Monday, August 9th, 2010
ARUK 2010 Animal Rights Summer Gathering
August 27th to 30th.
Northampton.
We’re on the final countdown to the Summer Gathering: below is an update and some important information for those planning to attend. Keep an eye on the website for further updates over the next few weeks, or get in touch for more details.
www.argathering.org.uk
The gathering will officially start on Friday 27th August after lunch, and will end on the afternoon of Monday 30th (Bank Holiday). You are more than welcome in the days before and after these dates to help set up the site and clear away afterwards, vegan food and camping space will be provided for these volunteers.
This is the national gathering of the grass roots animal rights movement. It’s a chance for activists from throughout the country to get together for a weekend of talks, discussions, workshops and films on a wide range of topics connected to animal rights activism, to take stock of where we are and make plans for the future, as well as some practical and skills based workshops and activities to share and learn new skills.
There will also be plenty of time and opportunities for us to relax and unwind, to spend some time catching up with old friends and meeting some new ones, to try some tasty vegan food and drinks, all in in beautiful rural surroundings.
*Timetable / Workshops*
There are already some great workshops, discussions, talks and entertainment planned, but there’s space for much more, so if you’ve got anything interesting to contribute please get in touch soon with your ideas. This applies also to practical and skills based workshops.
*Camping*
Accommodation on site will be camping. Bring clothing and camping equipment suitable for all weathers if possible. If you don’t have a tent don’t worry, you can stay in one of the big marquees which will be on site throughout. Don’t forget to bring a torch as well if possible!
Getting there.
To enable us to plan facilities and catering etc please let us know in advance if you plan to attend, how many of you and when you expect to arrive/leave. There will be 2 mobile phone contacts if you have any problems, these will be available nearer the time.
Public Transport
If you are using public transport, here are a few tips to enable you to plan your journey. There is a bus which takes you from Northampton (Grey Friars) bus station to the site of the gathering. If you are coming to Northampton by train there is a 10 minute walk to the bus station. The journey time from the bus station to the gathering site is half an hour, the bus leaves the bus station at the following times 07.45, 0900, 1020, 1210, 1405, 1645 and 1800, and there are no buses on Sundays, so please bear this in mind when making connections. If you have to arrive or leave after 1800, or on Sunday (when the bus doesn’t run), contact us and we’ll try to make other arrangements.
*Driving*
If you are driving, the directions depend on which direction you’re coming from, so contact us for details how to get there. The site is fairly central, it is only about 15 minutes from the major junction of the M1/M6/A14.
Car share
If you’re driving to the gathering and can offer spaces to fellow activists either from your area or en route, please get in touch so we can get more people involved. Or if you need a ride, get in touch and we’ll try to put you in touch with others from your area.
Volunteers for Set-up
If you’re free earlier in the week to help set up the site, put up marquees etc, and/or you can stay a few days afterwards to help tidy up the site, you’ll be very welcome, we’ll provide camping space and food, some good company, and as well as some work we’ll have some fun and a bit of entertainment too no doubt! Please let us know if you can do this so we can get an idea of numbers, thanks in advance.
Volunteers will also be needed during the gathering for a variety of tasks such as catering, washing up, getting workshop spaces ready, recycling, driving to pick up activists and supplies, gate duty etc, there’ll be a rota organised at the site for this
Vegan Catering Skillsharing
If you want to get involved with the catering, it’s a great way to learn about vegan catering and to meet new people. We will run two cooking sessions a day as ‘mass vegan catering workshops’, and will also hope to hold cake baking sessions. The start time will be advertised on a board at the kitchen each day, but will generally be about 3 hours before each meal. We will actively encourage people to pass on skills and learn about vegan cooking.
Food
Veggies Catering Campaign will be providing
three tasty vegan meals per day at a reasonable price. Plus Veggies d-i-y Cafe will run throughout the weekend with drinks and snacks, as well as stalls offering a selection of vegan goodies.
