Transition Wayland Becomes US' 122nd Official Transition Initiative

Aug. 20, 2012 - PRLog -- Transition US is excited to announce that Transition Wayland has become the 122nd official Transition Initiative in the United States. Transition Initiatives start when a small collection of motivated individuals within a community come together with a shared concern: how can our community respond to the challenges and opportunities of peak oil, climate change and the economic crisis? This small team of people begins by forming an initiating group and then adopts the Transition Model with the intention of engaging a significant proportion of the people in their community to kick off a Transition Initiative.

Kaat Vander Straeten, a core group team member shared that what excites them most about this milestone is that "after a year of intense Transition work, we feel we have some idea of what our town needs, how the residents experience the issues and what they want to do about them, and how to most efficiently communicate and inspire action. We also took that year to get to know one another, in the core team, and we felt ready to write our mission statement. "Going official" is a way of telling the world that we are entering a new phase. We are stepping  up our actions and are putting down powerful manifestations of Transition."

"For instance, we planted a Permaculture garden in Wayland's most popular playground and are in the middle of the Solarize Massachusetts program, through which our town will gain over 250 kW of small residential solar, and we're going for half a megaWatt. We are helping to make a master map of all of Wayland's waterways and nature trails. We started a beekeepers group that in its first season helped six new beekeepers get started - so far BEElievers have harvested over 100 lb of Wayland honey. In the future we see close collaborations with other groups to show movies to keep re-sparking the conversation, to get solar on our municipal buildings, to start a community farm and a farm stand."

Kaat  went on to say that personally, one of the future projects closest to her heart is Neighborhood Kiosks: "real" (as opposed to virtual) bulletin boards in every neighborhood, with benches, flower plantings and other attractions, where neighbors can meet and chat."

Transition US is a nonprofit organization that provides inspiration, encouragement, support, networking, and training for Transition Initiatives across the United States. They are working in close partnership with the Transition Network, a UK based organization that supports the international Transition Movement as a whole. The Transition Movement is a vibrant, grassroots movement that seeks to build community resilience in the face of such challenges as peak oil, climate change and the economic crisis. It represents one of the most promising ways of engaging people in strengthening their communities against the effects of these challenges, resulting in a life that is more abundant, fulfilling, equitable and socially connected.

If you would like more information about the Transition Movement in the United States, or to schedule an interview with Carolyne Stayton, please call 707-763-1100 or email her at carolyne@transitionus.org

If you would like more information about Transition Wayland or to speak with Kaat Vander Straeten please call (617)739-5870, or email kaatvds@gmail.com.