"Inherent within the challenges of Peak Oil and Climate Change is an extraordinary opportunity to reinvent, rethink and rebuild the world around us." - Rob Hopkins (founder of the Transition Initiative)
Welcome to Transition PDX's first newsletter. We plan to offer this on a regular basis to keep everyone informed of what is going on with Transition here in the Portland metro area and to let you know how you can get involved.
This newsletter is still in the early stages of design and you will probably see a few changes before we reach a final format. It has been divided into the following sections - News, Events, Weekly Happenings, and Meeting Reports.
We welcome three volunteers, Ethan Kundson, Madeline McAdams and Tayt Held who will be helping Transition PDX over the summer. Thank you to them for stepping forward to assist Transition here in Portland, and to Theodor for getting this in motion.
Please send any comments or contributions to future editions to david@tpdx.net
Climate Action Plan Forums Following the launch of the City of Portland and Multnomah County's draft Climate Action Plan, a small group within Transition PDX came together to organize the Climate Action Plan Forums. These took place over two Wednesdays in June 17 & 24 and gave people the opportunity to respond to the Objectives and Actions proposed. The event was opened on June 17th by former Secretary of State for Oregon (now running for Governor of Oregon in 2010) Bill Bradbury. Following the layout of the plan, people divided up into groups to make recommendations for areas such as "Buildings and Energy", "Land Use and Mobility", and "Food and Agriculture". Notes were taken from each group and at the end of meeting on June 24 and member from each group summarized the key recommendations from each group. The individual reports will now be collected together and presented to the City & County before the comment deadline of Monday, July 13th.
A follow up will take place on Wednesday, July 8 (7 - 9pm). For more information, check the Weekly Happenings section below.
Heart & Soul Group - Saturday July 25 On Saturday, July 25th the Heart & Soul Group will be hosting a day long event entitled, "Growing Transition Relationships". Transition PDX is made up of an eclectic group of people with shared goals. The challenge is working with our diversity. Come share this day with us, meeting your Transition partners and co-creating our collective identity.
The event will take place in the Che Room at St. Francis Church, 1131 SE Oak St from 9:00am - 5:30pm (tea at 9:00, program starts at 9:30). Guest facilitator, Patricia Pfost, will be facilitating part of the day using Dynamic Facilitation. We are asking people to bring a Potluck lunch to share.
So that we have an idea of numbers, please email me if you are planning to attend - david@tpdx.net
Open Space meeting - Sept 26th, save the date!
We are planning on an Open Space meeting, all day on Sept 26th to talk about the future of Transition PDX. We are also planning a keynote speaker the evening of Sept 25th.
WEEKLY HAPPENINGS Wednesday Nights at St Francis Church (Dining Hall), 1182 SE Pine St Wednesday, July 8 (7 - 9pm) - ReCAP: Climate Plan Recommendations and Community Resilience Now that we've had time to reflect, we'll take a more in-depth look at the collective recommendations from the CAP Forums and review them in the context of improving community resilience as well as reducing carbon emissions. - http://www.thedirt.org/node/4077
Wednesday, July 15 (7 - 9pm) - Potluck / 20 Minute Neighborhoods and Emergency Response The evening will start with a potluck to which neighborhood groups are especially invited. Then Jeremy O'Leary will be showing how the 20 minute walkable neighborhood model works well with a variety of emergency response scenarios. The presentation will be based on the term project for his recently completed GIS graduate certificate. - http://www.thedirt.org/node/4078
Wednesday, July 22 and Wednesday, August 19 (7 - 9pm) - Introduction to Transition This introduction to the Transition Initiative model will explore the tools that Transition makes available to communities, as well as looking at how we are adapting the model for Portland. There will be time for questions and for exploring how you can get involved and bring the Transition Initiative to your neighborhood. - http://www.thedirt.org/node/4079
Neighborhoods Transition Neighborhoods is a monthly meeting among neighborhood leaders familiar with the Transition Initiative model. We share our progress in moving toward greater resilience and closer community. Anyone wanting to work at their neighborhood level is welcome. The meetings are fourth Thursdays of the month 7 - 9 pm. The schedule for June - August is as follows:
Thursday, July 23 - 7-9 pm at Jeanne Longley's house, 741 SE 48th Ave (near Belmont)
Thursday, August 27 - 7-9 pm at Ralph Schmoldt's house, 2731 SE Market, (2 blocks south of Hawthorne, behind Safeway).
