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1. Introduction* 2. Dartington Edible garden Crawl* 3. Midsummer Solstice celebration* 4. Experimental Raku Firing* 5. First solar-panels on Transition Street roofs* 6. Tour of recycling and landfill sites* 7. Some more reflections on the 2010 Transition Network Conference* 8. New Programme Sept-De c 2010*
9. Upcoming TTT Events*
1. Introduction
Day dreaming on summer holidays...
One of the great advantages of going on holiday is the opportunity to really get away from our daily lives and take a good look at what we are going day-in, day- out. “Am I really happy?”, is a frequent starting point to our personal musings on a deckchair, “Why do I fill my life with a lot of things I don’t really enjoy?” can create a passing frown. “Do I give myself time to really enjoy my family and friends?” can lead to some self-chastisement. Ideally these musings can lead to some revelations about how we might make some positive changes to better our own lives and those around us.
Transition Town Totnes has been very active in ‘visioning our future’ which is essentially a mix of musing around our hopes and dreams and building them into a place in our future. The recently published Transition in Action, Totnes & District 2030 – an Energy Descent Action Plan (EDAP) is based on collective visioning of a different story for this area and while it may tell a new story for our community it is based on individuals recognizing new challenges in their lives and responding in a collective way.
The challenge for our future, individual and collective is to be free of our dependence on
fossil fuels and while this statement may sound like it needs a response based on DIY and turning down the thermostat, it really amounts to a much more personal journey. Our inner transition towards a lifestyle content with less material wealth and more human enrichment is often the basis for our day dreams.Whether it is daydreaming on the beach at Bantham, drying off after an evening swim in Henbury Woods, or harvesting the early potaotes from your allotment and taking a few moments to glance around you... the summer hopefully gives us that time to look about a bit, breathe it all in, nad have a bit of a ponder. It can be a wonderful and inspiring time.
Enjoy!
Jacqi Hodgson
Coordinator for the Transition in Action plan (publication mentioned above and available here).
2. Dartington Edible garden Crawl
This years Edible Garden Crawl left Totnes for the fertile gardens of Dartington. Fifteen
people visited a variety of inspiring gardens and went away with valuable lessons, ideas
and a determination to improve our own gardens.
First on the tour was Nick Gooderham’s organic vegetable and flower enterprise at SchoolFarm - behind Foxhole on the Dartington Estate - where Nick explained how he is coping
with drought, slugs, rabbits and a variety of other problems. Lush growth and a profusion
of blooms and produce testified to Nicks success.Into Dartington Village and a quick look at two veg plots in the ‘hungry soil’ behind the ‘Old Smithy’. Minnie and Phil have taken to gardening with renewed enthusiasm after realising that ‘anyone can grow things’ while Lydia and Robert are reaping the benefits of the ‘edible hedge’ of raspberries they planted last year. Both gardens were suffering from lack of rain and many plants had prematurely gone to seed.
Next stop was Rob Hopkin’s permaculture plot in Droridge. Raised beds follow the contours of Rob and Emma’s south facing slope filled with lush and densely planted vegetables. Rob bases his gardening technique on two books - ‘Organic Gardening: The Natural No-Dig Way’ by Charles Dowding and ‘How to Grow More Vegetables Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Could Possibly Imagine’ by John Jeavons - and it works!
Alongside the veg plot is a greenhouse with integral chicken shed - but no chickens yet.
See Rob’s blog Transition Culture for the ongoing chicken greenhouse saga / research project.
On to Week where Sally showed us the carefully tended allotments with flower borders along the roadside. Once again crops were suffering from the lack of rainf all, not to mention more rabbits, pheasants, pigeons and deer. Without a water supply the problem was even more apparent. Last stop was a guided tour of the horticultural garden behind Schumacher College by Bethan 
Stagg who runs the Certificate in Sustainable Horticulture. Forest gardens supply large quantities of salad crops for Schumacher students and staff while the poly-tunnels demonstrate a variety of techniques for growing tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers etc. Schumacher, in collaboration with Nick Gooderham and Duchy College, run courses for students at a variety of levels and hope to establish a Degree course in Sustainable Horticulture in the near future. Click here for details. take a look at Many thanks to all the gardeners who generously shared their time and experience.
