Group items tagged

"The software behind localfoodsystems.org is now available for download, use, adaptation and enhancement. It was developed using Drupal, which is also open source software, through a USDA Specialty Crops Research Initiative Regional Partnerships for Innovation grant, and is now available to the public to ensure that social networking tools are freely available to those developing food systems and innovations related to specialty crops. Please share this message with programmers or those in charge of websites for organizations working on food system development who may have an interest in offering social networking tools to their members."

The format that the Transition Network is using to develop its handbook, based on pattrern language

"With aims of gradually forming a resilient environmental network over the city of Sendai, renovating existing water policy, providing new green public space that is more sustainable and efficient by using smart grid technology."

"Transition Towns (http://www.transitionnetwork.org, http://www.transitionus.org, http://www.transitiontowns.org.nz, etc.) is one of the fastest growing social movements in the world today. It's a bottom up movement made up of initiatives around the world collaborating locally and widely on community based answers to peak oil and climate change around the world, supported by Transition Network and affiliated organisations.\n\nDrupal at the centre of a lot of the web developments. This group exists to bring together Drupal builders, site admins and developers with an interest in Transition, for knowledge sharing, and joint development activities."

"Volunteer Master Gardeners offer food growing advice to local people and communities. Volunteers are fully trained and supported by Garden Organic, the UK's leading organic growing charity. This three-year pilot programme is funded by the Big Lottery Fund's Local Food scheme, Sheepdrove Trust and local authorities in four areas: Warwickshire, Islington, South London and Norfolk. We aim to develop and sustain these programme areas and more nationally to follow the success of Garden Organic's Master Composter network."

Over the next few decades, oil and other carbon fuel production will decline, and prices will rocket. We have to make the transition between an oil-fuelled economy to one existing on a fraction of our current usage. The path between the two could be a gradual and well-planned transition towards a different but positive life, or oil shocks, chaos and collapse. The choice is ours. Transition Bath is part of the fast-growing Transition network - communities coming together to plan and implement their own energy descent, helping to tackle climate change as they do it. We aim to help rebuild a localised economy in Bath, to collect and develop traditional and modern skills, and re-establish local resource resilience for the wellbeing of everyone. Local businesses, schools and colleges, families, gardeners, councillors, environmentalists, craftspeople, engineers, health providers oldsters and youngsters … everyone has to make the transition, and everyone can contribute to Transition Bath.

Transition Nottingham was established in the summer of 2007 to provide a grassroots response to the problems of peak oil and climate change. We hope that you'll get involved in turning Nottingham into a city that is less reliant on fossil fuel energy and is a better place for all of us to live in. Nottingham is a big city and so all the real action will be happening on a local level. The role of 'Transition Nottingham' is to raise awareness of the Transition process, support the establishment of these local groups and help them to network with each other.

What is TBH going to do? TBH aims to bring about changes to our city that mean we both use less energy and are more resilient to future energy shocks. These changes will, at some point, be forced upon us by reduced energy supplies and changed climate conditions, and it will be a much smoother transition to this changed future if we change now rather than in a mad scramble at the last minute. In addition, it is believed that many of the changes we need to make, more localisation, less unnecessary travel, more community interaction, will be a more pleasant way of living than at present. It is our job to demonstrate this to the population of Brighton & Hove. TBH is not really about the coordinating group initiating projects and recruiting help - it's more about people who want to be part of TBH both initiating their own projects, and providing help to others. This could just as well be a project that's part of an existing organisation as something completely new - TBH simply aims to be a network of everyone who has the same goal of energy resilience and reduction. If you have an energy-reducing project that you need help with, if you have a pie-in-the-sky dream and you want to throw ideas around about it with other people, please come to a meeting and tell us, and/or contact the website and let us know about it - requests will go out in the next monthly newsletter that goes out to all our mailing list. In the long term we will be writing and implementing an Energy Descent Action Plan (an example of this here) for Brighton and Hove, in collaboration with the many other groups in the city already doing this kind of work. We have already some preliminary research in this area, the Brighton Peak Oil Report. As soon as the first steps of the Plan become clear - we won't wait until the Plan is perfect - we will be implementing them.

Transition Lostwithiel is part of a growing national and international network of community groups who want to take practical action to turn the coming crisis of the decline of cheap oil into an opportunity for a sustainable and higher quality way of life. This can only be done at the community level. Everyone is welcome to join us and participate in the process.

By: NaturalFreeChoice.com A LETS system is a non - profit locally initiated exchange network backed by good and services and there is no need of coins, paper money or tokens of any kind. Transactions are recorded in a local central location and open to all members. Good and services can include the following: food, health services, clothing, repairs, housing, transport, legal services, equipment, business services, entertainment etc., through the operation of a credit economy that is community based and the use of dollars are reduced or not used. The LETS system work in the following manner: 1) Community people set up an organization 2) Anyone on the community can join the organization 3) Good and services are set by a directory of members 4) The transactions are kept on record and updated regularly 5) Services or good are paid by a note or cheque for an agreed amount of LETS units.

The Development Trusts Association is the leading network of community enterprise practitioners dedicated to helping people set up development trusts and helping existing development trusts learn from each other and work effectively.

"Welcome to the Patterns directory. It's new and exciting, and we hope you like it. Before you launch yourself into the patterns, please read the 'guide to patterns' (opens in new window so you can read it in parallel) which will explain a great deal and make your understanding and input much better."

"We are already working with a very broad spread of partners on the NHS Forest from The Forestry Commission, through Wildlife Trusts and commercial sponsors to CABE. If you are part of an organisation - in whatever sector - and you would like to work with us on the NHS Forest, please get in touch. We welcome support in delivery at sites on the ground, volunteers seconded to us centrally or working locally and any suggestions of sponsorship or other forms of funding. We have set up a Steering Group which helps to shape and direct the work of the NHS Forest."

a partner for the Transition Network ?