Monthly Newsletter


Transition Bellingen publishes a monthly email newsletter. 

To get your event listed, send details to amydenshire@gmail.com by the 20th of the month prior. We only send one newsletter per month (we do not send supplementary newsletters for news that arrives after the newsletter has been sent). 



November 2014 Newsletter


Read on for all the latest and greatest Transition Bellingen news and events.
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Transition Bellingen News

The first three items in this newsletter take place this week

November 2014

20 and 21 November 2014

EMAIL INFO@CEL.ORG.AU


21 and 22 November 2014

from transitioner Frances Amaroux - Power Play a musical parody

Hi Wholistic Business People -  just thought you might be interested in  this fantastic political musical parody called Power Play?
I'm in it, singing a few parts - actually I'm Gina Reinhardt and Julie Bishop LOL
- as well as lots of talented Bello locals, and its showing on 2 weekends in November.
Would love to see you and your friends there ;-)
Booking details below - tell your friends!
Hugz, Frances Amaroux




A new musical being developed in Bellingen raises some fundamental questions about the way politics are conducted in Australia and who ultimately controls the political process. The events surrounding the rise and fall of Julia Gillard form the backdrop for “Power Play”, which uses satire and parody to examine the reality behind the façade of big party politics and electoral populism.

The play opens at the Memorial Hall, Bellingen on Friday 14th November, with evening performances scheduled over the weekends of 14th/15th and 21st/22nd November. 
Tickets are available online at www.trybooking.com/106106 
or from the Alternatives Bookshop, 105 Hyde St, Bellingen for $20 ($15 concession).
MEDIA
FACEBOOK INFO
BOOKINGS ONLINE
more detail on the blog http://transitionbellingen.blogspot.com.au/2014/11/correspondence-from-transitioner.html

FREE Until 22 November 2014

From Fiona Crosskill

Find out who's hijacking your health - FREE film premiere until 22 November 2014

image
Get free access from November 13th – 22nd to the feature-length documentary, Origins. Find out who’s hijacking your health… and how to reclaim it!
Preview by Yahoo
or 
and on that page it says how people can buy the DVD etc.


28 November 2014

Bellopy Market back in Bellingen Town
☂Transition Bellingen  check sidebar

Click on their Facebook for the latest information


Month of November 2014

6 December 2014

David Helfgott and the Bellingen Youth Orchestra

perform
The Warsaw Concerto.

Written by Rosabella Stephen, a member of the Bellingen Youth Orchestra.

Music, as most would already be aware, is a celebration in itself. A joyful recalling. That the human race has discovered something so powerful it can, and quite frequently, draw emotions from both those playing and listening. A commanding melody and heart-wrenching strain. One draws exclamations, the other, tears. Though music cannot be physically seen, it can be described as an experience. A knowledge. A gift.

As a member of Bellingen’s Youth Orchestra, I know that we all feel it is important to give the gift of music to those who would care to listen. Be it an informal gathering, or scheduled concert, our first and foremost goal will always be to play in the hope of that outcome.

Bellingen is home to many creative and talented people. David Helfgott, a famous and astounding musician, has generously agreed to perform for, and with us. At 7pm on Saturday the 6th of December, the combined influences of both David and the Bellingen Youth Orchestra present a repertoire chosen specifically to amaze, move, and animate. Amongst these pieces, and a particular favourite of many, is the Warsaw Concerto composed by Richard Addinsell.

As the season fast approaches, I urge you to embrace the local talent of our beautiful region and continue to encourage and support us, by giving the gift of music to yourself and others.

The concert will be held in the Multi Purpose Centre (MPC), at Bellingen High School.

On behalf of Bellingen Youth Orchestra, we say giinagay and offer greetings of peace, salaam, shanti, shalom, paco, paz, paix, der friede, soksang, rongo, heiwa, an, amaitha, damai, amani, pace, fred, pau, uxolo, irini, paci, solh, sith, sidi, baris, pax, santiphap, spokoj, hasiti, and for every way you celebrate, we wish our community a safe, joyful and peaceful holiday season filled with music.

We hope to see you at our concert.

 For further information contact Helen Marges Ph: 0266551109
Mobile: 0408262122  or Anne Phelan, BYO Director Ph: 6655 1315.

Last thoughts

There have been some changes to our blog, with a new index for events

You can relive the 2009 Visioning Fair via Utube

click on http://transitionbellingen.blogspot.com.au/p/event-index.html
____________________________________


October 2014 Newsletter 2nd edition


Read on for all the latest and greatest Transition Bellingen news and events.
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Transition Bellingen News

Sometime there is a need for a second newsletter in a month. Climate  change is an important subject, so the events below need to be circulated.

There are also a number of events which are worth a reminder

 Coffs Harbour Climate Action Group

'Communicating to Win'

Training workshop Saturday 8 November 2014

"All welcome and please share. We'd love some transitioners to come and join in the discussion." 

"Join the Coffs Coast Climate Action Group and Earth Hour Australia for an exciting training on how to simply and effectively communicate climate change in a way that appeals to your network, and learn the basics of community organising.

The training will be run by Anna Rose, National Manager of Earth Hour Australia, and Reece Proudfoot, an experienced community organiser in the area of Climate Action. You'll learn how to build solid groups who can carry out strong, effective, targeted campaigns and how the principles of community organising can be implemented to build a powerful climate movement.

Over the course of the workshop you will learn;

How to simply and effectively communicate climate change - in a way that appeals to your network.
Campaign strategy – how to develop and win local climate change solution campaigns.
Stakeholder engagement – engaging the people that matter.
Community Organising – how to effectively organise and mobilise your network on the issues that matter.

WHEN
Saturday November 8th, 2014 at 9am - 3pm
WHERE
Deep Sea Fishing Club
Jordan Esplanade, Coffs Harbour Jetty
NSW 2450
COST
Free - lunch and refreshments provided.

This training has been designed for residents of the Coffs Harbour region and places are limited.
To register, please fill out the form at http://coffstrainingrsvp2014-earthhouraus.nationbuilder.com/ "



There is also a public forum on Friday 7 November

What does climate change mean for the future of the Coffs Coast? How can we all be a part of the solution?
Come along to this public forum co-hosted by Coffs Coast Climate Action Group and Earth Hour Australia.
Special guest Anna Rose (Author, Earth Hour National Manager, Founder of the Australian Youth Climate Coalition and former Young Environmentalist of the Year) will be giving a public talk on climate change impacts on Aussie food and farming and what we can all do to keep our food system strong.

Followed by a panel discussion, MC’d by Rod McKelvey and featuring:
- Sally Townley, Deputy Mayor of Coffs Harbour
- Mark Byrne, Energy Market Advocate, TEC / North Coast Energy Forum
- Malcolm Robertson, Coastal & Environmental Engineer, CHCC
- Sarah Wood, Coffs Coast Climate Action Group
- And YOU: bring your questions for the panel and your ideas for our future.
Poster!  If anyone wants to help spread these around town, let us know!



Fiona Crosskill message
If you haven't seen it already, I thought you might be interested in Naomi Klein's new book, and in helping 350.org achieve the funding target for their fossil fuel divestment campaign...
"Help support 350.org Australia's work to address climate change and stop new fossil fuel projects and receive one, two or five copies of Naomi Klein's brand new book "This Changes Everything - Capitalism vs the Climate" as a reward:
Your donation will support 350.org Australia's divestment campaign and efforts to halt new coal projects at Maules Creek and the Galilee Basin and new gas expansion in WA.
Find out more about our work at http://350.org.auhttp://350.org.au. After you've read the book, host a bookclub discussion with others you know who have read the book and check out Naomi's website for ideas and information at  http://thischangeseverything.org
We'll update you on Naomi's new film, based on her book, and her upcoming visit to Australia in 2015"
Reminder of events coming up

31 October 2014




link http://www.cel.org.au/event/bag-it



Saturday 1 November

Bellingen River Festival

Bello Bamboo
Join the Boo River Crew
We are a major sponsor and partner of this years River Festival, supplyingbamboo, installing 3 entrances, creating a Bamboo Pirate theme Water Play 
area, and making Bamboo Lanterns for the kids parade.  Come learn lots of 

great ideas and be part of our volunteer Boo River Crew.  
Contact Kirsten asap on 0488 025 626 or bellobamboo@gmail.com.



November 2014


link  http://www.cel.org.au/free-your-food



15 November 2014





20 and 21 November 2014







Last thoughts

There have been some changes to our blog, with a new index for events

click on http://transitionbellingen.blogspot.com.au/p/event-index.html

______________________________________




October 2014 Newsletter



Read on for all the latest and greatest Transition Bellingen news and events.
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Transition Bellingen News


The timing for sending out a monthly newsletter is difficult as something will turn up after it is published. The Blog and Facebook are kept up to date - see side bar

Saturday 11 October 2014




Bellopy Markets article in the Bellingen Courier Sun
It is a critical time for Bellopy Markets. Click on the link below for the latest news
https://www.facebook.com/BellopyMarkets

☂Transition Bellingen





Sunday 12 October 2014

Seed Savers Workshop

This event is included although there are not any places left.



Charlie Mgee cheers up the world with his music, including his songs about the 12 principles of Permaculture
click on the link below to hear them
 Formidable Vegetable Sound System, 2 October 2014
Tilling-520x220




Saturday 1 November 2014

Bellingen River Festival

check out their Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/bellingenriverfestival




Saturday 15 November 2014




Thursday and Friday 20/21 November 2014
'Sustainability Elders' 

- Live interviews and Q&A with local sustainability practitioners, facilitated by Dr Charlie Brennan
When: 6pm, 20th and 21st November
Where: Bellingen Youth Hub
Cost: $25 for one session ($40 for two!)

There is a theory that it takes 10,000 hours, or 10 years to become really good at something. Such practitioners take an idea or ideal and try to apply it again and again through series of successes and disappointments. They become the ‘change you want to see in the world’. They are patient, imaginative, innovative, flexible and often quietly focused. Our guests for these interviews are specialists in their respective diverse sustainability fields.

