I can’t seem to find my copy of this childhood book and that bugs me. It seems so relevant right now. Set in a forest (now there’s a surprise!), all the little animals are taken in by some nasty techno-witch who rides on a vacuum cleaner and has some evil plot to get them all buying boxes of “nichts” (German for nothing, which is also relevant to the GCSE course I’m teaching this year) from the corner shop. Ultimately, one great old tree in the forest sits down so as to bring the whole heady mess to a halt. Think rampant consumerism and climate change. I’m sure if I found my copy I’d summarise, if not quote it, far better than I’m doing now.
So where does this bring me? Well, I’ve had a few questions in the past week or so as to what ConkerTU is all about. One of the problems with a rolling blog like this (although I understand Phil’s doing amazing things to classify our posts) is that prior commentary seems lost in the retrospective. So, I need you understand: who we are, what we’re doing, and why.
Me? Well, I’m a 44 year old mum who teaches part-time in a secondary school so I can afford to take on projects which interest me. Don’t get me wrong, I love teaching, but my other great mission is to dispel the myth that we can’t live without credit, not least because what’s sold as cheap often costs us dear in the long run and isn’t sustainable. Indeed, it never ceases to amaze me how many money saving ideas I come across as I learn more about sustainable living. And as a digital dinosaur who’s gained immeasurably from the social media phenomenon, I want others to experience a similar liberation from old thinking.
Cue Phil Campbell, as it happens, on my doorstep! As a teacher, I should have loved nothing better than to have Phil in my class - he’s one of those people who take an idea and come up with all sorts of new ways of looking it, creating avenues you’d never have dreamed of. The man’s a genius - no seriously - he is! To my social interest, add Phil’s technical know-how and you have state of the art digital, meeting excluded and vulnerable communities, with an immediacy that empowers directly. I can’t think of anything more effective to kick start our economy and promote innovation in a thoroughly inclusive and sustainable way!
And so to our venue. It so happens that both Phil and I live a stone’s throw from the geographic centre of England, in the middle of the UK’s boldest environmental project, the now thirty year old National Forest. Conkers is the principal visitor centre for this 200 square mile expanse, so you can imagine how delighted we were when General Manager, Steve Hamilton, gave us a big, fat juicy yes to holding a series of tweet ups, themed around sustainable living on the premises! The scene was set…
Since International Buy Nothing Day falls on Saturday 28th November, what better date could there be for the tree to sit down and question consumerist values? Tweet ups are free, sustainable living is economically the most advantageous and social media is accessible in real and virtual time, both during and after an event. We had a fit!
Although getting a first tweet up together in less than two months is far from ideal and the cynics amongst you may think that we could have done this or we should have done that, I ask you, what point is there in shoulda, coulda, woulda at this time? Will waiting effect change? Our purpose is not to tell you how it is, but for you to join us in setting the agenda. This is dialogue for goodness sake!
We now have a programme of eight tweet ups themed around different aspects of household expenditure, launching with property because that’s where National Statistics tell us folk spend most. Then, every six to eight weeks we pick up a new theme as follows:
January: employment and training
February: low carbon holidays
April: household goods
May: fashion
July: transport
August: communications
October: finance
Our aim is to share as many examples of sustainable living from across the UK as possible - so if you have one, for crying out loud, come and share it! Lifestyles which bear no relation to our own, seem intangible, too complex, impracticable, whereas examples that reflect our local environment give a point of reference, a starting point, a benchmark. There are no prizes for recognising that if we do not share what’s best about sustainable living, sustainability will pass us all by.
So, if you’re truly committed to tackling climate change and embracing a sustainable future, ConkerTU is where you need to be. Whether you come in real time or attend virtually, you’ll always be welcome, because our aim is beyond individual achievement. We look forward to seeing you in person or online on 28th November!
Emma Bryn-Jones (@Zerocredit_UK)