Welcome to Mt Victoria Transition Towns page.

Transition Towns Mt Victoria: 2012

Theme: Transitioning using and sharing local skills. This year’s program will see a sharing of ideas, strategies and practices to help in the transition to a sustainable community with reduced energy use, greater reliance on our local community, and less emphasis on consumption.

Meetings: 2nd Tuesday of the month at New Crossways, Roxburgh St, beginning 7:30pm

NEXT MEETING: THURSDAY FEBRUARY 9th 7.30pm (note change of day from usual) - FOOD BILL
On Thursday 9 February, begining 7:30pm Johanna Knox will talk about issues around the Food Bill currently before Parliament.
Johanna Knox is a writer and researcher for magazines, educational publications, and exhibitions. She specialises in issues around food and resilience. She has spent time recently coming to grips with and writing about the Food Bill, and in particular what it may mean for cottage-scale trading. She will speak very briefly about where the Bill is currently at, then open for questions.
The meeting will be held at New Crossways, Roxburgh St, Mt Victoria. All welcome.
For further information contact Frank Cook on 027 649 6508. 

PREVIOUS MEETINGS:

NOVEMBER 8th 7.00pm, meet at 134 Elizabeth St (note November meeting time and venue is different from usual) - We have planned a garden visit to two Mt Victoria food producing gardens. If you are interested in coming please contact Pat Hubbard 384 2646 or Frank Cook 938 9057 for further information.
The group has also been looking at skill sharing and a number have offered to share their skills. This month we are inviting those interested in developing basic cooking skills to call 3843501 for further information, and for upcycling materials to create an original art work using collage or other mixed media techniques to call 9738766.
The group also offers to help with your bokashi bucket if you do not have space for the contents and to act as facilitator linking up people in the area who have gardens they struggle to keep going with people who would like to garden . Contact Pat Hubbard 384 2646 for further information.

OCTOBER 11th 7:30 pm New Crossways - The October meeting will continue with the September theme of Totnes Transition Town. We will view a short film Totnes has produced aiming to discover what we can learn from the past. Following the context the film provides we will develop practical skill sharing ideas and also look at our future program. All are welcome. Contact Frank Cook, 0276496508 for further information.

AUGUST 9th 7:30 pm New Crossways - This meeting will now discuss ideas and issues around 'engaging and politicising', with an aim to better understand and improve the way we engage with local and national government and their agencies. Wellington Mayor, Celia Wade-Brown, will be present. Contact Frank Cook, 0276496508 for further information.

Programme.

The seven session programme began on Tuesday 8th of February with Brent Cherry talking about engaging people in Transition ideas focusing particularly on climate change and follows with a series where we focus on particular topics sharing ideas on transitioning strategies and practices.

Tuesday Feb 8th 7:30pm. Brent has completed Post Graduate Studies at Victoria University (2010) and at the meeting he will share some of the insights he gained in relation to some of the latest international research into climate change.  He will then focus on how Transition Towns can learn from the latest research in the field of Environmental Psychology on the dilemmas organisations face in engaging the public in the issue of climate change.

Feb 26th Mt Victoria Festival. We will be having a stall at the festival with plants for sale, ideas for sharing and information on Transition Towns. We also manage the festival’s recycling stations helping to ensure a smooth operation with minimal material for the landfill. Students from Wellington East also kindly help with this operation. Participation in either the stall or recycling is most welcome. Contact:  Frank Cook 0276496508 or 9389057 or email frank.c@clear.net.nz

March 8th 7:30 Recycling and Reuse. Come with your ideas and examples.
April  12th There was a change in the advertised programme as Paul Bruce and Daran Ponter from the Wellington Regional Council talked to us about the areas of significance in the Annual Plan.

May 10th

We discussed the issues around herbicides and pesticides, originally planned for April, with a number of useful alternatives and practices suggested. These will be written up and put on the website in due course.

June 14th Sharing ideas around shopping and advertising originally planned for May but will now be discussed in June.

July  12th Sharing ideas around packaging, how to avoid it, where to take it, what to do with it.
August  9th Sharing ideas and experience on engaging and politicising. Mayor Celia Wade-Brown has accepted an invitation to attend this meeting.

September 13th Sharing ideas on managing a fearful future.

Library
We are also developing a library resource which will enable borrowing of DVDs and books relevant to the wider theme of transition towns – including the topics of climate change, peak oil, gardening, sustainable development, energy use, environmental issues etc.
It is aimed to catalogue the resources available and also to start an environmental book reading group.
Margaret Pannett has kindly offered to coordinate the library side of our programme.

Bokashi
The group offers to help with your bokashi bucket contents and household organic scraps if you do not have space for them.
Contact Pat Hubbard 384 2646 for further information.

Gardening
The group also acts as facilitator to link up people in the area who have gardens they struggle to keep going with people who would like to garden .
Contact Pat Hubbard 384 2646 for further information.

Renewable/Sustainable Technologies
We are also keen to learn from local examples of installations of solar collectors, water tanks and the like to help others keen to do likewise. If you have an installation and can help others do likewise please contact Brent Cherry at brent.cherry@clear.net.nz

DVDs
We have various DVDs on the issues around Peak Oil, Climate Change and Permaculture. See the list here. And the list will be updated from time to time.