Workshop participants will learn all about applied sustainability from people who have dedicated their lives to it, participate in Q & As and will help in drawing out insights from the interviews. This innovative project pays respect to sustainability elders and is for people who want to take their own sustainability practices to the next level.

Charlie Brennan has long been fascinated by how to live sustainably in our landscapes and places. He is a Social Ecologist, lectures in ethics & sustainability and sense of place and has a background in the design, teaching, research and implementation of Landscape, Permaculture, Edible Streetscapes and conservation projects. http://www.charliebrennan.info
For bookings or more information, email info@cel.org.au or call Zoe on 0400 665 810.


Transition Network News October 2014

click on the link below to see what Totnes is doing to revitalise local employment. 


Atmos Totnes Creates National Precedent
"I’ve waited seven years to write this article" writes Rob Hopkins.

It’s been seven years of highs and lows, of moments of intense frustration and great elation, of patience and determination. "Very slowly,with a loud creaking of rusty hinges, the great iron gates of the factory began to swing open. The crowd became suddenly silent"

http://www.transitionnetwork.org/news/2014-09-26/atmos-totnes-creates-national-precedent



Last comment

We are happy to inform you about projects other than those organised by Transition Bellingen, if they contribute to resilience and help our community.

Transition Bellingen is an incorporated body with public liability and product liability insurance coverage for small projects that meet our objectives.

The umbrella shown against a number of projects above represents that protection.



Thanks for your time

David Wallin
__________________________________________________________________

September 2014 Newsletter


Read on for all the latest and greatest Transition Bellingen news and events.
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Transition Bellingen News

We are sending out this email early because there are so many activities coming up in
September and October. Regular projects are listed in right hand bar.

Saturday 13 September  

Bellingen Seed Savers (☂Transition) will have a stall at  the Plant Fair distributing locally grown seeds and plant material which have adapted to our local climate. They will be offering advice on the saving and propagation of seeds.








Sunday 14 September



Thursday 18 September

World Bamboo Day
with events being organised by Bello Bamboo on Friday 19 September and over the weekend see http://www.bellobamboo.com/

Sunday 21 September

Goodwill Picnic on International Peace Day

☂T a wonderful idea being organised by Jaki Lockyer


Tuesday 7 October

Native Bee Workshop

☂T organised by Strider




Saturday 11 October

Honey!! Be Self-Sustainable




In the shops now


Kombu is included in the new Permaculture Magazine "pip" with a photograph of the garden in front of Kombu, which I last saw being tended by Charlie Brennan.





Why the interest in "pip"? It is a beautiful magazine and there is a powerful connection between the Transition Towns Network and Permaculture.

The Transition Handbook states that " One of the principal foundations of the Transition concept is permaculture" and it "can be thought of as the design glue and ethical foundations we use to underpin Transition work" 

Our Permaculture Collective is dormant at the moment which is a pity - look at the happy photos on http://www.permcollmnc.blogspot.com.au

If any one would like to discuss waking up this project, please email us at transitionbellingen@gmail.com


The September Transition Network News has a link to an article about Transition and Permaculture http://transitionfreepress.org/2014/08/25/on-the-edge-how-permaculture-and-transition-meet/

Last comment
Transition Bellingen is an incorporated body with public liability and product liability insurance coverage for small projects that meet our objectives.

The umbrella shown against a number of projects above represents that protection.


Thanks for your time

David Wallin



 __________________________________________________________________________________

August 2014 Newsletter


This newsletter is sent out around the middle of the month. Items of interest can become available any time during the month and these will be included on our Blog and Facebook, as soon as they arise. Please keep an eye on these internet resources, details in right hand column.

Transition Bellingen Activities
Sunday 7 September  

FREEMARKET will be held at the Bellingen Showgrounds 2-3pm
In addition to all the wonderful things to pick up, there is now a Food Table (mostly fruit ). Come and talk to David Pepper about his ideas on "Share Gardening and Harvesting" or ring him on 6655 0949


Saturday 13 September
Bellingen Seed Savers
 are preparing for the Bellingen Plant Fair on 13 September and packed more than 200 seed envelopes at a recent working bee. More will be done to ensure that locally acclimatised seeds can be  distributed to the community on that day.
Save Some, Plant Some, Share Some. Heritage seeds for future health and survival.


Bellopy Markets have moved. Keep an eye on their Facebook for breaking news https://www.facebook.com/BellopyMarkets
October -  Native Bee  Workshop – under discussion, watch Blog and Facebook for details as they arise.

Other Groups Activities
Saturday 30 August -
FESTIVAL for our FUTURE
  at North Bank Community Gardens

This is an initiative of Bellingen youth. They created the idea during the YOUth LEADing the World (YLTW) Congress in Bellingen.
They invite the Bellingen community to join them in creating a FAIR FUTURE. The Festival will feature local FOOD, FUN and FOLKS from local sustainability organisations.
 OzGREEN and the Northbank Community Garden are teaming up to support the young people who are driving the festival.
YLTW is an OzGREEN program that brings youth together to tackle wicked problems & create positive change. www.ozgreen.org
https://www.facebook.com/events/1395092400715626/?ref=22


From the Centre for Ecological Learning
Sunday 14 September -
"Create Your Own Permaculture Garden" 

at Bellingen High School Community Gardens

You are invited to come along and get your hands dirty next month with our own local Permaculture consultant and expert, Charlie Brennan.
- Discover the practical skills of soil preparation and planting by creating a garden bed
- Learn how to make compost
- Learn about the people who inspired Permaculture
- Identify, use and cultivate useful plants for the garden
- Find out about different planting styles - backyard garden, market garden, food forest etc

When: Sunday, 14 September, 9am - 4pm
Where: Bellingen Highschool Community Garden
Cost: $60, morning tea included
Charlie has long-term experience in the design, teaching, research and implementation of Landscape, Permaculture, Edible Streetscapes and conservation projects. http://www.charliebrennan.info

For more information or to book for the workshop, please respond to this email
or contact Zoe on 0400 665 810.


Bower House –Reuse Centre
Hopefully you have already heard about the opening of the Bellingen Shire Council’s Bower House – a new reuse centre at Raleigh.
It has the most amazing “found object” sculpture created by Nick Warfield see photograph below.




Transition Network Newsletter for August 2014 
Basically they have gone on holiday, but there is an interesting article on "celebration"
http://www.transitionnetwork.org/blogs/rob-hopkins/2014-07/transitioners-digest-july
 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

July 2014 Newsletter


Workshops

Renowned natural therapist, teacher and author
Pat Collins will share her wealth of experience
and vast knowledge , presenting
two workshops on 26 and 27 July


FREE Market

The July Free Market was held at the Bellingen Showgrounds
on Sunday 6 July and attended by nearly 60 people.


See photos on our blog http://transitionbellingen.blogspot.com  

Transition Network News July 2014



Bellingen North Bank Community Gardens

For details on renewing membership or supporting this amazing venture, have a look at our blog
http://transitionbellingen.blogspot.com.au/2014_07_10_archive.html


------------------------------------------------------

June 2014 Newsletter



Transition Bellingen News

Bellingen Seed Savers  Gathering:  Sunday 22 June 1-3.45pm at The Youth Hub in Bellingen (corner Church and William St)
We all love to visit gardens but there is rarely any time to look back on our progress and discuss and make plans for the rest of the year and into the future.  
This afternoon will be an opportunity to share feed-back about our progress so far, share some visioning for the future, plans for the rest of this year and beyond.  We will also watch films, share an excellent afternoon tea and have some fun.  The Youth Hub is a lovely, comfortable space for us to do all these things.
Everyone is invited - if you have never been to any of our Gatherings, this will be an excellent time to get to know us and learn more about our philosophy.  We are a very friendly group and you will feel welcome.  We are all about sharing - our seeds, plants, skills, knowledge. 
Please bring some afternoon tea to share, any plants and seeds you have to share - labelled of course - and a notebook  + your ideas.

Irene 6655 9090



Transition Network

Transition Bellingen is part of the International Transition Network which produces a monthly newsletter and in the June edition there was an interesting article called "Let's focus on local prosperity rather than UK growth" Have a read

http://www.reconomy.org/lets-focus-on-local-prosperity-rather-than-uk-growth/ 



In July there are two events on the same weekend


Pat Collins's workshops Saturday and Sunday 26/27 July 2014



The Bellingen Citrus Trail Festival - Saturday 26 July 2014


“the bellingen citrus trail festival”


OUR VISION

The vision of the Bellopy markets is to continue to build and strengthen our community through our celebration and appreciation of our local organic produce and our growers.

CONCEPT

Transition Bellingen will be auspicing this one day Festival. The citrus trail will be held on Saturday 26th July. The idea is simple. We want to bring our community together to celebrate our wonderful citrus season. We have an abundance of citrus trees growing throughout our town either in peoples backyards or their streets. . The idea for this festival is to invite anyone living in town who has such a tree or knows someone who does to enter the citrus trail festival.

Participants can have a stall on their own or share it with friends or neighbours. Applications will close end of June . Applications can be picked up from the local businesses that have donated prizes for the festival….these include alchemy, kombu, Bellopy markets, sweet Bellingen, weave, bello food box, the IGA, 2 Oak street, hearthfire and the emporium.

Participants will erect a roadside stall in front of their house and will make a flag indicating their stall number on their letter box.

The event will start at 9am at the Anglican church where all trail blazers will pick up their trailblazer map of Bellingen indicating the stalls and their products, the back of the map will be a scorecard.

Surrounding farms and properties can also participate but will have their stall at the church itself or can join forces with a friend in town.

The community can visit as many stalls as they want as long as it is on foot, bike, horse, skateboard and etc…. This way they get to exercise and meet new people along the way and see the town.

