Making environmental change happen

Transition Westcombe

Information

Website: http://transitionwestcombe.blogspot.com
Location: Westcombe Park, Greenwich, London
Members: 9
Latest Activity: Jan 16

Welcome to Transition Westcombe

Transition Westcombe is one of dozens of ‘transition initiatives’ springing up around the UK and beyond, in cities, towns, villages and islands.

Each is different, shaped by the people and resources which make up the local area. TW is for people who live, work or study in and around Westcombe Park in Greenwich, south London. But all share two aims:

• To strengthen the community’s resilience as we face the end of cheap and easily available oil – an issue often called ‘peak oil’

• To find practical ways of fighting man-made climate change by cutting carbon use

Both issues mean a very large reduction in our use of fossil fuels – man-made climate change means we should, but peak oil means we will have no choice. But we firmly believe a world with less oil can be better– with less waste, less pollution, better health and more creative, collaborative communities.

Transition initiatives, instead of simply calling for government to make the necessary changes for us, are about people making practical, visible, useful changes now, and with each other’s support.

Ending our oil dependence means changes for almost every aspect of our lives, from food to transport, from healthcare to how we entertain ourselves. It is a turning point unlike anything that has come before. So Transition Westcombe is not a single-issue 'environmental’ project - it will embrace anything and everything that will make the community better able to thrive.

Transition Westcombe certainly does not aim to replace or compete with any of the many groups already doing valuable work in the community, but instead wants to celebrate, tap into and spread the word about all of that existing expertise. Neither is it party political.

In the beginning we hope to raise local awareness of peak oil and climate change, with film screenings, talks and other events. In the long-term we hope to participate in coming up with an ‘energy descent plan’ for Greenwich. Any other activities depend on the needs, passions and ideas of local people, and could include food-growing, clothes swaps, skills-sharing – and a thousand things we haven’t thought of yet because they will spring from the unpredictable collective genius of local people.

To find out more, visit www.transitionwestcombe.blogspot.com or check this site for updates, too. To register your interest in future meetings and events, or to suggest ideas or offer help, email transitionwestcombeATgooglemail.com.

Discussion Forum

Greenwich Council 10 Replies

Started by james plummer. Last reply by james plummer Jul. 22, 2009.

Comment Wall

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Comment by Alex on January 16, 2010 at 10:37am: Hello,

I sent an email to the googlemail account- is this group dormant or am I going about it wrongly!!?!

Thanks

Comment by Emma Hinton on May 29, 2009 at 1:17pm: hello! excited to hear the i have a potential patch match scenario on the horizon. however, it has got me thinking - since i have no tools! - are we at transition westcombe thinking about a kind of toolshare library, where people can borrow stuff they don't have when they need it? i've not been keeping up with all the updates, this could well be something you have already got in the bag.

Comment by Gavin McGregor on March 22, 2009 at 8:29pm: Absolutely, Emma, please come along. Send your email address to transitionwestcombe@googlemail.com if you haven't already done so, and we'll put on you on the mailing list. Thanks for getting in touch.

Comment by Emma Hinton on March 20, 2009 at 6:52pm: hello! up until recently i lived just in your patch, but have since moved to the other end of blackheath - hope i can still come along and take part though!

Comment by Gavin McGregor on February 23, 2009 at 10:38am: FREE FILM SCREENING

We'll be showing The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil on 25 March at 7.30pm in St George's Church, Kirkside Road, SE3.

There will also be a chance to learn more about Transition Westcombe and to discuss transition issues.

Comment by Gavin McGregor on February 10, 2009 at 4:55pm: TRANSITION DRINKS

Where: Mycenae House bar, Mycenae Road, SE3 7SE
When: Wednesday, 25 February, 6.15pm - 8pm
Map: Click here

We are holding an informal meet-up for anyone and everyone interested in getting involved in Transition Westcombe or simply in learning more about it.

Thanks to those who have been in touch to say they want to get involved - it's great to learn that there are more near-neighbours out there thinking about transition issues and eager to take action. Please bring along anyone else you think might be interested, and feel free to spread the word. We've chosen a time - 6.15pm to 8pm - which we hope gives people a good chance of being able to pop in. And of course there is no reason not to linger later than 8pm if you're enjoying yourself.

This will not be a formal meeting, but a chance to meet over drinks, get to know each other a little, exchange ideas and get or give updates on what TW is and where it might be going at this early stage in its life. Just turn up and ask 'Are you here for Transition Westcombe?', or look out for people clutching the Transition Handbook.

If there is enough interest, we will look at holding these meet-ups on a regular basis, so if you want to come but cannot, please let us know so we know how much interest there is in doing this again.

If you do know of other people in or around Westcombe who you think would be interested in Transition Westcombe, do encourage them to email transitionwestcombeATgooglemail.com (replace the 'AT' with '@') so they can receive updates. The more the merrier. If they don't live or work in Westcombe but are elsewhere in Greenwich or just over the borough boundary into Lewisham, we'd still be glad to hear from them, as they may want to form transition groups in their neighbourhood and forge links with us.

Comment by Gavin McGregor on February 8, 2009 at 10:11am: Thanks Cat. I attended a meeting about the SCA a few months ago in Lewisham. The Act seems to have a lot of potential, but the worry for many is how it will work in practice and how councils will deal with the responsibility (if they take it up) of setting up local forums for gathering local ideas for feeding into the SCA process. Will these assemblies or meetings be represenative? Will the structures for doing this be costly? Who does the council 'reach agreement' with the community on which ideas to take forward? What is the 'community', etc. For now, the immediate priority for local people though is to persuade their local council to agree to participate, as it is not compulsory. Then it is worth individuals and groups thinking about what concrete proposals they would hope to promote when/if their council initiates the process of gathering those ideas.

If you are attending, perhaps you could fill us in on how it went when we meet?

Comment by Cat on February 8, 2009 at 9:48am: Is anyone else from the TT group going to the Sustainable Communities Mtg on Tuesday. If not, are there any questions/issues that you feel are important to be raised if given the opportunity. I feel getting the Greenwich Council to opt in for this act could be a real mile stone for the TT project. Thoughts welcome

Comment by Gavin McGregor on February 7, 2009 at 5:09pm: You'll see we've got a new logo for TW above, the work of a local artist who is a member of the initiative. As I've said on the blog at transitionwestcombe.blogspot.com, we will arrange a forum for interested people to meet and get involved as soon as we can. In the meantime, feel free to join this group and start musing or debating via the wall and discussion forums here.