Meeting Reports
Core Hub The following are members of Transition PDX's Core Hub of Transition PDX - Jim Newcomer, Zeratha Young, Jeremy O'Leary, Henry Amick, Steve Couche, Valerie Chapman & David Johnson. These notes are from the meeting that took place on June 22:
Jim Newcomer updated the Core Hub on how the first round of the CAP Forums went and that everything was on track for the second round;
Transition PDX has limited funds saved from the Training for Transition event held last December. These are held in a bank account with the Albina Bank. Jeremy O'Leary & Jim Newcomer agreed to join David Johnson as signatories on the account;
It was announced that three interns will be working with Transition PDX over the summer. These will be supervised by Theodor Arnason who will meet with them once a week. Zeratha will meet with the interns to present an Introduction to Transition;
Jeremy & David had met to discuss the setting up of an e-newsletter;
Jeremy proposed an overhaul of the email discussion lists currently in existence for Transition PDX. The following will be set up:
Discussion list - for those wanting to discuss anything Transition related (current moderator block on postings to be removed);
Updates list - for those just wanting updates as to vents being organized by Transition PDX;
Organizer mailing list - for those actually involved in organizing Transition PDX events, so that all organizers are informed as to what is going on in different areas;
Email addresses of the form ???@tpdx.net are available for people involved with Transition PDX which can be used for more formal Transition related business.
The Sunnyside neighborhood is applying for Official Transition status.
Neighborhood Group The Neighborhood group meets on the 4th Thursday of each month. This report contains summarized highlights from the June 26 meeting:
Following the release of the City & County's draft Climate Action Plan, plans have been announced for the Fall to present Town Halls on the CAP to the Neighborhood Associations. There was a discussion as to if and how Transition PDX could respond to this plan on a neighborhood level;
A tool library is being set up in the South East;
The setting up of Transition Richmond is being explored;
The HAND neighborhood are working towards the establishment of "green teams" on neighborhood blocks, made up of 20-30 households;
There will be a meeting about setting up a Transition Initiative in the combined Creston-Kenilworth and Reed neighborhoods;
The setting up of Transition Centennial is being explored.
Transition PDX - 23rd Official US Transition Initiative - www.transitionpdx.org
The 2009 Transition Conference held last month in London was a wonderful opportunity to learn about the Transition movement around the world and we've returned full of inspiration and ideas for helping to support Transition Initiatives across the country. Read on for news from groups, a recap of the conference, upcoming trainings and new resources.
We'd also like to share with you a special letter from Bill McKibben of 350.org about the role that Transition can have in helping to fight climate change. There certainly is a feeling of urgency in the air and we encourage all of you to help broaden the Transition Movement in the US. One way is to make presentations to your circles of friends and colleagues or convene meetings to talk about these critical problems in the context of Transition. Please also direct people to the Transition websites (listed below).
The small town of Hohenwald Tennessee, population of around 4000 people, is taking small steps at greening up the community. Since 2006 a group of dedicated volunteers have been hosting events building on Hohenwald's efforts to make Lewis County...(read more)
Transition Denver, the Mile High Business Alliance, Denver Botanic Gardens and the Living Earth Center, among many other organizations, founded the Grow Local Colorado Campaign to promote local food production, with the goal of 2009 new gardens in 2009. (read more)
In May, Sustainable NE Seattle was recognized by the local Wedgwood Community Council with their annual "Hero Award." The declaration stated: "In the past year, Sustainable NE Seattle has provided an excellent means for northeast Seattle residents... (read more)
City Repair and Recode are collaborating to offer ongoing community empowerment trainings. Our intention behind offering these trainings is to provide the community with skills that enhance the way we work together to create social change. These trainings will be ongoing.
The first series will focus on nurturing leadership. We will intentionally discuss ways we can work together effectively, become comfortable with our own power and learn to see ourselves as active participants in shaping our world.
At this time of great opportunity and inspiration we want to empower the community at large by offering a place for dialogue and skill building. We will address how to embody, "Be the change you want to see in the world."
Nurturing Leadership Workshop Series
June 11th 6:30-9pm: Types of Leadership
June 13th 9:30am-5pm: Day long Facilitation Training with Tree Bressen. Pre-registration is required. Contact Susan Martin at bluesuncoach [at] gmail.com or call 503-493-0422 to register. This training is not at St. Francis, location provided by Susan Martin.
June 18th 6:30-9pm: Power Dynamics
June 25th 6:30-9pm: Decision Making Options - Dynamic Governance and Consensus
Community Empowerment: Nurturing Leadership Workshop Series
Where: 1131 SE Oak, in the St. Francis Church block, across from Red and Black Cafe.
When: Second, third, and fourth Thursdays of each month from 6:30-9:00pm. All day training one Saturday a month. These trainings will be ongoing.
Cost: $5-15 for evening trainings. $10-40 for day long trainings. The money will go to reimburse the trainers for their time and a portion will go to St. Francis for use of the space.
Resilience: The ability to recover quickly from illness, change, or misfortune; buoyancy; the ability to absorb shocks.
The following is a proposal to help make communities better able to respond to the coming economic shocks from resource depletion, beginning with Peak Oil, and perhaps also to shocks from other causes (such as the ongoing subprime mortgage and credit collapse). In searching for a name for the strategy, I have settled on the phrase “Resilient Communities,” which comes with considerable baggage—useful baggage in this instance. Once I have described and discussed the proposal, I will offer some background materials regarding the terms resilience and resilient communities, mentioning some other projects that have used the same title or that pursue similar goals.
