How to live in a Transition Town

Decreasing oil supplies, climate change and the unpredictability of future food production have driven the idea of Transition Towns.

HOW DID THE TRANSITION MOVEMENT START?

The concept emerged in 2004 at an Irish tertiary institute in County Cork during the teaching of a ground-breaking permaculture course led by English environmentalist Rob Hopkins. A year later he moved to the small market town of Totnes in Devon where he co-founded the world’s first Transition Town.

It is not just a British phenomenon though; there are now more than 1200 Transition groups in over 40 countries.

WHAT IS A TRANSITION TOWN?

Transition Towns are communities of all shapes and sizes which focus on sharing skills and getting stuck in to live more sustainably. It’s about streets, neighbourhoods and suburbs striving to be less reliant on energy and more self-sustaining.

Transition initiatives include communal gardens and produce, fruit trees in parks, bulk buying from local growers, fostering a local food economy, shared transport, bike libraries, plastic-free zones, zero-waste events, composting centres, environmental projects at local schools, permaculture principles, waste reduction and recycling.

TRANSITION TOWNS ADOPT FOUR KEY ASSUMPTIONS:

1 That life with dramatically lower energy consumption is inevitable; it’s better to plan now than be taken by surprise.

2 That our communities presently lack the resilience to weather the severe energy shocks that will accompany peak oil and climate change.

3 That we have to act collectively and act now.

4 That by unleashing the collective intellect 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 recognize the biological limits of our planet.

In the London suburb of Brixton a Transition group has raised £130,000 to install England’s first inner-city community-owned power station with 82kW of solar panels on top of a council estate. In Derbyshire a Transition community has created a food hub, making it viable to grow food in back gardens for sale as an alternative to supermarkets.

“On their own these initiatives may not make a vast difference but when there are thousands of communities worldwide all weaving their bit in a larger tapestry, it adds up to something awe-inspiring and strong.”  Rob Hopkins, The Guardian, 2013.

WHAT ABOUT NEW ZEALAND?

In 2008 Waiheke Island was the first place in Aotearoa to found a Transition Town. Over the past seven years the Transition network in New Zealand has quietly expanded (it’s a word-of-mouth momentum) and now includes more than 60 Transition initiatives around the country.

The self-organised network is linked by Transition Towns New Zealand Aotearoa and its website transitiontowns.org.nz is a national forum for sharing ideas, stories and information.

At this stage there is no legal structure or central organisation. Local councils in New Zealand are taking significant interest in the movement, providing a range of support mechanisms including land, water connections, advice and funding via community grants. The Transition movement has a 12-step guide to inspire initiatives.

A CASE STUDY – TRANSITION POINT CHEVALIER, A WESTERN SUBURB IN AUCKLAND

HISTORY: In 2008 two Point Chevalier local residents, Finn Mackesy and Niki Harre, co-founded Transition Point Chevalier. “We had heard about the Transition movement and could see it was a great way to combine concerns for climate change with community building. We held a meeting and it just evolved.”

Now numerous Point Chevalier residents have become involved with Transition initiatives in the suburb.

“I’ve always looked for ways to better live my  ideals  around social justice and ecological enhancement. Transition Towns appeal to me because they’re about changing ourselves rather than assuming the problem is outside ourselves and someone else needs to change,” says Harre, author and associate professor in the School of Psychology, University of Auckland.

WHAT ARE THE KEY INITIATIVES? 

1 Personal shared gardening: local residents work cooperatively in each other’s organic gardens on the first Sunday of every month. The goal is to encourage urban sustainable gardens and food production.

2 The Point Chevalier Community Garden at a local community centre where food, time and knowledge are shared. Part of implementing community-supported agriculture.

3 Lemon, avocado and banana trees have been planted on a local public reserve where a community orchard is being developed. Achieving Auckland Council agreement was straightforward.

4 Transition Point Chevalier Purchasing Group (20 members). It buys from local growers and suppliers to limit food miles, back a local food economy and foster alternative systems to mainstream supermarket buying. Products are selected according to the principles of organic, local, Fair Trade, less packaging, quality and price. Items have included free-range eggs and chickens, avocados, flour and grains. “Purchasing seems an important part of creating a society that is more considerate of the environment and our responsibilities to each other.”

5 Transition Point Chevalier works in tandem with Point Chevalier School to provide a venue for soft-plastic recycling; as a result there’s been a huge drop in local plastic going to the landfill. Enviroreel recycles the plastic to make such items as pulleys and wheels, cable covers and garden edging.

6 Point Chevalier School works in tandem with the community to deliver a strong sustainability programme. School gardens include fruit trees, vegetables and herbs; students harvest and cook the produce grown. The school recycles its soft plastic, paper and cardboard and uses worm farms and compost bins to recycle food waste.

ESSENTIAL READING

The Transition Handbook – Creating local sustainable communities beyond oil dependency (Australian & New Zealand Edition) (2008), Rob Hopkins

The Transition Companion – Making your community more resilient in uncertain times (2011), Rob Hopkins

Psychology for a Better World: Strategies to Inspire Sustainability (2011), Niki Harre

The Power of Just Doing Stuff: How Local Action Can Change the World (2013), Rob Hopkins

stuff.co.nz