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1. Introduction*  2. Transition Homes consults*   3. Community Food Feast and Ceilidh - Write-up*  4. Eco-Homes Open Day, Energy Fair and Solar-PV to power the Civic Hall*  5. Recycled Bag Workshop at KEVICCS*  6. Transition Tales from Hay on Wye*  7. The Lamb, Totnes*  8. Look out for the new TTT Film Nights* 

9. Appointment of Richard Sheard as new South Hams chief executive*  10. TTT Ambassadors Training*  11. Upcoming TTT Events* 

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1. Introduction

Is it really mid August already? The weather (mainly) has been warmand sunny since the onset of the Summer holiday season. Like manypeople I decided to holiday in the UK for my break, not least as I wasconscious of reducing my carbon footprint but also I realised thatthere are so many wonderful parts of the country and even our owncounty (and Cornwall!) that I have not yet visited. My first week wasspent in Suffolk, increase in C02 as I drove up there, but decrease inC02 footprint as there were four of us in the car. Very little drivingonce there and it was lovely exploring towns like Southwold andAldburgh. My second week will be spent in Devon and Cornwall, hopefullycamping if the weather continues in the same vein. It will be a week ofwalking, swimming, cooking on a camp fire and living quite a basic lifeaway from most home comforts but most of all it will be fun.

Anupdate on  where we are with the Transition in Action Project Managerpost. The post was advertised and interviews were held in June. Severalcandidates commented that the job description was very broad and alsothat the salary on offer (£25,000) was insufficient given the scope andresponsibility of the post. The panel decided not to appoint but to goback to all stakeholders and discuss this further. It is hoped we willbe advertising again around September but with a much clearer brief forthe role. Watch this space- literally as we will place the advert onthis bulletin.

On my return in September there are masses of TTTevents to look forward to. On 6th September there is a reallyinteresting talk by Doug King-Smith about Community Arts and a month inJapan. The following weekend on 11th September you will be able tolearn about and take part in harvesting berries from native trees andturning them into edible foodstuff like syrups, jellies and deserts…yumyum. Something which I will be paying a visit to is the Open and EcoHomes and Transition Streets event on 11th and 12th September . Youwill be able to visit homes in Dartington and Totnes at various stageson their journey towards reducing impact on the environment whilecutting household bills. 

There is an interesting documentary beingshown on 14th September- Who Killed the Electric Car which is about thecreation and subsequent destruction of the General Motors batteryelectric vehicle in the US during the ‘90’s. The next day on 15thSeptember there is a talk in association with Scumacher Collegeentitled ‘Why food is vital to a sustainable society’ by Carolyn Steel.Something really exciting happens on 18th September when the newTransition Streets solar PV panels are switched on on the Civic Hall. Chris Bird , of the TTT Building and Housing Group, will be on hand toadvise you on how to make your home more energy efficient. The lastevent planned for September is Autumn return: A harvest of Tales whichis being held on 25th September and is a storytelling evening tocelebrate the Autumn Equinox and all our many gifts as well as hearingtales of Stephs walk around England and tales of Totnes over the last 6months. So, masses going on as usual in TTT and a thank you to everyonewho makes these events possible. Have a lovely rest of the Summer.

Peta Harper - Trustee for Transition Town Totnes

PS. These photos in were all taken up at the new allotment site on Kingsbridge Hill, which is having it's official Open Day this Saturday 14th August. 11 –4pm. Soup, raffle, Viva Choir, a lunchbuffet, tea and coffee, cakes, facepainting at 12-1. Please leave yourcar behind due torestricted parking, but the Rickshaw will berunning a shuttle service to and from the site from Seymour Vets, theCivic Square and the Rutherfold. Come and see the bounty of the newallotment site in full flow after its opening in April, and how a fieldhas been transformed in 4 months. Prepare to be very inspired...

