The wonderful and very informed Rokiah Yaman showed us around the Camley Street Natural Park micro anaerobic digester which is currently being installed. It is still in its early stages but the plan is to set up two more micro digesters in Camden and create a small network of waste managers and biogas producers. you can find out more or get in touch with them viat their website. www.creativehealthlab.com

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Wick Session #12 will host a conversation with Johannesburg
based [IN]FORMAL STUDIO (IS), a collaborative platform based in
Johannesburg. It pools resources and skills through in-situ
teaching, research and actual projects located in complex urban
conditions. Through forming partnerships with residents, NGOs, the
city, universities and other professionals, Johannesburg, as one of
the most unequal cities in the world, is explored as a productive
test-bed in which the practice of architecture and urban design can
be re-directed to support and lend agency to people-driven
development. IS also hosts and organises local and international
exchanges around the theme of participative planning and action
research.

Thorsten Deckler and Eric Charles Wright will introduce the
INFORMAL STUDIO followed by short presentations from Alex Warnock
Smith who will introduce the Informal City Research Cluster at the
Architectural Association and Andreas Lang from public works who
will give a brief introduction to the R-urban Wick Re-use Centre
which is currently taking shape in Hackney Wick.

PARTICIPANTS

Thorsten Deckler and Eric
Charles Wright will introduce the informal Studio
(IS) and talk about the changing role of architecture in the
context of a historic shift taking place in thinking about housing
in South Africa. Precipitated by the realisation that the backlog
of 2.3 million state-subsidised houses will not be met, this shift
is making itself felt on the ground, through the mobilisation of
communities, as well as the state’s expressed goal of upgrading
informal settlements at scale. Within this context the [IN]FORMAL
STUDIO has developed an in-situ university course in which
residents, students, teachers and city officials are being brought
together through a collaborative framework of engagement guided by
an alliance of grass roots community networks and NGOs.

Alex Warnock-Smith, from Urban Projects Bureau,
will introduce the aims and ambitions of the Design and the
Informal City research cluster that he runs with Elena Pascolo and
Jorge Fiori at the Architectural Association (AA). Alex will
discuss different approaches to the productive potential of
informality through design at different scales, drawing upon
research conducted by the cluster and graduate students in the AA
Housing and Urbanism programme.

Andreas Lang from public works will
introduce R-urban Wick a mobile reuse centre currently evolving in
Hackney Wick. R-urban Wick is a roaming workshop based on a
repurposed Milk Float which explores and promotes culures and
practices of re-use. R-urban wick is part of a wider netowrk of
projects to enhance the capacity of urban resilience by introducing
a network of resident-run facilities in Hackney Wick and Colombes,
France. R-urban aims to initiate locally closed ecological cycles
that will support the emergence of alternative models of living,
producing and consuming.

---

With kind support from "http://ppc.co.za/index.cfm">PPC Cement

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For all those who could not make it to yesterday "http://r-urban-wick.net/events/gardening-network-walk">Garden
Network Walk here is the below list might be useful, which can
be downloaded as a pdf "http://r-urban-wick.net/2013/05/20/Garden_Walk_hand_out.pdf">here

WICK FISH GARDEN WALK

Biggs Square


Biggs Square, Felstead Street, E9


Tom Mitchell, Leads on the garden initiative


Sarah Bancroft, Head of TA

Cre8 Arc


Murad Zeq


Martin Krupik


www.cre8lifestylecentre.org.uk

Meabley Meadow


Christopher King


www.mableymeadow.blogspot.co.uk

Mabley Green User Group


email: mableygreenug@gmail.com


www.facebook.com/MableyGreen Edible

Forrest Garden


www.sustainablehackney.org.uk


Sunday 9 June 11-4 Tree Nursery & Forest Garden Open Day

Gainsborough School


Paul Griffiths


www.yourgrowingconcerns.blogspot.com

Leabank Square Purple garden


Mat Carter www.leabanksquare.blogspot.co.uk

Roof Garden 90 Main Yard


Tori 90 Main Yard, Wallis Rd, E9 5LN


www.90mainyard.co.uk

Frontsite Skatepark


Andrew Willis www.frontside.org.uk/frontside-gardens.html

Wonder Yard Garden


Red Gate 43 White Post Lane


Matthieu Becker

Yard Theatre


Tanith Lindon


www.the-yard.co.uk

Organic Wick


Colin www.organicwick.org.uk

Josh Strauss’ Garden

OTHERS

View Tube


Paul Shaw


View Tube Manager


Contact: viewtube@leasideregeneration.co.uk


www.theviewtube.co.uk

Bromley by Bow Centre


Lisa Cunningham, the garden at BBBC


www.bbbc.org.uk

Abbey Gardens


www.abbeygardens.org

Netwalking Club - Three Mills Loop


Gordon Joly


www.netwalking-club.org.uk/index.php/Three_Mills_Loop

Hackney Harvest


www.hackneyharvest.com

Save Leyton Marshes


www.saveleytonmarsh.wordpress.com

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Thank you all for braving the early morning and a ride in the milk float to glean surplus food for a delicious brunch. Special Thanks for Tom Fletcher for the tour and hosting us in his studio.

http://r-urban-wick.net/events/harvest_prepare-and-share

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Chef and waste food specialist Thomas Fletcher will lead a small group to New Spitafield Market where we will collect surplus food. Along the way Tom will give an introduction of his eperience with surplus food which he harvest regularly from the market.

