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Barons Court Infant School newsletter
Transition Westcliff
(open to work with people from Southend-on-Sea and beyond)
Localisation means providing for our basic needs as locally as possible with local people actively engaged in determining and supporting how this takes place
Permaculture designer Rob Hopkins says: “Rebuilding local agriculture and food production, localizing energy production, rethinking healthcare, rediscovering local building materials in the context of zero energy building, rethinking how we manage waste, all build resilience and offer the potential of an extraordinary renaissance — economic, cultural and spiritual.”
The Purpose of Transition – from the document Transition Network’s ‘Who We Are and What We Do’
“To support community-led responses to peak oil and climate change,
building resilience and happiness”.
The 7 Principles of Transition
1. Positive Visioning
2. Help People Access Good Information and Trust Them to Make Good Decisions
3. Inclusion and Openness
4. Enable Sharing and Networking
5. Build Resilience
6. Inner and Outer Transition
7. Subsidiarity: self-organisation and decision making at the appropriate level
- Transition Drinks, Transition Chat 30th of April, from 19:00 for a few hours. At the Cricketers Pub, crossroads of Milton Rd and London Rd, Westcliff-on-Sea. A chance to meet for an informal chat about Transition Westcliff and green organizations and projects in Southend. Past Drinks.
- Steering Group Meeting – 15th of April, Wednesday at 8.00 pm. Open discussion and planning event. You are welcome, places are limited so give us a call or email before. Meet up at bottom of Southend Highstreet. Check and add to Open Agenda.
- TRANSITION WESTCLIFF FILM CLUB – Last Friday of the month, 19:30 till 21:30 at St Marks Church, Princes Street, with a friendly chat/discussion after the film and presentation of local groups and projects. Free entry (suggested donation £2). Tea, coffee and biscuits available. We can always use some volunteers to help with the screenings – get in contact.
An excellent, entertaining and animated feature by graphic artist and videographer, Paul Grignon, explains today’s magically perverse debt money system.
A chance to get involved:
Our Steering Group is open to people interested in working with the community to find local solutions to the issues of climate change and peak oil. Sounds like a bit much at first:)? No worries, we will help you get clued up and skilled up in a supportive environment. We are no experts but local people on a journey.
Volunteer a few minutes here and there. Here are a few other bits we could use help with.
The core group members are already busy on the Transition Westcliff project. We can only do as much in our spare time so if you want more projects happening come and support us and you might feel the positive feeling associated with working with and for the community.
Solar panels, wood stoves, insulation, water conservation etc are of interest to us so read more about it here and home owners get in contact to share your experience. Map mind over here.
Don’t have an allotment but thinking about starting work on your back garden? What to grow and how? Do you want to see local back gardens in bloom full of veg and fruit? We want to!
Read about it here. If you want to help get in contact, open your garden to us or volunteer to help with the guided tours. Map mind over here.
Have you seen fruit or nuts lying around in yours, maybe the neighbours garden or in some public space? Apples, pears, plums etc just rotting on the ground while they could be gathered up and made into some delicacies by those who need them? Don’t have time to pick them up or there are just too many in your garden. We will gather up the fruit and leave you a fair share to enjoy:) Why waste if it can taste? Full story here.
Well Being Fair
We are thinking of organising a Well-Being Fair. This is at the stage of design but the basic idea would be for various practitioners (complementary therapies, psychotherapies etc) and agencies (PCT, sport, arts) to have their stand and introduce people to basic self help techniques and also to their services.
Southend – Grow your Own 2009 Map
Are your seeds planted yet? Did you feel the thrill of those green seedlings coming out? What are you waiting for?
Send us your pictures of the seedlings, gardens, allotments and seeds via email or MMS and we will put them on an interactive map of Southend. Add your first part of postcode (ex. SS1). If you have loads of time add a short description of what you plan to grow this year. If you don’t have pictures send us the description and you’ll help inspire more growers this year in Southend. Back now to the allotment. Some of the pictures are already on the map.
