We have moved!

 All posts regarding 4BsHive project will in future be at: https://4bshive.wordpress.com

Is there an emerging digital Underclass?

Via Connecting Bristol 

4BsHive green map of Knowle West

The 4BsHive project now has its own website for the latest updates: http://4bshive.wordpress.com/  We're all looking forward to visiting Budapest in May.

Steve

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from all the 4BsHive Partners!

4BsHive: First Study Visit - October in Bristol

In late October 17 participants from Germany, Hungary and Romania came to Knowle West for four days of activities around green mapping. An intense, enjoyable and productive time was had by all. Both this and the Partner's meeting in Berlin in September were filmed by Bjela Proßowsky from the Berlin team. As soon as they are available we'll post the videos up here. For more on the project: 4BsHive.

Outside Knowle West Media Centre

Taken by Jan Catterall - one of our Bristol participants.

Monica, Alin and Doris from Bistrita, Romania on the first day. (Jan Catterall)

Nandia (Bristol) interviewing Orsy and Judit (Budapest) with Pit (Berlin) monitoring sound for a professional (!) level recording. Orsy and Judit were giving their impressions of the area compared with Budapest. (Carsten; Berliner)

Sylvia, Nardia and Becca (Bristol) on Saturday's visit to the Climate Countdown event at the Harbourside. (Jan Catterall)

Feeding the goats at Lawrence Weston Community Farm on the way to see the bee hives and honey collecting operation. (Jan Catterall)

Becca, Jan, Judit, Suszan, Judit, Sylvia, Gergo and Gabriella visiting the 100 DAYS exhibition at Arnolfini. In the run-up to the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen Arnolfini staged an exhibition of work around issues of climate change, social justice and the relationship between art and activism. (Steve Parry)

4BsHive Partner meeting - September in Berlin

The four Partners met to discuss and agree project outputs and methodologies. Partners include: Steve and Ivor (GreenBristol; Bristol, UK); Pit and Bjela (Quesper Verein Video; Berlin, Germany); Gergo Horvath (Assn. of Conscious Consumers; Budapest, Hungary) and Ciprian Samoila (Associata Ascendenta; Bistrita, Romania). It was still very warm; 32 Centigrade that day!

From left: our host Pit van de Loo (Berlin), Steve Parry (Bristol), Szonja Andrasev (Budapest) & Ivor McGillivray (Bristol)

Lunch at the Neukoln Tenant Initiative for older people

One of the last cold war watch towers is now a museum

Local allottments

A women's forge making decorative ironwork and horseshoes

Cycling is the norm in the Berlin lifestyle

Two green campaign groups oppose each other over an outside activities space needed for a school

A fun welcome for children!

Pit (Berlin), Corina (Bistrita), Steve & Ivor (Bristol) & Szonja (Budapest)

A floating swimming pool - one of these would be uber popular in Bristol docks...



The German election was approaching...

Tempelhof airport closed a year ago - the authorities were afraid of drug dealers using the space so closed it with no plans or vision for the future

Frogs at the entrance to the infants school

Lively music culture in Berlin - I hope to sample it next time

Superb brickwork on a warehouse from DDR days - now a fun and busy flea market





GPS hire-bikes have been here for 10 years - Bristol is just about to get them...

Shop for cultural diversity in Neukoln near Pit's place

Wesserstrasse - in Berlin apartment buildings are the norm for accommodation - this one's been refurbished

4BsHive start-up seminar

In Berlin...

European collaborative green mapping - update

We recently heard from the European Commission's Lifelong Learning Programme regarding our application for a Partnership project with Berlin, Budapest and Bistrita (Transylvania, Romania). To our delight the news is all four partners have been approved! The project's aim is to facilitate collaborative green mapping within and between the four partners. We will use the Open Green Map system which interactively charts natural, cultural and green living sites.

This is a transnational project between four river cities: Bristol (UK), Berlin (Germany), Budapest (Hungary) and Bistrita (Romania). The project will set in motion a collaborative, green map-making process within and between these four European partners. This will involve the creation of online and possibly paper maps charting local resources for more sustainable living. These thematic maps will use the internationally standardized Green Map System (GMS) of icons.

Participants will have the opportunity to gain new ICT skills and learn more about sustainability issues locally and internationally. They will exchange experiences and learn about other European communities on Study Visits. This will be achieved through a participatory process that is creative, enjoyable and enhances confidence. The process may include storytelling, photography and film-making through group and public events.

Outputs and Products will include a Study Visit to each Partner, a shared website, four local green maps, documentary film (online/DVD) and a European Green Mapping Guide. Target Groups will include those from disadvantaged and under-represented sectors including older people and those without basic qualifications.

We will be welcoming participants from all three partner cities to an event in Bristol this October. We will be working with Knowle West Media Centre as our local partner in this project.

