August, here is the exhaustive list of barriers, antidotes, projects and first steps we collectively identified during the meeting. Thanks to Peter for collating these:

Barriers

• Time
• Popular Culture
• Health and Safety
• Built Environment
• Lack of Government Vision
• Government Buy In
• Fear of being poor
• Lack of Open Space/Common Ground for flats
• Too much work
• Individuals can’t make a difference
• High cost of public transport
• Majority won’t follow
• Wrong Priorities
• Convenience/Lack of will power
• English Reserve
• Lack of Time
• Isolation
• One person against a lot of officiation
• You think you have no time/effort/experience
• The infrastructure is too “built”
• Lack of experience (knowledge)
• Home-life + family can be an obstacle
• It’s not cool [instant, fast, sexy]
• School teachers are not trained properly
• Lack of real democracy
• Values (success = ?, happy = ?)
• Social isolation
• Fear
• Sparing Time
• Fast Food
• Lack of focus
• Fear of change
• Disillusionment
• Overwhelmed by enormity of challenge
• Lack of Leadership – Big Picture; Co-ordination
• Time
• Cost
• Knowledge
• Apathy
• Distance – Lazy
• Lack of Energy/Motivation
• Negative Media
• Time – Lack Of
• Alternate Agendas which conflict
• Apathy and Inertia of People
• Government Buy In
• Public Embarrassment

Antidotes

• Pop Culture (Education – Home Economics, Environmental Issues, Control the curriculum)
• Time – 1) Live locally/work locally, 2) Get let out early for Environmental Work; 3) Flexi-time, 4) work from home
• Work locally
• Self discipline
• Support the next step
• Baby Steps (Start small)
• Take care of motivation
• Do some (one) thing that grabs you + a friend
• Rebalancing our lives and priorities
• No buts – take it into our own hands
• Using Noticeboards – mapping/knowing where they are
• Facebook
• Keeping in touch
• Use freegle
• Acknowledge activities people are already taking and reward them
• Change what you value
• Just do it anyway
• Individuals take responsibility
• Joanna Macey (workshops) – Inspiration from fear
• Be the change – lead by example
• Web-based info that shares Reading’s usages and positive effects for community to see/appreciate
• Local community gathering – street party to celebrate community (promote)
• Community Notice Boards – some way to communicate events
• Competition – Who (Houses) use the ‘least gas’ or ‘Recycle the most’ etc
• Get message across to all sorts of established groups e.g. Churches, W.I. Etc.
• Start Young – educate the children
• From little acorns… Small differences
• Optimism
• Willpower

Projects

• Garden Shares linked to allotment waiting lists
• Recycling rewards (as vouchers?)
• Food preserving group
• Better publicity for local business/farmers markets etc
• Land share
• Community Allotment
• Community Composting
• Harvest from peoples gardens/fruit trees etc
• Web site that informs people how to get around reading on foot/bike etc.
• Sharing Skills (Reading Lets)
• Freecycle
• Community Agriculture/Veg box schemes
• Time for people
• Community Gardening
• Landshare
• Passing on gardening skills to young people
• Community on old Avenue School Site
• Community garden on Ennerdale Road (derelict site)
• Have a vision of creating a brown field eco village
• Establish Agroforestry/Wild Fruit
• Educating People about edible plants
• Getting more young people involved
• Petition local MP/Council
• Community projects for renewable energy (e.g. Wind Turbine/PV)
• Energy Efficiency + Retro fit
• Car Share
• Landshare (under utilised -> utilised for crops + Food)
• More allotments form community land on short term lease or on floodplain (create more capacity)
• Selective traffic assistabce – Only yeld to small or multi-occupancy cars
• Car sharing with neighbours
• Sharing resources/produce
• Garden sharing
• Getting to know our own neighbours and their possible needs
• Shared garden scheme organised by existing local group
• Food and resource exchange network
• Rreading “Pound”
• Fruit collecting Scheme
• Big Society

First Steps

• Buy Local
• Boil Kettle Once – use thermos flask
• Run car off waste veg oil
• Share some knowledge
• Tell a freind what we did tonight
• Use books instead of computers (effectively)
• Drink tap water (not bottled)
• Use bike (always) not car
• sew seeds
• Wood burner for heat
• Pick food from the wild larder
• Consider electric car
• Rain Water Harvesting
• More intelligent food buying
• Reject, Reduce, reuse, recycle
• Buy less packaging (food)
• Use true food coop as well as supermarket
• Walk if possible instead of driving
• Reduce Lawn – use mulching
• Plant a seed
• Washing on line – not tumble drier
• Washing/Hot water/Central Heating – turn down the heat
• Reduce red meat consumption
• Chimney Balloon
• Replace my fridge
• Composting
• Using old tyres to grow potatoes
• Plant veg garden
• Car boot sale
• Persuade son to switch things off e.g. Shower while soaping
• Start growing veg using Square foot gardening
• More careful driving to conserve fuel

TTReading

• Community ideas – compost, garden help, litter pick, information sharing, block parties promoting transition
• PUBLICITY
• Community groups create ideas and lead on it
• Network with other areas – share success
• Proper Cycle Routes
• Formalised Hub
• Keep communicating – build awareness
• Keep us in touch with one another
• Eco-squat
• More meetings to establish practical needs/actions
• Publicity group to educate and inform and recruit
• Big party – with renewable energy
• True food to take up residency in a local pub
• Coherent Strategy
• Everyone bring 5 people to a future showing of a film
• Share info and best practice
• Formalise networks with an exchange town (i.e. Transition Town twinning)
• Form a local sub group
• Run a re-connect event

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