WEBVTT NOTE Transcript 2024-04-11 from mono MP3 by https://elvery.net/prototypes/transcribe/ on my MacBook Air M1 on maximum quality setting. NOTE Body edited. 00:00.000 --> 00:07.000 For many groups it's been a difficult couple of years but sadly TTK also had the death of our chair Alison in February to contend with. 00:07.000 --> 00:20.000 It came as a great shock and a loss to TTK and retrospectively, together with sporadic Covid restrictions and an unviably small management team, reduced to three soon after the 2020 AGM, 00:20.000 --> 00:27.000 goes a long way towards explaining a dwindling of TTK activity and profile in 2021. 00:27.000 --> 00:48.000 We knew Alison was ill and later very ill and so at the end of January 2022 a group comprising stakeholders, project leads, supporters, advisors and the remaining management team came together to form an acting core group to be confirmed at this meeting that would try to keep things going and coordinate our activities. 00:48.000 --> 00:59.000 We decided to give TTK a year in which to either revive and thrive or take our projects and our funds to another local green group and we are now half way through this make or break year. 00:59.000 --> 01:06.000 We can find other umbrellas under which to shelter our projects but there are advantages to TTK that we'd be sorry to lose. 01:06.000 --> 01:15.000 Our links with wider transition networks, our commitments to the transition ethos of positive practical action in the face of climate and energy crises 01:15.000 --> 01:23.000 and our good relationships built up over many years with relevant Kingston Council officers and councillors. 01:23.000 --> 01:30.000 Suggestions and volunteers to help TTK flourish and continue into 2023 will be welcome. 01:30.000 --> 01:48.000 Since the 2021 AGM in July 2021. Though quorate, management teams and Green Drinks were infrequent and unrecorded in the second half of 2021, Alison continued as TTK chair until standing down at the end of 2021, 01:48.000 --> 02:06.000 most practical projects continued as best they could despite lockdowns, and some fruitful events and activities took place including a Zoom meeting in July jointly hosted by TTK, Kingston Environment Forum and Kingston XR 02:06.000 --> 02:16.000 (Extinction Rebellion), where we heard how to set up a climate emergency centre from Ruth and Phoenix of the Climate Emergency Centre Network. 02:16.000 --> 02:24.000 Alison and the management team succeeded in attracting funding for and organising another three successful events. 02:24.000 --> 02:32.000 A visioning event, a Kingston Environment Centre facilitated by Alison, used Transition Bounce Forward funding for two events, 02:32.000 --> 02:46.000 held to create a vision of the values and goals of the Kingston Hive. These were then developed into an inspiring vision statement by Alison Whybrow and led to the formation of the Kingston Hive CIC, 02:46.000 --> 02:59.000 a group working towards a Kingston climate emergency centre, which now has a constitution, a legal status, directors, a website and Facebook page, but as yet no premises; 02:59.000 --> 03:14.000 A GreenZone next to Kingston Library one Sunday in October; A drop-in climate cafe held with the Kingston Hive in Berrylands in December to discuss what if the Royal Borough of Kingston was part of the climate change solution, 03:14.000 --> 03:22.000 which captured great many ideas and delivered them to the Council's RBK's Climate Emergency Draft Action Plan. 03:22.000 --> 03:46.000 Rakesh Rootsman, permaculture designer teacher and forest garden specialist gave members of TTK Abundance and XR a fascinating wild food talk walk through Berrylands Nature Reserve in September and in November he delivered a class teaching us how to ferment fruit and vegetables and salt to both preserve them and help us improve our gut. 03:46.000 --> 04:00.000 Green maps for Kingston: this TTK project is producing maps of key sites around Kingston Borough to support a green economy community. There is the general Kingston Green Map and the Kingston Circular Economy map. 04:00.000 --> 04:14.000 These maps are being primarily created on the Open Green Map platform. Paper maps that could be distributed to key locations are also planned. We hope to coordinate with the Council activities in this area. 04:14.000 --> 04:24.000 In spring 2020, funding of £320 from the Council enabled us to organise a Big Seed Giveaway. 04:24.000 --> 04:41.000 We purchased good quality, easy-to-grow vegetable seeds (getting a group discount from Suttons) and compostable packaging and distributed small packs with growing guidance and TTK flyers around the borough for collection during lockdown. 04:41.000 --> 04:53.000 All the seeds were collected, but lockdown made a harvest festival planned for later unfeasible and we lacked feedback from the growers, though we hope they were encouraged to continue growing vegetables. 04:53.000 --> 05:08.000 Other events and meetings that took place in the second half of 2021 included: a TTK online book discussion in July which explored the idea of a lockdown book club and discussed carbon choices by Neil Kitching; 05:08.000 --> 05:20.000 Abundance harvesting and juicing activities in the autumn; regular online meetings with the Energy Group; weekly gardening and other sessions at Canbury Community Garden; 05:20.000 --> 05:30.000 and occasional Stitch in Time workshops at the Circulatory. The monthly Kingston Environment News and our social media also continue to communicate throughout the past year, 05:30.000 --> 05:48.000 reaching well beyond our membership; and TTK core group members continue to participate in various Council hosted meetings on Covid recovery themes, including some groups such as Transition to a Green Economy, Mental Health and Wellbein, and the Voluntary Sector. 05:48.000 --> 05:53.000 Regular projects have been reported on the website prior to this meeting. 05:53.000 --> 06:03.000 Since January 2022, the core team has met monthly at the Spring Grove Pub, followed by the revived Green Drinks hosted by Damon. 06:03.000 --> 06:12.000 Marilyn has been acting as secretary. Paul has continued as Treasurer. Peter and the Energy Group continued meeting monthly on-line and offering advice when requested, 06:12.000 --> 06:22.000 and Canbury Community Garden has flourished. TTK members continued to participate in various Council hosted Covid recovery 06:22.000 --> 06:30.000 subgroups, as well as participating in meetings of the nascent Climate Emergency Centre and the Transition Network. 06:30.000 --> 06:39.000 More detailed reports from the various TTK projects up to this April have been shared already online and will be included in the minutes of this AGM.