Preparatory Visit in Bistrita, Transylvania

GreenBristol goes to Romania from Steve Parry on Vimeo.

Grundtvig Preparatory Visit

Steve visited Bistrita, in the Transylvania (!) region of Romania for a conference with our European green mapping colleagues to discuss a transnational collaboration:

L to R: Ciprian Samoila (Bistrita), Steve Parry (Bristol), Bjela Prossowsky (Berlin), Corina Ernst (Associatia Ascendent, Bistrita), Alexandru (Bistrita), Gergo Horvath (Budapest), Pit van de Loo (Berlin), Alina (Associatia Ascendent, Bistrita).

Outside Hotel Castle Dracula

The heating under Romanian train seats is extreme...

Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?

An inspiring video:

www.greenbristol.blogspot.com
www.greenbristol.org.uk

Mobile: 07960 319049
Landline: +44 (0)117 953 5087

Bristol shortlisted for European Green Capital

We're currently preparing our application for the preliminary conference for the EU collaboration mentioned below. By co-incidence Bristol has today been shortlisted for the prestigious Green Capital of Europe award.  

GreenBristol visits Berlin

Last week GreenBristol visited our German greenmapping colleague Pit van de Loo in Berlin. This was to discuss the possibility of launching a European greenmapping collaboration with Berlin and Bistrita, Romania. Pit took Ivor and Steve on a whirlwind tour of the city taking in many fascinating nooks and crannies including a cafe offering free roast wild boar and beer! Steve's friends Mark and Christina were kind enough to provide accommodation, bicycle and more sightseeing during the trip.

Steve and Pit visited Dr Renata Eras of European Project Management, Neukölln. Renata is enthusiastic about the possibility of a collaboration and was very helpful in suggesting the first steps to take. Briefly these are for us to convene a preliminary conference in Bistrita in the Transylvanian mountains of Romania with Ciprian Samoila in January. The likely participants would be adult/lifelong learning groups who could use ICT to benefit their respective communities' environment.

We should submit a formal funding application with at least the three cities as participants - preferably two more to make up a five city project. This to be submitted before the deadline in March 2009. Consideration by the relevant EU Commissioners could take two or three months. Then we could get approval for the project assuming a suitable legal body (preferably in Bristol) could take charge of administration. Steve is approaching Knowle West Media Centre and Bristol Council to discuss possible support.

We are now featured on Open Green Maps.

Evaluation of printed map

GreenBristol was awarded funding recently from the DAFT panel at Community at Heart to commission an independant evaluation of its printed map. We commissioned Conrad Peberdy, former Director of BEST (Bristol East Side Traders), to carry this out. The full process has now been completed and the document is available for download here.

Excerpt: "All households who had not seen a map previously expressed an interest in acquiring a copy (i.e. 83% of those surveyed). During the discussions with (19) opinion leaders 75% of those interviewed said that they had learnt something new."

At the Harbourside Festival

GreenBristol had a table at the Eco-tent along with many other local initiatives. We collected some interesting feedback from people about what their company did that was 'green'. Many thanks to the Sustainable City team at Bristol City Council. And thanks to CSV Environment for lending us their green map of Hartcliffe and Withywood - below.

The Green Movement on World Environment Day

This is the video made on World Environment Day by students from City of Bristol College.

World Environment Day at Temple Quay

We went to Temple Quay business centre in Bristol on World Environment Day. This is a United Nations initiative and the theme this year was the melting of the ice caps. The Green Movement performed again to much curiosity. We invited children from Hannah More environmental school - its just around the corner. We had previously chalked an outline of the earth with the Chalk Revolution. The children were invited to fill in the continents and we gave them stencils of the Green Map System icons to brighten up the plaza. Thanks to the Sustainable City team at Bristol City Council for its generous support. Photos are online and we hope to have a movie made by students of City of Bristol College up shortly. We also now have a MySpace set up with some videos to watch.

The Green Movement at Bristol Festival of Nature

A performance at Bristol Festival of Nature on 2nd June 2007. Many thanks to the Fun Revolution for facilitation. View photos of all three performances. Watch the video.

The Green Movement

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City-wide online green map

Ivor and I have been meeting recently with various groups who are interested in contributing to a city-wide green map. CSV already have a printed map of Hartcliffe and Withywood. Sustainable Southville are about to publish both a printed and online map of Southville and Bedminster. GreenBristol recently printed a map of Lawrence Hill in East Bristol. We will meet Keith Reay of the Chemistry Set on Thursday. Keith and others are interested in mapping Easton.

We hope that, together with Bristol Wireless, we can use Google maps and open layers to produce a multi-layered map of the whole city. Users will be able to upload their own multi-media content (eg photos/movies/audio) to any point on the map. Furthermore, we intend to make it accessible via mobile phone - including the uploaded photos/movies!