written by Caro Overy on June 30, 2010
The Transition Network Conference took place at Seale Hayne in Devon last weekend, bringing together Transitioners from all over the UK, Europe, and as far afield as Australia to talk about the progress of their initiatives, sharing inspirational stories and working through their challenges in the glorious setting of the Devonian countryside.
There was a vast array of workshops on offer as well as open space to suit the needs of everybody, discussing everything from working with local authorities, to communicating Transition, to community ownership and how to make it work.
As part of the conference, I went on a trip to Totnes, the first Transition Town in the UK, and to the Sharpham Estate, home to three tenanted farms undertaking a variety of rural activities including wine and dairy production, and a venue for outdoor environmental education and various retreats.
Totnes is a real eye-opener of a town. It’s not perfect (yet!) but the High Street consists overwhelmingly of local shops and businesses, and Transition Town Totnes have recently published their Energy Descent Action Plan, outlining the route to sustainable energy sources by 2030: http://totnes.transitionnetwork.org/EDAPwebversion
Planning Application for photovoltaic cells on the roof of Totnes Civic Hall (that's solar panels to you and me!)
It was especially inspiring to see real physical manifestations of Transition work in Totnes, like the planning application for solar panels on the roof of the civic hall. We went on a tour of the whole town, taking in the historic features as well as the newer additions, like the community-owned allotments and the garden-sharing that Transition Town Totnes have set up.
Pete and his lean, mean, biodiesel-producing machine
The next stop after Totnes was the Sharpham Estate, where we saw the walled garden, the yurts where people helping out on the various farming projects were living, the biomass boiler that runs on locally sourced woodchippings, and the machine that uses waste cooking oil and a locally sourced stabiliser to produce biodiesel that can run rickshaws around Totnes.
Even though in one way these experiences are stories from the countryside, and can seem hard to put into action in my own setting in Edinburgh, it is more the continually growing achievements of the community in and around Totnes that I take away as inspiration. They’ve shown that we really can change our towns, villages, and potentially cities and Universities to make them more resilient and sustainable without sacrificing the good bits.
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