My name is Steph and I am one of the volunteer Local Project Managers with AfSL I have worked with Rethink for over two years in a number of different services and have experience running services as an Acting-Up Service Lead and a wide knowledge of the needs of those with mental illness.  I strongly believe that gardening and being with nature has an extremely positive effect on a person’s mental health.

It is from this that my project idea came as a means to provide a service where people from the community may benefit from learning how to grow vegetables, fruit, plants, trees and herbs in a safe and friendly environment. The project aims to provide a holistic method of recovery for those with health needs as well as being an opportunity for users to learn new skills that may help with employment and personal development. Project users will be educated about the importance of biodiversity, sustainability and the impacts of a changing climate and loss of the natural environment.

The project itself will also be an addition to Greater Manchester’s green spaces and will help promote biodiversity in this district.

The long term plan for the project is to be a friendly, safe and highly beneficial place for people to gain skills through modern permaculture and gardening. It will be a project that has ethical values and promotes holistic health through its practices. All those that access the service will be free from discrimination and have the opportunity to develop skills in a new or existing field. All those that use the service will be known as volunteers and treated equally.

AfSL coordinator Erika Nagae, “I am very excited to be supporting Steph with her plans; while they seem ambitious, I have seen the amount of energy and dedication she puts into other projects and I have every faith in seeing some exciting results in the next year in the field of ‘green health’ through her dedication.”

We would like you to take a short questionnaire to help us to find out how we have helped you, your community and Manchester.

It really does only take a minute (or two) and would help us greatly and could help us secure more funding to carry on our work.

Thanks in advance!

Click here to take the quick questionnaire!

Freelance

Action for Sustainable Living is in the final year of a four year lottery funded project supporting communities in South Manchester to become more sustainable, resilient and skilled through engagement in community environmental activities.

We are now looking for an Evaluation Consultant to analyse the impact of this project on peoples’ lives, to highlight successes and failures and to help us identify learnings to take into the future. The Consultant will gather target quantitative information, guide and incorporate qualitative data from existing information and additional interviews and produce a user-friendly report that charts successes, challenges, learnings and provides recommendations going forward. The final report must be submitted by mid-July 2013.

We are seeking a consultant who:

• Is an experienced evaluator in varied settings
• Has experience of engaging and working with a wide range of stakeholders and users to gather data from a large number of respondents
• Has a strong focus on outcomes and benefits for participants and end users
• Has excellent organisational, analytical and presentation skills
• Is positive and flexible.

To apply, please see attached Green Seeds Consultancy Brief Final.  To discuss the role, please contact Catrina Pickering (catrina.pickering@afsl.org.uk, 0161 2373357 – Wednesdays to Fridays).

Payment: £3,000-5,000.  (Please include a breakdown of budgeted costs for each activity in your application).

Deadline: Monday 29th April at 5pm.

It’s Responsible Business Week, so we thought it might be nice to spotlight some organisations we’ve worked with who have demonstrated a responsible approach to business.

AfSL and Rusholme JobCentre Plus worked together to improve staff understanding of volunteering and its potential to help those seeking employment – here’s what they said about the process:

“The collaborative working between Rusholme JobCentre Plus and Action for Sustainable Living has certainly been of great benefit to us all. Staff have increased their knowledge about the benefits of volunteering and are actively promoting it as a route to securing employment.

AfSL’s Training Coordinator support in developing a local volunteer programme has not only increased the JobCentre Plus reputation within the community, our customers have shown commitment and reaped the benefits, two of them securing full time employment!”

Lisa Pritchard, AdvisoryTeam Manager, Rusholme JobcentrePlus

It’s Responsible Business Week, so we thought it might be nice to spotlight some organisations we’ve worked with who have demonstrated a responsible approach to business.

We worked in a partnership capacity with City South Housing Trust to bring a community garden to life in Fallowfield:

“City South Housing trust first became aware of Action for Sustainable Living 18 months ago through the positive work they had done with community members in Moss Side and the promotion of their Local Project Manager (LPM) course.  City South referred a Fallowfield resident to the LPM training, and AfSL sustained and supported him towards the successful completion of the course.  In turn this has led to the fantastic success of the Secret Garden – a community project in the heart of the Fallowfield led by a group of dedicated local residents.  The project has benefited throughout from the continued involvement of AfSL, without whom, the project would not have thrived as successfully as it has.  The Training Coordinator has continued to provide practical assistance to help focus the group’s aims and outcomes and has channelled enthusiasm to ensure the project’s ongoing success.  City South are grateful to have had AfSL on board throughout the lifetime of the project and feel it clearly demonstrates multiple partners working together for the benefit of the community.  We look forward to identifying other initiatives we can work with AfSL on in the future.”

