Emerge_Manchester's blog

We would like to inform you of our plans for a joint 'Garden Market produce exchange. EMERGE's local food works project and Manchester Creative Collective's Food Hub are partnering up to
host two pilot events in late August one in the North East of the City and one in the South.
We are hoping to bring together small scale local producers, mostly from local allotment sites but also local cake bakers, jam makers and the like, to exchange produce using a LETS (local exchange

The garden has literally exploded with growth in the past month with the warm, wet weather providing perfect growing conditions. Our potatoes and tomatoes are, luckily, under the cover of the polytunnel and should therefore be insulated from the risk of blight which accompanies wet and warm summer weather. We will soon be starting to build another raised bed to be filled with oriental greens such as pak-choi which will provide a good source of greens as the weather eventually begins to get colder.

As part of ‘Zero Waste Week’, thirteen schools from across the Manchester local authority have been working hard to slim their school bins for the past few weeks. This competition is the first of its kind in Manchester and was organised by environmental charity EMERGE 3Rs to encourage schools to combat their waste. As the challenge is nearly over, it is time to identify the school that has reduced its waste the most, and to congratulate the schools, staff and pupils who have taken part in this Manchester-wide rubbish diet.

With the weather being so lovely I popped down to the learning garden to take a few summery snaps. Most of the beds that we have built are now full and we will be building more this weekend at the Gardening club which will be on this Saturday 10 - 1 here at New Smithfield Market if anyone fancies having a dig, hopefully the weather will be nice and sunny still.

Ben
ben@emergemanchester.co.uk
0161 223 8200

The learning garden is coming on in leaps and bounds. We have plated out some leeks, salad, squash and courgette (with one courgette already flowering!) and have also eaten our first sweet peas. However, there is still lots of work to be done. This Saturday (26th June) we will be having another work day here at the learning garden. There are raised beds to construct and fill, doors to build for the polytunnel and lots of plants to put into our raised beds. We have chilli’s, aubergines, nasturtium, sweet corn, broad beans, French beans, pak choi and many more ready to go into the ground.

Dear All,

We would like to thank everyone who came along to the Question Time event on food and sustainability. Also, many thanks to everyone who helped us spreading the word about the event. We could not have done this without your help.
We hope you had a great evening and both the event and discussion lived up to your expectations.

We apologise again that only a small fraction of questions and topics submitted by the audience could be addressed by the panel, however we do hope you found the debate insightful.

Dear All,

There are only a few more days left to the EMERGE Question Time Event on food & sustainability (10 June 2010).
We've put together a brilliant panel of five experts from different industries who will discuss your questions on topics such as food supply chain management, sourcing, packaging and food waste.

Panel members are:
Chris Shearlock (The Co-operative)
Stefan Stainsby (WRAP's Love Food Hate Waste Campaign)
Pat Foreman (Food North West)
Julie Bagnoli (Business Link NW)
Debbie Ellen (Researcher & Community Grower)

On Saturday the 29th of May EMERGE Local Food Works hosted its launch event here at New Smithfield Market. People braved the traditionally British rainy bank holiday weather to learn about gardening in small spaces (put on by the Fallowfield Gardening and Permaculture Society (GAPS)), watch documentaries on the global food system and find out more about the EMERGE Local Food Works project.

Thank you to everyone that came. Next event will be a workshop on raised beds this Saturday (5th of June) between 11am and 1pm at the learning garden on New Smithfield Market.

Hope to see you there.

Just a quick reminder that the EMERGE local food works project will be hosting our open day tomorrow (Saturday 29th) starting at 11 am and running till 2pm. This will be a chance to find out about our project and future plans that we have as well as participate in family friendly workshops, watch some food related films and enjoy some healthy nibbles. The event will be at the EMERGE learning garden (look for the Polytunnel) here at New Smithfield market, off Old Ashton road.

* Workshops will start at 11:30
* Films will start at 12:30

This event is free and open to everyone.

Ben

With environmental awareness growing in importance on a daily basis, sustainable living as well as social and environmental responsibility are increasingly emphasised and taken for granted. However, we know that counting food miles, cutting carbon emissions and choosing the right food supplier can get a little mind-boggling at times. In the end, it's hard to know where to start with doing your bit for the environment.