There will be prizes for both stallholders and trailblazers… which will be collated at the church after 1pm when the trail closes. Each stall will have a charity tin at their stall and trailblazers can deposit donations in the box to show their appreciation of the tasting. If people want to ‘buy’ a recipe they particularly like they can make a gold coin donation for it. If the stallholder wants to give the recipe away…they will indicate it at their stalls. Our local charity will be a grass roots volunteer run charity.

The trail will close at 1pm…and will finish back where it started at the Anglican Church. There will be some food vendors and live music for all the families and stalls to enjoy and share the rest of the day…with the aim of finishing at 4pm. Winners will be announced and prizes handed out after lunch.

There will be prizes for best stall, best juice, best food, best stallholder, best trailblazer costume, best dressed trailblazer pet, best dressed trailblazer mode of transport, fastest trailblazers to sample every stall.

We aim to promote this festival to our neighbouring shire..coffs harbour, valla, bonville, bowraville, Nambucca, Dorrigo etc… in an effort to build our regional community as well as our town itself…hopefully we can inspire these towns to do something similar.

THE COMMITTEE

The festival will be run by a group of 4 local volunteers and we have applied to council for a community events grant we hope to receive something towards this event.

Kind Regards,

Susan Weil
Bellopy Markets

If you have got this far you will realise that this newsletter does not have Lisa's gentle touch.
She will be back from overseas in a few weeks time. Bon voyage Lisa.

Events coming up:


Friday, 20 June - Bellopy Markets  8:00-1:30 @Anglican Church, Bellingen

Sunday 22 June Bellingen Seed Savers 1-3.45 at the Youth Hub Bellingen


Friday, 4 July - Bellopy Markets  8:00-1:30 @Anglican Church, Bellingen

Sunday, 6 July - Freemarket. 2:00 pm @ Bellingen Showgrounds.

Friday, 18 July - 
Bellopy Markets  8:00-1:30 @Anglican Church, Bellingen

Saturday, 20 July - "Active Hope" Deep Ecology workshop @ Bellingen Showgrounds. Sponsored by Centre for Ecological Learning. Contact Alon alonzi_66@hotmail.comor 
0419233808 to register

Saturday 26 July Bellingen 
Citrus Trail Festival 1-4pm starting at Anglican Church Bellingen

Saturday 26 July 
DIY Natural Cosmetics workshop 9-4pm at Bellingen Showgrounds

Sunday 27 July 
GO Bush! Wild foods and survival skills workshop9-4pm at Bellingen Showground.








For more about Transition Bellingen go to transitionbellingen.blogspot.com.au

The blog is updated as information arrives,so check it frequently

Transition Bellingen Facebook 


email: transitionbellingen@gmail.com

(and check out the international Transition happenings at
 transitionnetwork.org)



May 2014 Newsletters


We need Transition now more than ever...what part will you take?

Come join us at our next PLANNING MEETING - NEXT THURSDAY, 29 MAY from 7:00-9:00 pm at the Bellingen Youth Hub (William St, Bellingen). We will be learning more about Transition Culture (see below) and also doing some hands-on Project Planning. This meeting is a follow on from last week's meeting, at which 12 enthusiastic people (some new, some old) shared and learned and planned together. 


How is Transition like a cake? 
(From www. transitionnetwork.org/ingredients

L et's be clear; there is no right way to do Transition.

Every initiative does it differently, and that’s part of the fun of the whole thing. Think of it like cooking. There are all kinds of amazing ingredients we can assemble in order to make, say, a cake, and the creation of every cook will be unique, reflecting his or her abilities and culture, and the local resources available.

At the same time, there are certain time-proven stages to successful cake baking. You can’t just put the flour in a bowl, throw in some butter, put it in the oven and expect a cake to emerge. That wouldn’t work at all.

Similarly, with Transition there are distinct stages the process goes through, from meeting equally enthused people and deciding to give Transition a go (‘Starting out’), to finding that you are now becoming a viable, vibrant project (‘Deepening’), then trying to broaden your engagement with the local community (‘Connecting’) and scaling up what you are doing in order to make localisation a reality on the ground (‘Building’).  Lastly, there is a visionary, speculative stage of looking forward to how things might be if this happened everywhere (‘Daring to Dream’).  That’s where things get really interesting.


Things are already interesting in Transition Bellingen....we are definitely in the "Building" phase. Come build with us! See you Thursday.



WHAT:  You are invited to an important Transition Bellingen gathering this coming Thursday, 15 May - from 7:00-9:00 pm at the Bellingen Youth Hub (William St, Bellingen).

From 7:00-8:00 the focus will be on "Transition Culture" - who is Transition and how and why does it work? From 8:00-9:00 we will move into active planning mode.

WHY: Transition Bellingen has been going strong since 2009. And that is because there have been a lot of people putting the hard yards in. Right now, inspired by our latest workshops and all the ideas and projects that have come up because of them, Transition Bellingen is in need of people who are keen to take on some useful tasks - publicity, meeting facilitation, project planning, all that good stuff! If you are looking to do some good work with some great people for a meaningful purpose....COME ALONG to the gathering. If you can't make it but would still like to put your hand up for a task/job/project - contact us ontransitionbellingen@gmail.com.

 

And furthermore..

At the recent Economics of Happiness workshops, a small group of writers/editors was formed to create regular 'Strengthening Local Communities' articles for our local newspaper. The aim is to profile successful localisation initiatives and ideas from around globe and explore how they might be relevant to the Bellingen Shire. The next steps for this group are to work up some sample articles and approach the newspaper with the idea. Anyone interested in writing and/or editing for this group can contact Melissa via transitionbellingen@gmail.com.
 
____________________________________________________________________________________ 



April 2014 Newsletter



Transition Bellingen News

Economics of Happiness workshops...working towards a "New Economy" 
by Ute Schulenberg


Inspired by her film ‘The Economics of Happiness’ or perhaps simply curious about the ‘buzz’, sixty people attended the two Bellingen workshops with Helena Norberg-Hodge last week.  And they were not disappointed.

The 68-year-old pioneer of the localisation movement, articulator of core ideas for counter-development and director of the International Society for Ecology and Culture shared her ideas about the suffering created by the impacts of globalisation with warmth and enthusiasm.

With the wisdom gained from 30 years of careful observation, she both demystified the mixed messages about the global economy and offered hope in what is often seen as a bleak future.

“We are told consumerism is the glue of the world and at the same time we are made to feel guilty for being consumers and therefore promoting global warming,” Ms Norberg-Hodge said. “We are prisoners of this global economy … but we are also able to liberate ourselves, it is not an easy thing to do but it is possible.”

Hers is a realistic voice of how that bridge can be built between the global reality and the lifestyles we desire that give us and the planet time to breathe. “I call it creative schizophrenia,” she laughed.

Her two-prong approach is simple: “Firstly we must actively raise the consciousness about holistic views that offer solutions. We need to build the numbers of people who are actively involved in order to help force policy changes.

“And secondly we need to work on connecting locally, connecting as communities and creating community-based solutions that empower people to create their own economies. The system we have now destroys jobs, local economies, our water, our health.”

She said local food networks were an excellent example of an alternative system that benefited many. “This is consumer supported agriculture… that shortens distances, offers more diversity, uses fewer chemicals (as opposed to monocultures) and results in greater productivity. This leads to a better lifestyle for both the farmer and the consumer.”

But the workshops were much more than a talk-fest. A session with local choir maestro Brian Martin gave participants a living experience of what connectivity feels like … in the space of 30 minutes he had the group tuned in and singing three part harmonies – and sounding pretty good!

Then the gathering morphed into a World Café (community-sharing forum) where ideas of what could be done were shared and honed.

These included everything from large-scale ideas like a shire-wide electricity generation scheme and a plant-based economy using hemp and bamboo to connecting people to harvest each other’s excess citrus or helping people identify bush tucker in their own gardens.

Co-coordinator Lisa Siegel said it was exciting to see so many people engaging with the ideas. “Helena’s message is so timely – many people have a real thirst for meaningful things to do,” Lisa said. “The workshop offered not only information but also the opportunity for people to start focusing on projects.”

Everyone certainly walked away feeling inspired and motivated. Participant Christel Wecker said for her it had been wonderful to spend a day with someone who knew how to explain the impact of globalisation so clearly. “And who is also offering hope and a path to counteract the impacts locally,” Christel said. “She offers a path that takes away the guilt and celebrates the beauty of diversity … and emphasises the importance of global co- operation as opposed to globalisation.”

 

Looking for people who want to help make things happen...

Transition Bellingen has been going strong since 2009. And that is because there have been a lot of people putting the hard yards in. Right now, inspired by our latest workshops and all the ideas and projects that have come up because of them, Transition Bellingen is in need of people who are keen to take on some useful tasks - publicity, meeting facilitation, project planning, all that good stuff! If you are looking to do some good work with some great people for a meaningful purpose....COME ALONG to a planning meeting on THURSDAY, 15 MAY from 7:00-8:30 pm at the Bellingen Youth Hub. If you can't make it but would still like to put your hand up for a task/job/project - contact us ontransitionbellingen@gmail.com.


And furthermore..

At the recent Economics of Happiness workshops, a small group of writers/editors was formed to create regular 'Strengthening Local Communities' articles for our local newspaper. The aim is to profile successful localisation initiatives and ideas from around globe and explore how they might be relevant to the Bellingen Shire. The next steps for this group are to work up some sample articles and approach the newspaper with the idea. Anyone interested in writing and/or editing for this group can contact Melissa via transitionbellingen@gmail.com.

Events coming up:

Friday, 2 May - Bellopy Markets 8.00-1.30 @ Anglican Church, Bellingen

Friday, 2 May - National Day of Divestment Action - Coffs Harbour12:30 pm @City Square, Harbour Dr, Coffs Harbour. Divest from the Big 4 Banks that have invested $19 billion in new coal/gas projects. Contact Lareena Groves on 
0409317078 or via Facebook for more info, or check outwww.350.org.au.

