Blackshaw Environmental Action Team (BEAT)

Sunday, 22 February 2015

Community orchard

Planting of fruit trees on the land belonging to Carol & Garry King will take place on Sunday 1st March at 10 AM. You are very welcome to come and give a hand for an hour or more. Children are welcome too if supervised by an adult.

You can walk to the site from the New Delight Inn (Newdy) in less than five minutes. Just go along the road next to the red telephone box at Jack Bridge, which runs along the stream uphill.

If you have not planted trees before there will be people present to show you how to do it. BEAT is covered by an insurance policy.

Please bring a spade if you can but do not worry if you cannot as we have spare ones. If you do not like digging you can put newspapers around the planted trees with a hessian mat on top to act as mulching. Remember to wear gloves and warm clothing. You are also welcome to bring newspapers and magazines on 1st March – even if you cannot participate in the activities.

In case the site is covered by heavy snow or it is raining heavily on the day we will postpone the tree planting. If you want to check in advance email finn.jensen@rocketmail.com or phone 01422 846863.

Public Meeting - Science Week

During Science Week we have a public meeting on Tuesday 17th March at Blackshaw Head Methodist Church (the Chapel). We have two speakers:
Roger Munday will talk about Science and religious belief - conflict or common ground? How can a rational, scientifically-literate person today sincerely believe in a supernatural, interactive God? Surely science will ultimately be able to explain everything. Are there not now more grounds than ever for doubting the existence of God? But if so, why are some significant scientists also devout Christian believers? Roger is the lay pastor/preacher at Blackshaw Head and a former architect with a particular interest in the conjunction of the physical and the spiritual in church architecture."

From Durham University we have Ben Campbell, who will be speaking on 'Climate Change, Energy and Culture: global lessons for local practice'. Ben is an anthropologist with a strong interest in mountain and upland societies around the world. He has worked in the Himalayas on subsistence agro-pastoralism, and indigenous environmental knowledge. He is a lecturer at Durham University, and has made two films on 'Shamanic Pilgrimage' and 'The Way of the Road' in northern Nepal. He brought two friends from Nepal to Cornholme in 1998, where they made terraces which he continues to cultivate as a WWOOF farm.