Vegan Fish and Chips
On top of this, the world’s first and only mobile vegan fish and chips caterers will be on hand all weekend if you fancy something different. For more information about “Something Fishy”, visit their website
www.something-fishy.org.uk
Children
It would be very useful for us to know how many children are likely to attend, and also whether their parents will provide food for them, or whether they eat alongside adults.
Special diets/allergies
If you have any food-related enquiries such as special diets/allergies, please contact us in advance and we will try to help.
First Aid
If you’re a First Aider, let us know when you’ll be there, and don’t forget your First Aid kit! There will be First Aid workshop on the timetable as well.
Sorry No Dogs
Sorry dogs are now allowed because the gathering will be on land where there are rescued farmed animals. However the central location may make it easier for day visits.
For updates check back with the website or contact us for more details.
Email:
2010@argathering.org.uk
Phone: 07899 775493
Website:
www.argathering.org.uk/
Mail: ARUK 2010,
c/o Veggies,
245 Gladstone Street,
Nottingham,
NG7 6HX
Donations.
The gatherings play a vital role in promoting and co-ordinating the movement.
If you or your group can help by making a donation, send cheques/PO’s payable to “ARGathering” and send to the address above, or use the paypal/plastic donation button on the AR Calendar listing at http://www.veggies.org.uk/event.php?ref=1711
2011 Gathering
The next AR Gathering is likely to be around the 12th or 19th August 2011.
Details will be on the Gathering website near the time, and on the Animal Rights Calendar. Details will be circulated on the Animal Rights Gathering Mailing List.
Monday, June 14th, 2010
We’ve been offered a fantastic opportunity by Lush Charity Pot, the fund that raises money & awareness about charities and campaigns for a better, fairer world.
Stop Press: See exhibition report at A Dip In The Directory (August 10th).
For over 20 years Veggies has participated in the Green Futures Field at Glastonbury Festival.
As well as providing a vegan catering oasis, we run a ‘free information exchange‘ to feature different projects that we support. In the past we have featured groups such as Indymedia, the Movement for Compassionate Living and the Vegan Society.
This year Lush are sponsoring the space to help promote many campaign groups and charities that we both support. Veggies crew will engage with the public and distribute information for 10 hours a day over 5 days to the greenest of the 200,000 people that attend Glastonbury, i.e those that visit Green Futures at the heart of the Green Fields.
The great thing is that many of the groups are ones with whom we already have a well established direct working relationship.
We are also making connections with other excellent groups with whom we have not worked previously, but who are active at a grass roots level on concerns that we share.
- Animal Aid – the UK’s largest animal rights group and one of the longest established in the world
- Animal Protection Agency – the APA is committed to ceasing the trade in wildlife for pets
- Bustan Qaraaqa – a community permaculture project, based in the West Bank town of Beit Sahour (Shepherds’ Fields), close to the city of Bethlehem.
- Calais Migrant Solidarity – Practical support for migrant communities. Networking to fight all aspects of the border regime.
- Captive Animals Protection Society – Campaigning against the use of animals in entertainment: circuses, zoos and exotic pet trade
- Environmental Justice Foundation – makes a direct link between protecting the environment and the defence of basic human rights
- Hunt Saboteurs Association – Direct Action campaigning against bloodsports – saving animals lives
- Otesha Project – A youth-led organisation that’s mobilising our generation to create social and environmental change.
- Rainforest Foundation – working to ensure the protection of rainforests by securing the rights of indigenous communities
- Reprieve – uses the law to enforce the human rights of prisoners, from death row to Guantánamo Bay.
- Refugee Action – a national charity that works with refugees to build new lives in the UK
- Respect for Animals – campaigns against the international fur trade, both fur farming and trapping
- Restore the Earth Campaign – This campaign is about working to restore the great ecosystems around the planet
- Room2Heal – a healing community for refugees, asylum seekers and others who have suffered human rights violations.
- Shell To Sea – campaigns to protect Rossport, County Mayo community from Shell’s Corrib Gas Project
- Sail Boat Project – water based NVDA training in support of campaigns for positive social change.