Stagg who runs the Certificate in Sustainable Horticulture. Forest gardens supply large quantities of salad crops for Schumacher students and staff while the poly-tunnels demonstrate a variety of techniques for growing tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers etc. Schumacher, in collaboration with Nick Gooderham and Duchy College, run courses for students at a variety of levels and hope to establish a Degree course in Sustainable Horticulture in the near future. Click here for details. take a look at Many thanks to all the gardeners who generously shared their time and experience.Chris Bird - Organiser and Building Housing Group
As has now become traditional, we celebrated Midsummer by gathering at a quiet spot on 
Keviccs playing field for a ceremony, which as usual I led, though I would be very happy if in future years other people wanted to take this on, as I'm in danger of running out of ideas for what to do!.
Keviccs playing field for a ceremony, which as usual I led, though I would be very happy if in future years other people wanted to take this on, as I'm in danger of running out of ideas for what to do!.What we did do was to connect with our bodies, with the Earth and with the time of year, finding natural objects to symbolise what we celebrated of that special day, before moving on to a more serious sharing of what we currently do to help preserve our very special planet as it is, and what support we might need with that. As ever, we finished with a chant to focus and build our energy into manifesting our dreams.
This was followed by picnicing and a time for talk in a more leisurely way than we ever manage at H&S meetings!
Solstices are always a special time for me, marking the passing of the seasons (as opposed to clock or calendar time) and presenting an opportunity to both stop and celebrate what we love about the Earth, and to draw strength and motivation from the beautiful nature around us. In these difficult transition times I personally believe we need as much of this type of connection as we can get, and it's from there that I draw my strength and resilience for carrying on.
Sylvia Rose - Heart and Soul Group
Richenda McGregor ran a very successful ‘hands on’ Raku firing day, exploring various glaze applications, fuming and pit firing...
some comments from the participants...
"I thoroughly enjoyed the raku firing day - it was taught extremely well and the venue was wonderful. You were calm, clear focussed as well as friendly and welcoming.
"There was always an eye to safety without it becoming the main consideration and spoiling the fun.
"Thank you so much - and I look forward to hearing about any other courses that you may run!
"Great day, excellent teaching, good preparation, all processes carefully explained, and lots of space for creativity!
The first six Totnes and Dartington households to complete the Transition Streets scheme
are enjoying free renewable energy in this sunny weather after installing solar-PV systems on their roofs.‘The Transition Together folder really was a catalyst for all this’, says Liz Waterson of Copland Meadow, Totnes. ‘We went from doing small things like buying a trolley to walk to the shops rather than driving, to: oh good grief, we’ve got solar panels on the roof! By the time you’ve finished the process, you’ve made a big leap without even noticing.’ Liz completed the Transition Together workbook with her neighbours last year as one of two pilot groups in Totnes and Dartington.
Some people in the groups were so inspired by the process they helped TTT to successfully apply to the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to fund a bigger project, Transition Streets, now providing grants to householders to install solar-PV. Eighteen Transition Together groups who joined the Streets scheme in April are following hot on Copland’s heels. Householders are saving on bills with Transition Together, making their homes more energy efficient by fitting insulation and draft proofing, and getting their roofs sized up for solar-PV.
Melinda Bunce of Punchards Down in Follaton, for example, had a visit from Dan Bayley of Totnes-based company Beco Solar last week to assess her roof’s suitability for solar-PV. ‘I wanted to check out whether our dormer casts too much shadow on the roof area, and whether the roof area is big enough’, says Melinda. ‘If solar-PV isn’t right for us, we might look at solar thermal in the future – where shadow is less of an issue’. Liz, whose PV system was fitted in May, says: ‘We’re very pleased that DECC and South Hams are making solar-PV manageable for everyone. What’s really good is that people on lower incomes who are eligible for a loan can now pay it back using the feed-in tariff (FIT)’. Also known as ‘clean energy cash back’, the FIT requires energy suppliers to pay renewable energy producers for all the energy they produce.
