Talk: Psyche in Transition

Our Friends in Devon have the chance to hear Jungian Analyst and Eco psychologist Mary-Jayne Rust talk on the subject of "Transition Culture" during February.

Presented by The Heart and Soul group of Transition Town Totnes this evening talk on 13th February 2008 at St. John's Church, Bridgetown, Totnes will explore how eco-psychology can help the Transition Movement to create a deep and lasting change.

Admission Fee is £4 or £3 for concessions.

For further information on Mary-Jayne visit : http://www.mjrust.net

Seahorses and Pipefish in the North Sea

The Zoological Society of London is holding a free lecture in their meeting rooms on 12th February 2008 starting at 6:00 p.m. The subject under consideration is "Seahorses and Pipefish in the North Sea".

There has been a rapid and dramatic increase in numbers of snake pipefish occuring in the sea about northern Britain. The reason for this population is currently unclear but will be under consideration during the evening, along with the impact to our seabird breeding colonies in the UK - snake pipefish are now increasingly being seen in their diet, often with detrimental consequences.

Following the meeting, a three course dinner with the speakers is available at a price of £34 per person including two glasses of wine. Booking must be made in advance.

For further information please email: joy.hayward@zsl.org or telephone 020 7449 6227. The ZSL is situated at Regents Park (Outer Circle), London NW1 4RY.

Please mention WFUK when contacting Joy. Thank you.

Cairngorms National Park - Pylons Update

The last twelve months have been an eventful time for the Cairngorms Revolt Against Pylons group. They have been working tirelessly to raise awareness of the issues around the erection of megapylons on land within the Cairngorms National Park.

The group has now summarised on their website http://www.cairngormsagainstpylons.org all of the events of the last year and brings news that the result of the public enquiry into the matter will be announced later this year. The group are urging interested parties to lobby Scottish minsters now, before they reach their decision on the matter and the result is announced in the Summer.

For further information visit http://www.cairngormsagainstpylons.org

iNomad at the RGS - 23/01/08

The good people at iNomad have their annual event Wednesday 23 January at 7pm - which they hold at the RGS - this coming week and we'd like to note our support of their innovative and inspiring youth programme - Here's exactly what's going on:

We are very pleased to welcome the team from the Offscreen Student Expedition to Oman and the UAE to talk about their experiences breaking down the barriers of misunderstanding between the Middle East and the UK. We are delighted that Offscreen have also invited Sheikh Khalfan to come from Oman to give his perspective on the issue.

Liz Jackson, iNOMAD Award winner, will be showcasing her new work on communicating the wonder of glaciers.

Tickets are £10 in advance and £15 on the door, with all proceeds going to the iNOMAD Award.

Now, just in case you're wondering what the iNomad Award mentioned above is:

The award supports an expedition or project that seeks to bring greater understanding to a cultural or environmental issue creatively. iNOMAD makes one Award of £1,000 each year and also offers support and contacts to help make the project a success. The award winner is also invited to speak at the annual iNOMAD Event, held at the Royal Geographical Society.

Please download the information sheet for more information.

We are looking for applications from individuals (not teams) working on expeditions and projects who are based in the UK and who are under 30.

To apply, head over to this page where you can download the necessary forms etc. Applications close 1 May 2008

External links:

• http://inomad.co.uk/
  
• http://offscreened.com/
• htpp://www.rgs.org/whatson

Further reading from our archives:

• Discovering people at the RGS
  
• Campfire Questions with Jamie Buchanan-Dunlop
  

Renewable Energy Awards

The Renewable Energy Awards were presented on 6th December 2007 and Scottish Energy Minister Jim Mather took the opportunity to reaffirm his Governments commitment to renewable energy and sustainable economic growth. He went on to say:

The message is we need more renewables but not at any price - the best applications are those that take care to resolve environmental and planning concerns in advance

The Wilderness Foundation UK is heartened to learn that the Scottish Government continues to look for improvements in their consents procedure, however the imposition of a nine month target to complete the turnaround on applications in place of the current almost two years it takes to achieve a decision, does restrict the opportunities that environmental groups will have to prepare a response to proposals where their is a clear and distinct threat to the environment, landscape and wildlife habitats. However, it would appear that future applicants will be required to tackle many of these issues before applications are submitted for consideration, so we are hopefully that great opportunities for consultation will occur prior to submission in future.

Further reading on this matter can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News

Discovering People at the RGS

Christine James of the RGS brings us news of an event with may interest our Friends:

Tuesday 5 February at 7.00pm

Discovering people

Rosie Stancer

Join Mary Rhodes, the BBC’s leading female sports news presenter, in conversation with the polar explorer, Rosie Stancer, once described as ‘a cross between Tinkerbell and the Terminator’ to hear about her 700 mile trek across Antarctica, solo trek to the North Pole and her work with the Special Olympics GB.

Tickets: RGS-IBG Members £7, non-Members £10

Available online at www.rgs.org/whatson or by calling 020 7591 3100



The interviews are informal, light-hearted, but at the same time informative and are suitable for all with an interest in polar exploration.



Further details can be found online at www.rgs.org/whatson

As always, please mention Wilderness Foundation UK when responding