Training for Transition

Canadian Centre for Community Renewal

Why Transition?

No matter where you live, communities and households are obviously struggling with change. Economic volatility is not new for resource-based communities in Canada. But the global debt and financial crisis has made us all more aware of our vulnerability. The pressure to adapt our habits and our infrastructure to respond to and mitigate climate change and rising oil prices is costing our municipalities and households precious resources.

"Taken together, Climate Change and Peak Oil make a nearly airtight argument. We should reduce our dependency on fossil fuels for the sake of future generations and the rest of the biosphere; but even if we choose not to do so because of the costs involved, the most important of those fossil fuels will soon become more scarce and expensive anyway, so complacency is simply not an option." (Richard Heinberg)

Watch a 3-minute video about it created by Transitions US.

So change is inevitable. But where do we begin? Transition gives us some clues about how to move our communities toward gradual energy descent and renewed hope for the future.

Transition Towns

The Transition Town movement offers us a model, and continually evolving tools and approaches, to engage a whole community in reducing its reliance on fossil fuels and strengthening its resilience.

The model is flexible and dynamic: it seeks to engage people through the head ("Give me the facts!"), the heart ("I worry about my grandchildren's future") and the hands ("What can I do?"). Here are some of the Principles of Transition:

Involve everyone; meet people where they are.

Pay attention to transition as it is expressed visibly (the outer) and experienced personally (our values and world view).

Encourage a positive vision for the future.

Build partners and alliances; support subsidiarity over centralization.

Make it real; develop projects and alternatives on the ground.

Use good information and democratic decision making, and then let it go where it wants to.

For more details read the Transition Initiatives Primer or check out these on-line resources:

Transition United States, a fast-growing and creative network we would like to emulate in Canada.
the international Transition Network
View a short interview with UK founder Rob Hopkins.
Food is critical to transition. Check out a hotlist of articles on building local and regional food systems.

Workshops and Presentations

The Canadian Centre for Community Renewal (CCCR), together with colleagues from the United States, also offers workshops and presentations to orient and train groups in the TT model. Click on the registration package for the 2-day workshop nearest you. One day and tailored workshops on specific topics are also available on request.

Whitehorse, YT: September 25-26, 2010, "Training for Transition: From oil dependence to local resilience." This event is hosted by Northern Climate ExChange of the Yukon Research Center of Excellence. Click here for further information and click here to register (or phone 867-668-2593). Note: this workshop is being offered initially to Whitehorse residents. Registrants from outside Whitehorse will be waitlisted and offered any available seats closer to the date of the workshop.
Vancouver, BC: October 15-16, "Transition in Vancouver: from fossil fuel dependence to resilience." Join leaders of Vancouver's transition movement for a 2-day workshop and dialogue introducing the principles, steps, and lessons of the Transition Town model of community-wide response to global challenges. Registration fee: $195. (Register by August 31 for 20% discount! 50% discount available to full-time students with valid ID.) Email for registration details or phone 604-323-5322. Co-sponsored by Langara College and Village Vancouver.
Vancouver, BC: November 11-14, "Training Trainers." This workshop is for people who would like to deliver the 2-day Training for Transition workshop. (Prior attendance at a Training for Transition workshop is a prerequisite.) Details to follow in September.
Ontario: Autumn 2010, "Training for Transition." There are now nine trainers in Ontario. Two Training for Transition workshops are projected for this fall. Stay tuned for details and email us if you would like to host a workshop. For more details about hosting Transition Town workshops, see below

Registration for each workshop occurs through a local Host Organization (not through CCCR). Click here to be added to the email list for announcements of workshops and new resources.

"The Transition model is an exciting opportunity to engage whole towns in understanding and acting on a vision for positive change for more resilient communities." (Workshop participant)

To Host a Workshop

Interested in hosting a Transition for Transition workshop? Download the information package. We are particularly interested in finding hosts for Training for Transition workshops in Manitoba.

You're Not Alone!

There are currently 9 Canadian Transition Towns:

"A positive vision of the future challenges the culture to dare, to be open to change, and to accept a spirit of creativity that could alter its very structure." (David Spangler)