Sat-Sun, 3-4 May - "Where the Wild Things Are" - EYE Bush Skills Camp for Grown Ups - @ Bundagen Community. An opportunity to reconnect with yourself and this beautiful planet- treat yourself! Emailinfo@bellingeneye.com or ring Olivia 0408322393

Sunday, 4 May - Freemarket. 2:00 pm @ Bellingen Showgrounds.

Thursday, 15 May - Transition Bellingen planning meeting. 7:00 pm@ the Bello Youth Hub.

Friday, 16 May - Bellopy Markets  8:00-1:30 @Anglican Church, Bellingen

Thursday, 22 May - Seed Savers Gathering. Contact Irene on 6655 9090 or treeferns@westnet.com.au
 for more info

Fri-Mon, 23-26 May - True Nature Women's Meditation Retreat with Radha Nicholson and Judy Baderle @Yarrahappinni Retreat Centre. Contact Liane for info: 0418 503 181 or themovementspace@gmail.com.


For more about Transition Bellingen go to transitionbellingen.blogspot.com.au 

(and check out the international Transition happenings at transitionnetwork.org) 


March 2014 Newsletter


Localisation: Coming soon to a town near you.


Thousands of people have protested over the past few days against what is happening in our country - and about too many issues to list here. It is so important that this outcry happened.....and now what?

The theory behind the film "The Economics of Happiness " is that the current global economic system is actually at the roots of our current social, environmental, and political crises: "Economic globalisation has led to a massive expansion in the scale and power of big business and banking. It has also worsened nearly every problem we face: fundamentalism and ethnic conflict; climate chaos and species extinction; financial instability and unemployment" (from theeconomicsofhappiness.org)

But there is a hopeful solution. Helena  Norberg-Hodge defines localization as "a systemic,    far-reaching  alternative to corporate capitalism.... .It’s simply   about creating more accountable and more sustainable economies by producing what we need closer to home....at    the    deepest    level,   localization    is    about    connection. It’s about reestablishing our sense of interdependence with others and with the natural world." (from the Economics of Happiness "study guide") 

The Bellingen Shire is not new to the idea of localisation. Our radio station, 2BBB, has been around for years. We have an amazing array of local food initiatives. Localising energy, education, waste, commerce - all are  topics that are getting a serious look at these days by a variety of groups and individuals.

TRANSITION BELLINGEN WANTS TO HELP TAKE THESE ACTIONS AND CONVERSATIONS FURTHER. Please come along to one of the "Economics of Happiness" workshops which will be taking place on Friday, 11 April, and Saturday, 12 April. Helena Norberg-Hodge will be our guest for the workshops, and they will include integrated discussion, experiential exercises, and a community forum that will help us all to create a clearer vision of how to move forward with the localisation of the Bellingen Shire. Email us at transitionbellingen@gmail.com to register for one of the workshops. Looking forward to seeing you there.



February 2014 Newsletter


Welcome to 2014 in Transition Bellingen!

“Economics of Happiness” made Bellingen happy!
It’s been two weeks since more than 250 people gathered at the Memorial Hall to view the film “The Economics of Happiness” and participate in the forum. But the ripples have yet to die down....We heard the event being discussed for days afterwards at coffee shops, birthday parties, the local swimming pool, and on 2BBB!

SO.... we have decided to “follow the passion” and have invited Helena Norberg-Hodge to return to Bellingen to run some “Economics of Happiness” workshops:  two 2-day workshops – one on Thurs/Fri, 10-11 April, the second on Sat/Sun, 12-13 April. They would be based on the “knowledge into action” model – and would weave academic with experiential.  Helena requested some feedback in regard to interest......so can you please EMAIL US ATtransitionbellingen@gmail.com IF YOU WOULD BE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING ONE OF THE 2 DAY WORKSHOPS?

What else is happening in 2014?

MONTHLY TB EVENTS: We will be continuing with a Transition Event on the last weekend of every month. The March event will be a Picnic (stay tuned for details!) - WHO WANTS TO PLAN THE APRIL EVENT or any month after that? It could be a Forum, a Film Night, a World Cafe, or whatever. We will support you with whatever idea you have - if you have a great idea but no time for planning, share the idea with us anyway!

TB PROJECTS: The following projects have some energy and people behind them already (some are new, some are continuing....) Contact the facilitator directly if you would like to be involved.

Bellingen “Lovingkindness” Picnic Day – Jaki (nevernever00@gmail.com)
Freemarket –  Nina Hogel (transitionbellingen@gmail.com)
Divestment from Fossil Fuels Campaign – Miriam (miria-s@hotmail.com
Community Car Sharing – Linda (lindacdalton@gmail.com)
People Skills Training –  Frances (amaroux@me.com)
Bellingen Community Enterprises -  Gull (gulljh@gmail.com)
Cooperative EcoVillage –  Alon (alonzi_66@hotmail.com)
Transition Bellingen Forums – Transition Bellingen MOB (Management of Business) group (transitionbellingen@gmail.com 

The following ideas got a lot of support, but no one put their hand up at the meeting to lead them......if YOU would like to facilitate, knowing you already have lots of support, contact us!
Gifts/skills trading website using asset register.

Hovercrafts
“2030 The Musical”
Music festival
Revisioning 2020-2030
Working bees around town
Reskilling workshops


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November/December 2013 Newsletter


n this issue of the Transition Bellingen News: "TransCelebrate 2013", Calendar of TB Events, Project Updates, and more. 
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Welcome to the Transition Bellingen News for November/December 2013


What, is 2013 nearly over already? There is no doubt that the world is spinning faster these days! On behalf of the Transition Bellingen "MOB" (Management of Business group) and the "Owls" (advisory group), we would like to invite you all to come celebrate the high points of 2013 (yes, there were many - on the local level, that is...) and dream into the possibilities for 2014. As an incorporated association, we are legally required to hold an AGM yearly, so will have a short one of those as well. This “TransCelebration” is NEXT TUESDAY, 3 DECEMBER at 5:30 pm at No.5 Church Street. We will start  with complimentary nibbles and a short AGM, then move onto dinner (which you can order from a choice of No. 5’s yummy menu items). Over food, we will share an update on what’s happened this year in Transition Bellingen and the wider community, and then have a conversation about what’s next.

We think Transition Bellingen is more crucial than ever in the current climate (both political and weather!) and this calls for us to step up our work, and not let it be chipped away in budget-cutting fervour.  “Transition Bellingen” means all of Bellingen, and the whole Shire, transitioning to a resilient, sustainable, and connected future.  Transition’s success hinges on manyworking together to discover what’s needed, what we’re passionate about, and how to activate ourselves in some way around that. At the gathering next Tuesday, we would like to hear from you all which topics we should address at our monthly Forums next year, and what ideas for projects are out there that need support to get going.

There is logistical stuff to think about too - so along those lines, we have three questions for you:

(1)  How does Transition Bellingen open itself up to involve more people in a wider variety of ways?
(2) Should Transition Bellingen have a formal “membership”?
(3) Do you think that it would be a good idea to pursue crowd funding to start paying a part-time Transition Bellingen coordinator (who would support existing projects, help develop new project ideas, and work on publicity)?

We would love to hear your thoughts and feedback....the more, the better. If you can’t make it to the TransCelebration – please send us an email to let us know what you think.
Looking forward to seeing many of you Tuesday evening! Please RSVP  (transitionbellingen@gmail.com) so we can let No. 5 know how many to expect.


We are not alone!

Did you know that there are over 1100 Transition initiatives in 43 countries? Follow this link to read the newsletter of the Transition Network..... lots of interesting and inspiring stuff ....and it shows that we are not alone!
http://www.transitionnetwork.org/news/2013-10-31/november-2013-transition-network-newsletter
You can also check out the Transition Network website - http://www.transitionnetwork.org  which includes news and blogs and projects and......a huge amount of resources and excellent ideas. Be inspired!








Calendar of Events

Friday, 29 November: BELLOPY MARKETS8:00am - 1:30 pm@Anglican Church.

Sunday, 1 December: ECOFAITH BELLINGEN. 10:30 a.m. at the Bellingen High School Community Garden. "Transitioning to a closer connection between ecology & faith". All welcome. More info www.ecofaith.org

Sunday, 1 December: FREEMARKET. 2:00-3:00 pm@Bellingen Showgrounds.

Tuesday, 3 December: TRANSCELEBRATE - Transition Bellingen dinner and AGM. 5:30 at No. 5 Church St. Come celebrate 2013 and dream up 2014. Please RSVP - transitionbellingen@gmail.com

Thursday, 5 December: BELLINGEN SEED SAVERS. 1 pm - garden visit to Spickett's Creek. Contact 6655 9090 for more info.

Friday,  6 December
BELLOPY MARKETS8:00am - 1:30 pm@Anglican Church.

Sunday, 15 December: ECOFAITH BELLINGEN. 10:30 a.m. at the Bellingen High School Community Garden. "Transitioning to a closer connection between ecology & faith". All welcome. More info www.ecofaith.org

Friday,  20 DecemberBELLOPY MARKETS8:00am - 1:30 pm@Anglican Church.
 


Transition Projects

(In alphabetical order!)

BELLINGEN SEED SAVERS

Bellingen Seed Savers have been a successful and popular project of Transition Bellingen since 2009, and have a large and enthusiastic membership. Their next gathering is on Thursday, 5 December at 1:00 pm out at David and Irene's garden at Spicketts Creek - finally the year long major roadworks are done and they are celebrating their new found freedom. This is the last gathering for the year. Please ring Irene on 6655 9090 if you would like to attend.

BELLOPY MARKETS
The aim of the Bellopy Markets is to be a fantastic organic/humane choice ‘foodie’ market in the area, a one stop shop. We support local (within three hours of Bellingen), sustainable, and ethically grown organic and biodynamic produce. We want to support our local organic farmers to stay in business and to get a fair price for the produce they sell, as well as personalising our shopping experience by “shaking the hands that grow our food”. The market is free for all stallholders and the donation bucket out the front gate allows us to keep it that way.    
We have fruit and veg, cheese yogurts, pork, ham, sausages, mince, grass fed beef,buffalo meat and sausages, buffalo mozzarella, gelato, honey, hand made soaps and locally wovend baskets.  Come and support our local farmers who are trying to recover from the hail storms.