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2. Transition Homes consults on low cost low impact housing development

 Wewere delighted that about 120 people came to Dartington Village Hall on10 July to see an exhibition which explained what Transition Homes wasabout and answer questions about their supported for the idea and whattheir thoughts were about possible sites. Generally there was strongsupport for the concept of low cost, low energy houses built with localnatural materials with on site energy generation and land for foodgrowing. Most people also liked the idea that project would be owned bya Community Land Trust. This

would keep the equity of the land incommunity ownership and would ensure that local people in housing needwould have the opportunity to either rent or buy an equity share in thehomes. 15 people who attended expressed interest in being consideredfor housing in the scheme and others also expressed interest in helpingwho we will be inviting to a meeting shortly. Of the those whoexpressed a view, 85% thought the event had been useful or very useful.However, there were some serious reservations expressed by quite a fewof those who attended about appropriate sites. Read more...

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3. Community Food Feast and Ceilidh - Write-up

It took a bathful of spinach,a field of nettles, a mountain of spuds and untold numbers of tomatoeswhen TTT hosted a wonderful gourmet community meal and ceilibh dance inJune.  

The night was hot, the meal was scrumptious and the dancing allin step.  About 10 people prepared and cooked a 4 course meal for 130diners.  The food had to be as local and seasonal as possible, which isa lot easier than it sounds.

Guestswere presented with home madeelderflower champagne and crudités on arrival. The dancing was so greatwe are planning a Halloween Ceilidh that will be fancy dress, and heldon Sunday 31st at Follaton Village Hall, Totnes. Look out!

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4. Eco-Homes Open Day, Energy Fair and Solar-PV to power the Civic Hall

Ladderswill be seen on the roof of Totnes Civic Hall roof this August as workstarts to install 75 solar photovoltaic panels, in a partnershipbetween Totnes Town Council and Transition Streets. The 14 kwp systemwill earn an income from the Feed-in Tariff that will be used to makethe hall more energy efficient and further reduce its energy bills, aswell as some income being put towards other low carbon projects withinthe town.

’We’re really pleased to be working with Totnes TownCouncil on this installation,’ says Transition Streets co-managerAdrian Porter. ‘It’ll only help us make people more aware of how it’spossible to generate energy locally, but also at a practical levelreduce the Civic Hall’s energy bills, and the impact that the Hall hason our environment’.  

The solar-PV system will be launched from11.30am to 12.30pm at a Trade Energy Fair at the Civic Hall on Saturday18th September. It also kicks off the second round of the TransitionStreets scheme, which particularly welcomes applications from people onlower incomes. To be eligible to apply, form a Transition Togethergroup with a group of nearby friends and neighbours by calling 01803867 358.

All are invited to the event, which will also includethe launch of the new Transition series book, ‘Local Sustainable Homes:Making it Happen in Your Community’ by Chris Bird, and the premier of ashort film about the initial Transition Streets’ groups.

The home energy fair will run from 10am to 4pm and will feature a wide range of renewable energy providers and eco-builders.

Over the proceeding weekend, 11th and 12th September, there will be a Totnes
andDartington Open House event featuring 13 Eco-Homes  and TransitionStreets properties at various stages on the journey towards reducingimpact on the environment while cutting household bills. Please see theevent pamphlet for more details here and here,  also available at TotnesLibrary.

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5. Recycled Bag Workshop at KEVICCS

As part of activities week inthe final week of summer term, KEVICCS invited TTT to organise a bagmaking workshop.  Having attended TTT’s bag workshop last NovemberKEVICCS teacher Katrina Fennel was so impressed she went off with allthe leftovers and an enthusiasm to repeat the workshop with thestudents.  13 students signed up for the bag making and between themthey made over 40 bags of all shapes and sizes out of old jeans,scarves, ties, skirts and blouses.  The day was littered withdiscussions around recycling and reuse and was met with genuineinterest and concern form the students.

