Dundas Ontario In Transition

LETS DO IT!

Introduction

A remarkable initiative was begun inauspiciously in Kinsale, Ireland back in 2000 through the efforts of a remarkable individual named Rob Hopkins. His permaculture course became the model for a complete program in permaculture and was extended to the greater community that led to an Energy Decent Action Plan.

Hopkins later moved back to his native Britain and began exploring the possibility of applying the Kinsale model to towns in the UK beginning with Totnes and next Lewes. Much of the material provided below is from Hopkins' Transition Town Handbook, so a word of thanks to him for a great effort.

Four key assumptions that Transition Initiatives are based on (p. 134)

1. Life with dramatically lower energy consumption is inevitable. It's better to plan for it than be taken by surprise.

2. Our settlements and communities at present lack the resilience to enable them to weather the severe energy shocks that will accompany peak oil.

3. We have to act collectively and we have to act now.

4. By unleashing a collective genious of those around us to creatively and proactively design our energy descent, we can build ways of living that are more connected, more enriching, and that recognize the biological limits of the planet.

Philosophical Roots of Transition Culture (p. 138-139)

1. Observe and interact
2. Catch and store energy
3. Obtain a yield
4. Apply self-regulation and accept feedback
5. Use and value renewable resources and services
6. Produce no waste
7. Design from patterns to details
8. Integrate rather than segregate
9. Use small and slow solutions
10. Use and value diversity
11. Use edges and value the marginal
12. Creatively use and respond to change

Six Principles underpinning the Transition Model (pp. 141-142)

1. Visioning - Imagining what it will be like when we get to an end state or a preferred future.

2. Inclusion - Move out of your comfort zone to include other people previously left out of the conversation.

3. Awareness-Raising - Start with the assumption that people do not know anything about the issues of peak oil and climate change.

4. Resilience - Strengthen local self-sufficiency and redundancy of basic support systems.

5. Psychological Insights - Barriers to engagement include feeling of powerlessness, isolation, and being overwhelmed. These insights are used by transition efforts to create a positive vision, creating safe spaces where people can dialogue and interact, affirming the steps and actions that people have taken, and designing into the process as many opportunities to celebrate successes as possible.

6. Credible and Appropriate Solutions - Devising solutions that are reasonable but also realistically seek to address the real problems.

The Twelve Steps of Transition (pp. 148-175)

1. Set up a steering group and design its demise from the outset - This prevents people clinging to roles or control. I would recommend that a loose coordinating committee be retained, made up of members from sub-groups. Their role would be limited to major events, budgets, communications, etc.

2. Raise awareness - A period of time dedicated to bringing people in the community up to speed on the issues of concern. This must be done before Step 4: The Great Unleashing.

3. Lay the foundations - Network with existing local groups and begin a collaborative process for taking action on environmental and energy issues. Ensure avoidance of duplicative or overlapping tasks and coordinate to maximize efficiencies and productivity.

4. Organize a Great Unleashing - An event predicated on the prior generation of sufficient energy and momentum that marks the "arrival" of the project that celebrates the community's desire to act on these issues.

5. Form groups - Organize a number of smaller sub-groups to address specific aspects of the problems. These could include food, energy, transportation, climate change, urban design, and more. Groups should appeal to experts in these areas to participate. Each group should have a steering committee but be open to any other member of the larger group.

6. Use Open Space Meeting Tool - A tool devised to run productive meetings. See p. 168 of the Transition Handbook for details.

7. Develop visible practical manifestations of the project - Rather than mere talking, actual projects and accomplishments are what draw people to movements and groups. Drawing projects should be high visibility so that you can use them as membership marketing tools.

8. Facilitate the Great Reskilling - As part of a community education component, the groups should offer training on appropriate skills for a post-carbon economy. This could include use and maintenance of hand tools, food preserving, composting, weaving, energy auditing, and much more.

9. Build a bridge to local government - As Hopkins states, you must cultivate a positive and productive relationship with your local municipal authority. Hopkins suggests drawing them in as early as possible. I would recommend developing the critical mass from an unleashing first.

10. Honor the elders - Older citizens have experience with the transition to the oil economy but also posses knowledge of the skills and tools used prior to full mechanization. Their knowledge should be respected and called upon.

11. Let it go where it wants to go - Be open to letting the endeavor follow the direction to which it bends. Holding to a pre-determined line will take needless energy and time.

12. Create an Energy Descent Action Plan - A plan setting out a vision of a energy descent future that is resilient and localized. The plan should establish a vision and backcast to determine goals, objectives, and steps. Hopkins recommends the following ten steps to be included in a plan:

Step 1: Establish a baseline
Step 2: Get the local master or comprehensive plan
Step 3: Develop the overall vision
Step 4: Do detailed visioning
Step 5: Backcast in detail
Step 6: Transition Tales
Step 7: Pull together the backcasts into an overall plan
Step 8: Create a first draft
Step 9: Finalize the EDAP
Step 10: Celebrate!

Adapted from www.relocalizations.net