FREEMARKET
This popular monthly event takes place on the first Sunday of the month, from 2:00-3:00 pm at the Bellingen Showgrounds. If you have to stuff to give away then bring it over with you. If you don't have stuff then come and browse for treasures. It's as simple as that.  
If you would like to be part of the rota list of volunteers who run the market every month - email us at transitionbellingen@gmail. com and let us know! Freemarket is now on Facebook! Look up "Bellingen Freemarket:.

RESKILLING WORKSHOPS
The Transition Bellingen “Re-Skilling Workshops” have been inspired by the idea of ‘The Great Re-Skilling’: as we move away from a fossil fuel based society, we search for ways to meet our basic life needs. This creates the opportunity for us to acquire new knowledge and skills - which might sometimes be "old" skills! Transition Bellingen has now completed two years of Reskilling Workshops, supported by the Bellingen Shire Environmental Levy. Topics ranged from Jams & Conserves and Cheesemaking to our last workshop "Native Bee Keeping" (co sponsored with Bellinger Landcare). Over 200 people have participated in these workshops .....that is a lot of new/old skills being  learned!
      

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October 2013 Newsletter


In this issue of the Transition Bellingen News: "Transitioning Transition", Calendar of TB Events, Project Updates, and more.
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Welcome to the Transition Bellingen News for October 2013


Working Group formed from last Transforum

Great news folks - as a direct result of the last Transforum for 2013 - 'Can we get Bellingen Off the Grid', a working group has been formed to further advance this concept. We are delighted to report that the working group consists of Paul Bryce - co chair (retired academic, Adj Prof/Founding Assoc Director, Institute for Sustainable Futures @UTS); Donella Bryce - co chair (Facilitator of 8 Step Process for Community Development Projects); Vicki Parkes Treasurer/Secretary (Treasurer and Public Officer for Transition Bellingen);  Sinclair Park (Co-ordinator of Bellingen’s first TedX event- to be held 19 Oct 2013);  Geoff Tosio (Renewable Energy Consultant, Bellingen Solar Depot); Donovan Craig (President North Bank Community Garden; Snapfrozen Website Designs); Reiner Schimminger (Eco Architect, Schimminger Architects); and Guy Saddleton (President Bellingen Chamber of Commerce and Chairperson for Transition Bellingen).

As they say....'watch this space'.....step 1 & 2 of the 8 step process is engaging with the community to investigate the real level of support for this concept.



"Youth Leading the World"

The young people involved in Youth Leading the World in Bello would like to invite youth and enviro organisations to send a representative to a meeting about their proposed Youth Eco-Festival in Youth Week 2014. The Festival is the main part of their action plan from YLTW. They are keen to run the event in partnership with other organisations.
Youth Eco-Festival info Mtg - Friday 15 November 4pm at the Youth Hub. Please rsvp to yltwbello@ozgreen.org.au



"Native Bees"

Olivia has a hive of native bees in her backyard that she has been looking after for 2 years or so. Tim Heard (world-renowned expert in Australia's native, stingless bee species) is popping in to Bellingen to help her split the hive and extract the honey, two important activities. The good news, is that Strider is working towards coordinating a one-day intensive course on native beekeeping with Tim Heard: . Covering details of native bees and how to encourage them in your garden, hive design, hive splitting and honey extraction.

Stingless bees are Australia's indigenous social bee. They are harmless and well suited to home gardens and are effective pollinators of many garden plants, plus hey yield small amounts of delectable honey.  These bees make the best garden pets ever, are completely safe for everyone and provide beautiful learning opportunities for kids around pollination and the natural cycles within your garden. They are great tools for environment education as they are inherently fascinating to children and have many interactions with plants and other insects.

So that we can gauge interest If anyone interested in attending a one day workshop could email Strider at babasman@gmail.com, nominating whether a weekday or weekend event would suit you better, it would be appreciated.



"Bellofoodbox special deal for October"

Bellofoodbox is offering a special deal in October  - order and pay for 4 Bellofoodboxes in advance by 30th October to receive a $20 credit to use towards a Bellofoodbox or in store at Bellingen Greengrocers.








Calendar of TransBelloEvents

Friday, 1 November: BELLOPY MARKETS. 8:00am - 1:30 pm @Anglican Church.
Sunday, 3 November: FREEMARKET. 2:00-3:00 pm @Bellingen Showgrounds.
Friday, 15 November: BELLOPY MARKETS. 8:00am - 1:30 pm @Anglican Church.
Friday, 29 November: BELLOPY MARKETS. 8:00am - 1:30 pm @Anglican Church.

Transition Projects

(In alphabetical order!)

BELLINGEN SEED SAVERS

Bellingen Seed Savers have been a successful and popular project of Transition Bellingen since 2009, and have a large and enthusiastic membership. They usually have monthly gatherings, but are hibernating until July. Watch the July newsletter for more information.

BELLOPY MARKETS
    NEWS FROM SUSAN, MARKETS COORDINATOR
: The Bellopy Organic Farmers Market launched in February and has grown steadily since its inception. Our aim is to be a fantastic organic/humane choice ‘foodie’ market in the area, a one stop shop. We support local (within three hours of Bellingen), sustainable, and ethically grown organic and biodynamic produce. We want to support our local organic farmers to stay in business and to get a fair price for the produce they sell, as well as personalising our shopping experience by “shaking the hands that grow our food”. The market is free for all stallholders and the donation bucket out the front gate allows us to keep it that way.
    We now have 17 regular stallholders, ranging from seasonal fruit and veggies to honey, pork, beef, buffalo, gelato, cheeses, yoghurts and artisan breads. We also have a great organic “cheap eats” outdoor café with coffee, juices and Asian fare, plus a range of local buskers.

Bellopy markets supported mental health month last Friday with an information stall run by Mel from CHESS and a new busker.
Bellopys aim is to support our local farmers and bring the community the highest quality produce we can at a fair price. We have fruit and veg, cheese yogurts, pork, ham, sausages, mince, grass fed beef,buffalo meat and sausages, buffalo mozzarella, gelato, honey, hand made soaps and locally weaved baskets. Our cafe serves cheap eats: organic Asian fare, pork buns, fried potato balls, curry puffs, rice paper rolls, pakoras juices, and eggs for breakfast. See you at the next market Nov 1


FREEMARKET
This popular monthly event usually happens on the first Sunday of the month, from 2:00-3:00 pm at the Bellingen Showgrounds. Moshik has been spearheading this for the last three years - onya Mosh! He is now wanting to share the joy around, and thus a rota of people have volunteered to take on the running of the Freemarket each month. This includes putting out signs, opening up, cleaning up, dealing with donations, etc. If you would like to be part of the rota list - email us at transitionbellingen@gmail. com and let us know!

RESKILLING WORKSHOPS
NEWS FROM OLIVIA, WORKSHOPS COORDINATOR:
The Transition Bellingen “Re-Skilling Workshops” have been inspired by the Transition idea of ‘The Great Re-Skilling’: as we move away from a fossil fuel based society, we search for ways to meet our basic life needs. This creates challenges and opportunities for each one of us to acquire new knowledge and skills. These "new" skills are often old skills, such as bread-making, preserving seasonal food, or making our own medicinal remedies. Re-learning skills as a community will also increase local resilience, lower our environmental impact, create new networks and strengthen our sense of community
      Over the past two years Transition Bellingen, supported by Bellingen Shire Council’s Environmental Levy, have run two series of workshops. In the latest series (2012-2013),  the seven Re-Skilling Workshops have been: Introduction to Bee Keeping; Jams & Conserves (run twice due to popular demand); Sourdough Bread Baking (also twice); Wild Fermentation  (making fermented goodies at home); and Edible Weeds.
     
The second series of the Transition Bellingen Re-Skilling Workshops has successfully been completed. Over the past year and a half, 9 workshops on a range of themes were run by local experts : making conserves from seasonal produce, bread making, cheese making, bee keeping, food fermenting, identifying and using edible weeds and making healing remedies from wild plants.


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August 2013 Newsletter


In this issue of the Transition Bellingen News: "Taking Local Food to the next level", Calendar of TB Events, Project Updates, and more.
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Transition Bellingen News for August 2013


"How do we take Local Food to the next level?" Sunday, 25 August

Our successful TransForum series has now reached Number 4. When we heard that it was the inaugural "Fair Food Week" from 19-25 August, we thought that the obvious choice of topic for this coming Forum was "Sustainable Food"! But there was a bit of dissent....a feeling that there is so much going on already on the topic of Local/Organic/Sustainable food that it wasn't really necessary or desirable to have another "talkfest" about it. And it is true - the Bellingen Shire boasts: two dedicated farmer's markets; two community gardens; local grocery shops and butchers that support the idea of local and organic food as an important goal; business people, community groups, and a Council that actively support the idea of "Edible Streetscapes"; a multitude of workshops and classes on the topic of growing/preserving/cooking food; and countless individuals and families who put a high priority on growing their own food.

But still......there is more to talk about, and definitely more to do. While we are making huge progress in this area, the Bellingen Shire is still a way off of getting off the "food grid" - and being able to grow and supply all of our own food. There are many questions around this - what does "Local" mean exactly? How can we possibly stand in the face of the two super giants of food supply? How do we create partnerships with all the farmers and food growers with their differing opinions and worldviews?

We chose the question of "How do we take Local Food to the next level?" in order to facilitate a conversation that will hopefully start to answer some of these questions for our Shire. We have an interesting and passionate panel of presenters to bring some ideas to get us started on the conversation. Susan Weil, the founder of Bellopy Organic Markets (and a biodynamic farmer, family counsellor, and business coach) will get us started by talking about the place of organics/biodynamics in our food supply. Maida Bugg, owner of Buggaree Red Polls in Urunga, will share with us her thoughts on local meat and dairy products.  Kevin Doye, local food campaigner and owner of Kombu Wholefoods, will present a "bigger picture" of how a truly sustainable local food chain could look.

