Capel Goes Green

Since it began, a few short years ago, Capel Goes Green has launched many projects, some of which have been so successful that they now have an independent life of their own.

The first is the Temple Lane Allotments, on land generously made available by the John Dale and his family. These allotments are now fully subscribed and planted up and plans are in progress to install fencing round the perimeter. There are also additional allotments in Ockley near Standen, which are also almost all taken. 4 of our committee members are fully engaged on the allotments projects and are playing a major part in organising and carrying out the work needed.

The success of the allotments projects has raised the possibility of a Capel Smallholders Group which would embrace not only allotments but also raising of chickens and bees. This may be a major new development in the coming year.

Another successful project, which will run again this year through Village Greens Farm Shop, as it did last year, is the Capel apple collection, the fruit professionally juiced and bottled by Ringden Farm, resulting in our own Capel Apple Juice. So pick your apples, take them to Village Greens and have them weighed. Keep your receipt which will entitle you to buy a litre bottle for a £1. Otherwise they will sell for £2.10.

This year we will not be having a Green Fair, but we are hoping to arrange a display at the Capel Big Weekend which sets out the goals and achievements of the Transition Movement. There will be a list you can sign if you want to be kept in touch. There are very active and enthusiastic Transition branches in both Horsham and Dorking and we are currently going to their events and meetings to see whether it would be a good idea for Capel to become a Transition Village and join this nation-wide and indeed world-wide initiative. If we do this, we must have new people stepping forward as our committee is now too small to be effective.

As we are thinking of changing our name and our style, we have decided to discontinue our Capel Goes Green Website. So from mid -August we will be off air.

This is an appropriate moment to express our wholehearted thanks to young James Cole who volunteered to set us up on-line, created a superbly professional web site, and has worked tirelessly to keep it updated, and to respond to the many queries that came his way. James has been one of the most vigorous and active members of the committee, to the extent that we were worried that we were allowing him to do too much, invading time and space that should be reserved for school. He is now as busy as ever with the new allotments. We wish him all good luck with his visit to Peru.

SR