Transition Island Blog

The Isle of Wight is going for a high profile public event where low carbon and sustainable lifestyles will be discussed and demonstrated.

Unfortunately, the Big Green Picnic event has had to be moved from Church Litten park in the town centre to the County Hall car park. Church Litton was a fantastic venue - central, open and green, but a cave-in where previous church buildings and graves had made the surface unsafe. Work will be done to make the car park into a greener area, with picnic benches and hay bales provided.

Also a bowling green carpet, that was to be thrown away by its former owners, is being recycled to be used as surfacing.

The aim of the Big Green Picnic is for the Eco-Isle initiative to inspire Islanders to lead a more green lifestyle, demonstrate what steps they can take to achieve that and what products and services are available to help them.

Transition Island will be there to explain how community action can help any neighbourhood take control of planning for the changes in the future. Sited in a strawbale house, demonstrating 12 different ways to gain from being more sustainable, Dave & Vav Simon will be joined by volunteers…

Other ideas Eco-Isle is interested in include:

• Organise an Island switch off day.
• Extend the Ventnor plastic bag-free project to the whole Island.
• Publicise ‘freecycle’ where people can recycle their belongings for the benefit of others.
• Make better use of surplus garden produce

join in
Do come and find us - Saturday and Sunday May 24 and 25 - ask questions - consider your own plans!

Transition Island will be at the Robin Hill Garden Show 26 & 27 April.

You can find out how green is your garden?

Report from Sue Lupton, Isle of Wight County Press

Visitors to the show are invited to visit a straw-bale house to learn from the experts how they can make their homes and gardens greener.

Dave and Vav Simon, of Aldermoor Earthworks, and a team of environmentally minded volunteers are creating a demonstration that is designed to inspire people to try green techniques at home.

Aldermoor Earthworks runs weekend workshops on country skills, ecological issues and green topics. Dave and Vav active campaigners on ecological issues and leading lights in Transition Island, a group that encourages people to take action on problems like climate change

Dave said: “In the past two years, show has been mainly about flowers and the organisers approached us because they wanted to extend it by encouraging people to ask `How green is my garden?’

“They invited us to do something about energy efficiency in the house and garden. What we want to do is to demonstrate how you can build a shed or lean-to with straw bales. You can collect water off it in water butts - that is called rain water harvesting. You can use the harvested water in the garden or to flush the toilet.

“We will also show how you can use water from the kitchen sink for watering the garden. People think that detergents will be a problem but plants are survivors, used to filtering out impurities.

“We wanted to demonstrate principles that might get people thinking, so they go home and try out some of the systems.

“This project fits in with the whole Eco-Island movement, which also ties in with what Transition Island is trying to do. Climate change is a long-term problem, while peak oil (the rising price of oil) is likely to affect us all in a matter of years. We believe there is a lot people can do themselves, but the problem is we are all addicted to the easy life. It is not easy to do without modern conveniences.

“We want people to understand these issues and apply them to their own homes and gardens. It is about getting people talking and thinking and doing, rather than waiting for the government to take the initiative.”

World-famous as the home of Queen Victoria’s Osborne House, East Cowes is moving ahead.

The first Town Meeting is due on Thursday 3/4/08 at 7pm in the Town Hall.

All local residents are invited to share hopes and ideas for the town’s future. 

(more…)

“Isle of Wight Council Chief Executive Joe Duckworth is to leave the authority in the summer to take up the same role at the London Borough of Newham.

“IW Council leader Cllr David Pugh pledged the transition to a new chief executive would not disrupt the council’s aims and objectives, not least its ambitious plans to transform itself into Eco Island — a energy self-sufficient island by 2020.”

From the Council’s press release [read more]

We had been hoping that he would help us to push through a revitalisation of the CarShare scheme the Island desperately needs. Let’s hope he could see that completed before he leaves.

Opinion:
We do hope that the transition to a new permanent Chief Executive will go smoothly. Too often ‘new brooms’ move goal-posts, and interim managers allow innovations to stall.

It would be such a shame…

Ventnor is in resurgence.

Building works are renewing a tired Victorian holiday town.

A live music tradition is developing a core of cultural activity that is expanding energetically.

And VentnorBlog is gaining a national reputation, with international fans!

(more…)

Letter from Andrew Turner, MP
“Congratulations on being accepted into the national Transition Towns Network.

I was pleased to read of the work that you do, encouraging those who work to meet the challenges of Peak Oil and Climate Change, and I certainly think that it is a good idea…

I wish you every success with the project…”

Cowes - ”more than just world class yacht racing”

Open Space Discussion Topics included:

Community, Green Power, Food, Transport

Index of All Topics Discussed

Agreed:
The group agreed to stay in touch by email and mull over starting a Steering Group.

With the support of Ventnor Blog, this new Blog is starting up.

Providing commentary on environmental issues from Climate Change and Peak Oil, through endangered species and human health, to renewable energies and other planet-saving initiatives - to improve resilience on the Isle of Wight and the World.

Transition Island has launched a new Blog to inform local people about the challenges of Peak Oil and Climate Change.

It will offer snippets of news on environmental and ecological issues relating to the Island, to demonstrate the links with all aspects of life. Global issues will also be highlighted where they have a local impact. Short and informative articles will link to sources to give people an opportunity to explore issues further.

Transition Island is part of the national Transition Towns initiative, aims to encourage community action at a local level in response. It promotes the idea that we all need to alter our lifestyle to meet these challenges, rather than wait for a fairy godmother to do it for us.

About this blog

“Meeting skepticism in some and disinterest in many, I felt compelled to present a series of relevent issues to anyone with even the slightest interest. I hope the mixture of good news, bad news and occasional humour will cause some thinking about the future.

It seems that so many people have enough concerns within their own lives, and don’t want to consider the world and the future beyond the next few days/weeks.

The risk of ignoring the future is that we will be ejected out of our present comfort zone into a life we’d never conciously choose… So why let it happen by default?

This stuff isn’t new - a lot of it has been hanging around for 30 to 40 years.

It’s just getting much more important that we do something about it.”

Dave Simon

Today (8/1/08) Transition Island learned that they have been accepted into the national Transition Towns Network. 

Ben Brangwyn (Co-founder of the Network) said: 

“It looks like you have the makings of a great team there and I’m delighted to welcome you formally into the hallowed ranks of official Transition Initiatives - our first island! “

He was interested to see the way “the uniqueness of an island shapes the initiative there … You’ll have lessons that other islands will benefit from.”

(more…)

Vav Simon went to meet the Town Councillors in Newport yesterday.

Welcomed by the Members, she was reminded that the Council was due for elections in a couple of months. While several Members were very intersted, there was no action that could easily be started at this time.

We hope the information will stay in everyone’s minds and play a part in influencing plans for the future of the town.