So please come along to the TransForum - this Sunday, 25 August at the Uniting Church Hall in Bellingen. Afternoon tea will be served from 2:30 (if anyone would like to bake, you would be very popular!!), with the program starting at 3:00 sharp. After the panel presentation, there will be a Q&A session, followed by discussion in small groups on topics that arise. We like to finish by 5:00, with an extra half an hour through 5:30 for chatting and one more cup of tea.

And if you are in town beforehand - please do come share in the "Local Food Celebration" at No.5 Church Street, from 12:30-2:30. During the past few weeks, the young people of Bellingen EYE (www.bellingeneye.com) have been working with Kombu and mentors Charlie Brennan and Lunci to create a living food garden and mural out the front of Kombu. The garden and mural will be launched this Sunday at a local food meal at No.5 Church Street. Please reserve your tickets ($10 each) if you wish to eat - or just come by and celebrate!


Calendar of TransBelloEvents

Saturday, 24 August: BSC ENVIRONMENTAL LEVY COMMUNITY FUND INFO SESSION. Grants of up to $5000 available to community groups. 10:00 am @ Uniting Church Hall. Email seager@bellingen.nsw.gov.au for more info.
Sunday, 25 August: BELLINGEN EYE LOCAL FOOD GARDEN & MURAL LAUNCH. 12:30-2:30, outside of Kombu Wholefoods. More info at www.bellingeneye.com.au.
Sunday, 25 August: TRANSitionFORUM: 
"How do we take Local Food to the next level?" 2:30-5:30 pm @Uniting Church Hall
Friday, 30 August
BELLOPY MARKETS. 8:00am - 1:30 pm @Anglican Church.
Saturday, 31 August: FREE UNIVERSITY OF BELLINGEN: "A Passion for Peace: Stuart Rees in conversation with Richard Hil @ 241 Lodge Cafe, 6:00-8:00 pm. $5.
Sunday, 1 September: FREEMARKET. 2:00-3:00 pm @Bellingen Showgrounds.
Friday, 6 September
BELLOPY MARKETS. 8:00am - 1:30 pm @Anglican Church.
Fri-Sun, 6-8 September: BELLINGEN EYE art/heart/earth camp @ Cascade Environmental Ed Centre. For youth in Year 8+. Go to www.bellingeneye.com for more info.
Friday, 20 SeptemberBELLOPY MARKETS. 8:00am - 1:30 pm @Anglican Church.
Sunday, 29 September: TRANSitionFORUM: 
"Can Bello get off the Grid?" 2:30-5:30 @ Uniting Church Hall
Save the Date! Saturday, 19 October: Bellingen TEDx @ the Memorial Hall, Bellingen.


Transition Projects

(In alphabetical order!)

BELLINGEN SEED SAVERS

Bellingen Seed Savers are busy preparing for out stall at the Bellingen Spring Plant Fair on Saturday, 14 September. Our aim is to share our locally adapted seeds and plant material with the community. Do have a look at our blog: bellingenseedsaversunderground.blogspot.com.au.

BELLOPY MARKETS
Local, ethical, sustainable and fun! We care about sustainable farming practices, locally grown food and artisan products...find us on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Friday of each month at the Anglican Church, Bellingen., from 8:00-1.30. See you there.

FREEMARKET
Anyone who wishes to 'run' a Freemarket can email /text me. It is probably preferable that is someone who has been to the Freemarket several times and knows how it runs! When emailing please specify a preferred month you have in mind or months you can't volunteer in.  I will then add your name to our growing list of people who are happy to volunteer to run the Freemarket and contact you when appropriate! Thanks...Moshik  moshik.goffer@gmail.com  0411 574 373
RESKILLING WORKSHOPS
The Transition Bellingen “Re-Skilling Workshops” have been running for two years. There are two more workshops in the 2013 series, which will be offered in the spring:
(1) 21 & 22 September: “Plants at your Doorstep” with Pat Collins, author of the book ‘Useful Weeds at our Doorstep’. . You will learn how to use local plants for health and first aid, and recognise useful local weeds, as well as make an ointment, cream, syrup, lozenges, tea, and capsules. $60 per day, some concessions available. REGOS OPEN NOW - places filling fast! Email Olivia at transitionbellingen@gmail.com for more info.
(2) Intro to Bee Keeping (date TBA). Watch out for more info.
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July 2013 Newsletter


In this issue of the Transition Bellingen News: "Creating a Local Green Economy", Calendar of TB Events, Project Updates, and more. 

Transition Bellingen News for July 2013



"Creating a Local Green Economy" - Sunday, 28 July

One of the suggestions at the last TransForum was that we start looking at the Bellingen Shire as an "Eco Village". That sounds good to us - really, with all of our amazing and plentiful natural and human resources, there is no reason why the Bellingen Shire should not become known as "The Most Sustainable Shire in Australia". Steps towards this are happening every day throughout the Shire, whether conscious or not. The challenge is: how do we make this journey conscious and purposeful, and share it with a large and diverse percentage of our population?

It is good to begin a journey with information sharing and gathering. The next three TransForums will continue the exploration of what is already happening in the Shire in regards to sustainability. So please COME ON DOWN to the TRANSitionFORUM on SUNDAY, 28 JULY from 3:00-5:30 pm to the Uniting Church Hall, where the topic will be "Is a Green, Local, Economy Possible?". There will be three short presentations from Guy Saddleton (President, Bellingen Chamber of Commerce), Liz Jeremy (General Manager, Bellingen Shire Council) and Sinclair Park (Sustainability Park project). Q&A will follow, then Open Space discussion. The Forum is open to anyone who is interested!! Please RSVP if you would like child minding.

Waste Review
On June 30 an interested crowd gathered at the TransForum to hear about "What's Happening with our Waste". Daan Schiebaan, Manager of Natural Resources and Sustainability for Bellingen Shire Council described how the current system of waste disposal works - essentially, we are in a three Council partnership that uses the state of the art recycling centre in Coffs Harbour, with the pleasing result of the Bellingen Shire having one of the highest recycling rates in NSW.  Councillor Dom King reminded us that we still have too much waste, and shared some ideas of social enterprise that might point the way towards dealing with our garbage while creating a stronger local economy. Wadzy from "Waste to Wealth" shared the wonders of biochar with us, and summed the whole topic up succinctly by pointing out that we really need to shift our consciousness around the idea of "Waste" – we should think of how we can convert all “waste” into something useful – whether it be energy, or new products, or fertiliser. The second part of the Forum was discussion groups around three different topics brought up by participants: How to Reduce, Biochar, and Using Social Enterprise to deal with Waste. These discussions led to fruitful and meaningful ideas and connections that apparently had wider effects in the weeks following the Forum.....That's good news to us.....because it is all about getting those conversations started and the ideas flowing.
Have a look at this Youtube song – it sums it up the Forum quite nicely! (Thanks David Wallin for sharing it)   Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn49ah6bKzI.


Calendar of Events

Friday, 19 July: BELLOPY MARKETS. 8:00am - 1:30 pm @Anglican Church.
Sunday, 21 JulyECOFAITH BELLINGEN @ High School Community Garden, 10:30am. All people of good will are welcome.  Morning tea at 11:30. This week: "Finding life through those we are most tempted to despise- The story of the loving Samaritan."  For info ecofaith.org/mnc/community.
Sunday, 28 July: TRANSitionFORUM: Creating a  Green Economy. 3:00-5:30 pm @Uniting Church Hall. 
Friday, 2 August: BELLOPY MARKETS. 8:00am - 1:30 pm @Anglican Church.
Saturday, 3 August: WATER, LAND, WILDLIFE, FORESTS.  1pm @ Bellingen Memorial Hall. An afternoon of insight into the condition of our local wild life, the state of our Native  Forest plantations and the fate of our National Parks. Speakers include
Susie Russell (North Coast Enviro Counci)l; Michelle Maloney; Ashley Love( NPA);  Mark Graham (Ecologist/Educator). Music and afternoon tea.
Sunday, 4 AugustECOFAITH BELLINGEN @ High School Community Garden, 10:30am. All people of good will are welcome.  Morning tea at 11:30. For more ecofaith.org/mnc/community.
Sunday, 4 August: FREEMARKET. 2:00-3:00 pm @Bellingen Showgrounds.
Thurs-Sun, 15-18 August"Buddha Touched the Earth" workshop with John Seed and others. Camping retreat @Bundagen Community. Contact centreforecologicallearning@gmail.com for more info.
Friday, 16 August: BELLOPY MARKETS. 8:00am - 1:30 pm @Anglican Church.
Sunday, 18 AugustECOFAITH BELLINGEN @ High School Community Garden, 10:30am. All people of good will are welcome.  Morning tea at 11:30. For info ecofaith.org/mnc/community.
19-25 August: Australia’s first-ever FAIR FOOD WEEK. Workshops, film screenings, permablitzes, farm tours, farmers’ fairs, garden tours, veggie swaps and much more are being held all round the country. Register on www.fairfoodweek.org.au  - organise your own event to make sure our town is part of the growing national fair food movement
Sunday, 25 August: TRANSitionFORUM: Local Green Energy. 3:00-5:30 pm @Uniting Church Hall. 
26-27 August: Youth Leading the World Facilitator Training Intensive @ the Bellingen Youth Hub. Go to www.ozgreen.org for more info.
Friday, 30 August: BELLOPY MARKETS. 8:00am - 1:30 pm @Anglican Church.

Transition Projects

(In alphabetical order!)

BELLINGEN SEED SAVERS

Bellingen Seed Savers will be having a working bee in early August - date to be advised. The Seed Savers are always happy for new and enthusiastic members and helpers - contact bellingenseedsavers@gmail.com. Or check out their great blog spot at bellingenseedsaversunderground.blogspot.com.au.