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6. Transition Tales from Hay on Wye – catching up with Steph in Hay-on-Wye

She set off from a town ‘not too big and not too small …’ So begin,more or less, the Tales told by Wynne Alice, aka our very own wanderingSteph Bradley. And here we were, sat in a tea shop in a town ‘not toobig and not too small’. It was charming, bustling yet relaxed, and itwas market day. It was not Totnes; it was Haye-on-Wye and we werecatching up with Steph on our last port of call as we made our way homefrom our family holidays.

Steph was radiant. Health, happinessand the spirit of someone on a great adventure shone around her. Mywife, Melanie, and I were dark-eyed and exhausted, having had our firstexperiment with a family tent, camping with two under two-and-a-halfsthe night before. It was our first foray into UK family campsites and asignificant benchmark in accepting our true travelling days are over.But here before us was someone who was really living the life - nowinto day 130 and flip-flop pair number 2 of her epic walk round England(and this very fine piece of Wales). Read more...

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7. The Lamb, Totnes

Plansare afoot to revitalize and develop the beautiful spot at the topofTotnes, the Lamb, and around the old ticket office. South HamsDistrict Council has agreed to Licence this site over to the TotnesHealthy Futures Project. This is a groundbreaking new approach toCommunity Health, and part of our transition to a different way of lifein the future.

Totnes Leatside surgery is in partnership withTotnes Development Trust (TDT),Transition Town Totnes, PlymouthUniversity’s faculty of health, and The Breakthrough Trust, to open upnew approaches to health improvement and convalescence. Managed throughTDT, the partnership will set up supported opportunities for gardeningand growing “on Prescription”.

OnSaturday August 7th volunteers of the Totnes Healthy Futures projectheld a stall, where plans and maps wiere ondisplay showing what is envisaged for this area. Lots of people came tosee the plans for the Lamb and findout more about the project. Almost without exception, the people thatcame were enthusiastic about the vision, and quite a few offered tohelp with the transformation of the Lamb to a lovely community spacewith herbs and vegetables growing and places to sit. It was veryencouraging to those who have been planning the project!

Theywill also be putting on a presentation of this scheme in the nearfuture, which will be another chance for people to come and give theirinput to the proposals.


If you woul like to find out more or would like to get involved in this project e-mail munrocats@gmail.com or marianne.hendrix@btinternet.com

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 8. Look out for the new TTT Film Nights

A season of films pertinent to our transition from oil are scheduledfor this Autumn. Film Nights will take place on the second Tuesday ofthe month at the Dartmouth Inn (off the Plains) in Totnes.

Each filmwill be followed by an open discussion over refreshments.  Theprogramme kicks off with Who Killed the Electric Car on Tuesday 14th September. For full season programme see below.

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9. Appointment of Richard Sheard as new South Hams chief executive

You may have read about this appointment recently. You will be pleased to know that TTT
was asked to contribute to the appointment process;

I volunteered not quite knowing what to expect! I arrived to find that I was part of a group
of about 15 who had been asked to form a view of the candidates from a community
engagement perspective. The others included councillors from most of the towns in South
Hams, children and some of the voluntary sector organisations. We were organised into
groupsof 3 round tables and were told that we had 5 minutes with each of the5 shortlisted candidates to cover whatever we wanted. We then had toagree 5 words which described our impression of the candidate and giveour top three.

As you might imagine the focus of each of thegroups was about how each of them would manage the big changes aheadand really involve the community. Most of them were aware of TransitionTown Totnes and recognised the strength of our work. As we were leavingwe shared notes informally; there was a remarkable consensus as to whowe felt would be sympathetic to working closely with us.

It was excellent for TTT to be included in such an important decision; it shows that we are
being taken very seriously! Hopefully we can get the new chief executive to pay us an early
visit!

Carole Whitty - education group and TTT Trustee

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The new September-December 2010 programm of events is here!

 

Monday 6th September. Birdwood House, High Street. 7.30-9.30 Small donation

‘Community Arts and a month in Japan' - a talk by Doug King-Smith.