call out for boiling over event in Glasgow

earthroots · call out for boiling over event in Glasgow

*This week you are invited to....*
*Boiling Over - Scotland’s Gathering for Climate Action:*
*11th - 14th June, The Phoenix Centre, Glasgow.*

From June 11th-14th Glasgow will be host to what is already an energised
and growing movement for climate action. Around the country people are
talking about how climate change affects us, and how the system we live
in is doing nothing to slow the tide of climate chaos. Despite
government rhetoric little has been done to address the problem and it
is time to take matters into our own hands!

Boiling Over will be a space for thought, analysis, learning,
networking, training and creativity. It will bring together community
concerns and global issues, as well as provide a space to develop a
strategy for stopping climate change from within Scotland.

The event will be a safe, accessible and open environment, free from
oppression, hierarchy and discrimination. There will be a fun kids space
and food & accommodation will be provided for a small donation. Light
entertainment will take place in the evenings and film showings will run
throughout.

So come along and join us!

*How do I get there?*

Address: The Phoenix Centre, 201 St. James Road, Glasgow

Glasgow Queen Street station is the closest train station to the Phoenix
Centre (about a 10 minute walk)

Buses can be caught to Buchanan Street Bus station which is just behind
Glasgow Queen Street train station.

A detailed map can be found on http://climatecampscotland.org.uk by
clicking on the Boiling Over Link.

*What time does it start?*

Come for the welcome and introduction which starts at 6pm on Thursday
the 11th followed by a filling healthy dinner and some light
entertainment in the evening, including film showings and music.

*What exactly is happening?*

For a look at the complete timetable of workshops and events taking
place go to http://climatecampscotland.org.uk click on Boiling Over and
scroll down.

*What should I bring?*

- A sleeping mat, sleeping bag and anything else to sleep comfortably on
the floor.
- Enough money to make a small donation towards food and hiring the
venues (suggested donation is £10 low/no wage and £20 waged for the four
days) but don't let this stop you if you can't afford it - You will
still be fed and roofed!
- A communal attitude and willingness to pitch in and help each other out!

*Any Questions?*

If you would like to know more then please email us at
www.climatecampscotland@riseup.net

If you intend on coming it would be great if you could let us know so we
can get an estimate of what numbers to expect!

Cheers!

The Camp for Climate Action in Scotland.

earthroots

Just got back from Glasgow, from the Boiling Over event - was thrilled to hear about the community projects happening all over the city - an amazing bunch of people with loads of energy reclaiming wastegrounds with veggie gardens, setting up clothes swap days, defending their homes against the commonwealth games plans, discussing spirituality and how to strengthen their communities in the face of climate change, progressing a campaign to raise awareness about the Copenhagen talks and planning the first Scottish Climate Camp to take place on the Firth of Forth from the 3rd to the 10th of August. Also some getting funding from the Climate Action Fund to set up community gardens in some of the worst schemes in glasgow at which they will offer workshops on Climate Change. Some young women just back from Rossport in Ireland where they offered their support to a small community being broken apart by Shell and their desire to put a high pressure gas pipeline through their village- and now they're back to spread the word we don't get to hear about in the media. throughout we cooked together - delicious organic wholesome grub - my heads buzzing with ideas and my heart is yet again full of hope.

wildgarlic

Sounds wonderful - a very positive experience. Glad you had a good time and brought back lots of ideas!

Diana

I have a question:

It's relatively easy to do stuff like that in a city environment, where you have a large number of people, so if only 2% of people in a street are interested, that might still be a couple of dozen people - plenty enough to start a project.

So, my question is, what is it we can draw from their experiences to use in rural areas, where people are spread out and 2% of the population might be 1 woman, 4 chickens and a sheep, which means more people over a wider area have to get involved meaning greater travel etc?

Sorry, that's not meant to be negative, it's a genuine question about implementing some of these great ideas out of a city environment.

earthroots

It's a great question - a problem I struggle with - i grew up in Glasgow and was involved in loads of stuff before leaving at age 20 - then lifestyling - ie walking my talk in how I choose to live came the order of the day as I grew to love the countryside - believe it or not when I first left the city the countryside terrified me - the silence was deafening, the open space too much! Now I can't imagine coping with life in the city environment.

Over the years I've been involved in stuff in a 'national' way involving travelling to other areas of Scotland - usually central belt, to join in mass actions and educational gatherings - which I still do - I need the energy and inspiration that gives. I've been involved in a few groups local - ones that evolved into others as some ideas failed in the rural setting. We organised 'Wee Gibber' in the glens, in Strathdon for example - a northern alternative to the Big Blether which is often held Central Belt. That was a great experience but also proved to be unsustainable as folks still came from such a wide area. So now we're onto 'Primal Screen' a film and discussion group in it's early stages that we plan to take around the rural villages of Deeside to inspire community connections.

Other than that we have a dormant, embryonic local housing co-op project that would love more input -

http://www.earthrites.org.uk./

Finding common ground within my immediate community is what I'm trying to do at the moment - my jobs help a lot in that - youth work and care work. Also the transition model has proved to be successful for many groups in both rural and city settings:

http://www.transitionscotland.org/node/15

hope this helps - but I totally agree with what you're saying - i'm still trying to work that one out!

Diana

Thanks for the reply

I know what you mean about the city/country transition. My childhood was spent just outside Brighton in Sussex, when I go back to visit folk I see all the infrastructure, the groups and projects and it is tempting to move back. But I think I'd suffocate there now.

I guess that's the problem with living in the middle of no-where - you either have to travel miles to be 'somewhere' or encourage others to travel to get to you.