Have you put this Saturday in your diary or calendar yet ?
As you may remember from the last edition of the Sprout, an inspiring and visionary event is due to take place on Saturday, October 17th in West Oxford, asking (and going some way towards answering) the question: what could a sustainable future look like ?

Initiated by Michael Soth, a local resident for the last 18 years, on the occasion of his 50th birthday, this is a one-off event designed to help us take action towards making our lives and our community sustainable. “The question that interests me in organising this event,” he says, “is: what kind of joint thinking and action are needed to influence our next 50 years on this planet so we’ll last into the next century ?”
It’s an activity-packed day with some fun things to do for the whole family and for all members and sections of the community.
Apart from the usual stalls, local projects and wholesome food, there will be a good number of talks, presentations and lectures offering substantial background information as well as the possibility to put your questions to the presenters and experts.
But it’s not all talk: there will also plenty of practical things to do (energy efficiency advice, building a good compost heap), activities for children (e.g. story telling, creative stuff) and for teenagers (e.g. bicycle maintenance workshop) as well as films and hands-on presentations. All presenters have been asked to make their contributions as accessible and inclusive as possible, so that anybody can come along and join in.
And it’s not all doom and gloom, either: without minimising the very real dangers we – and the planet – are facing (according to overwhelming scientific consensus), the focus of the day is positive. As implied in the subtitle of the event - thriving sustainably - there is an argument that sustainable principles can and will drastically enhance the quality of our lives. Rather than going back to the stone age, as some sceptics are taunting, there is a good chance that through sustainability we’ll end up with healthier, more fulfilled and overall better lives. Aligning ourselves with the environment and working with nature and natural principles, is not backward, simplistic and naïve, but smart, forward-looking and a good use of human ingenuity and creativity (see for example presentations on cradle-to-cradle production cycles, low-carbon housing, renewable energy, permaculture etc).
And whilst climate change is a serious issue, as is our dependence on fossil fuels and many other threats to the health of the planet and the environment, the day will not indulge gloom, despondency, moralising or scare-mongering, but focus on positive action. “We’re never going to create a better world by finger-wagging and exhortation,” suggests Michael. “But we may be able to do it by enjoying ourselves more and maybe more deeply and sustainably.”

Whatever your ideas and beliefs are about the environment and climate change, and about what you can or want to do about it, the event attempts to offer practical steps that you can take today, by yourself, with your family and with your neighbours and wider community.
A variety of local initiatives will be present, offering a range of opportunities to become involved (Low Carbon West Oxford, Westmill Wind Farm, Car Clubs, Food Coop, etc). It should be possible for anybody to find something that matters to you and makes a difference to you and your life style.
There will be things happening in parallel throughout the day, so you may need to plan in advance which events you want to go to. The good news is that everything is free (except a couple of workshops where costs of materials will be involved).
Nearly all of the contributors and presenters are generously giving their time and energy without being paid, so we expect to cover the costs of venue, publicity and some travel and accommodation through inviting donations at each event on the day and some fundraising (for some of the presenters we need places where they can stay overnight on Friday 16th, so if you want to put one of them up for that night, that would be most welcome). All surplus will be donated to Low Carbon West Oxford and Resurgence magazine.
Because some things are expected to be over-subscribed, an online booking system has been created, so you can start reserving places now.

As the programme is rather full and more or less complete, the main help that is now needed is publicity and spreading the word.
Leaflets and posters will be available around the beginning of September, and you can spread these throughout your neighbourhood and social circles. In the meantime, you can draw people’s attention to the evolving website (thrivingsustainably.org.uk) which provides a focus for all the preparations. You can leave your suggestions, offers of help and comments on the blog pages, and you can offer to volunteer for the variety of tasks that need to be done. We are confident you will enjoy meeting like-minded people and doing something towards the long-term health of our community and our planet.

During the next few weeks you can contact our event organiser:
Andrew Ventham
07794 927816
(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
http://www.thrivingsustainably.org.uk

or email: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)