TRANSITION FOREST ROW - THE STORY SO FAR

Over the last year the initial Transition core group have been raising awareness with a series of films and talks of the need to respond effectively to Climate Chaos and the end of cheap oil or Peak Oil by mobilising and facilitating community action.

In that time the price of oil has doubled and there are forecasts that it could double again by the end of this year. News of rising energy prices and supply constraints have moved from the financial to the front pages of news papers. Just this week BBC Radio 4’s consumer affairs programme ‘You and Yours’ devoted a whole edition to the impact of the rising price of oil.

The knock on effect is that food prices are surging across the world. With long distribution lines and only 40% of our food grown in this country, we are equally vulnerable to fuel price rises, even without including the added cost of the oil in the pesticides and fertilizers.

Shell’s Energy Scenarios

In January this year, Shell published its Energy Scenarios stating bluntly that the world could move along two paths, which it called Scramble and Blueprint. Both scenarios project that, “by 2015, growth in the production of easily accessible oil and gas will not match the projected rate of demand growth”.

In the Scramble scenario nations and companies compete for resources, while governments choose cheap and easy options. There is a flight to coal by power generators seeking cheap fuel and to primitive bio fuels, such as ethanol. Shell predicts a “triple crunch” after 2020 when further growth in coal and oil and gas demand becomes unsustainable. In the Blueprint scenario, carbon pricing is established early and the world moves more rapidly to electrification and energy efficiency. So far there is not much evidence of this happening.

Reality Gap

In spite of this rather stark and immanent crunch, current Government and most local authority planning doesn’t take oil price into account. Along with the Stern report, government is working on the basis that oil will be $57 in 2010 and fall to $53 in 2020. With oil currently around $120 a barrel and OPEC predicting that it could be $200 by the end of 2008, it is clear there is a significant reality gap in the thinking of our administrators.

We have built a lifestyle based on the false premise that fossil fuel will always be easy to extract and that it has no impact when we burn it. To respond to this uncomfortable truth, we need to help each other to find ways to consume less energy, not only to reduce our impact on the world around us, but to adapt to a world where we can no longer rely on a plentiful flow of cheap energy.

An Opportunity

The response of Transition Initiatives to this challenging situation is to look at moving away from oil dependency as not just as an enormous crisis but an opportunity to do all kinds of things differently. It is about catalysing all the creative responses in the community and seeking ways to start down the pathway towards a way of life that progressively reduces our reliance on polluting energy and that could be more rewarding. Rather than waiting for price shocks and interruptions in supply to react, by working together now we can begin to shape the future in ways that we choose.

Turning Trends

Here are just two examples of positive trends that are already happening. In 2007, the world produced an estimated 130 million bicycles — more than twice the 52 million cars produced; a figure that has been increasing in each of the last six years. With the Forest Way providing a beautiful ride to East Grinstead, there is much potential here to reduce car journeys.

For the first time since second world war the sales of vegetable seeds in the UK have surpassed those of flower seeds, as people turn to growing their own vegetables. In Forest Row there was no shortage of volunteers for the new allotments recently opened up by the Parish Council.

The Great Unleashing

In Forest Row the Transition Initiative has moved into a new exciting phase following the Unleashing in May. The series of events were intended to mark the Unleashing of the collective creativity of the community to embark on the transition path. The packed out village hall heard ex-Emerson student Patrick Holden and now a high profile farmer and Director of the Soil Association together with founder of the Transition movement Rob Hopkins set the scene for the new phase of activity.

The following Saturday saw the village hall packed again with a Children’s Festival opened by Rev. Nick Lamb with the Forest Row Church of England School Choir conducted by Head Teacher Ian Allison. All sorts of activities including storytelling and painting kept the children engaged all afternoon and the cafe gave the parents space to chat and reflect on it all. A barn dance rounded off the events.

Topic Groups Form

Now after a year of activity, the core Transition group are stepping aside to spread out the initiative into a whole range of topic groups. Launched in the village hall this week, these groups cover topics such as food, health, housing, heart & Soul, business, energy and transport. As well as looking for practical projects, they will start to develop an Energy Descent Pathway for Forest Row to find ways that we can transition from the amount of fossil energy we use. Everyone with an interest in these areas is invited to join - details are on the web site.

A grant from Wealden District Council will enable the result of this work to be published to the whole community early next year.

We Can…

There are lots of things that we can do and they are all made more enjoyable by doing them together. Many people have skills they are willing to share and teach others.

For example we can garden, we can plant nut trees to support us and our ancestors in the future; we can share cars, we can cycle on short journeys, we can support local businesses, we can buy local food, we can learn new skills. We can create and tell stories about a different, more sustainable and viable future of resilient and strong communities and of how we made the great turning. We can, we can, we can …act! We can be proud of our communities and lives and livelihoods and much, much more.

Start Making Bags!

One practical project has already started and takes up where the Forest Row bag left off. Using recycled material and fabric remnants, a bag making group has started to make cheerful cotton bags to give away to shops to replace plastic bags. The plan is to get together every first Saturday of the month when the community market and boot sale is on. People are welcome to just drop in either to see what they are doing or to join in making bags. This is intended to be the beginning of other creative activities as part of Transition Forest Row. The bag making was reported in the local paper: VILLAGE’S ‘GAGGLE OF BAGS’ BID

The Future Is Bright

Although the idea of Transition Initiatives only began 18 months ago, there are 59 formal Transition initiatives already and 700 communities considering the approach around the country. Even Ambridge in The Archers has started a Transition Town initiative!

All too often descriptions of the future could have been lifted straight out of disaster movies. The challenge for us all is to develop an attractive and feasible vision of the future we are heading towards. Not only will the future be more local, but it will involve much more participation from us. A world using less energy and resources will be more resilient, more abundant and could be much more pleasurable than at present.

We can all play an important part in how we transition our society to one that will be one we would like our children to grow up in. Now is a great time to get involved and take part shaping what happens to us next.

Related Websites:

http://transitiontowns.org/Forest-Row

http://transitionculture.org/

http://www.energybulletin.net/