Sunday 13 March 2011

WAAAH! save the trees in whalley range

On Monday the council are returning to Whalley Range to start the cull of healthy and much loved trees. There is a gathering outside the tescos on whalley range/ dudley road to challenge the chainsaws, meeting 10am tomorrow morning (14th March) I live in whalley range and the trees give much of the character to the neighbourhood as well as providing havens of biodiversity in the city. The reasons for the massacre seem spurious at best, and actually the closer you look (and the more you consider current budget issues) damn illogical. It's yet another example of crap community consultation. Sadly i am down south at the moment but much love and power to all those doing something - please join them if you can xx

The following is from the campaign group (sorry this wasnt clear before hence my editing, as usual i'm in a rush) xx

On March 7th 2011 a brave local resident faced and blocked the Manchester City Council's chainsaw contractors (short filmhttp://vimeo.com/20840682). While elsewhere another resident challenged why another half grown apparently healthy tree was being cut down. The tree had its crown removed and another tree with no obvious sign of decay lost several branches before contractors called in David Davidson the councils green space manager.

A face-to-face stand off with the resident followed and the resident reported climbing on a second contractor’s truck to prevent further cutting. "I don't usually do this sort of thing the resident said, but hearing the chainsaw I had to do something". A subsequent phone call to the MP Sir Gerald Kaufman generated a call to the council to halt work and send the contractors and there trucks home.

Both residents are part of the Whalley Range Tree Group a large group of concerned residents, that has been petitioning and dialoguing with the council for months to get a mutually agreed plan. They see the action as highly out of line with a democratic process that is still in process to find an agreeable way forward. Regretfully, despite additional representation, Sir Gerald Kaufman has advised residents that the Chief Executive of Manchester City Council is insisting that the Council will go ahead with the tree cuttings on Monday of next week.

The concerned local residents do not feel the council has addressed their specific concerns for more detailed scientific proof to warrant cutting of the individual trees targeted by the council which create a special natural environment in their local community of Manchester. "I don't understand what all the rush is about to cut these trees" said another local resident who lives next to the tree that survived Mondays incidents.

The last 2 mins of the film summarise the Whalley Range Tree Group request- who they are, their concerns regarding the proposed timescale and rate of felling and replacement of 473 trees (half the Whalley Range Tree stock) and their request to the Manchester City Council to delay the felling for one year to allow time to develop a mutually acceptable plan which meets the needs of Council and residents alike.




Thursday 3 March 2011

This Sunday: modernist heroines and more

Dear loiterers of all genders and none

March’s First Sunday see’s two really special walks coinciding with the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day. This is an event I have tended to avoid for a variety of reasons but I have been lured out of my ambivalence by these irresistible ideas which I am really proud to be involved in.

My apologies for simply cutting and pasting text you may have already recieved this week by other means, I have been plagued by technical issues. Expect a more personal rant from me on why feminism matters more than ever to appear on the blog very soon.

The Modernist Heroines Project,
Sunday March 6 at Manchester Town Hall,
Venue - Women of Achievement Room, 1-4pm, LRM walk 3-5pm (meet at the MMS stall)

Manchester Modernist Society, The LRM (Loiterers Resistance Movement) and The Shrieking Violet Zine have teamed up for a collaborative project exploring the stories of ten fabulous North West women spanning the fields of invention, aviation, media, science, design and architecture throughout the twentieth century and into the twenty first. Manchester’s Feminist history did not stop with the Suffragettes!

Join us for an afternoon exploring 'Manchester's Modernist Heroines’, launching a special edition of the Shrieking Violet fanzine, a collection of essays, interviews, artworks and links to events which aim to commemorate their achievements, uncover many more via your own favourites, and who knows – inspire some Heroines of tomorrow.

At 3pm The LRM will be curating a walk inspired by the work of our Modernist Heroine, Professor Doreen Massey. We will focus on flow, energy, gender and why we love exploring space. Our wander will uncover some of the hidden histories and power relationships which have shaped the city; Manchester is made up of myriad stories and we will tell some about our marvellous modernist heroines that are absent from the official narrative.

Find out more – and download a copy of the zine from Sunday onwards – by visiting: Manchester Modernist Society http://www.manchestermodernistsociety.org/ or
The Shrieking Violet http://theshriekingviolets.blogspot.com/

This is the start of an ongoing project; please tell us about your heroines - pop along on the day or add your favourite 20th or 21st century female to our webpage, coming very soon.
At 12noon, also leaving from the Town Hall, there will be another collaborative walk, this one between collaboration the Manchester Women´s Design Group and the Loiterers Resistance Movement;

This leisurely stroll will be guided by the results of emotion mapping by Manchester Women’s Design Group; this focuses on architecture, access and the way women feel about the city as well as the stories of women who have had an impact on the city http://womensdesign.blogspot.com/

During 2010, Manchester Women´s Design Group carried out research to explore how women react emotionally to urban spaces. These maps have highlighted spaces in the city centre which women love as they feel happy, relaxed, contented, and proud, as well as feared spaces that women say make them feel worried, anxious, angry and confused. This walk is a continuation of our process of research, analysis and evaluation, in which we invite you to participate.

I really hope to see you Sunday

Love and rage
Morag x