Transition Ashtead » Events

Apple Day report

caroline — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 20:47:12 +0000

We had a fantastic response to the Apple Day. Within the first hour we had filled one builders bag, and we rushed off to get a second one! By the end of the day we had filled two, our estimate was we had about half a ton. Everyone was amazingly generous donating their extra apples and paying in advance for the bottled juice, this has enabled us to be able to pay for the juicing and bottling of about 300 litres. We also had the demonstration press, kindly loaned by Epsom Apples, which was great fun and showed the process of chopping, crushing and pressing – the resulting juice was yummy. David Gillott, Four Gables Fine Dining, had a delicious selection of their produce and hampers, I was very impressed that as well as keeping ducks and using the eggs, they grow mushrooms here in Ashtead. Thank you to everyone who helped make the day such a great success.

Today I drove the van rather slowly to Ringden Farm in Kent. We chose to take them there as it was closer than Moor Organic Juicers as they do not need a minimum of a ton. Ringden Farm have their own orchards, they say it has been an amazing year for apples and they have never been so busy. The heavy builders bags were forked lifted out of the van and tipped into 2 big wooden crates. The juice will be ready to collect and buy (£2.50/Ltr) in about 4 weeks. I am really looking forward to sampling our juice, and having such a local produce to give away as presents. Ringden Farm also make cider, so next year we could have Ashtead Apple Cider!

Surrey Green Homes Open Days 26-27 March 2011

caroline — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 17:52:36 +0000

On Saturday 26^th and Sunday 27^th March, 28 homeowners throughout Surrey, including 4 in Ashtead, will open their doors to the public to share their knowledge and experience about making their own homes more energy efficient and ecologically sustainable.

On show will be solar heating and hot water systems, secondary glazing, wood burners and many other energy saving ideas. Homeowners will be able to report on how these changes have affected their fuel bills, and the comfort of their homes. Colin Butfield, Head of Campaigns at the global environment charity WWF said “WWF is pleased to see so many green homes opening their doors to inspire others”. This event has been organised by Action Surrey in partnership with local environmental volunteer groups across the County.

To find out more and to book free tickets please visit:

http://www.surreygreenhomes.org

Brewery Drinks – Solar Energy & Feed In Tariff

caroline — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 17:57:07 +0000

Come for drinks at the Brewery, Monday 14th March, 8pm. The theme will be ‘Solar Energy and the Feed In Tariff Scheme’. If you missed the recent event at the APMH, why not come along and ask the questions you meant to ask at the meeting! Two home owners who have already installed solar panels will be there to talk about their experience. You can also find out more about The (Solar Panels) Buyers Club and add your name to the list.

We look forward to seeing you!

Compost Works Open Day

caroline — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Compost Works are having an open day, 2-5.30pm March 19th, 8 The Drive, Fetcham, KT22 9EN.
Admission free.

Learn all about composting, making bins, what works etc. They are also giving advice on growing a wide variety of fruit, and how to preserve it.

Composting

Compost Works volunteers will be on hand to explain how to get started, advise on the compost container best for you, answer your compost queries, and demonstrate ways of speeding up your compost using a mower and a shredder. And with our shredder, which you can borrow, you can see how to dramatically reduce the bulk of your woody prunings, and provide an ideal mix in the compost heap with your kitchen waste and grass cuttings.

We have working examples of all sorts of compost containers, including numerous low cost DIY examples, and how to make them. If you want to get even quicker and better compost, we can show you an insulated pallet composter, made from free materials. Also a home made wormery.

Self-sufficiency

Find out how you could eat your own fruit all the year round, helped of course by lots of good compost!

See how to grow soft fruit – Rhubarb, gooseberries, blackcurrants, boysenberries, jostaberries, blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries, as well as fruit trees – apples, quince, damsons.

And most importantly, how to preserve the fruit by bottling, freezing, storing properly, making jams and chutney. All these methods will be on show.

You can also find out how easy it is to propagate so you never need to buy new plants.

For more information visit www.compostworks.org.uk/news.htm

Hot Water and Electricity from the Sun – Renewable Energy for your home

Barrie — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 17:20:09 +0000

Photovoltaic panels

We are having a presentation on solar energy on the evening of 2nd February (not 26th January as previously stated) at the Ashtead Peace Memorial Hall (APMH). The aim is to cover both solar thermal (hot water) and Photovoltaic (electricity) production systems that are suitable for domestic use.

Our speaker is Richard Warren from Solstice Energy, an approved PV and Solar thermal systems installer – Solstice have recently installed a PV system on Tony Cooper’s house here in Ashtead.

Solar Hot water panel

Richard will discuss the different types of solar systems and the advantages and constraints on the installations. He will also cover the Government’s incentive programme (Feed in Tariff Scheme) for the installation of renewable energy units, including domestic premises, that makes PV installations potentially able to provide a 8-9% rate of return on capital invested.

The meeting is planned for 8.00 p.m. on 2nd February at the Marshall Room in the APMH.

Barrie Mould
TA Energy Group

Transition drinks

Chris Ellis — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 15:54:32 +0000

We hope you can come to The Brewery 8pm Monday 13th December for Transition drinks.

Find out about Transition Ashtead Garden Share, how to save money on home energy and all things Sustainable!

An informal evening – a glass of wine, a few beers… no presentations, no agenda, just a drink or two and a chat! Hope to see you there.

We hold Transition Drinks on the second and forth Mondays of every month – so make a note in your diaries!

Turn your apple into apple juice

admin — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 09:19:16 +0000

Have you got lots of apples on your trees?

Are you wondering what to do with them all?

Come to the Craft Fair at Ashtead Peace Memorial Hall on Saturday 9th October 10am to 3pm, bring a bag of clean apples and a empty bottle and get freshly pressed apple juice! We will charge a small fee for the pressing and you will receive about a fifth of the weight of your apples as juice.

Hope to see you there!

Transition drinks

Chris Ellis — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 09:27:05 +0000

We hope you can come to The Brewery 8pm Monday 13th September for Transition drinks.

Find out about Transition Ashtead Garden Share, how to save money on home energy and all things Sustainable!

An informal evening – a glass of wine, a few beers… no presentations, no agenda, just a drink or two and a chat! Hope to see you there.

We hold Transition Drinks on the second and forth Mondays of every month – so make a note in your diaries!

Transition drinks

Chris Ellis — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 08:00:41 +0000

We hope you can come to The Brewery 8pm Monday 9th August for Transition drinks.

Find out about Transition Ashtead Garden Share, how to save money on home energy and all things Sustainable!

An informal evening – a glass of wine, a few beers… no presentations, no agenda, just a drink or two and a chat! Hope to see you there.

We hold Transition Drinks on the second and forth Mondays of every month – so make a note in your diaries!

Transition Drinks

admin — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:20:25 +0000

We hope you can come to The Brewery 8pm Monday 28th June for Transition drinks.

Find out about Transition Ashtead Garden Share, how to save money on home energy and all things Sustainable!

An informal evening – a glass of wine, a few beers… no presentations, no agenda, just a drink or two and a chat! Hope to see you there.

We hold Transition Drinks on the second and forth Mondays of every month – so make a note in your diaries!