April 2012 – Transition Network Newsletter
By Mike Grenville 5th April 2012
The 2012 Transition Network conference
14-16th September
“We’re thrilled to announce that the 2012 Transition Network conference will be held at Battersea Arts Centre in London in September. The event will start at around 6pm for an 7.30pm Grand Opening on Friday 14-Sept and end late afternoon on Sunday 16-Sept. Put it in the diary now, and we’ll be making further announcements soon.
The theme is “Building resilience in extraordinary times”. There’ll be something for everyone – urban/rural/town; new initiative or well-established; core teams or project groups; ambitious or tentative. In particular, we’ll be exploring some of the key elements of the “Building” stage of Transition, focussing on how Social Enterprises can be the drivers of the new economy and foster change on a grand scale. As always, it’ll be a challenging immersion into the cutting edge of transition, whereever that is for you, with plenty of time to renew old acquaintances, make new ones, and gather experiences that will be of great benefit to your initiative back home.
And to make sure your interests are considered as we pull the details together, please tell us your wants, needs and questions here:
March Round-up of What’s Happening out in the World of Transition
Stories from Germany, Ireland, Portugal, Canada, Australia, Brazil, USA and Chile; in the UK stories from Reading, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Exmouth, Honiton, Blandford, Penrith, London, Berkhampsted, Leamington, Chichester and Totnes.
March Round-up – US Edition
http://transitionus.org/stories/march-round-whats-happening-out-world-transition-us-edition
In Transition 2.0
The DVD and screenings are now available
“In Transition 2.0 takes the viewer through an emotional journey that effectively charts the evolution of the movement from its humble origins in Kinsale, Ireland, to an international movement that now attracts the attention of politicians and world leaders.”
Researching Transition
Here at Transition Network we get a regular flow of research enquiries. You can help make sure that Researchers are doing work that benefits transitioners. Here’s how:
SOCIAL REPORTERS
Supermarkets
Goodbye Supermarkets!
In the last five years, according to the new economics foundation, Lewes has gone from being a ‘home town’ with a wide mix of independent shops supporting a strong local economy, to a borderline clone town.
http://www.transitionnetwork.org/stories/adrienne-campbell/2012-03/goodbye-supermarkets
http://www.transitionnetwork.org/stories/adrienne-campbell/2012-03/goodbye-supermarkets
Sleeping with the enemy
This article in defence of the Coop provoked a lively debate about supermarkets.
Hello Just Markets!
Bananas are the single biggest profit making item sold on UK supermarket shelves.
A Loyal Customer
No one persuades you to “change your behaviour”. One day you see the pattern and are shocked to find blood on your hands. So what does shopping with heart mean?
Funding
Funding and Transition Omagh
Grant culture and the insidious effects it has on organisations.
The Magic Penny
Getting funding from the “magic penny” of love or the gambled pounds of people hooked on a Lottery dream.
Funding for the Future?
Funding appeals to our convenience culture. Come up with a successful proposal and boom you can make your idea a reality.
Reconnection with the Living Systems
Getting Connected!
‘We’ve lost our connection with nature’ is the kind of thing we can just say to each other without really thinking about what it means.
Mad for it…
How can folk heal stuck indoors, dulled by drugs and tranquilised by screens?
Coming Home To The City
For me it’s all about coming home – to exactly where we are.
News
Local Entrepreneur Forum Marks New Economic Era for Totnes
In Transition 2.0, Moss Side Fire Station
Skipping through the DVD on film night.
Letter from America (US)
Every Man a President
While ice caps melt and oil wars loom, the U.S. national media is aflame with talk about mandatory ultrasounds for women.
Translating Transition: from Small Town to Mega-City
“Transition” in Los Angeles isn’t so much about pioneering activities, but instead a massive act of networking.
Transitioning a Low-income, Inner-city, Marginalized Community
Transition is powerful for our community because we are very hungry for finding ways to cope with emerging climate change issues, in the context of the enormous challenges our community faces.
TRANSITION NORWICH BLOG
The Map is not the Territory
Even the deep green practices of Permaculture assign wild nature to an unspecified region known as Zone 5. Not in my garden. Not in my country.
Some Notes on Tracks and Edges
How dare those rude, healthy, resilient plants push through those cracks in the polite concrete and tarmac.
Mean Beans
To break the dependence on high-energy inputs, would mean dietary changes, changes in land use patterns and in agricultural practice.
A Short Story about Sticks
This is a small story about cuttings and connections. About a bunch of bare sticks that links people, gardens, projects, initiatives, cities, nations.
