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1. Introduction* 2. New Project Manager Unveiled!* 3. TTT Trip to Landfill Sites & Recycling Centre* 4. Totnes Appears in New Scientist's List of Global Green Heroes* 5. Interest free loans available from the Totnes Pound group* 6. Cycling Group Ride-Out* 7. Elinor Ostram for Nobel Peace Prize* 8. Exploring Our Ecological Self Workshop* 9. Nordic travellers ‘ inspired’ * 10. Looking for funding for your local project?* 11. Nut Trees Project Sponsored By Small Firm*
11. Reskilling Corner* 12. Upcoming Events*
1. Introduction
October
has brought in the first mild frosts. All the pumpkins and squashes are
hastily being pulled inside from the allotments and garden patches, in
time for Halloween. The nights are drawing in, gloves are suddenly a
'must' when cycling to work, but looking ahead to the next few weeks
there are lots of events, workshops, and skilllshares to come together
at and get excited about.
With the EDAP at the publishers and going LIVE on October 24th,
Transition Town Totnes is getting into gear to push forward its project
work. At the heart of the EDAP is coordinated change, and that
involves real work. We are at the cusp of talking about what we should
be doing and going about implementing the change. Getting involved is
central to the Energy Descent Action Plan we have been creating over
the past year. Exciting times. Follow EDAP goes here...
Over the next 2 months, TTT have 2 major events this November to
highlight activities and open the doors to involve people in energy
descent. The EDAP goes LIVE in October and the Totnes Winter 'Project
Harvest' in November are being designed to bring in the wider public to
TTT’s plans and activities. Some of us are interested in growing some
food, others may enjoy going out and planting trees, some people are
keen on DIY and want to retrofit their homes while others are more
interested in the need for deeper change in themselves and society.
What ever your interest or concern about how we tackle the challenges
of the future, being involved in local community based projects is
always going to benefit local society and ourselves. Getting involved
in a TTT project is a great
way of finding new friends and creates
activities to involve family and friends in.
If the approach of the Christmas shopping season feels like a time of growing concern over the rampant consumerism and waste our society generates, then Bag Week may be just the ticket. Join us in week of events aimed at getting us moving away from our wasteful behaviour patterns, and examining the consequences of our ever growing 'need' for more 'stuff'.
Jacqi (Coordinator Energy Descent Pathways project) & Lou (TTT Admin)
2. New Project Manager Unveiled!
We recently advertised
for the post of part-time Project Manager and Fundraiser, and we are
delighted to announce that the candidate that emerged successfully from
the interview process was Hal Gilmore, who will be familiar already to
most of you. Hal will be starting in a couple of weeks, initially 2
days a week, and then increasing to 3 days a week. If Hal were to be a
stick of seaside rock, he would have 'Transition' written all through
him, having been involved for some time, being a trained Transition
Trainer, and organising Transition Tours of the area which recently
brought a group of Swedish teenagers to the area for a week. Hal will
be responsible for TTT's fundraising, and will also be taking up some
of the organisational slack arising from Rob and Fiona's decreasing
involvement. I'm sure everyone will make Hal very welcome and give him
whatever support he needs. Rob.H
3. TTT Trip to Landfill Sites & Recycling Centre
On a sunny September day, a group from TTT had a fascinating visit to the recycling, composting and landfill sites in and around Newton Abbot. The tour was led by Heidi Diepold, the very positive and enthusiastic Education Officer of Devon Waste, and her colleagues, who were incredibly informative and answered all our questions with great knowledge and good humour!
We learnt a lot about how various materials are recycled, and the regional differences, for example not all types
of plastic can be recycled in every recycling centre in Devon. We also saw the rubbish brought in by members of the public being compacted ready to go to landfill. Sadly many of the items left as rubbish could have been recycled or reused if taken to the recycling or resale areas. However it was good to see how many people were sorting and bringing in their recycling. We realised how important it is to clean and sort our own recycling because ‘contamination’ even of the wrong type of plastic could possibly result in a whole batch of plastics having to be discarded.
We then went off to the landfill site and had the rare opportunity of seeing a new landfill ‘cell’ being lined and carefully prepared with pipes for collecting methane and leachate. Many of us were surprised to learn that the most harmful materials to send to landfill are kitchen and garden waste because of the methane that is produced, which is 23 times more powerful as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. The liquid leachate that drains out, if allowed to enter watercourses, would of course kill the wildlife, so this is sent to sewage treatment works. The methane is converted into electricity and sold to the national grid.
Birds such as seagulls and crows have to be kept away from the landfill
site for reasons of 
hygiene and one of the ways to scare them off
involves the use of trained hawks and peregrines. A highlight of the
tour was seeing how this is done!
