News Library - May 2011
Edible Essex
Article created : 24/05/2011 08:31:41
Practical Support for the creation or renovation of allotments and orchards
Edible Essex aims to increase the number of people growing, sourcing
and using local food in their everyday lives. The project offers support
to set up or renovate allotment sites across the county, and to
establish or expand orchards with public access. A variety of events and
training sessions will be organised and a range of publications
produced.
Edible Essex can contribute towards the costs of:
• equipment and tools for communal use
• equipment for management of the site
• provision of a water supply
• provision of boundary fencing or hedging
• clearance and preparation of site
• trees for orchards
Eligibility:
To qualify for support you must:
• be a parish or town council or another recognised community group and,
• own, lease and/or manage the land to be used for the allotment or orchard.
How to be part of the project:
Forms can be obtained from the Edible Essex Project Manager. A site visit will take place before support can be agreed.
Edible Essex cannot reimburse any expenditure that has already been
incurred. The project has a limited budget and organisations are
strongly encouraged to seek additional funding from alternative sources.
Edible Essex Project Manager
Rural Community Council of Essex,
Threshelfords Business Park, Inworth Road, Feering, Essex CO5 9SE
Tel: 01376 574 332
Email: sophie.blythe@essexrcc.org.uk
Community Engagement Tools
Article created : 23/05/2011 09:10:03
Tuesday 21st June 10am – 4pm
This full day interactive session will explore practical tools that can be used in engagement.
The day session will consist of practical demonstrations of
interactive tools for community engagement. The session will look at
methods to explore issues, consensus building activities, prioritising
and ranking activities.
The sessions will be run by the Rural Community Council of Essex
Community Engagement Team who are experienced Community Development
Workers and qualified trainers.
The session costs £100 including lunch or £65 for members of RCCE,
booking is essential as places are limited. To book please contact
stella.meesters@essexrcc.org.uk providing your name, organisation and
any specific needs and dietary requirements you may have two weeks
before the event.
Search is on for Essex’s Top Village
Article created : 19/05/2011 10:14:43
Judging is now underway in this year’s Essex Village of the Year and Best Kept Village Competition with over 50 villages from all parts of the county chasing the
prestigious Village of the Year title and the £500 first prize supported
by Essex & Suffolk Water.
Competition organisers, Rural Community Council of Essex (RCCE) have
run this popular competition annually for well over 50 years. Nick
Shuttleworth, Director of RCCE commented:
“The focus these days is very much on pride and involvement in
community life. Our villages face challenging times, but every year this
competition highlights some excellent examples of community initiative
and enterprise. Some villages tell us it provides an extra incentive to
bring people together to work for the good of the community.”
The judging which is carried out by volunteers will be completed
in time for the results to be announced at RCCE’s Annual General Meeting
at The Essex Golf and Country Club on Wednesday 6th July. As well as
the £500 first prize, there are also second and third prizes for Village
of the Year supported by Essex & Suffolk Water and five Best Kept
Village class winners to be awarded.
“The competition provides a showcase for the best in rural
community life. We are absolutely delighted that Essex & Suffolk
Water, one of our county’s best known companies, are backing it again
this year.” Nick Shuttleworth added.
Sarah Bowerman, from Essex & Suffolk Water’s Corporate
Responsibility team, said: “We are committed to giving something back to
the communities that we work in. By supporting the Village of the Year
competition we want to recognise and give a boost to the fantastic work
that is going on in the villages of Essex to enhance community life.”
Call for your Royal Wedding street party stories
Article created : 18/05/2011 11:04:09
RCCE's magazine Oyster is looking for stories and photos of
street parties held all over Essex in celebration of the Royal Wedding
RCCE’s magazine Oyster is running a special feature on how Essex
celebrated the Royal Wedding and would like to publish photos and
stories from local communities who held street parties all over Essex.
If you have any stories or photos from events you attended, or
know of anyone who does, we would love to include them in the feature.
Please email your stories and photos to Daisy Martlew daisy.martlew@essexrcc.org.uk by Monday 23rd May.
Training Event Thursday 19th May 2011
Article created : 18/05/2011 10:35:16
Please be aware that the training event planned for Thursday 19th May has been rearranged
to WEDNESDAY 29th June when the topics will be 'Trust Deeds' & 'The role of the Treasurer'. More details to follow.
Dengie Dart is go!
Article created : 18/05/2011 10:34:10
Broomfield to the Maldon District.
The Dengie Dart has started operation from some parishes in the
Dengie, Maldon and Heybridge to Broomfield Hospital. The first
passenger, Janet Cloke, a resident from Althorne boarded the bus at
Maldon White Horse at 09:35 for her appointment at Maldon Hospital. You
can download full details here
ARROW LEAFLET 2011.pdf
DENGIE DART V10.pdf
Be part of the 2012 legacy
Article created : 16/05/2011 09:31:54
by improving and protecting your local playing fields
Hundreds of sports playing fields across the country will be
protected and improved thanks to a £10 million National Lottery fund
launched on 11th May by Sport England and the Minister for Sport and the
Olympics, Hugh Robertson MP.
