Working out discussion topics: Social Justice vs Economic Development: is it always a dichotomy?

Detail;

Money for land is easily accessible but not for production; this is a problem for Lithuania

Workshop 1st transnational meeting Liverpool Dec '11

Workshop 1st transnational meeting Liverpool Dec '11

Been a great day with Introductions from everyone involved on the first Transnational Visit for AgriSpaces. So welcome to Liverpool all our Romanian and Lithuanian visitors! Thanks to Clare, Gemma, Becky , Lazlo & Joli for the great Lunch at Squash nutrition in Toxteth, everyones presentations and hard work. Looking forward to the sessions tomorrow and finding out more. But already I think everyone can find something useful to extend their knowledge and work.


Fascinating to see the YMCA site in Garston/Speke and Groundworks sites; can't wait to watch these places develop, inspiring stuff

Rooftop Bee Technology at Squash Nutrition in Toxteth

Hello world!

Ross Dalziel

"I'm an artist in Liverpool influenced by the 'internet of things' which is about connecting real world objects and activity to the internet ; I'm interested in how technology can work with growing and growing can help technology. Agriculture is the oldest technology after all. Im also interested in making information and technology more open through open source software and hardware and am currently organising a festival of open source culture in 2012 in Liverpool. I like the idea of a permaculture of natural technology and of making food production open source and DIY. To borrow terms from software, we should be not just food 'users' but food 'developers' or 'admins'

I also like cooking vegetables from my wife's allotment. Im not a good gardener as i cant dig any more because of a disability so technology and cooking is my way in ;)"

Look out for more profiles from the rest of the Agri spaces group....(with better pictures hopefully!!)

Im really inspired by the work done here http://www.refarmthecity.org/

You can follow my research links here

Ive been working on this recently with the excellent artist Ticky Lowe getclosertowildflowerseeds.blogspot.com

http://cheapjackprojects.tumblr.com

@cheapjack on twitter

Liverpool PROVISIONAL ITINERARY

Grundtvig


Agri Spaces

GRP/11/035C
PROVISIONAL ITINERARY( to be finalised)
1st Agri Spaces Meeting – Liverpool UK

8th – 11th December 2011


Thursday 8th December
Partners arrive

Friday 9th December

Time Activity
10.00- Introductions – presentations from the partners , 10 – 15 mins each
10.45 Coffee
11.15 Confirming the programme/project.
12.30-14.30 Lunch
14.30
Parallel sessions 1 Management details on revised visits and roles/tasks
2 Workshop/seminar for the trainees
16.00 Tea Break
16:30 - End of day discussion
17:00 -20.00 Free time
20.00 Dinner Chinese Resturant


Saturday 10th December
Time Activity
10.00 Workshop/seminar
11.00 Coffee
11.30 Continuation of workshops and discussions
12.30 Plenary session and next steps
13.00-14.00 Light lunch approx.

14.00-site visit
17.00-20.00 Free time
20.00-late Dinner Italian Resturant , Live Music & Dancing

Sunday 11th December
Partners leave
(Or for those leaving later the option of a sightseeing trip or shopping trip)

Liverpool Meeting Travel – Airport transportation – Accommodation

1st Agri Spaces Meeting – Liverpool UK

8th – 11th December 2011
Travel – Airport transportation – Accommodation

Our office:
Pacificstream
Basecamp3
29 Parliament Street
Liverpool L8 5RN
Telephone: +44 (0)151 329 2121
We are a short walk from the city centre it will take approx. 15
mins.
Venue: (to be confirmed)
Contemporary Urban Centre
Greenland Street
Liverpool L1 0BS
This is in the same building (but the other side)

Hotels:
I suggest you go to http://www.liverpoolhotels.com/ for information on hotels in
Liverpool. Please book soon as hotel accommodation in Liverpool is quickly booked up. It is not worth getting group rates. As you may know hotel accommodation in the UK is expensive (or expensive for what it is!)
Try one of the following:
Campanile Hotel*
Jurys Inn*
Express by Holiday Inn Liverpool Albert Dock*
Hilton by Hampton (City not airport)*
Ibis Hotel*
Liverpool City Centre Travel Inn*
Premier Travel Inn Albert Dock*
*all near the office/venue

Transport:
Liverpool John Lennon Airport (www.liverpoolairport.com) now serves many
European cities and covers the budget airlines and KLM for flights via Amsterdam. This is the most convenient airport for Liverpool and there is an airport bus into the city centre every 30 minutes.
Manchester Airport is approx. 30 miles away and there is a direct train service to
Liverpool Lime Street Station, Liverpool (www.merseytravel.gov.uk) and takes
approx. 1 hour 10 minutes.
NB. Avoid coming via London as it is very expensive to travel by train from London and not easy.

Further information about Liverpool can be found at www.visitliverpool.com.

The weather could be cold (but not freezing) and damp (it rains a lot on the North West coast!)

Roy Jones mobile:
07974 432 937

Agri-Spaces-Approaces to urban culture 2011-2013

Agri-Spaces-Approaces to urban culture 2011-2013

Saturday, October 8th, 2011

Societatea de geografie din Romania Filiala Suceava a dat de curand startul proiectului GRU-11-P-LP-229-SV-UK cu titlul AGRI-SPACES-APPROACHES TO URBAN CULTURE, ce se va derula in perioada 2011/2013, finantat de Comisia Europeana prin Programul Life Long learning si care vizează crearea unei reţele între diverse organizaţii atit la nivel local, national cat si la nivel european care să dezvolte managementul necesar agriculturii urbane, îmbunătăţirii mediulu de afaceri în domeniu, să identifice mijloace şi instrumente necesare comunităţii locale in acelasi timp.

