From oil dependence to local resilience

Transition Town Dunedin?

Hi all,

I want to get the ball rolling with Transition Town Dunedin.

If there is anyone out there from Dunedin who is interested in getting together and starting discussions and an action plan, please contact me.

I have the Transition Handbook, and the three movies primarily relevant to Transition (Power of Community, End of Suburbia and Escape from Suburbia) and am willing to organise open showings.

My husband Michael is also interested and keen to be involved, and we have some experience in organising large events and facilitation of public events.

Tags: dunedin, escape_from_suburbia, power_of_community, transition_handbook

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tim Jones on May 23, 2008 at 16:32

Dear Leanne,

If you haven't already, you might like to have a chat with the Sustainable Dunedin City people, as I understand they are working on similar issues and you might be able to work together. They were pretty active in 2007, but I haven't heard much from them in 2008.

Contact info@sustainabledunedincity.org.nz or Bob Lloyd, boblloyd@physics.otago.ac.nz, who's their spokesperson.

Regards
Tim Jones

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Leanne Veitch on May 23, 2008 at 16:43

Hi Tim,

I've been to the website aqnd forums, but it seems pretty inactive, which is why I posted here. The SDC program seems very similar to TT in terms of aims etc., so I don't see why the two shouldn't work together, but I just want to get action happening , and get in contact face to face with people.

I will follow up on the contacts you've provided, and see where we get to from there. I do feel that the TT program is the best of its sort, but at SDC is a good series of actions from the look of things.

In the meanwhile, if there is anyone on the NZTT network from Dunedin, I'd like to get together and get talking and acting.

Cheers,

Leanne.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Helen Dew on May 25, 2008 at 0:57

I suggest that you contact councillor Fliss Butcher. She is an associate of Living Economies and is aware of TT. A couple of years ago she did quite a bit to promote Time Banking, which has since started in Lyttelton.

With regards spreading the TT 'virus' one idea I had - but haven't put into practice - yet! is to start a reading group. Margaret Jefferies started one around 'No More Throw-Away People - about Time Banking (which operates in Lyttelton.) After reading each chapter (or two) participants come together for discussion and are paid in 'Hours' for their commitment.

With the Transition Handbook, what if several groups comprising say two or three people were each allocated a chapter (or more) which they'd read and discuss and report back later to the whole group? This would enable the whole book to be read and discussed over a relatively short period. With a little imagination the reporting session could become a celebration!

To make this idea work you'd need to inspire enough people to commit to it. And of course the participants would need copies of the book! If this idea could be promoted as an educational strategy, with the intention of moving a community toward local resilience it might be possible to attract funding to subsidise copies.

I'm sure anyone who's read the book will agree that if significant numbers of people in a given locale were to have read and discussed this book those involved would have gained a far greater appreciation of the issues and a variety of possible actions. They're also likely to emerge with a greater sense of hope! and be in a much stronger position to positively influence those around them. Such communities would take a huge leap forward in their efforts to build local resilience!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Leanne Veitch on May 25, 2008 at 11:31

Hi,

Thanks for the contact regarding Fliss. I'll email her and various other people whose names I have been given, and try to get a first TT meeting happening.

From what I can gather, there are heaps of fantastically committed people in Dunedin, but they may not necessarily all be on the same page yet, which is what TT is all about. The Sustainable City group also seems to have a lot of great people, and there have been showings of various transition-related movies, but I'm not sure where things have progressed past there - maybe I'm missing the action? ;-)

I'll chase everyone up, and see what I can do in terms of getting involved. But Fliss certainly sounds like a perfect person to have on board!

Thanks.

Leanne.