Email Odeon Southend when are they going to screen the film Age of Stupid ?
I wanted to learn the12 Skills of Conflict Resolution and discuss with friendly and interested others. Please get in contact if maybe you want to meetup to discuss and learn together in an informal and safe setting over a tea or coffee.
What we’ve been doing last month:
- Stuart from Rayleigh got in contact and is thinking about starting a Transition Initiative in Rayleigh/Rochford District. Interested? Get in contact.
- Southend Credit Union will have its 3rd birthday. We’ve planned most of the event out already so looking forward to seeing you then. We paln to screen together the film Money as Debt and a few Canadian credit unions spots for which we got permission last week.
- We’ve made a presentation to the students at SEEC on the topic ‘Big Issue’ and got loads of ideas from them. See them and the pictures here.
- The Transition Drinks were spent over a few drinks and exchanging ideas and contacts. Pop in this month.
- The screening of short clips from all over the world about Transition Towns was really exciting. Seeing all the projects going of in UK, NZ and Europe and talking over how far Transition Westcliff has got over the last year got us into a good mood. We done some good group work and started the Southend Transition Timeline. Read about it here.
- A picture taken at the Open Day at Springfield Drive Allotments featured in the Dutch magazine De Kleine Aarde (Small Earth)
- Graham had a book signing at the library for his revised Introduction to Permaculture and as we know him he mentioned Transiton Westcliff here and there.
- Guerrilla Gardening, Kids Growing Food, Rayburn Presentation all here.
- Transition Westcliff Library – Transition Timeline available now.
- Visit our shop
Transition News and Projects…
Transition Network Newsletter
A Friendly Permacultre Critique of the Obama Garden and I’m with Stupid From Transition Culture.
Over 130 152 Transition Initiatives around the world and growing strong. USA is picking up on the TT idea and set up an organization Transition US to support the sprouting initiatives.
Glaciers lost this year in West Antarctica.
Climate Migrants Flock to City in Bangladesh
Next wars could be over water
If those stories are a bit scary or confusing and you are asking yourself what you can do – take a look at the Transition Towns projects, browse other local projects for practical solutions and hey! come up with your own, share them and get involved.
Local News and Events and other:
Southend YMCA is going to grow some veg. Organic Vegetable Growing Course at Growing Together. Food Coop in St Marks Centre, Westcliff. Still going strong – get in contact. Organic gardening seminars and Credit Crunch Cookery Course and Grass Roots Reading Group – come to the next meeting. 4 April, Saturday 2-4 pm at Southend Library. Southend Credit Union – Helping the local economy and you. Keep your money safe and sound. Are you a member yet? Did you know that the Southend Hospital has a Sustainable Impact Group? Essex Flood Forum. Emerge – Arts, Grow Your Own and Easter Egg Hunt in the woodlands – not a bad package, is it? Health Show in Hockley with a pick of local and organic food. White Bus Film Month in Southend. Transition your life with the help of Southend Libraries.
Wider Cirle:
Register your community event for the 24 October – Conference in Copenhagen. Food – Backed local money. The Obama’s and their veggie garden… and Plan your own garden out with this web tool. The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reforms has a Vision for a Low Carbon Industrial Strategy. Check the website and comment.
Skilling up for the Powerdown
Your suggestions will help us:
What did you think about this newsletter? Survey is here.
When we’ve asked you is starting Transition Southend a clever idea we got a few responses, one of them below:
Over the next few months we will be planning how to launch Transition Southend and what should it be so if you want to get involved it is a very exciting time now as you can influence our local history.
Big thanks to:
MCP for supporting our work and publishing the events in their newsletter and for all of you who keep in touch and support our work.
Contact Details
Transition Town Westcliff – tackling peak oil and climate change, together, now
http://www.transitionwestcliff.org.uk/
text or call 07707676308
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Southend-on-Sea in Transition 
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