Learn to save money and carbon with friends and neighbours with the Transition Streets project
Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust and Transition Totnes are to host a free training course in Torbay for people who are interested in running a Transition Streets programme in their organisation or neighbourhood.
Transition Streets involves groups of neighbours, usually six to eight households, getting together every few weeks, usually at each others homes with a practical workbook to make easy changes in how they use energy, water, food, packaging and transport.
The programme has been successfully piloted in Totnes and this one day training course aims to train facilitators so that they will have the tools, skills and understanding to get new Transition Streets programmes up and running. These might be with their neighbours, a local community group or within an organisation.
Individual households save money and carbon and participants are also extremely positive about the how it brings their very local community together and, as a result, enhances their quality of life. There is much more information available at the Transition Streets website.
The training course is funded by a new government fund called LEAF as part of a wider project by Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust to create a Community Energy Centre at Occombe Farm in Paignton. This will see a straw bale building at the farm converted into a new visitor centre which will explain to visitors the renewable energy installed at Occombe and how they can take action themselves to reduce their energy consumption.
The courses are to take place at Occombe Farm in Paignton, on March 15.
Participants on the course will need to commit to organising a follow up meeting in their community as a starting point for a Transition Streets programme. People interested in applying to participate should fill in the simple form on the Trust’s website and return it to: tom@countryside-trust.org.uk by the March 2.