We also saw huge piles of lovely brown crumbly compost being produced
from organic matter after only 12 weeks, as a result of the high
temperatures that are generated during the process. It was heartening
to see the positive benefits of keeping the organic matter out of the
landfill!
Devon Waste has offered TTT another visit during the school summer
holidays, and I would recommend it highly! If you’d like to be informed
of the date once it has been arranged, do send an email to me, Eleanor
Chandler at echandler66@yahoo.co.uk
4. Totnes Appears in New Scientist's List of Global Green Heroes
What
do Totnes, China, the Czech Republic, the Atlantic Ocean and rural
India have in common? According to a very bizarre map of 'Global Green
Heroes' in New Scientist, see here, Totnes is one of the 'Global Green Heroes'. The reason f
or Totnes' inclusion is given as "Totnes is a leading example of the transition movement,
a
global organisation which now boasts some 600 communities keen to
equip themselves with the tools and know-how to survive when oil
supplies run dry and climate change bites. Among other things, Totnes
has its own currency, its inhabitants are growing and promoting local
produce, and they have set up their own sustainable-building company".
A bit like that map that appeared in a Mexican newspaper early in the
life of TTT, which featured a map of Britain, with London, Liverpool
and Totnes being the only places marked! A good piece of early
publicity for the recently launched 'Totnes Sustainable Construction
Company'!
5. Interest free loans for community transition projects now available from the Totnes Pound group
The
Totnes Pound group has a healthy bank account from the sale of all the
Totnes pounds that are currently in circulation and has decided that a
proportion of the money should be put to work. It is therefore offering
interest free loans to projects within the community that are following
through on the transition ideals of rebuilding local resilience and
reducing carbon.6. Cycling Group Ride-Out - Sunday 4th October
It turned out to be a good fun ride ! I hadn’t got high hopes because I’d only sent the
mail-out a couple of days before. But some brave new people came and
that gave us all a lift. This was the first time I’d suggested a short
round-the-town ride for people who wanted to build confidence in
traffic. Not surprisingly, no takers. Mailed out to the wrong people,
I guess. I’m sure there are some who would like to do that, so please
phone or email the contacts above, and we’ll set it up. At 10.30 we suddenly were eight, and set off for Staverton & Littlehempston. It was great meeting the new people as we pedalled merrily along the Dartington cyclepath; then suddenly we were two more. Smiles & greetings, and the Sea Trout soon came into view. Up & down a few short hills, with information sharing and encouragement about gears & tyres, while
nearing our objective, the lane in Littlehempston which the cyclepath-to-be will probably take. Nice discussion stop, looking over a farm gate above the
river flood-plain to St. Mary’s Church and the Dairy Crest chimney.
Much remarking on how close these were, and enquiries about where the
process has got to. The Devon County Cycle Project Manager hopes to go
for Planning Permission around Christmas. Jim & Ian braved the Bourton Lane – steep up&down plus exceedingly bumpy – route back. The rest of us made a convoy to keep the cars at bay on the A381 main road back to Totnes. With many kind words about how enjoyable the ride had been, we parted and were home for lunch. Julian Burn
The
news that the Nobel Prize for Economics was given yesterday to a woman
for the first time is not only remarkable for this fact alone. The
real news is that Elinor Ostrom was awarded the prize for demonstrating
how communities can effectively manage their collective resources. 8. Exploring Our Ecological Self: The Work That Reconnects Workshop - 11th October
I did not expect the pretty
Rose room at Bowden House to accommodate nearly 50 
people with ease,
but it did so on Sunday 11th October when Toni Spencer and
Pat Fleming welcomed a large group of us on a journey to “Explore
our Ecological Self”. This was the second in a series of taster
workshops organised by TTT Heart and Soul on “The Work that Reconnects”.
This process, started in the 70’s by Joanna Macy, helps us reconnect
with each other and the web of life, access self-healing powers and
embrace the “Great Turning” towards a life-affirming society. Joyful
and empowering, this work has touched and united many voices, hands
and hearts and it is a delight to witness the current wave of inspiration
in this area in the wake of Joanna Macy’s visit to Totnes.
I was particularly heartened
by the presence among us of many men from different generations. We
were gently lead through a range of exercises in and outdoors, in small
groups and pairs, and I was touched by the avowal of one partner I worked
with: he told me his feelings had been suppressed throughout his life
by social conditionings and he was now starting to feel truly alive
and ready to act!
Another sent his feedback: he has “a lifetime's involvement with this whole sustainability adventure”, and found “the event at Bowden House ...extremely enriching – a wonderful opportunity to connect with some of the key people and members of the community consolidating in your area. Brilliant to see the style of approach in the workshop, and feel the warmth and openness of all I met there”.