A short cycle ride away in Fish Island Thomas will introduce us to his kitchen nearly entirely made from reclaimed materials where we will turn the collected food into a tasty breakfast. All depending on what ingredients we will find at the market. The breakfast will be shared with a wider public and will start at 10am. You can join us at any time during the day.

We will set off to the market at 7 am from Hackney Wick Station. If you don't want to get up at the crack of down you can join us at Toms kitchen in Fish Island from 10am. Locations below.

Places are limited and RSVP is needed

7.00 AM
Surpluss harvest tour - meet at Hackney Wick Train Station to set off to New Spitafield Market

10.00 AM
Waste food preparations and breakfast at: Unit 1, Vittoria Wharf, 10 Stour Road, London E3 2NT

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CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A FREE PDF COPY
OR
CONTACT US TO PURCHASE A PRINTED COPY

CONTRIBUTIONS INCLUDE:

WICK ON WHEELS NEWS
PUBLIC WORKS, WOW AT CRE8
During February and March, Wick On Wheels has been in residence at the Cre8 lifestyle Centre.

WICK ON WHEELS REPORT
LUCY SCHOFIELD, TAPPING INTO THE WICK
With a jolt we are off and the float gets out on a making mission in the wider Wick.

WICK SESSION NO.8
RESPONSE – ERICA SCOURTI
RE-USE
A series of talks by practitioners working in the field of material Re-use.

R-URBAN RESOURCES
HACKNEY WICK RE-USER GUIDE
SAM BROWN
An existing online collection of re-use resources and its potential for growth.

WICK SESSION NO.9
RESPONSE – CHRIS CARTHY
SPACE AND TIME FOR PURSUING AMBITIONS
Can the people remedy the catastrophic effects de-industrialisation in western cities, simply by moving in to cheap, run-down neighbourhoods and getting on with life?

WICK SESSION NO.9
RESPONSE – LISA FIOR
SUSTAINABLE ENCLAVES
The future for the cultural sector looks under threat as many organizations are subject to increasing rent.

WICK SESSION NO.9
RESPONSE – RICHARD BROWN
THE CREATIVE CLASSES AS CITY DEVELOPERS
It is time to recognise the creative classes as our urban developers; because they define new ways of inhabiting forgotten parts of our cities,

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WHEN: Sunday 19th of May 2013 2:00PM - 5:00PM
WHAT: Walk
WHERE: Biggs Square Central Court Yard, Felstead Street, London, E9 5DT

Join us on a walk through Hackney Wick and Fish Islands' gardens. We will be visiting some of the many green spots in the area - from kitchen gardens to ambitious community projects and social enterprises. We will be joined by local gardeners and initiators behind the projects, each giving a short explanation about their specific garden.

The walk will set off at Biggs Square and will last for 2-3 hours,
RSVP necessary as places are limited.

Some of the places along the way: Biggs Square central courtyard garden, Leabank Square (Purple) Garden, Mabley Meadow, Mabley Green, Cre8 Arc, Wonder Yard Garden, Yard Theatre kitchen garden, Organic Wick and Vittoria Wharf garden, and others ...

The walk is the result of a conversation with Sarah Bancroft who, in collaboration with other residents, has been involved in setting up the Biggs Square garden project (see text below). The walk is a response to the desire to link up with other gardeners in the area.

BIGGS SQUARE GARDEN, E9

The garden in the middle of Biggs Square, off Felstead Street in Hackney Wick, is an experiment. It is now in its third incarnation. As the visual focus of a square which is just four years old and the home to 250 people who were strangers to one another until they moved into its 122 flats and maisonettes, this is perhaps inevitable. A community, as much as a garden, has to be grown.

In the first two years, the original landscaping – a mixture of 18 containers large enough to contain small trees, edge borders and a 25ft x 30ft raised central bed – suffered neglect (a gardening contract had not been put in place) and vandalism. The central bed, particularly, under-planted with uninspiring shrubs, became a toilet for dogs and worry for parents whose children chased across it. After considerable discussion, Family Mosaic, the housing association behind the square, got Groundwork, an environmental regeneration charity, involved: in late spring 2011, the central bed was remade into 24 "Vacant Lot" allotments for interested residents to grow fruit and veg. Eight gardening sessions were run to kickstart the project.

