You can help us find out by participating in our survey! This survey of 14 questions will help us identify areas in which our city is already resilient to economic and environmental shocks, as well as areas that we need to work on. It should take less than 10 minutes to complete. Thanks!
Peak oil. Climate change. Economic instability. Environmental degradation. These are just a few of the most pressing issues of our time. The Transition movement, which is spreading quickly around the world, provides a foundation upon which to build a promising future together that is more fulfilling, creative and sustainable. Transition is a process for strengthening community resilience and building sustainability in a post-peak oil world that is uniquely designed by each community based on their local needs and resources.
Transition Guelph is proud to be Canada's second official Transition Initiative, joining Peterborough, Ontario, Canada's first, on May 14, 2009. The transition movement is gaining a strong foothold in Canada and around the world, with over 275 official Transition Initiatives worldwide and, as of December, 2011, twenty-two in Canada. Thousands more communities worldwide are in the initial organizing stages. (For a complete list, see www.transitionnetwork.org.)
What's a Permablitz? A community of volunteers who regularly congregate to implement Permaculture Design plans in backyards around Guelph, not-for-profit, and at cost. Based on reciprocity: in other words, you attend three blitzes, help out, gain knowledge (and have fun!) and you are then entitled to have a blitz at your place.
How resilient is your household to the possibility of unexpected shocks and disruption? The Household Resilience Assessment is a way of evaluating your present ability to adapt to a variety of natural and man-made shocks that could occur in the future. It allows you and your family to determine how prepared you are to survive through the effects of Peak Oil, Climate Change, Resource Depletion, and/or Damaged Ecosystems. Some of the effects of these shocks could be: declining economic conditions, intermittent loss of hydro, gas, or water, or possible disruptions in available food supplies.
Fair Trade is a different way of doing business. It's about making principles of fairness and decency mean something in the marketplace.
It seeks to change the terms of trade for the products we buy - to ensure the farmers and artisans behind those products get a better deal. Most often this is understood to mean better prices for producers, but it often means longer-term and more meaningful trading relationships as well. There are - as of February, 2012 - fifteen official Fair Trade towns in Canada; let's make Guelph the next one!
Sharing Backyards is a co-operative program that connects people who have unused yard space with others who wish to garden but don't have the space to do so. The Sharing Backyards website and map facilitates the getting-together of would-be gardeners and those with available garden space. Owners and gardeners can then meet and establish their own arrangements concerning conditions of use of the space, times, and sharing of the produce.
When: Sunday, June 3, 2012 @ 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Where: 26 Eleanor Court, Guelph
Join us on Sunday June 3rd from 1:00 to 4:00 for a garden tour at Gail's home (26 Eleanor Court; (519) 822-2592). She is transforming an ornamental garden into one focused on growing food and bringing in permaculture elements. She is looking for some advice on where to situate her cold frame and some feedback on her garden plan to remove an overgrown flowering almond and replace it with a food bearing perennial – perhaps a filbert tree.
When: Friday, June 22, 2012 to Sunday, June 24, 2012
Where: St. Brigid’s Villa, Ignatius Jesuit Centre, Guelph, ON
Sacred Wisdom Centre is bringing internationally acclaimed teacher Joanna Macy again to Guelph, this time for a poetic workshop with co-translator Anita Barrows entitled “A Journey with Rainer Marie Rilke: Discovering Wellsprings of Beauty and Justice.” Join Joanna and Anita for an exploration of the poetry of Rilke, which is much-loved by Joanna and often quoted in her intensive workshops.
Fruit Industry In Ontario Devastated by Extreme Weather. Make no mistake, climate change is beginning to have major impacts right here at home. This year, nearly 80% of Ontario's apple crop has been destroyed, and 30% of the tender fruit. This year's sap run was the shortest in 30 years, which means maple syrup will be hugely expensive, if available at all. This is likely to get worse.
April 30, 2012
Seven myths used to debunk peak oil, debunked. When faced with a vocal climate change or peak-oil denier, it's always good to have some relevant facts at your fingertips to counter their arguments. This article, originally published in Transition Voice (I would ordinarily have just posted a link to their website, but apparently the link to this particular article isn't working) refutes seven of the most commonly-raised arguments that many peak-oil deniers raise.
April 15, 2012
Finger pointing on gas prices - the pink slime of politics. Another great article in Transition Voice. During this already hyper-bizarre presidential election cycle, Super PAC money is enjoying an unprecedented ability to reach a media-addicted public while being held to virtually no standards of truth. Sadly, donors do all this with a nod-nod wink-wink relationship to the candidates each Super PAC wishes to support.
Nowhere is this getting more crazy than on the emerging “gas prices” narrative.
Yet nowhere is there a greater opening for deconstruction of this phony narrative, and an opportunity for truth to prevail on energy.
In 2010, Transition Guelph agreed to take on and continue the wonderful work that has been done over the past 10 yers by the original The Appleseed Collective.
The Appleseed Collective is a volunteer-run project whose goals are threefold, to document and map the locations of all existing fruit and nut-bearing trees within Guelph so that we have a comprehensive list (trees on private property would be included with the permission of the owner.)
The project would also promote the further planting of fruit and nut trees in Guelph, in collaboration with the Treemobile Project (see below) to increase our community's food resilience and tree canopy, and finally, to help with harvesting when the fruit is ripe (again, with permission). Fruit is shared with the owner, with the volunteers, and with local community kitchens.
Movies, we got 'em! The Transition Guelph lending library has over 30 titles on the shelf, and you can borrow them, free of charge, for a period of two weeks. Hold a screening in your home for family and friends, discuss the movie afterwards. It's a great way to raise awareness around the key issues of our time, and to examine the possibilities for change. Here are a few random titles for you to check out:
The most recent blog posting was titled: "Going Local ", posted on Mon, May 14, 2012:
I never thought I'd be able to willingly forego sleeping in on Saturday mornings. But since frequenting our local farmers market, the comfort of my bed is no match for the seduction that the marke...
A big "thank you" to everyone who placed orders this year! The Treemobile is now sold out for Spring 2012. We'll be planning more runs in the future, and we'll send out a notification email when subsequent runs are about to take place. To learn more about the Treemobile, click on the "More" link below. The first run of the Treemobile in April was a huge success! Our terrific team of volunteers planted over 30 fruit trees, and over a hundred fruit-bearing shrubs, and we want this year to be even better!
A Permablitz is a community of volunteers who regularly congregate to implement Permaculture Design plans in backyards around Guelph, not-for-profit, and at cost. Based on reciprocity: in other words, you attend three blitzes, help out, gain knowledge (and have fun!) and you are then entitled to have a blitz at your place!
This is a brand new group, just starting up; we have high hopes for it!
LGBTTIQQ Positive Space