Transition Towns - Brockley

"What about this dang environment? Back in Texas, we got rid of it, and made everyone a lot happier."
- Tex, The Simpsons

The Transition Towns movement is coming to Brockley, securing the coveted keynote address at both of Brockley's premier forums, which for some reason, happen to be on the same night. At 8pm on March 17th at the Brockley Social Club, Fran Edwards will address the Broc Soc meeting to explain what becoming a Transition Town would mean for SE4. At exactly the same time, Alona Sheridan from 'Transition Lewisham' will be electrifying the Brockley Cross Action Group's AGM at St Andrew's Church.

"Transition Towns" is a grassroots political movement, which believes that resource scarcity and climate change mean that localisation of economic activity is both essential and inevitable.

Now, it would be easy to poke fun at an organisation which takes five paragraphs to explain why its organisational structure is like a cell and which quotes Victoria Safford as if she were some kind of authority on something or other (what do you mean you don't know who Victoria Safford is? She's the minister of the White Bear Unitarian Universalist Church, in Mahtomedi, Minnesota and the author of "Walking Toward Morning." That's who.). But just because an organisation carries woolly, new age baggage doesn't mean that it's not capable of coming up with some interesting ideas. In fact, it would be quite possible to strip away all the ideology and be left a laundry list of good projects to spend money from the Localities Fund on.

We asked Fran Rogers to give us some examples of the kinds of things that Brockley's Transition Town movement could result in. Here's what she said:

"The main one that comes to my mind would be matching up unused garden spaces of all types with gardeners keen to grow veggies etc. Plenty of scope there. Also, implementing practical and achievable ways to cut down our carbon footprint, and looking for appropriate alternative energy sources for the area. The idea is also that it should be a shared and fun experience.

"I've also heard from Sue Luxton that there is a proposal for a community orchard in Brockley which sounds like a great local initiative.

"Food and energy are probably the main areas, but being at such an early stage of the Transition process I'm a bit reluctant to make statements. The ideas come from people themselves and it's very much a grassroots movement."

If you want to learn more, head along to one of the meetings or click here for the Transition Lewisham website.