When Toni introduced the typical 4-step sequence of the process – Coming from gratitude; Honouring
our pain for the world; Seeing with new eyes; and Going forth – she
explained how feeling gratitude is a radical political act, as we disengage
from the pressure to acquire ever more to find abundance in the now.
And she concluded with the statement that the Work is extremely practical.
Practical, I pondered, because it’s so simple whilst reaching deep
into the source of the problems and solutions; practical because shifts
in consciousness bring shifts in behaviour; practical because through
direct connections new synergies emerge; practical because….
… you’re invited to find
out and finish the sentence! The next Heart & Soul workshop
on The Work that Reconnects will take place on Sunday 13th
December, 1 to 5 pm, at Foxhole in Dartington. It will be facilitated
by Toni Spencer with Kim Clancy.
More workshops are planned for 2010 – stay tuned!
November 8th Connecting deeper to our bodyselves and others’ with Sky Chapman (trained in Body Mind Centering and Contact Improvisation)- a Heart & Soul event at Bowden House. An experiential movement workshop, that should also be a treat for our whole being – strongly recommended. Please check website or contact Annie (a.l@zen.co.uk or 01626 821511) for more info on the workshops.
9. Nordic travellers ‘so inspired’ by Transition Tales
Two
vessels furiously paddled downstream by Nordic visitors were sighted on
the River Dart last month but, thankfully, these weren’t Viking raiders
beating a getaway after a gruesome pillage on the town; they were 16
Swedish students and teachers in two of Canoe Adventures’ Voyager
canoes, peacefully but enthusiastically making their way to Tuckenhay.
On this adventure they were reliving the vital role the River Dart once
played at the heart of the area’s communications and they imagined how
it might resume that role in the not too distant future.
The
trip was part of a weeklong LEADER-funded programme that brought 12
Swedish school students, aged 14-16, and four of their teachers to
Totnes to learn specifically about the Transition Town project and to
take home inspirations and ideas that they will be communicating to
their schools, communities and local politicians.
As well as
time on the water, the students’ busy programme included
various
adventures, site visits and workshops that introduced the themes of
Transition in fun, informative and emotionally engaging ways and laid
on a showcase of the sustainability and Transition-related projects we
have in the area.
The first two days were based at Occombe
Farm’s Warren Barn with activities that brought the group together as
team and explored different ways of doing things and seeing the world.
This culminated in a grand expedition travelling under their own power;
canoeing from Totnes to Tuckenhay where they enjoyed true English
hospitality in Sheila Johnson’s garden and learned of times gone by.
They then trekked to the inspiring Landmatters Permaculture Project
with wildlife and bushcraft expert, Landmatters resident and general
funny-man, Robin Bowman. Read more...
10. Looking for funding for your local project?
A great boost to our Nut and fruit tree planting in Totnes is
coming from sponsorship by a small firm recently opened in Totnes, part
of a larger group called Wills and Probate Countrywide, who are
offering £20 primarily towards the TTT Nut tree planting project for
every Will they draw up. The first of their clients to contribute to
this scheme planted a sturdy black walnut tree on the Elmhirst playing
field today, companion to the other trees we have already planted
there, some of which are already bearing fruit. On the Weston Lane
playing field the first almonds are ripening, and we look forward to
hearing from the tree guardians of that site how they taste when
they're ready! Read Rob Hopkin's about the trees here article here...11. Reskilling Corner
Some of the Do-It-Ourselves skillshares happpening throughout 
the month!
D.I.O. Skillshare #6 - How to Speak in Public: a skillshare with Rob Hopkins
Since initiating Transition Town Totnes, Rob's inbox has been hit with a continual stream of invitations for speaking events, recently including one for the TED Global conference in Oxford. At this three hour D.I.O. Skillshare, Rob will be sharing the valuable tips on public speaking that he's gathered along the way.
Cost: Free! (But please show your appreciation to Rob by bringing snacks to share in the break) Numbers limited to 15. Contact Asha to register interest and find out the skillshare location: asha@eatthesuburbs.org / 07942598155
D.I.O. Skillshare #7 - Sewing's Simple! With Anna Ash.
6 Nov 7-10pm - TTT Offices. Free!IF YOU HAVE - Please bring pieces of fabric, pins, needles, thread and sewing machines. I'm particularly interested in finding ways to recycle fabrics and old clothes. Also bring any clothes you want to repair or alter.
This is just a one off to gauge interest - If there's enough people interested then we can think about doing more. Setting - In Anna's cosy living room around the wood burning stove.
Anna says Tea and cake are on her, but I think it would be lovely if everyone bring's cakes and nibbles to share and show appreciation to Anna, as is the D.I.O. way.
Contact Anna on 07906388644 or ash@aanna.orangehome.co.uk to find out her address.
