August's Green Drinks was the busiest yet - pictures

The setting up of a Green Drinks evening in Horsham was initiated by Transition Horsham in June 2009 with the intention of facilitating the empowerment of local people to build a sustainable future for ourselves in the Horsham area.

Green Drinks is an evening for individuals, groups, organisations and businesses with any interest in the environment, sustainability or building a cohesive local community and/or concerns about climate change, peak oil or resource depletion.  It is an opportunity to network - to meet informally and exchange ideas, experiences and plans for positive action, including new business openings.

At the practical level, it is also for anyone with an interest in:

• The source and quality of bought food - local food, organic food, Fairtrade food
• Producing their own food - fruit, vegetables, eggs, meat, fish, honey, foraging, etc
• Getting the best deals on green energy - suppliers, money saving tips, usage monitoring equipment, etc
• Generating their own electricity, heat or power - solar thermal, solar PV, wind, water, wood, biodiesel, etc
• Conserving and/or reusing water - rainwater collection, grey water, reed beds, etc
• Maintaining biodiversity - heritage seeds, wildlife habitats, encouraging pollinators, etc
• Retaining and relearning old skills - from needlework to metalwork, horticulture to food preservation and cookery - pretty well any skill that you'd like to acquire really
• Reducing consumption and waste - plastic bag and packaging campaigns, etc
• Reusing and recycling - plastic containers, glass, garden composting, etc
• Freecycle - free exchange of unwanted items
• LETS - exchange of time and skills without monetary charge
• and lots, lots more - in fact anything that facilitates Horsham's transition to a resilient, low-carbon economy where both body and soul are nurtured

More about who and what Green Drinks is for is on the Green Drinks poster, copies of which you are welcome to print off and hand out or put up somewhere!

Schedule of Green Drinks evenings

• 16 December 2009
• 18 November 2009
• 21 October 2009
• 16 September 2009 - Special themed evening: Festival Green Drinks, part of the Horsham and District Food & Drink Festival (about|programme), includes a finger buffet of local food catered by Café Chameleon, a recipe sheet showcasing dishes made from seasonal local produce, a display of leaflets from suppliers and a raffle with local food and drink prizes. All absolutely free, as usual.
• 19 August 2009 - 29 attendees
• 15 July 2009 - 20 attendees
• 17 June 2009 - 27 attendees

Previous Green Drinks evenings (High resolution copies of photos can be requested from Transition Horsham)

The August 2009 Green Drinks was the busiest yet, with 29 attendees including representatives from 3 local enterprises: Café Chameleon; Stirling Home Information; and Wifies Fashion Emporium as well as several organisations and local residents.

At Green Drinks in July 2009, there were 20 attendees, including representatives from 3 local enterprises: Fact Not Fiction Films; Sedgwick Park; and Wifies Fashion Emporium as well as several organisations.  It was a different crowd this month as holidays, illness (not Swine Flu!) and other commitments prevented several from attending.

At the inaugural Green Drinks in June 2009, there were 27 attendees, including representatives from 7 local enterprises: Café Chameleon; Eco Wise Energy; Energys; Green Solutions; Hepworth & Co Brewers; Stirling Home Information; and Sussex Solar as well as several organisations.  The talk flowed freely and the evening was hugely enjoyable.  Lessons learned: we'll reserve a larger area next time as conversation in the confined space, hemmed in as we were by a large group celebrating a birthday, became very noisy; large tables will be pushed against the wall so that people can't get trapped behind a table, unable to mingle; food for vegetarians will be clearly identifiable, also seafood distinguished from meat; and, last but not least, name and affiliation labels will be colour-coded with your interests - green for food & drink, blue for energy, and red for anything else (to be refined with experience).

About the Green Drinks format

Green Drinks is organised and hosted (both very loosely!) by Transition Horsham but it follows the well-tried and worldwide Green Drinks format, with one very important difference - free food!

There is no structure and no agenda - although we may occasionally arrange themed evenings on food, energy, community, crafts, etc (you can suggest them), invite local businesses and organisations along and advertise to Horsham residents accordingly.  Green Drinks is about and for you, the people who turn up.  Just arrive and start mingling.  There are only two rules for you.

Firstly, try to invite new people along each time (but don't be put off if you can't!) - friends, neighbours, work colleagues, customers, business associates, really anyone with an interest in broad 'green' issues or the theme for the evening - let the gathering and its effectiveness grow organically.

Secondly, mingle widely and make a point of talking to as many new people each time as you can - keep it fresh and give serendipity free rein!

The full ethos and protocol of Green Drinks are on the Green Drinks International website - and see our page!

About Transition Horsham and the Transition Movement

Transition Horsham is part of the Transition Movement, a worldwide grassroots response to climate chaos, the end of cheap oil and the ensuing social and economic crises.  Our aim is to foster a vibrant local community that is resilient to external food, energy and other resource shortages.

In addition to hosting Green Drinks at The Crown on the 3rd Wednesday of the month, we also meet regularly as a group on the last Thursday of the month at the Friends Meeting House, Worthing Road.  Your ideas welcome!  Details about these meetings and more about us are on the Transition Horsham website.

For information about the Transition Movement, see our What is a Transition Town? leaflet for an introduction and visit the Transition Towns WIKI for much more.