Mark Beach, Neighbourhood Manager, City South Housing Trust

Takk Cafe, Tarrif Street, Northern Quarter, M1 2FF.

We’ve got a treat in store at our next ECO South Manchester event with talks from Communications Tsar, Alex Bailey and Friends of the Earth Bees expert, Steph Lynch, peppered with the usual facilitated networking, informal chats and great teas and cakes at Takk Cafe. Here’s what to expect:

Arrival (7-7.10pm)

Facilitated networking (7.10-7.45): Get to know people, find out who’s doing what and make the connections you need

Talks from guest speakers (7.45-8.30pm), followed by informal Q&A and discussions.  This month, we’ve got:
•    Alex Bailey on ‘Making your Message Stick’:  Do you meet people who just don’t remember what your organisation does?  Have you worked hard to communicate a campaign message, only to find that people don’t understand it?  Alex has spent the last three years advising non-profit organisations on publicity and marketing.  In a memorable session, Alex will hare his ten top tips on making your message stick.
•    Steph Lynch on “the Bees of Manchester”:  Did you know that a bee colony can produce 60 pounds of honey in a good season and do that, they’ll fly some 330,000 miles! Find out why bees are in decline and why they’re so vital to our eco-systems.  Find out what we can do about it including the Friends of the Earth campaign to create a bee world.

More networking and should you fancy it a pint over the road (8.30pm onwards)

On Monday 4th March, Chris Wright, our Chair, attended the Climate Week Awards at the House of Commons in London where we were honoured to receive a certificate for Commended Finalist in the awards for Best Community Initiative, coming a close second to the excellent Cooler Projects.

Back in Manchester, there were also some Climate Awards and International Womens Day going on at the Town Hall which saw Amanda Woodvine past Local Project Manager and founder of Didsbury Dinners picking up the prize for Women in Environment.

Well done to you both and to everyone who was short listed.

Administration Helper (Volunteer)

1/2 – 1 a day per week on a Wednesday

We are looking for a person to help with the day to day running of our office admin.Administration Volunteers support the smooth running of the Action for Sustainable Living office. This is a great role for someone looking to gain office based work experience and to gain skills in a wide range of administrative tasks.

What will I do?

- Answering the telephone and taking messages
- Administration support, e.g. drafting letters, typing minutes, checking finance documents
- Processing of postage
- Research, both web and telephone
- Monitoring and evaluation, updating databases and recording information
- Resource development, making new resources for events
- Events Kits, making up events kits, replenishing stock and researching new resource providers
- Website management, e.g. publishing events on the website
- Become familiar with sustainability issues that relate to your voluntary role

For more information, please call Annabel on 0161 237 3357 (Tuesday and Wednesday) or send her an email at annabel.bradbury@afsl.org.uk

The first weekend of March saw the training of the spring batch of keen Local Project Managers. As always, everyone threw themselves fully into the experience and really got to know their fellow Project Managers. This training also saw the first inclusion of training around climate change and how we as individuals can make a difference. We are really looking forward to seeing your ideas flourish in the future.

The Project Planing and Social Media: Blogging trainings were also a success so keep your yes peeled for some new LPM project blogs coming your way!

Following the positive feedback from the 12.12.12 Art in Action event AfSL LPM Philippa Birch is working with Michelle Wright from City South Housing Association to go bigger and bolder.

They are looking to train up some new recycling champions through a series of workshops running for 5 weeks from the 21^st of May to the 18^th of June this year. The aim of these events is to empower the youth of South Manchester by educating them on climate change and challenging their creativity. At the end of the course the aim is to present a new product (or products) that will educate their communities further on the importance of the three Rs (Reuse, Reclaim and Recycle).

Michelle has a vast experience in the organisation of workshops such as these. She has also worked with a range of ages. In the past one outcome of her workshops was an educational DVD to promote recycling. This time, in conjunction with architecture student Philippa, the aim is product design.

The workshops will entail a visit to Envirolution Festival on Saturday the 25^th of May to inspire the volunteers and get and understanding of the simple things others are doing to make more sustainable communities. The hope is that once the course has finished the youths themselves will become more active in their communities and continue the legacy. They will have developed their creativity and confidence in the process as they will be listened to as key decision makers:  the products they design could potentially go nationwide.

More details to come. Stay tuned.