Transition Town movement comes to Dorchester (From Dorset Echo)

Transition Town movement comes to Dorchester

12:10pm Friday 8th May 2009 in

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A GREEN-MINDED movement which is spreading the message of sustainability across the country swept into Dorchester.

The Transition Town movement is about challenging communities to respond at a local level to climate change and peak oil – the theory that global oil output will soon reach a peak and start declining.

The ethos is that the community has its own answers to these problems, from practical actions such as planting trees as a source of local food or starting a car club, to asking how people can best support themselves.

Groups have already sprung up in Weymouth and west Dorset with motivated individuals meeting on a regular basis to plan events and swap ideas.

Transition Town representatives from throughout Dorset came together to receive specialist training on how to start a group and learn more about the grassroots environmental movement.

Trainers from Transition Town Totnes, one of the first initiatives in the country, guided participants from 10 groups including Bridport, Weymouth and Purbeck through an intensive two day course focusing on understanding and applying the fundamentals of Transition Towns back into their communities.

Participants learned skills including how to set up, run, and maintain a successful transition initiative.

Chairman of Transition Town Dorchester Mike Jones said: “We are delighted that so many groups were able to take advantage of the opportunity to hear and learn from those who were instrumental in founding the transition movement. We are confident that the knowledge and experience of the weekend will enable these groups to have an effective and positive impact on their local communities.”

The training was organised by Dorset Agenda 21 (da21) with the support of Transition Town Dorchester, and was free to participants, after Poole based ethical cosmetics company Lush agreed to fund the training together with a grant from the Energy Saving Trust café program.

Manager of da21 Paul McIntosh said: “Transition Towns in Dorset are already setting up community orchards and farms, organising renewable energy workshops and raising awareness.”

A list of Transition groups in Dorset is available on the da21 website: www.da21.org.uk/sustainable