The aim of the project is to empower people by demystifying the economic forces that shape their world and have a direct impact on them, their families and their communities.

The pilot will be used to develop a model for community education in economics that can be adopted by other groups, and which will produce supporting toolkits and learning resources. A successful pilot will be an essential part of a future funding bid that will allow us to roll the project out across Scotland.

The gardens are open from 12 to 3pm on Saturday the 28th and Sunday the 29th. Everyone is welcome and no gardening skills are required. Children need to be accompanied by an adult.

You can find the gardens on the corner of Wardieburn Road and Boswell Parkway.

We hope to see you there!

With the onset of Spring the garden has proved a challenge for the volunteers. There has been a lot to do preparing for planting and developing new spaces as the garden expands, so a little help was needed.

Granton volunteer Tom Kirby submitted a funding application to the Edinburgh Lothian Greenspace Trust to help with the hire of tools to tackle the heavy-duty work. As hale and hearty as the volunteers are, serious gardening needs things like rotavators and turf cutters to get on top of things. So Tom wrote to the trust to ask for their help funding the hire cost of the heavy gear, as well as to purchase more tools and seeds for the new season.

The trust has kindly agreed to provide £750 toward the cost which means the team in Granton can now really get to grips with the garden and take another step towards building a sustainable community.

Read more…

The gardeners are currently working on a sowing plan to make the most of their land and get a varied crop come harvest time. Plans have been drawn up to raise some of the plant beds and build several paths through the gardens.

Now that the gardens are established, the group are trying to expand the network and build its capacity. Over the last few weeks they have been reaching out to other members of the community and hope to include local schools and associations, as well as consulting other Granton residents on possible future expansion of the gardens to include other sites.

As part of the expansion, the group have started to look for funding opportunities. They want to develop the project further and broaden its impact, and to do this they will need to find a little funding. Identifying priorities and developing the skills needed to take action on them is an essential part of community-led development.

Environmental issues have been at the fore for the last few weeks. Pipes have been leaking into some of the gardens spaces and polluting the community spaces. Environmental sustainability is at the heart of the project as it aims to demonstrate its potential as an alternative approach to urban land use. To this end the group has put renewed focus on its green efforts and is looking at ways to make the gardens safe for a vibrant wildlife.

As well as being environmentally sustainable, the aim is to make the project financially sustainable by growing enough food to sell on the local market. In order to do this the group is working on a business plan and has taken its first steps to market themselves through the Granton Library. There are a lot of ambitions for the future and they want to recruit some volunteers with expertise in areas like business, marketing and web-design, not to mention a few more stout labourers.

If you would like more information, or would like to get involved, you can contact us at info@sead.org.uk

This video takes a look at the community food intiatives that SEAD supported as part of the NET Your Carbons project.

at the Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh EH1 2JL

We are please to announce we are doing a special screening of the most inspiring film ‘The Pipe’ which will start at 7pm after a short introduction. The Pipe is a compelling documentary film four years in the making, It tells the story of the small Rossport community in Ireland which has taken on the might of Shell Oil and the Irish State. The film will be followed by special guests, from the Shell to Sea and Rossport Solidarity Camp, who will talk about the campaign and the people involved with a Q & A session afterwards.

Shell to Sea campaign and Rossport Solidarity Camp

The Shell to Sea campaign is about the discovery of gas off this remote coastal village, which has led to the most dramatic clash of cultures in modern Ireland. The rights of farmers over their fields, and of fishermen to their fishing grounds, has come in direct conflict with one of the world’s most powerful oil companies. When the citizens look to their State to protect their rights, they find that the government has put Shell’s right to lay a pipeline over their own. Already 5 locals have spent 94 days in jail rather than let the proposed Shell pipeline cross their lands. This once tranquil area is engulfed in turmoil, as huge numbers of police drafted in. Normal policing has broken down following baton charges, surveillance, arrests, and a hunger strike by a local schoolteacher.

This campaign is a fantastic example of community resilience. We hope to learn from this and draw links with Rossport and communities campaigning in Scotland against development such as open cast mining, incinerators, biomass plants and more.