Making existing petroleum-reliant communities truly sustainable is a huge task. Virtually every system must be redesigned—from transport to food, sanitation, health care, and manufacturing. Some fine efforts are under way in towns such as Kinsale, Ireland; Totnes, England; Portland, Oregon; and several cities in northern California to catalog the needed changes and initiate the transformative process. The Powerdown Project, Energy Descent Action Plans, and local Climate Protection initiatives are all important efforts in this direction. However, even in places that began such work two or three years ago, actual oil dependence remains largely unaffected. The transition that is required will take many years, huge shifts in both private and public investment, and fundamental changes in public policy at higher levels of government in order to succeed. Do we have enough time? Will the investment capital be available?
Meanwhile, global oil production appears already to have entered its plateau phase, with a gradually steepening decline in total production—and a much more rapid drop in export capacity among nations with any oil to spare—likely to commence within the next two or three years. It appears that the time available for adaptation is probably far too short to enable needed work to be accomplished. Meanwhile, the financial solvency crisis initiated by the US subprime mortgage fiasco threatens to obliterate trillions of dollars of investment capital, impeding whatever efforts might be undertaken toward energy conversion. Thus few if any communities—including those that have initiated worthwhile projects—will be prepared for the shocks of high fuel prices and fuel shortages that will inevitably follow in the coming years. What to do?
In 2007, Portland City Council and the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners adopted resolutions directing staff to design a strategy to reduce local carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050. Achieving the 80 percent reduction goal is not something government can do alone: We need to work together with every citizen and every business to make the fundamental changes that will help us reach the 2050 goal.
The 2009 Climate Action Plan will serve as the 40-year roadmap for the institutional and individual change needed to reach our ambitious climate protection goals in the City of Portland and Multnomah County. This draft plan proposes objectives and actions that will help residents, businesses and government meet the 2050 goal
We encourage you to read the proposed plan and share your thoughts with us.
This year's Village Building Convergence will have a strong permaculture presence: Toby Hemenway, Larry Santoyo, Marisha Auerbach, Leonard Barrett and a handful of other emerging teachers will be among us as we build community and momentum towards more sustainable living practices.
Being totally impressed with how the PPG folks have pulled together for past events (think the Home & Garden Show, for example), I think that there is an incredible amount of yet-to-be realized potential for the message to be louder and clearer, and this is precisely what will be the topic of Monday's meeting. How we utilize the platform of an event like the Village Building Convergence might very well influence the direction of our collective efforts in the near and distant future. What is this going to look like exactly? Please come to Monday's meeting to participate in the process of figuring it out!
Some ideas include coordinating a sustainable technology demonstration area surrounding our outdoor installations. I can see the sheet mulch demo there already! Other ideas include how the PPG can interact with the event participants, with a booth, a special workshop or whatever else we can think of. It would be helpful to first get some clarity about what we'd want the message to be, and then go about how to do it.
This could also be the beginning of a longer term relationship with this event. Bring all of your ideas, and we'll have a good time seeing what you all have come up with!
What is a food forest? It's all different types of trees and plants growing together more as you would find them in nature (rather than in an orchard), but substituting types of plants that provide you with food, medicine, etc. along with their other functions. Since food forests are largely made up of perennial food plants (meaning they produce food every year with no replanting and low maintenance once established), they can provide you with lots of food for many years at very little cost. In uncertain times, a food forest could be one of your smartest investments!
Who is Geoff Lawton? Geoff is a top Australian permaculture teacher who has worked and taught in many parts of the world. His experience and knowledge are very evident in the video.
Imagine the conversation The Creator might have had with St. Francis on the subject of lawns:
God: Hey St. Francis, you know all about gardens and nature. What in the world is going on down there in the Midwest? What happened to the dandelions, violets, thistle and stuff I started eons ago? I had a perfect "no maintenance" garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honey bees and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of colors by now. But all I see are these green rectangles.
St. Francis: It's the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers "weeds" and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass.
Hello PPGers, The Village Building Convergence nears, and organizers are on the home stretch for getting workshops matched up with sites. I have a specific request, then a general one: anyone want to lead a worm composting workshop? And, if you have something near and dear to you that you'd like to offer, what is it? Please post or send me a note about it and if I can match a site, I'll get a description from you! Many thanks, Matt Bibeau
Following the launch of the City of Portland and Multnomah County's draft Climate Action Plan, a small group within Transition PDX came together to organize the Climate Action Plan Forums. These took place over two Wednesdays in June 17 & 24 and gave people the opportunity to respond to the Objectives and Actions proposed. The event was opened on June 17th by former Secretary of State for Oregon (now running for Governor of Oregon in 2010) Bill Bradbury. Following the layout of the plan, people divided up into groups to make recommendations for areas such as "Buildings and Energy", "Land Use and Mobility", and "Food and Agriculture". Notes were taken from each group and at the end of meeting on June 24 and member from each group summarized the key recommendations from each group. The individual reports will now be collected together and presented to the City & County before the comment deadline of Monday, July 13th. 
Sustainable NE Seattle receives local "Hero Award"