- SchNews – newsheet & directory covering environmental & social issues, direct action protests & campaigning
- Sumatran Orangutan Society – dedicated to the conservation of Sumatran orangutans and their forest home.
- Transition Network – a community-led response to the pressures of climate change, fossil fuel depletion and increasingly, economic contraction.
- Undercurrents – Support for activists using film / internet to further their message and campaign for social change
- Uncaged – international campaigns against animal experiments and for the advancement of animal rights
- Women Asylum Seekers Together (WAST) – Raising awarness about the issues that force women to seek international protection
- Veggies Directory – networking for humans, other animals and the environment
- AT Co-operative – infrastructure for Climate Camp etc. Collects discarded tents for activists and refugees
- Climate Camp – visit them in the Dragon Field
- Sea Shepherd – visit them nearby in the Green Futures Field
All these groups can be found in the Lush Charity Pot section of Veggies Directory at http://www.veggies.org.uk/directory/dirbrowse-306.htm.
Any old tat!
We don’t want to encourage people to abandon their “rubbish” and perpetuate the disposable consumer culture, but if anyone has tat they would like to drop off for the Calais Migrant Solidarity, the AT Collective or Climate Camp, take it to the Climate Camp area in the Dragon Field.
Glastonbury Festival is huge, time is short and there are many distractions, so we hope that ethical festival visitors will welcome the opportunity to find out about many of the finest charitable projects all under one roof. So come on down to the Green Fields!
Lush cosmetics charity support
Lush supports charities and other good causes (we don’t just support registered charities) through a variety of ways; campaigns in our shops and on our website; cash donations through Charity Pot, limited edition charity products and our Carbon Tax fund and through product donations.
We like to look after those who look after others and are committed to supporting small, grassroots charities, non-violent direct action groups and other good causes working in the areas of environment, animal protection and human rights.
We believe we can make the most impact by supporting causes and funding projects that others won’t, therefore we give priority to less popular causes which are more difficult to gain support for. We support non-violent direct action as we feel it plays an important part in bringing about positive social change.
Campaigns
Throughout the year we partner with organisations to run nationwide campaigns in our shops. Our campaigns team, along with the help of our creative design team and enthusiastic shop staff, have run a variety of campaigns over the last few years, including issues such as animal testing, the impact of the palm oil industry on orangutans and indigenous people, vegetarianism, packaging, fox hunting, shark finning, destitute refugees, climate change and an end of torture and the right to a fair trial. We’ve worked with organisations such as Reprieve, Refugee Action, Hunts Saboteurs Association, Animal Aid, Climate Rush, Biofuelwatch and Uncaged.
Our 90 stores around the UK and Ireland are the perfect way of reaching thousands of people; we use our windows to grab people’s attention and lure them in to find out more. Once in the shop we ask customers to take part in the campaign by taking personal action, signing postcards and petitions or simply learning more about the issue.
Funding
In April 2007 we created Charity Pot to raise funds for charities and other good causes. Charity Pot is a hand and body lotion made with fair trade cocoa butter. Every penny the customer pays for the product (less the VAT which we have to give to the government) is put in to the Charity Pot fund and then distributed to various causes nominated by staff and customers.
Charitable funds also come from our Carbon Tax Fund. Our staff do not fly domestically for Lush work and for international flights we charge ourselves a Carbon Tax; for every tonne of CO2 emitted when we fly, we pay £50 in to the fund. The fund is used to support internal and external environmental projects, especially those relating to climate change and sustainable transport, and also discourages staff from taking international flights.
Product donations
We donate stock to charities to help with fundraising (eg raffles) and for direct use by patients and clients (eg homeless shelters, women’s refuge and hospices).
Get in touch
If you know of an organisation that you feel would benefit from Lush’s help please contact Sophie Pritchard on charitypot@lush.co.uk or call 01202 667 830.
Further information can be found on the website www.lush.co.uk/charity