The garden's second incarnation had a good first season – until the school holidays when a combination of the end of Groundwork's sessions and bored children resulted in damaged crops and disillusioned gardeners. Vacant Lot struggled through 2012 with a dwindling number of growers and further damage. It was clear that without more input – chiefly a fence of some kind and a led, regular gardening club – the project would be unsustainable.

This year, we have Biggs Square gardens Mk III. A fence has been built, the plots slightly remodelled and we have the beginnings of a gardening club. A number of us feel the garden can be an important part of generating a flourishing community – a place to grow things, green the square and make strong connections. We are watching our space!

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WHEN: Sunday 19th of May 2013 2:00PM - 5:00PM
WHAT: Walk
WHERE: Biggs Square Central Court Yard, Felstead Street, London, E9 5DT

Join us on a walk through Hackney Wick and Fish Islands' gardens. We will be visiting some of the many green spots in the area - from kitchen gardens to ambitious community projects and social enterprises. We will be joined by local gardeners and initiators behind the projects, each giving a short explanation about their specific garden.

The walk will set off at Biggs Square and will last for 2-3 hours,
RSVP necessary as places are limited.

Some of the places along the way: Biggs Square central courtyard garden, Leabank Square (Purple) Garden, Mabley Meadow, Mabley Green, Cre8 Arc, Wonder Yard Garden, Yard Theatre kitchen garden, Organic Wick and Vittoria Wharf garden, and others ...

The walk is the result of a conversation with Sarah Bancroft who, in collaboration with other residents, has been involved in setting up the Biggs Square garden project (see text below). The walk is a response to the desire to link up with other gardeners in the area.

BIGGS SQUARE GARDEN, E9

The garden in the middle of Biggs Square, off Felstead Street in Hackney Wick, is an experiment. It is now in its third incarnation. As the visual focus of a square which is just four years old and the home to 250 people who were strangers to one another until they moved into its 122 flats and maisonettes, this is perhaps inevitable. A community, as much as a garden, has to be grown.

In the first two years, the original landscaping – a mixture of 18 containers large enough to contain small trees, edge borders and a 25ft x 30ft raised central bed – suffered neglect (a gardening contract had not been put in place) and vandalism. The central bed, particularly, under-planted with uninspiring shrubs, became a toilet for dogs and worry for parents whose children chased across it. After considerable discussion, Family Mosaic, the housing association behind the square, got Groundwork, an environmental regeneration charity, involved: in late spring 2011, the central bed was remade into 24 "Vacant Lot" allotments for interested residents to grow fruit and veg. Eight gardening sessions were run to kickstart the project.

The garden's second incarnation had a good first season – until the school holidays when a combination of the end of Groundwork's sessions and bored children resulted in damaged crops and disillusioned gardeners. Vacant Lot struggled through 2012 with a dwindling number of growers and further damage. It was clear that without more input – chiefly a fence of some kind and a led, regular gardening club – the project would be unsustainable.

This year, we have Biggs Square gardens Mk III. A fence has been built, the plots slightly remodelled and we have the beginnings of a gardening club. A number of us feel the garden can be an important part of generating a flourishing community – a place to grow things, green the square and make strong connections. We are watching our space!

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Harvestmap.nl is a web-based, European-wide network of re-users sharing expertise, contacts and sources of materials, searchable via a visual map-based interface or a more traditional listing. The platform is currently in beta-version testing and is seeking users to participate and contribute.

R-urban Wick have been asked to participate in the testing by uploading information about re-use in London, to establish it as a 'node' on the system alongside the relatively well-populated network in the Netherlands. Whilst some things are best re-use locally - such as sources of material - some things are less geographically dependent (such as re-use tips and points of reference).

The site offers levels of membership that allow access to different kinds of content - membership at any level is free for the rest of this year, after which a small fee would be charge to upper membership levels to cover administration of the site.

R-urban has registered as a 'Scout' - the most active membership level - and have begun uploading our research material and local contacts. Scouts can also act as 'brokers', serving as a point of contact for their address books and known sources of re-usable material. We would like to use the site to make people aware that we can act in this role - primarily brokering how-to knowledge and disseminating the results of our experimentation, but also in connecting those that approach us in need of materials with those we know who have them. The site has a built in mechanism that allows you to easily give feedback on how it is operating, and any problems you encounter. Although it is primarily in Dutch, there are sections in English and Google Translate does the rest. Join us!

*** Harvestmap.nl has been developed by Netherlands-based Superuse Studios - formerly 2012 Architekten - and will be launched as part of an exhibition at the Architecture Foundation opening on 4th June entitled 'InsideFlows: The Superuse Approach to Design', open until the 31st July. ***

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The most immediate and direct Re-use centre so far

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