BELLOPY MARKETS
NEWS FROM SUSAN, MARKETS COORDINATOR
Locally grown bio-dynamic sheep and alpaca wool (from Lizzie Lamb, Lucky Lamb and Reg and Nev the Alpacas from Funny Farm, Brierfield).... then spun locally by Lyn (a Bellingen townie) = 4 transport miles (!) and then ready for knitting into beanies, socks, scarves, gloves, etc.....Local, ethical, sustainable and fun! We care about sustainable farming practices, locally grown food and artisan products...find us on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Friday of each month at the Anglican Church, Bellingen., from 8:00-1.30. See you there.

FREEMARKET
MESSAGE FROM MOSHIK: Anyone who wishes to 'run' a Freemarket can email /text me. It is probably preferable that is someone who has been to the Freemarket several times and knows how it runs! When emailing please specify a preferred month you have in mind or months you can't volunteer in.  I will then add your name to our growing list of people who are happy to volunteer to run the Freemarket and contact you when appropriate! Thanks...Moshik  moshik.goffer@gmail.com  0411 574 373
RESKILLING WORKSHOPS
The Transition Bellingen “Re-Skilling Workshops” have been running for two years. There are two more workshops in the 2013 series, which will be offered in the spring:
(1) 21 & 22 September: “Plants at your Doorstep” with Pat Collins, author of the book ‘Useful Weeds at our Doorstep’. . You will learn how to use local plants for health and first aid, and recognise useful local weeds, as well as make an ointment, cream, syrup, lozenges, tea, and capsules. $60 per day, some concessions available. REGOS OPEN NOW - places filling fast! Email Olivia at transitionbellingen@gmail.com for more info.
(2) Intro to Bee Keeping (date TBA). Watch out for more info.







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June 2013 Newsletter


In this issue of the Transition Bellingen News: "TRANSitionFORUM: what's up with our Waste", Calendar of TB Events, and more.
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Transition Bellingen News for June 2013

To repeat ourselves from last month ....we are now trialing a periodic newsletter, comprised of news about Transition Bellingen's activities, projects, and affiliates, plus some other interesting and thought-provoking items that are related to our most beloved of topics - how to Transition our community (and country and planet) towards a sustainable, resilient, and planet-loving way of life.Let us know what you think! We love positive feedback and constructive criticism - that is how we learn and grow. And please share this with anyone and everyone - the more people along for the ride, the better.

TRANSitionFORUM on 30 June: What's up with our waste?

Last month we held our first TRANSitionFORUM....and it was great. There were about 30 people attending, many of them new faces to Transition, and lots of friendly familiar faces as well. The screening of the new film "In Transition" (about the international Transition movement)  was well received and paved the way for an interesting discussion about where Transition Bellingen is today, six years after it began. We also got updates about our current Transition Bellingen projects from the people who are running them - it was a great sharing.

Towards the end of the event, the discussion turned towards planning... YES - everyone agreed that we should continue with the Forum format, YES -  everyone thought Sunday afternoons were good, and that monthly is appropriate, and it should be on the LAST SUNDAY of each month for ease of remembering. And YES it would good to introduce different topics......and then quite quickly, we decided on WASTE for the next topic.

SO.......come on down NEXT SUNDAY, 30 JUNE, from 3:00-5:00 pm at the Uniting Church Hall, to hear about Waste in the Bellingen Shire. This will include:
* Panel on the "Wonderful World of Waste" with Councillor Dom King, Wayne Wadsworth from "Waste to Wealth", and Daan Schiebaan, who works as the Manager for Sustainability and Natural Resources at BSC.
* Open Space discussion and sharing of ideas on the topic.
* Afternoon tea - contributions of baked goods welcomed!
* Child minding available - just let us know if you want to use this service

Other Transition Initiatives are "doing waste" too......
According to the Transition Network website (transitionnetwork.org), other Transition initiatives around the world have some interesting projects going on the topic of "Waste". Closest to home, Kyneton Transition Hub (in Victoria) has just run a successful biochar workshop (kynetontransitionhub.com). In the UK, Transition Honiton has set up a dedicated "Transtion Waste Group" to research the topic in their town. Transiton Hythe has a monthly beach cleaning initiative. And Transition Brighton has just started a "Repair Cafe" where everyone gets together to fix stuff (brightonrepaircafe.wordpress.com). Transition in Holland really loves the idea of "Repair Cafes" too - it seems to be quite the cultural phenomenon - check out their website (repaircafe.nl).....although the English translation is sometimes a bit rough, you can still get the idea!


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May 2013 Autumn Newsletter


In this issue of the Transition Bellingen News: "Transitioning Transition", Calendar of TB Events, Project Updates, and more. 

Welcome to the Transition Bellingen News for Autumn 2013

Transition Bellingen has had a wonderful weekly "News" email going out for the last few years. David Wallin, our stalwart and dedicated communications man, put hours of work into sharing Transition and other community happenings with the 400+ people on our email list. However, the task was getting too unwieldy - limited gmail capabilities, an overabundance of requests for publicity, and never enough time - so we have decided to move on from the weekly "Community Bulletin" and give David a well earned break! Thanks David, you definitely deserve the "Golden Keyboard" award.

So now what we are trialing is a periodic newsletter (we can't promise monthly just yet!), comprised of news about Transition Bellingen's activities and projects, plus some other interesting and thought-provoking items that are related to our most beloved of topics - how to Transition our community (and country and planet) towards a sustainable, resilient, and life-loving way of life. Let us know what you think! We love positive feedback and constructive criticism - that is how we learn and grow. And please share this with anyone and everyone - the more people along for the ride, the better.


"Transitioning Transition":
Come to the TRANSitionFORUM on Sun, 26 May


Transition Bellingen has been an integral part of the Bellingen community for the last six years. Still….lots of local people wonder who? why? and what? is Transition Bellingen.

It is easy to see our more physical manifestations…..the River Festival, the popular Reskilling Workshops,  the monthly Freemarket, the Transition Cafes, and then all the projects  born from Transition Bellingen – the Bellingen Seed Savers, the Sustainable Building Forum, the Visioning Workshops contributing to the 2030 Strategic Plan, the new Bellopy Markets.

But how do all these projects manifest exactly? How does Transition Bellingen function? The answer is a TINY bit complicated – because since the beginning, we have been in a constant cycle of acting, evaluating, and changing how we “do” things. Transition Bellingen has been an ongoing process of joyous learning and innovative adapting (as well as questioning, challenge, and even a bit of struggle!)

Right now, we find ourselves at another important “change and adapt” juncture. Many people ask how they can be involved, and there are amazing ideas for new projects floating around out there. But sometime last year, we figured out that the existing structure was not managing to bring in and support new people and ideas. So, in what might seem a bit of an unusual step, the “Hub” has disbanded itself and is suggesting a new structure. Come along on Sunday, 26 May to the inaugural event of TB 2013 – the “TRANSitionFORUM” to be a part of it (or skip to the end of the article where it is described in more detail)....or, read on for a fascinating account of how we got to where we are now (okay, maybe fascinating is a bit overblown, but it is definitely interesting...)

Looking at a bit of the history of the inner workings of Transition Bellingen might help. (The larger picture: the global Transition Towns movement started in the UK in 2004, with the aim of fostering local resilience in the face of possible global shocks triggered by peak oil and climate change.  The “Bellingen Climate Action Group” shifted gears to become the third official “Transition Town” in Australia.)

2008
We were formally accepted as a Transition Initiative at the end of May. At the same time, we realised that our organisational format wasn’t meeting our needs. We had an unwieldy steering group and it was challenging to know how to help everyone channel their energy. A “renewed steering group” was formed along with Workgroups, with one of the first decisions being to add another “objective” to the official Transition objectives: “to work horizontally”!
2009
We welcomed two of the co-founders of the Transition Towns movement to Bellingen as part of their world tour. This event attracted an amazingly diverse group of people from across our community, some of whom then joined together in a loose-knit ‘Core Group’ that helped facilitate the organising of events and projects for the rest of the year.
2010
We created the ‘Hub’ - committed people who regularly attended meetings and self-organised to keep things flowing.  From our brochure: “To participate you just show up and follow your passion! The Hub supports people to carry through with their ideas …..We go where the energy is. …Our focus is more on what we want to create than what we are working against.”
2011
Transition Bellingen became an Incorporated Association – needing to be an independent group for insurance purposes. Discussion at the ‘Hub” meetings centred around how to maintain our horizontal, spontaneous ways of working amongst the required “constitution”, “officers” and “AGMs”. The “Hub” developed into a group of 12-15 people which became a family-like entity. (Which helped when the inaugural River Festival became bigger than Ben Hur, and our main project for the year....)
2012
The “Deepening” began. Throughout the year, 10 members of the Hub met regularly to explorewhere we had been, and where we wanted to go, both individually and as a group. (In the meantime, a small “Action Group” formed in order to hold the Transition projects that were still happily happening, including a second successful River Festival.)

Somewhere in the middle of the process, we realised that Transition Bellingen once again needed a serious restructure. The Hub was losing effectiveness – because (1) we were getting burnt out and tired of doing the same jobs and (2) we weren’t having much success in attracting new people to be part of the Hub (we understood it is difficult to come into a group that has been working together so tightly!) So….the Hub, with some resistance and a bit of sadness, decided to disband itself. But we didn’t feel that it was time for Transition Bellingen to close shop – we still have projects happening, and people asking “when is the next Transition event happening?”

And thus, a new structure for Transition Bellingen in 2013 was dreamed up. The interesting challenge has been to develop something that is solid enough to provide support and nourishment for whoever/whatever comes along, while at the same time being flexible and open enough to allow the people and projects that do come, to make it their own.