 Agenda for the Evening

1830             Arrival/register

1900             Welcome and Introduction to the event

1905             Introduction to the film

1915             Screening of The Pipe

2030             Rossport Solidarity Camp and Shell to Sea Campaign – Whats happened since ‘The Pipe’

2100            Q&A

2130             Event ends

Registering for the event

Please email  info(at)sead.org.uk or call the office 01314752612

This year’s theme is ‘Moving Planet’, so it’s time to take to the streets.Come on foot, on bikes, on skates, on any other human-powered transport you can think of!

Come and be part of a global rally to demand action from world leaders. It’s time to get moving on the climate crisis.

The aim of the event is to call for a sustainable energy future for a world below 350 parts per million (ppm) of carbon dioxide – which is what scientists tell us is the safe upper limit of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

350.org is all about connecting the global to the local, so in Scotland we’ll also be highlighting a national problem that has global implications – the four proposed unsustainable Forth Energy biomass plants: at Leith Docks, Grangemouth, Dundee, and Rosyth.

Globally, the rush to biomass is emerging as a major cause of land-grabbing and deforestation, which contributes to climate change and leads to flooding risks, human right abuses and threats to wildlife habitats and fragile ecosystems.

Where?

Edinburgh. From City Chambers (High St/Royal Mile) to Holyrood.

When?

Saturday 24th September. Assemble at 11:30 for 12:00 start.
The event coincides with the ‘world car-free day’ and also aims to put pressure on our global leaders in advance of the UN Climate Summit in Durban, South Africa, at the end of November.The event is supported by Biofuelwatch and Friends of the Earth Scotland.

Read more

Scottish Education and Action for Development (SEAD) is a dynamic organisation which supports community action to tackle social and environmental injustice. We are looking for a creative and enthusiastic person to take up the rewarding role of Membership/1 % Campaign officer. The post will include assisting with the development and re launch of SEADs 1%er campaign as well as maintaining our membership systems.

Closing date for applications – 17^th October 2011

Interviews from – week beginning 24^th October

080911 SEAD membcamp Job Description and Person Spec

Application by CV and cover letter by 30^th September 2011

About SEAD

SEAD was established over 30 years ago to challenge the causes of poverty, social injustice and environmental degradation. We support the community-based movement for positive social change – people collectively tackling challenges with a local and global perspective. Our work is based on the following principles: people powered solutions, a rootedness in solidarity, and learning from each other.

What’s involved in being a Trustee?

We want great ideas, energy, passion and experience to stand behind everything we do. As a small organisation, our Trustees are absolutely essential to safeguarding and strengthening our ethos and impact. Trustees are expected to take an active interest in the development of the charity, and from time to time take on individual projects to that end. Applicants must be prepared to attend board meetings roughly once every 6 weeks and occasional member and strategy events. This is an unpaid, voluntary role, but relevant expenses will be covered (travel expenses limited to UK travel). Board members also need to become members of SEAD as soon as they are selected.

What are we looking for?

In particular, we are looking for people with:

Essential

- Knowledge of policy or practice and/or a passion in any of the following fields: activism, international or community development, community education (particularly participatory or popular education), social and environmental justice and human rights.

Desirable

- Senior management experience of voluntary sector agency, statutory sector agency or private enterprise

- Finance and accounting skills

- Fundraising skills.

- Web site content management skills

- Academic and research skills

- Media skills (TV, radio or press interviews)

- Events management skills

- Experience of supporting or managing staff

If you have any questions, or if you are uncertain about whether there might be a conflict of interest in making an application, please contact us at info[at]sead.org.uk

How do I apply?

- Read about our organisation from our web site.

- Browse our recent events archive for an insight into what we’ve been up to lately.

- Take a look at the SCVO web site section of  ‘The Roles and responsibilities of committee members’ for an idea of the legal framework that our board members operate in. See: http://bit.ly/m1o3Fg

- Email us your CV with a cover letter outlining your interest in becoming a Trustee and highlighting your most useful skills and experience. We would encourage you to highlight any personal experience you have had of the essential criteria stated above.

The deadline for applications is 5pm 30^th September 2011. Please email to info[at]sead.org.uk