New Steering group for Transition Sydenham
Transition Sydenham has formed an initial steering group, which met for the first time in mid-January 2010. It discussed ways to promote Transition in the Sydenham area, as well as projects to implement over the next few months.
A public film-showing of The Power of Community - the story of how Cuba survived peak oil - is planned for 15 April 2010 at Forest Hill library, with a second viewing intended for a venue in central Sydenham later in the year. TT Sydenham also has plans to develop garden-twinning and community garden projects during the course of 2010, as well as other promotional events and opportunities for discussion.
Please contact Alona Sheridan at
alona.ttsydenham(at)hotmail.co.uk for more information.
Transition Sydenham - Facing the Future
Melting ice sheets, forest burnings, violent hurricanes, drastic floods; what have these got to do with Transition Towns? The climate is changing, oil supplies are diminishing. We need to prepare for change by working together in our local communities to develop a way of life less dependent on fossil fuels and to become more self-sufficient. Sydenham is one of a number of groups in the borough of Lewisham that want to make this transition.
Many people talk about what should be done, but Transition Sydenham wants to go beyond talk by taking action together to reduce our energy needs; cut the waste we produce; shop locally - and develop local currencies; grow more of our own food; travel with the environment in mind and still find time for entertainment - all at a local scale.
In Sydenham there is already a strong sense of community which gives a firm foundation on which to build a Transition initiative. Different groups are building on this local strength. Here are two examples:
1] A local charity called Sydenham Garden, for people with significant illness, who can learn skills in gardening, food production and composting as well as felt-making and working with willow. Such skills are relevant to any community working towards Transition.
2] It is important to involve children and young people in ways that are relevant to them and that can enable them to contribute to local environmental improvements. This summer there will be a consultation, led and facilitated by young people, to create a young people's area in Mayow Park.
These initiatives and many more, are already happening locally, and are not yet linked to our Transition Sydenham initiative. We can build on that sense of community to develop awareness-raising events to show people WHY we need to develop our transition initiative and ways in which we can do it.