Sport England has launched the £10 million Protecting Playing
Fields programme as part of the Places People Play mass participation
legacy.
To help potential applicants benefit from this National Lottery
funding, Sport England are holding a series of workshops over the next
fortnight.
This new fund will see hundreds of sports playing fields across
the country protected and improved, with the workshops explaining how
applicants can bid to protect, improve or create a new playing field in
their local area.
Sport England website
A thriving sector - making it happen!
Article created : 10/05/2011 13:38:27
ESTIC Video to support setting up and managing a voluntary group or organisation
RCCE as part of the Essex, Southend and Thurrock infrastructure
Consortium (ESTIC) have developed a video that aims to give an overview
of the process involved in setting up and managing a voluntary group or
organisation.
Follow the link below to view the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRrm2JaXr5o&feature
Real Ale Rambler
Article created : 09/05/2011 08:37:06
Colchester CAMRA and RCCE announce 2011 programme for the Real Ale Rambler
Colchester CAMRA and RCCE announce 2011 programme for the Real Ale
Rambler which is now open for the public to book. The Rambler is all
about supporting rural pubs by bringing those living in Colchester out
to pubs in the countryside. Why not have a look and book your place
today?
www.colchestercamra.org.uk/events/alebybus_2011.as
Community Enterprise Now Conference 30th June 2011
Article created : 05/05/2011 10:26:30
Co-operatives East is pleased to announce that their annual
conference will take place on June 30th at Great Barton Village Hall,
Suffolk
Enterprises featured will include: Shops, Pubs, Village Halls, Transport, Housing and Food Co-ops
The event is being held in conjunction with Rural Action East,
Suffolk Acre and Norfolk RCC, three of the region’s leading charities
supporting rural communities in the East of England and will also be
supported by the Rural Community Councils from across the East of
England.
The conference will showcase current Community Enterprises providing
insight into how to succeed in establishing a flourishing local
enterprise that benefits the local population.
Enterprises featured will include: Shops, Pubs, Village Halls, Transport, Housing and Food Co-ops
There will also be detailed advice workshops covering the
important aspects of setting up a successful community enterprise
With keynote speakers from Plunkett Foundation (the leading
national charity supporting rural community enterprise) and The Solar
Co-op, this conference promises to be one of the most important in the
East of England for groups seeking to set up a community owned project.
Thanks to generous sponsorship from a number of local
organisations, attendance is FREE and an application form can be
accessed through
www.cooperatives-east.coop or www.ruralactioneast.org.uk
or email communityenterprisenow@suffolkacre.org.uk
For further information please contact:
Pam Walker 01473345341 pam.walker@ruralactioneast.org.uk
Barry Henson 01473345300 barry.henson@suffolkacre.org.uk
Peter Smith 01362696555 peter@norfolkrcc.org.uk
Voluntary Sector Training
Article created : 04/05/2011 13:26:44
20% OFF ....SPECIAL (Royal Wedding now over) OFFER
Book before 12th May
Now all the nuptials and holidays are over, console yourself by
taking advantage of Voluntary Sector Training's limited period special
offer and book yourself on one quality training courses, or maybe even
more than one, to cheer yourself up!
There is a wacking 20% off Voluntary Sector Training's normal
fees, but only if your booking is made before Thursday 12th May! Take
look at their new website as its recently been updated with all the new
courses for the summer months.
All you need do is enter the code ROYAL in the discount code box
when you book online. Hurry this is strictly for a limited period only!
Courses coming up include:
Tuesday, 10 May 2011, Events Management training, Chelmsford
Thursday, 12 May 2011, Emergency First Aid at Work, Epping (one place left!)
Wednesday, 25 May 2011, Drug and Alcohol Awareness, Harlow HALF-DAY
Tuesday, 7 June 201, Making Sponsorship Work, Chelmsford
Thursday, 9 June 2011, IT - PowerPoint, South Woodham Ferrers
Friday, 10 June 2011, CIEH Level 2 Award in Food Safety, Basildon
Wednesday, 15 June 2011, Project Management - On Time, On Target, On Budget! Chelmsford
Thursday, 16 June 2011, Getting it Right - Governance for small organisations, Epping (HALF-DAY FREE to some groups)
Thursday, 16 June 2011, Managing Your Organisation's Money, Epping (HALF-DAY FREE to some groups)
Tuesday, 21 June 2011, Emergency First Aid at Work, Basildon
Wednesday, 22 June 2011, Empowering the Voluntary Sector, Chelmsford SPECIAL EVENT
Thursday, 23 June 201, E Communication tools for the voluntary sector, Chelmsford HALF-DAY
Monday, 27 June 2011, An Introduction to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Chelmsford
Tuesday, 28 June 2011, CIEH Level 2 Award in Health & Safety, Chelmsford
Monday, 4 July 2011, Emergency First Aid at Work, Harlow
For full details of VST's training programme follow the link below.
Book early as courses will be cancelled well in advance if there are not enough bookings to run them!
www.voluntarysectortraining.org.uk