Risk, or Why Competition is Bad For Us
Is Risk unrealistic in giving such an unfair advantage to the person who is already winning?
Energy Shifts Involve Mind Shifts
Norwich Energy Look Outs group audits shops open door policy.
TRANSITION VOICES
Peak oil denial: How does this help?
What most four-year olds would agree is not much more than minimal common sense continues to confound some.
http://transitionvoice.com/2012/04/peak-oil-denial-how-does-this-help/
The media, marmite and peak oil
In this last week, which has seen people panic-buying petrol across the UK, we have been reminded of two unpleasant facts which are likely to be rearing their ugly heads much more frequently in the future.
http://energybulletin.net/stories/2012-04-02/beware-the-black-sticky-stuff
The Bike as a Lens
Bikes are the mechanical embodiment of the Transition Movement
http://transitionvoice.com/2012/03/the-bike-as-a-lens/
This Month’s Transition Podcast
The interview Rob Hopkins did recently with Lee Brain one of the founders of Transition Prince Rupert, in British Columbia, Canada, was one of the most inspiring he has yet published. In this installment, he gives a fascinating taste of what it looks like when an emerging Transition group gives over some time to getting the foundations of its work as solid as possible before proceeding any further.
Reflections on Energy Descent Action Plans
Rob Hopkins revisits the role of the EDAP in Transition, and how that has changed over time.
Here are three ingredients. Now form an initiative
One of the questions Rob was asked at a talk in a school recently got him thinking about the whole question of getting things started.
More Community News
Our Discussion Forum with topics including:
- Gift Circles
- Setting up as charities
- Transition activities in the classroom?
- Looking for green UK companies for new Accelerator prorgramme
PROJECTS
Making Ashburton-style Homes Fit For the Future
Transition Culture Tour
Bringing GAIA University courses over to England
Transition Cafe, Woking
A Little Patch of Ground
More Projects here
COMING UP
The Big Lunch 2012 Sunday 3rd June
A very simple idea from the Eden Project that aims to get as many people as possible across the whole of the UK to have lunch with their neighbours in a simple act of community, friendship and fun. The Big Lunch can be anything from a few neighbours getting together in the garden or on the street, to a full blown street party with food, music and decoration that quite literally stops the traffic. Why not be one of them!
UPCOMING TRAININGS
Transition LAUNCH- the training for people new to Transition
When: weekend of 21-22 April
Where: Birdwood House, in the heart of Totnes
Trainers: Sophy Banks and Hamid Van Koten
Costs: £105 for both days (Bursaries are available!)
Contact: If you’d like to book a place, have any questions or bursary enquiries or can’t make April but would like to do the next LAUNCH training contact training@transitionnetwork.org
Transition THRIVE course – the training for people in established Transition groups
When: weekend of 16-17 June
Where: Birdwood House, in the heart of Totnes
Trainers: Naresh Giangrande (Transition Totnes and Transition Network training’s co-founder) and Jenny Mackewn (Senior lecturer at Bath University and member of Transition Bath)
Costs: We are trying out a new financing model for the Thrive Training, inspired by the “Gift Economy” and Transition Portugal. So all we ask for is a payment of £40 prior to the course. The actual full costs of the training weekend is £105, but we leave it up to each participant to decide after the course, if and how much they want to contribute to this course as a way of gratitude and support of its continuity in the future.
Contact: If you’d like to book a place, have any questions or bursary enquiries or can’t make April but would like to do the next Thrive training contact training@transitionnetwork.org
Want to know more about “Transition THRIVE” and if it is you? Click here for more info.
Training for Transition, Siebenlinden, Germany 20-22nd April
Click here to see all upcoming Transition Training courses.
Fostering Active and Collaborative Learning
A five day course (free if you are in the European Union) which may be of interest to Transitioners in Europe who are involved in adult education, training or facilitation.
http://www.transitionnetwork.org/news/2012-03-25/fostering-active-and-collaborative-learning-five-day-course-adult-educators
RESOURCES
The Ingredients of Transition
Every initiative does it differently, and that’s part of the fun of the whole thing. Think of it like cooking. There are all kinds of amazing ingredients we can assemble in order to make, say, a cake, and the creation of every cook will be unique, reflecting his or her abilities and culture, and the local resources available.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
“The first question should always be “how are we going to work together?” rather than “what are we going to do?”
Lee Brain, Transition Prince Rupert, in British Columbia, Canada
Find previous editions of the newsletter here
This newsletter is published on the first Friday of each month.
Newsletter Editor: Mike Grenville
from Transition Forest Row for the Transition Network
Contact: mgrenville@gmail.com
+44 (0)7974 924289