Transition Neighborhoods Strategy Session, Feb. 20

Transition Neighborhoods Strategy Session
Friday, February 20, 7 PM

Where: The 15th St. Friends Meeting House
15 Rutherford Place between 2nd and 3rd Avenues near Union Square

Make your neighborhood more sustainable and resilient with Transition Neighborhoods (TN).

Be part of the New York resilience resistance. Find out about the Transition Neighborhoods resilience-building process that is gaining momentum throughout the city. Mark your calendars and learn about how you can be part of a weekend festival on June 26-28, in the Rockaways, that will celebrate the Transitioning of New York city toward resilience, and highlight the revitalization of community health and food security in the Rockaways. Anticipate inspiring Transition movement presentations, hands-on urban gardening demonstration projects, environmental art exhibits, and tours of resident-driven permaculture installations.

The Transition movement is a community organizing response to climate change, resource depletion and financial instability, with over 1,100 Transition groups in 44 countries and over 150 initiatives in the US.

It starts with neighbors reaching out to neighbors to convene a series of small group meetings. By going through chapters of a Transition Neighborhoods​ (TN) Field Guide, participants strengthen their sense of place, build relationships, promote local food, and map their neighborhood's current state of resiliency, looking at aspects of its operation such as food, energy, water, waste, consumption and transportation. It's a practical and enlightening neighborhood resilience-building discovery process that deepens and celebrates neighborhood culture.

The Transition model has been successful in hundreds of communities worldwide. The TN Field Guide adapts that process to the specific needs of NYC and other big urban communities. The goal is to proactively redesign cities to be much less reliant on fossil fuels and much more resilient, with an improved quality of life. Groups are now forming in over 15 NYC neighborhoods, including the Upper West Side, the Lower East Side, Bed-Stuy, Flatbush, and Flushing.

NYC already leads the nation in greening efforts, so why Transition? It's because government and individual efforts are necessary but insufficient responses to climate change. Transition's neighborhood-scale, multi-issue approach is unique. By bringing neighbors together, connecting them to already-existing resources and catalyzing them to set up visible local projects, it complements existing efforts - such as yours.

To find out more about making your neighborhood a "Transition Neighborhood" along with other inspiring New Yorkers, come to our next meeting at the Friends Meeting House on 15 Rutherford Place between 2nd and 3rd Avenues near Union Square on Friday, February 20, 7 PM. Pamela Boyce Simms, convener and lead trainer of the seven-state Mid-Atlantic Transition Hub, will talk about how to measure and improve food security in your neighborhood, and the Transition training in March. There will be breakout sessions for newbies - 'Transition 101' - and coaching sessions for already organized neighborhood groups.

Visit transitionmidatlantic.org and transitionnyc.org. Contact us at 917-319-2924 or transition.nyc.hub@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Want a short description of Transition you can hand out? Ask for our one page flyer (transition.nyc.hub@gmail.com).

Urban Permaculture Demonstration Projects in the Rockaways

Our community partners are identifying yards and lots on which permaculture design projects can be installed this spring. We're inviting permaculture designers to send their design proposals for each space, which will be reviewed by senior designers. Winners will be connected with property owners to organize volunteer workshops during which the projects will be installed.

Click here for details and site pictures. (http://transitionnyc.wix.com/transitionnyc#%21rockaways-transition-and-health-festival/cc76)