12. Upcoming Events
International Day of Climate Action
Pump up your tires cyclists, because bike riders around the world are preparing for the International Day of Climate Action this October 24. From Vietnam to Egypt, people across the globe will be hopping on their bicycles to take action for 350. In Hanoi, a bicycle ride is planned around two of the iconic lakes in the center of the city, while in Cairo, organizers will cycle out to the Pyramids for a big action photo. Click here for more info...
Group Skills Workshops on Offer to TTT-ers
We have developed a workshop that will help all of us in TTT to work more effectively in groups, be this the core group, the theme groups, project teams or Transition Together groups. The workshop aims "to help create & sustain healthy, succesful groups for transition". This workshop was piloted in Totnes in May and was very well received, with constructive feedback all since taken into account.
The Future of Food in our Town: An Action Workshop
Rural England's Making Local Food
Webs Project. They have been carrying out interviews with local
shopkeepers, farmers and residents. Now it's your turn to hear what they had to
say. You'll have the chance to comment on the initial findings, and contribute
your own ideas for action at a public workshop on Thursday 12th
November. Saturday 24th October. 4-8pm. Totnes Civic Hall. Donations.
TTT Energy Descent Action Plan 2009-2030 Goes Live!
TTT Energy Descent Action Plan 2009-2030 Goes Live! A
public event for discusion and exploration of the new EDAP for Totnes
& District. The schedule will include the public launch of the EDAP
website and an opportunity to sign up for some of the actions that have
evolved from the comunity discussions, and take some steps to move
along this exciting process. We are making the future of our town here
and now. Chose what appeals to you, get involved, and let's make this
exciting community process happen! The evening will have a brief introduction to the EDAP and then: three of the key EDAP topic themes and timelines:
'World
Café' discussion group looking at the relevance of the past to planning
the future of
- Can Totnes feed itself?
- Energy Security
- Transportation
We will then look at measuring change & the next steps... In
the true tradition of Transition, this will be a lively interactive
event to open minds and hearts to the challenges of Peak Oil &
Climate Change. The Totnes & District Energy Descent Action Plan
has been produced through community based workshops and working
groups. Specifically the purpose of this event is to broaden
understanding of energy descent planning and discuss how it can be
integrated into local life. Totnes & District, Energy Descent Action Plan (EDAP) 2009 - 2030 All welcome –entry free - Call your friends & bring them along. Light refreshments available.
Sections of the EDAP will be on
display at this event, however the published copies will not be
available until November. For more information and to view the T&D
EDAP please click here.
For more info contact: Jacqi Hodgson, energy Descent Pathways Project Coordinator
tel. 0560 1538658 / 079-22411266 or email jacqihodgson@gmail.com
Monday 16th – Sunday 22nd November
Totnes Bag Week
Various
awareness events including a film night with ‘Story of Stuff’ & ‘Message in
the Waves’
Christmas
is coming: buy local, buy sensibly, and leave out the placcy bag!
Worried about plastic bags? Time to take a new look at what we can do.
Thursday 19th November: Films & discussion
7pm The Story of Stuff - 8pm Message in the Waves
Saturday 21st November: Make a Bag Day with TTT 10.00 – 3.00pm
Venues & further details tbc click here. Or for more info contact Jacqi on 07922 411266.
Totnes Winter 'Project Harvest'! Come and get inspired!...
The Nut
Tree project, Transition Homes, the Totnes Pound, the Totnes Rickshaw Company,
Transition Tales, the ATMOS project, the Healthy Futures
Garden project, Totnes
Renewable Energy Society, Gardenshare, and more!
Come to find out more about what people are up to behind the scenes, where the current projects are, and how you can get involved and be part of these exciting initiatives!
A day of cake, demos, workshops, reskilling sessions, jumble sale / clothes swapping, gardening chat, reading, chatting and disocvering what thriving projects are in our town. More info coming soon!...
To get involved contact the TTT office.
9th November. 7-9:30pm. TTT Offices
Christmas Tree Festival planning
TTT
is decorating a tree for St Mary's Tree Festival (7th Dec to Jan 5th)
reflecting our aims and creativity. In this planning meeting we'll have
a short slideshow and brainstorm about decorated trees, and begin to
make designs & tree ornaments, so please bring art/craft materials
etc.
Contact Jan on 01803 863223 or email information@janohighway.com
To look at all of our previous bulletins please click here. In order to receive this monthly bulletin by email, please register on our website. If you have any problems with the email bulletin please click here - and you will be able to tell us about them. Please note that for the autumn we are back t being open Tuesdays - Thursdays 10am-1pm. Thanks. Transition Town Totnes, 43 Fore Street, Totnes, Devon, TQ9 5HN. Tel: 01803 867358 Email: totnes@transitionnetwork.org