Well I have to say this month seems to have gone by in a whirl and I have the feeling that it’s only going to go quicker as the year progresses. Since my last blog I’ve been busy developing an events programme for the next few months and planning my personal project.
Our March Transition Ripples event was a fantastic bread making day where we tried out our kneading skills and made some yummy breads. We learnt all about the fermentation processes involved with making sourdough and rye breads and tried our hands at making ciabattas. It was a very fun, messy process and I felt very proud of my Ciabatta! Bread making fits very well with the idea behind Transition Ripples which is about bringing back practical skills which help people and communities to become more resilient. Learning how to make your own bread provides an alternative to mass produced bread which is less processed and has no additives. It’s also a great way to learn about where the food we eat comes from and the lengthy processes involved in producing something which we take for granted.
This weekend I also organised an event to show our support for the WWF Earth Hour. This was a worldwide event encouraging people to switch their lights off for one hour to think about the small things we can do to help save our beautiful planet. We spent the hour going for an evening woodland walk exploring the Back Walk and Gowan Hill areas of Stirling where unfortunately the very cloudy weather put a damper on our star gazing plans. Following our walk however, I had arranged a visit to the observatory on top of the Stirling Highland Hotel with the Stirling Astronomical society. It was great to learn all about the history of the observatory and try out the telescope which has been in use since 1889! We saw some amazing footage of the Northern Lights and learnt about the stars we can see from Stirling (on a clear night), inspiring us to get out for some night time explorations away from light pollution.
Looking ahead, I’m really very excited about what is going to be my personal project…developing a Transition Stirling forest garden! This is a planted garden which mimics the ecosystem of a forest, except everything has uses for humans e.g. for food, fibres, dyes, medicine, wood for fuel, woodwork etc – It’s also a great haven for wildlife and is extremely biodiverse. It’s going to be a great space for Transition Stirling members to meet, learn about the natural world and share a huge range of skills. I can’t wait to see how this develops and hope to be able to help create something truly beautiful and inspiring.