Today I read about the Greenhouse of Abundance, a course teaching the principles of building a passive (i.e. heated only by sunlight) greenhouse attached to your home to provide a year-round food growing space. I was initially excited about the idea, but had to reality-check it against my situation. The house pictured on the course website […]
You could guess what problems there are on Main Street in Sparkbrook, but the only way to understand them is to meet the people who live there. And how to make things better? Active Streets and KIKIT are working together to support residents.
This is Just a quick post to let you know that we are reactivating Space Explorers! Our first job has been to rebuild the website and we’ve taken the opportunity to apply a new design and a new name. We loved ‘Space Explorers’ as a project name but a lot of people did get the […]
Six streets across Kings Heath and Moseley will be ‘Playing out’ on National playday, Wednesday 6th August 2014. They are: Gaddesby Road 10am to 1pm Goldsmith Road 2pm to 6pm Peacock Road 10am to 1pm Wheelers Lane 10am to 1pm Woodville Road 2pm to 4pm Valentine Road 1pm to 3pm Highway engineers have already confirmed […]
Kings Heath Centre for Space Exploration is once again coordinating efforts to organise a series of Playing out events for National Playday on 6th August 2014. In 2014 we are looking to double the number of streets closed to traffic, open to play, from 3 last year, to more than 6 this year. Happening, as it does, two […]
On Tuesday, I went with Marcus Belben to Swan Corner, bringing plants, gardening tools and wood chippings. Swan Corner is a community project to improve the area around the Brook Lane/Wheelers Lane roundabout, started by Marcus and supported by residents and organisations including Swanshurst School. We were expecting a group from the school to come […]
Working on Swan Corner’s been great to get to know neighbours. You get to see people, chat, see the problems, why people get so upset about the traffic and the parking. Now that work has started on planting, positioned a noticeboard, begun filming, photoing, documenting the area and the problems, talking to more people, it […]
Sticking a spade into a grassy patch near a roundabout for the first time felt a little naughty. I had a feeling a van would turn up at any minute and take me away. Passers by were all encouraging of any attempt to make things better. Many of them didn’t believe the willow fedge I […]
It’s always interesting to see how other people do things. Here’s an apparently accidental solution to slowing traffic in San Francisco, with the added benefit of tourists slowing traffic in much faster adjacent roads to get their photo taken. This road is now marked in tourist guides including lonely planet we were using, promoted as […]
Come to Howard Road Park, walk down to Albert Road Park, cycle over to Corner Park or break into Cage Park! Whatever you call it, this is an open invitation to join in with play and planning, bring along your boules, chairs, swing-ball, anything you’d like to see in the park. It’s National Tree Dressing Day, […]