If you’d like to form a Transition Together group with six nearby friends and neighbours, call Lou on 01803 867358, email transitiontowntotnes@gmail.com, or go to www.transitiontogether.org.uk.
6. Tour of recycling and landfill sites 18 August - Don't Miss It!
This tour is fascinating and was very popular last year. We have now been offered another and it is the only one that will be offered to TTT this year. They give very few, and they're generally only offered to schools. It will be in the morning of Wednesday 18 August and will mean leaving Totnes by 9.30am in shared cars. Stout footwear required. No children.
We start at Newton Abbot Recycling Centre to hear about what materials can be recycled – this is a chance to bring all your recycling questions! We then move on to the Heathfield landfill site to see waste being packed into huge ‘cells’ and see how the methane and leachate are drawn off. Seagulls and crows have to be kept away for reasons of hygiene, and we see an impressive demonstration of how this is done. Here also huge quantities of compost are made out of garden waste.
The tour will be for a maximum of 14 people, and is only offered to people who did not go last year. To book a place please contact Eleanor Chandler on echandler66@yahoo.co.uk . We can only take 3 cars, so please include details of whether you will need a lift, whether you can offer a lift, and where you will be coming from. This is essential.
But, there was also harder work to do. Workshops, open space, large group process, home groups, all contributed to a blur of ideas and feelings and building networks. Highlights for me were discussions around the importance of addressing diversity issues, and the large group process looking at what sort of world we might be working in in one, five and ten years time (a scary process) followed by an impromptu spiral dance with around fifty people which helped, as ever, to shift feelings from daunted to energised and connected.
I was also very impressed by the amount of 'Inner Transition' items within the conference 
programme, and I suspect we have our very own Sophy to thank for that!
programme, and I suspect we have our very own Sophy to thank for that!And, of course, there were the non-work bits to enjoy. Fantastic food cooked by the lovely Thai people who recently saw their Dartmouth restaurant burn down, a great 'open mic' night, the dubious pleasure of watching England fail to beat USA at football (though this may of course have been a greater pleasure for those American, Scots and others also present. We do have to remember diversity issues at all times), and enjoying the beautiful land at Seale Hayne.
May there be many more such conferences to come.
That's right! The new programme of events for September to December 2010 is well on its way to being finalised. It looks like a great spread for Autumn!
Look out for it appearing on posters around town from August-tim e...
August 27 – 30th. Sharpham House
Coming Alive in Times of Transition
A three-day workshop of deepening into our sense of purpose and connection with life. Led
by Sophy Banks and Suzanne Dennis, who will use practices from Work that Reconnects,
Ecopsychology, Constellations, poetry, movement and time in nature, to create a profound
space for nourishing and restoring our whole selves.
Cost £165, plus food and accommodation costs.
For details see www.sharphamtrust.org or call Suzanne on 07769 925 558
Some Non-TTT Events over the summer that might inspire...
Please join us all for a community cycle ride to highlight the need for a safe and easy alternative cycle route from Totnes to Littlehempston and Newton Abbot.29th July 11:30 - Meeting the Plains 11:15, Cider Press 11:30.
Easy safe route for all.
Cycle with Totnes politicians: Sarah Woolaston MP, Paula Black County Cllr, Robert Vint Dst Cllr.
Open Surgery
There will be a volunteer work party at Landmatters Community, near Allaleigh, near 
Totnes Monday 16th-22nd August. Camping is required and bringing own tent. There is a volunteer kitchen/dining yurt available for use during the week. Numbers are limited and booking essential.
If anyone is interested in these or other group volunteer opportunities please contact me, Oliver Handscomb, darn_nemo@hotmail.com to book a place or for further information.
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Please note that the main TTT office is running its usual skeleton service for August. Opening hours will be Tues & Wed 10am-1pm. Thanks. Have a lovely summer!
Transition Town Totnes, 43 Fore Street, Totnes, Devon, TQ9 5HN.
Tel: 01 803 867358 Email: t otnes@transitionnetwork.org