The Feeding the 5000 event - giving allcomers a delicious free lunch from food which would otherwise have been thrown away - is happening again this year. It takes place on Friday 18 November 2011, 12pm - 2pm in Trafalgar Square. If you want to be part of an event designed to make people and businesses think about just how much food they throw away, get in touch via the website http://www.feeding5k.org/  It's sure to hit the news.

From January 2012 biodynamic farming and horticulture can be learned on the Internet, according to the web-site of Biodynamic Agricultural College in Sussex, UK. The Distance Learning course is aimed at people who are working in a land-based profession: farmers and growers just as much as back-yard gardeners, vineyard managers, organic and biodynamic accreditation inspectors, etc. 

Garden Organic has launched a campaign to promote peat-free gardening.  It IS possible to create a gorgeous, productive garden without using peat-based composts.  They are targetting amateur gardeners as together we use a massive 24 million wheelbarrowsful of peat each year! 

The world's peatlands are a precious resource.  Find out more and sign the peat-free promise at:

http://www.idontdigpeat.org.uk/promise/?dm_i=4UO,GWSQ,3XHJVC,1DOW0,1

We're really excited about our Summer newsletter. It contains an article about WWOOF's beginnings from founder Sue Coppard. This article is part of a detailed internet interview with journalist Meg Pier. You can read the full interview at  http://www.viewfromthepier.com/peertopier/sue-coppard-wwoof/ If you are a member of WWOOF UK you can log on to read the latest issue of the newsletter.

We are looking for inspirational stories of how WWOOF has changed people’s lives for the better, for an article to celebrate WWOOF’s 40th birthday.  Whether you are a host or a WWOOFer, we’d like to hear from you.  Send your tales of life-affirming, life-changing WWOOF experiences to Katherine@wwoof.org.uk 

For some time now, WWOOF Council have been considering the issue of a feedback functionality so that WWOOFers can make public their experience with hosts, and hosts can comment on their volunteers. It's a common system used by many companies and even by other exchange-based organisations. However the subject more-or-less polarised the WWOOF membership; volunteers wanted to be able to report and comment their experiences, while hosts felt they wouldn't be willing to allow their lives and dreams to be boiled down to a subjective opinion on a ratings scale.

Radio 4 is looking for older WWOOFers who've decided to spend this summer/autumn travelling around the UK and mainland Europe fruit-picking.  We're keen to explore why people choose this lifestyle and what they feel they get out of it.  Please do get in touch: karen.gregor@bbc.co.uk or 0121 567 6739

Do you have some good footage (edited or un-edited) of your WWOOFing experiences that you think would add insight and entertainment value to a  movie about WWOOFing?  If so, contact Ash right away so that he can view it for incorporation into the final product.  Even if it's a short snippet, it could still be used as stills.ash-trey@hotmail.com www.wwoofthemovie.com

You can now display locations on a map when you search for hosts.  Search for hosts that you are interested in and then click Map These Contacts. Alternatively search for all hosts and go to Map These Contacts to see location of all UK hosts.

We hope you like this new functionality - let us know what you think about it.