Transition Training

By Jacqui Riordan

Next weekend I will do Transition training in Sautee, GA.  In order to be an official Transition Initiative, we must have two people who have attended the training.  Robb completed his training a couple of years ago in Totnes, England (the first Transition Town and home of the Transition Movement).  Anyone can take the training, details of which can be found at transitionus.org.  We were so pleased to find a course that is relatively local (we don’t have to fly to get there!) and they also found us host housing (even our dog Annie can come!).  The weekend will cover the following:

•              Explore how the Transition process increases community resilience

•              Receive tools for community outreach, education and engagement

•              Learn how to summarize the Triple Challenge of Peak Oil, Climate, and Economic Instability in ways that move people to positive action

•              Understand and know how to work with obstacles that have prevented our communities from recognizing and positively responding to the challenge of energy transition

•              Experience ways that local social and economic community can be created and strengthened

•              Learn ways of creating a positive, shared vision for your community’s future

•              Receive support for becoming a Transition catalyst in your community

•              Connect with others who are helping your region transition to greater stability and security

•              Become a part of a rapidly growing positive, inspirational, global movement!

Upon hearing of Robb’s experiences setting up Transition Bermuda and having attended Transition training in Totnes, they invited him to participate on the course as an advisor.

There are several issues we are hoping to receive guidance on at this training. One is how to build a multi-pronged initiative. We are still seeing a level of interest and a fertile community spirit for an initiative in Newton. So should we form Transition Catawba and foster several local groups from that? If so, how is that different from just doing a single initiative? Another, how and when should we consider fundraising?