Dawlish Community group film night launch – all welcome.

Thursday 24^th Feb, 7-9pm, Red Rock Centre, Sandy Lane.

A group of Dawlish residents, Dawlish business people and a local councillor are set to lead the way on the launch of “Dawlish Transition”, a community initiative that can help reduce costs, reduce waste and improve lifestyles!

“Transition” is about people working together to “future-proof” their lives as we face so much change in the world, like reducing oil supplies, higher prices and food shortages.

The whole Transition movement was launched in Totnes, many years ago and has been very successful, with initiatives including festivals, food events, garden share schemes and even solar panels for the civic hall.  It is estimated that Transition has brought an estimated £122,000 to the local economy, with people just coming to the town to find out more.  (See their website for more information - http://www.transitiontowntotnes.org)

Now Transition is proving successful in many other areas, and Dawlish aims to be next on the map!  The group will be showing a film that explains the issues we face, how we can take action, and afterwards a Q&A session event to enable people to find out more about getting involved and taking this to the next level.

The film night will be held on Thursday 24th February, 7-9pm at the Red Rock Centre (by Dawlish Football club, Sandy Lane).   Entry is free and all are welcome.

Films showing “”Power of the Community” and “Message in the Waves”, with guest speakers:  Antony Turner ,  Carbon Sense Foundation & Teign Estuary Transition, and Ben Bryant, Teignbridge Recycling Officer (Dawlish Bag Campaign)

Carolyn Ballard, who has booked the event and speakers said: “I’m delighted that we can kick-start the Transition movement here in Dawlish.  We have so many pro-active people here, and I’m sure we can all work together to create an amazing project that will improve everyone’s lives.”

Dawlish Transition has a site for more information: www.dawlishtransition.blogspot.com/

And members urge everyone to come along and enjoy the film and discussion.   Founder member, Sue Haswell said: “This is set to be a great free community event – and the start of something big, where we can all get together and tackle the issues that matter to us most.”

What could transition do for Dawlish?

For anyone who wants to know what Transition can do for a town, here's what it's done for Totnes.  The article, "What has TTT ever done for us?" is taken from their website:   (http://www.transitiontowntotnes.org/content/what-has-ttt-ever-done-us ) – 

"What has TTT ever done for us?"

People visiting Totnes to find out about Transition have brought an estimated £122,000 to the local economy • over 300 people have visited the town to undertake Transition Training • TTT raised the funding for the 74 solar panels on Totnes Civic Hall which will generate around 13,000kWh (a third of its demand, leading to the Council saving over £5,500) • 186 hybrid nut trees have been planted throughout the town • over 4000 Local Food Guides (in 2 editions) have been distributed • our Garden Share scheme means that now 30 gardeners in 13 gardens are able to grow food, providing food to over 50 families • over 70 businesses now accept the Totnes Pound • organised over 140 public events • more than 1,000 students at King Edward VI Community College have now participated in our ‘Transition Tales’ programme • over 75% of people in Totnes and Dartington are aware of TTT’s work • more than 600 people attended 4 workshops on renewable energy • there are now 59 ‘Transition Together’ groups in and around the town, who will each reduce their carbon emissions by 1.2 tonnes, each saving £601 per year • over 50% of those households are low-income • ‘Transition Tours’, a structured tour designed for those who want to visit the town to learn about Transition has, so far, had a local impact of £52,166 • The work of TTT  has inspired an international network of thousands of Transition initiatives • TTT has formed partnerships with 25 other organisations • the creation of the Energy Descent Action Plan engaged over 800 local people, gave talks to 35 local organisations and held 27 public meetings • 50 people have learnt to garden through our basic gardening course • over 400 people attended ‘Winterfest’, a one-day celebration of the work of TTT • 3 annual ‘Edible Garden Crawls’ have been attended by over 500 people • the 2010 ‘Energy Fair’ was attended by over 400 people • TTT’s email newsletter is received by over 2,000 people • TTT’s Garden Share scheme was the inspiration for Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall’s national ‘Landshare’ campaign • Produced 10 short films about various TTT events, see http://tinyurl.com/3yh9ysu • ‘Estates in Transition’, a day conference co-organised with Dartington, brought 65 local landowners and managers together to explore the impacts of peak oil and climate change • 57.2% of local people feel TTT’s work is either ‘highly relevant’ or ‘relevant’ to their lives • the Heart and Soul group provides support to 15 people working in TTT so as to minimise incidents of burn-out • TTT’s website has over 4,500 registered users • our annual Seedy Sunday events each attract at least 200 people • a recent grant of £75,000 from Community Builders is supporting our efforts to bring the derelict Dairy Crest site back into community ownership • TTT has generated a great deal of media coverage, including BBC’s The One Show, Al Jazeera TV, ‘In Business’ on Radio 4, and pieces in most daily papers, as well as regularly attracting international media attention.... 

Taken from the Transition Town Totnes website (http://www.transitiontowntotnes.org/content/what-has-ttt-ever-done-us ) –