We are suggesting a three faceted structure for the next phase of Transition Bellingen:
(1) TransitionForum: a regular happening which all interested folk attend - to learn, explore, and plan new Transition projects. Open to ideas as to when/where/what/how.
(2) MOB (Management of Business) group: a small self-selected group (including Association office bearers) who deal with finances, insurance, and other bureaucratic delights- enabling everyone else to get on with the creative stuff.
(3) The Owls: those people who have put a lot of time and effort into Transition work in the past six years, now stepping back, but available as mentors to guide new projects as needed.

This is a skeleton structure, and is intended as such. Transition Bellingen has always reflected the talents, needs, and passions of the people involved at the time. We hope that this new structure will encourage anyone who is interested in being involved in an amazing community group, or has an idea for a consciousness shifting or resilience building project… to come along and be a part of fleshing out this new structure and breathing life into it. We look forward to seeing you!




Calendar of TransBelloEvents

Friday, 17 May: BELLOPY MARKETS. 8:00am - 1:30 pm @Anglican Church.
Sunday, 26 May: TRANSitionFORUM. 3:00-5:00 pm @Uniting Church Hall.
Friday, 31 May
BELLOPY MARKETS. 8:00am - 1:30 pm @Anglican Church.
Sunday, 2 June: FREEMARKET. 2:00-3:00 pm @Bellingen Showgrounds.
Sunday, 2 June: SEED SAVERS GATHERING. 2:00-4:00 pm @ John & Carol's, 18 Hyde St Fernmount.
Friday, 14 June
BELLOPY MARKETS. 8:00am - 1:30 pm @Anglican Church.
Friday, 28 JuneBELLOPY MARKETS. 8:00am - 1:30 pm @Anglican Church.

Transition Projects

(In alphabetical order!)

BELLINGEN SEED SAVERS

Bellingen Seed Savers have been a successful and popular project of Transition Bellingen since 2009, and have a large and enthusiastic membership. There is a Seed Savers garden visit and afternoon tea,  from 2.00pm to 4.00pm, on Sunday June 2, at John and Carol's garden at 18 Hyde St, Fernmount (opposite the Rural Fire Brigade. Plenty of parking in the street.). Check out how the food forest is developing.  Bring a plate and a chair. Bring seeds and plants to share. Bring a friend. New friends welcome.  The weather has been beautiful lately so we hope for a relaxing afternoon.

BELLOPY MARKETS
    NEWS FROM SUSAN, MARKETS COORDINATOR
: The Bellopy Organic Farmers Market launched in February and has grown steadily since its inception. Our aim is to be a fantastic organic/humane choice ‘foodie’ market in the area, a one stop shop. We support local (within three hours of Bellingen), sustainable, and ethically grown organic and biodynamic produce. We want to support our local organic farmers to stay in business and to get a fair price for the produce they sell, as well as personalising our shopping experience by “shaking the hands that grow our food”. The market is free for all stallholders and the donation bucket out the front gate allows us to keep it that way.
    We now have 17 regular stallholders, ranging from seasonal fruit and veggies to honey, pork, beef, buffalo, gelato, cheeses, yoghurts and artisan breads. We also have a great organic “cheap eats” outdoor café with coffee, juices and Asian fare, plus a range of local buskers.
     Bellopy helps raise community awareness about growing organically and biodynamically through our Facebook page. We post stories about our farmers, working bees, and various workshops as well as local stories related to food, our health and the environment. We welcome any feedback  that would help us make the Market even better and look forward to our continued growth and support from the community. If anyone wants more information on becoming a stallholder or a busker please contact me via Facebook (“Bellingen Local Organic Produce – Bellopy Markets”.

FREEMARKET
This popular monthly event usually happens on the first Sunday of the month, from 2:00-3:00 pm at the Bellingen Showgrounds. Moshik has been spearheading this for the last three years - onya Mosh! He is now wanting to share the joy around, and thus a rota of people have volunteered to take on the running of the Freemarket each month. This includes putting out signs, opening up, cleaning up, dealing with donations, etc. If you would like to be part of the rota list - email us at transitionbellingen@gmail. com and let us know!

RESKILLING WORKSHOPS
NEWS FROM OLIVIA, WORKSHOPS COORDINATOR:
 The Transition Bellingen “Re-Skilling Workshops” have been inspired by the Transition idea of ‘The Great Re-Skilling’: as we move away from a fossil fuel based society, we search for ways to meet our basic life needs. This creates challenges and opportunities for each one of us to acquire new knowledge and skills. These "new" skills are often old skills, such as bread-making, preserving seasonal food, or making our own medicinal remedies. Re-learning skills as a community will also increase local resilience, lower our environmental impact, create new networks and strengthen our sense of community
      Over the past two years Transition Bellingen, supported by Bellingen Shire Council’s Environmental Levy, have run two series of workshops. In the latest series (2012-2013),  the seven Re-Skilling Workshops have been: Introduction to Bee Keeping; Jams & Conserves (run twice due to popular demand); Sourdough Bread Baking (also twice); Wild Fermentation  (making fermented goodies at home); and Edible Weeds.
      There are two more workshops in the 2013 series, which will be offered in the spring: “Weeds & Home Healing + Herbal First Aid” with Pat Collins, author of the wonderful book ‘Useful Weeds at our Doorstep’ (21 and 22 Sept); and one more Introduction to Bee Keeping (date TBA). Registration for both workshops will open on 1 June.  Contact transitionbellingen@gmail.com or watch out  for more info around town.




Something interesting from TransitionNetwork.org 

What is a Transition Initiative?
It's a place where there's a community-led process that helps that town/village/city/neighbourhood become stronger and happier.
It's happening in well over a thousand highly diverse communities across the world - from towns in Australia to neighbourhoods in Portugal, from cities in Brazil to rural communities in Slovenia, from urban locations in Britain to islands off the coast of Canada.
These communities have started up projects in areas of food, transport, energy, education, housing, waste, arts etc. as small-scale local responses to the global challenges of climate change, economic hardship and shrinking supplies of cheap energy. Together, these small-scale responses make up something much bigger, and help show the way forward for governments, business and the rest of us.
Really, it's the opposite of us sitting in our armchairs complaining about what's wrong, and instead, it's about getting up and doing something constructive about it alongside our neighbours and fellow townsfolk. And people tell us that as a result of being involved in their local "transition initiative", they're happier, their community feels more robust and they have made a lot of new friends.

What are we "transitioning" away from?
All industrialised countries appear to operate on the assumption that our high levels of energy consumption, our high carbon emissions and our massive environmental impact can go on indefinitely.
And most developing countries appear to aspire to these ways of living too. However, any rational examination of our energy supplies, our economic inequalities, our diminishing levels of well-being, our ecological crises and the climate chaos that is already hitting millions of people tells us this can't go on much longer.
We're saying that the best place to start transitioning away from this unviable way of living is right within our own communities, and the best time is right now.

What are we "transitioning" towards?
Whether we like it or not, over the next decade or two, we'll be transitioning to a lower energy future - essential because of climate change and inevitable because of diminishing supplies of fossil fuels (particularly oil).
There are a variety of possible outcomes depending on whether we stick our heads in the sand or whether we start working for a future that we want.
Transition Initiatives, community by community, are actively and cooperatively creating happier, fairer and stronger communities, places that work for the people living in them and are far better suited to dealing with the shocks that'll accompany our economic and energy challenges and a climate in chaos.

http://www.transitionnetwork.org/support/what-transition-initiative





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February 2013 Newsletter 

Hello People

Apologies for there being no Newsletter from us this Friday. David's computer is in hospital!
Hopefully it will be cured by next week, but in the meanwhile here are a few of the main events we have been asked to tell you about


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Eco Centro
”Biochar may represent the single most important initiative for humanity’s environmental future”
Tim Flannery

Do We Have What It Takes to Make it Work Here?

Last winter Wayne ‘Wadzy’ Wadsworth proposed ‘Eco Centro’ for Bellingen as the basis of his Mayoral campaign.  Subsequent conversations have indicated a growing interest in what he is proposing… so 
we are holding a public meeting on
Wednesday 20th February 
at No. 5 Church St
to discuss what it would take to make it work here

Our Shire Councillors along with Council Managers and Officers have been invited (please add your encouragement to inspire them to attend). The project is consistent with the aims of the Community Strategic Plan.

This project has not been done anywhere in Australia in it’s entirety, though Ballina Shire is now converting to a ‘waste-to-energy’ biochar system. Government and private funding may be available. The biggest piece of the picture would be to turn the Sewage Treatment Plant into a green electricity generator, which would turn the waste into energy using a gas turbine (similar to what is done with Sydney water). The treated water at the STP would be used to feed a bamboo/hemp plantation, which, along with Bellingen’s green waste, could be used to make biochar and green energy. The c50 acres of land surrounding the STP could provide the space for production of all of the energy that our town needs via Solar, Biogas and the making of biochar*. [*As the bamboo/hemp grows, it takes up carbon and through pyrolysis (baking, not burning) this carbon is made stable (sequestered)and can be used to enhance the soil, effectively removing it from the atmosphere]

Wed 20th February at No. 5 Church St -- 7:15 pm meeting start
Come early for dinner
please RSVP by 14 Feb 
to register for the $18pp Vegetarian Buffet option

**Email vparkes@westnet.com.au to RSVP or ring Vicki on 6655-9715 and leave a message**



Bellingen Environment Centre’s AGM 
on Tuesday 12th Feb  at 5.30pm
Bellingen Showground Luncheon Pavilion

"Supporting Sustainable Industry"
Presenting speakers from 'Hemp Creative'
Sonya Kumar and Steve Henderson
Refreshments
0409 996423


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‘BELLOBAMBOO’ FUTURE
Thursday 14th February
No 5 Church Street 
5 – 6pm
FREE Info session – for bamboo grove owners and bamboo enthusiasts – talking about bamboo trends, presentation of great examples happening in the world. Q & A about how to deal with running bamboo and maintaining clumping groves and what’s coming up (courses, initiatives, projects)




and, if you haven't seen this already... 

A petition re Bridgeless Brierfield at -

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Have a good week!
All the best,
Fiona
(for Transition Bellingen)