Coordonatorul proiectului este Organizatia PacificStream ENTERPRISE SOULUTIONS C.I.C.din Liverpool U.K si mai avem ca parteneri Organizatiiile Tauragės verslo informacinis centras din Lituania si Liverpool Vision Limited U.K.

In aceasta etapa am stabilit echipele de proiect, am pregatit prezentarea fiecarei organizatii cu elementele de identificare specifice, am incheiat parteneriate cu institutii din orizontul local, am conturat deja o retea internationala pe facebook si blogul proiectului, care se va dezvolta in viitor.
Acest proiect este o mare oportunitate pentru noi de a crea acea conexiune absolut necesara unei dezvoltari durabile intre institutiile de educatie, cercerare stiintifica si mediul de afaceri care sa contribuie la identificarea unor solutii reale de progres economic a orizontului local pe baza unor experiente si exemple de buna practica la nivel european.

Mai multe informatii despre acest proiect puteti afla accesand : http://agrispaces.blogspot.com/

Daca doriti sa colaborati sau sa beneficiati de rezultatele acestui proiect, veniti alaturi de noi pe facebook la adresa agrispaces@groups.facebook.com sau pe pagina web http://www.agri-spaces.eu/ care va contine toate rezultatele proietului

Meeting Topic: Agri-Spaces Launch Meeting

Time/Date/Location:
2:00 pm 31st October 2011 Bascamp3
and 3:30 pm for 'The Team'

Agenda 1 - Management Team 2:00pm

Attendees:
Jerry Spencer
Roy Jones
Rob Eakins
Peter Rix
Ray Haigh


- Clarifying Purpose of the Project and confirm outcomes etc
- Looking for Synergies With EU Partner Proposals
- If No Synergies, How Do We Deliver Learning Outcomes? Risks
- Getting Sign-Up To Purpose and Clarifying and Confirming Roles and Expectations
- Beginning and Maintaining Communication With EU Partners
- Timetable
- 1st Transnational meeting - confirm dates, venue and content
- Other issues and items


Agenda 2 - The 'Team' 3:30 pm

Attendees:
Jerry Spencer
Roy Jones
Rob Eakins
Peter Rix
?
etc

- Introductions
- Organising Mobilities: When and Who?
- Purpose of Mobilities
- What Do We Want To Teach/Communicate?
- What Do We Want To Learn, How and From Who?
- What Are The Proposed Learning Outcomes? How Will They Be Delivered/Disseminated?
- Next Steps inc. 1st Transnational Meeting in Liverpool

Grundtvig Partnership Approved

Agri-spaces is a partnership project which aims to create a network of organisations that will share techniques and management approaches used in urban agriculture, and develop ways of increasing the benefit of such schemes to the communities they serve.

The partnership made up of 3 countries, Romania, Lithuania and the UK, all with experience and dedication to regeneration and training will examine the most effective ways of initiating urban agriculture schemes and of ensuring the support of significant stakeholders. Urban farming methods from partner countries will a be explored in order to find the most efficient and efficient approaches. Case studies will be collected from all partners, with the results together with learning materials available on an accessible on-line platform. Common guidelines will be developed which can be used across Europe by those who wish to develop Urban Agriculture in their communities.

The training will follow innovative facilitated learning developed from action learning methodologies.

The target group of this project are people involved in the creation and development of urban agriculture including individuals, community groups, those involved with urban regeneration and social enterprises. Urban agriculture has a particular positive impact to those on low incomes, the unemployed, and new immigrants who may fit into both of the previous groups and may additionally be unable to source produce important to their diet. However, the broader urban community will not be excluded.

City Farming: The future of food?

City Farming: The future of food?
Author: Elfie Tromp
Friday, 15. April 2011 07:16
Farming is no longer something for backwards villages in the country: City farming is local, green and fun!

Being part of the agenda of Rotterdam’s vice-mayor of sustainability, Mrs. van Huffelen, city farming can be used as a strategy to give the city a ‘green character’, improve the air quality and make sufficient use of drainage water.

City farming: a mirage or up-and-coming?

A social component
City farming also combines entrepeneurship, a healthy lifestyle (good food and exercise) and an opportunity for the city’s inhabitants to mingle. When each neighbourhood would have its own foodgarden, their would be a significant increase in social cohesion. Safety and standard of living would go up, states the manifest of Eetbaar Rotterdam (Eatable Rotterdam), a website that links all green organisations, local and internationally and keeps a neat agenda of upcoming green plans and events.

Temporary spatial design
Rotterdam is a city that is always building. Walking across the city centre, you are confronted with bald patches of construction sites or future building sites. These tend to make the surrounding inhabitants and visitors feel a little unheimlich. That problem is easily solved: make it a green haven and everyone feels welcome!



Getting all parties involved
Their are, however, enough problems to be solved, before we can say goodbye to our imported tomatoes from Spain and replace them with local ones. Professional farmers have good contracts with big multinationals, like Unilever. Are they willing to give that up to try and make it work for a smaller contractor like a city? Are city farmers able to produce enough food on a large scale?

The city’s green taskforce seems confident about it and lots of local initiatives have started since then.
Although precise numbers and percentages of how many city farms they plan to create, are carefully avoided from the city council’s plans, the tone is mildly optimistic: ‘Aim is to have part of our daily food produced locally and there will be a significant increase of city farms over the next few years.’

Related blog:

* Activating spaces – FARM:Shop
* De Groene Passage: Rotterdam's eco-friendly heart


Related video:

* Emscherkunst.2010: New green lung enrichted with artificial oxygen
* Walking house roams the Emscher Island


Go to channel:

* Creative City Rotterdam