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Second Transition Town Initiative meeting scheduled

Event takes place Saturday, April 11 from 2-4 p.m. at the Mission Leisure Centre.
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About 40 people met at the Mission Leisure Centre on March 28 to learn about and discuss the creation of a Transition Town Initiative in Mission.

About 40 people met at the Mission Leisure Centre on March 28 to learn about and discuss the creation of a Transition Town Initiative in Mission.

The event was hosted by the Be The Change Action Circle in Mission.

The Transition Town Movement is creating resilient and sustainable communities in more than 40 countries. There are over 500 official initiatives and another 600 in the early stages of formation.

The meeting began with an introduction to the Transition concept and a short video explaining the global economic, environmental and social problems Transition addresses and the positive approach it takes.

Three panelists representing thriving Transition Town initiatives in the Lower Mainland discussed their transition experiences.  Gerry Pinel of the Golden Ears Transition Initiative in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, David Dalley of Village Surrey and Ross Moster of Village Vancouver described the goals, activities, problems and successes of their Transition initiatives.

A second panel of four local community members explained how they see the Transition Town initiative benefiting existing and future community activities.

Brenna Maag of the Mission Food Action Network described current food security activities and future plans in Mission and the contribution a Transition Town could make to this work.

Kirsten Hargreaves, manager of social development at the District of Mission, talked about social organizations and community health.

Mike Younie, director of development services at the District of Mission, provided highlights of steps already taken to decrease the district’s carbon footprint and outlined future plans.

Janet Chalmers of the Be The Change Action Circle described a Transition Town’s role in co-ordinating activities and events of existing community organizations, decreasing overlap and sharing information and expertise.

Many of the attendees have expressed interest in taking this project further and a follow-up meeting has been scheduled for Saturday, April 11 from 2-4 p.m. at the Leisure Centre.  All members of the public are again invited to this meeting

Information about the Transition Town movement is available at transitionnetwork.org. See bethechangeactioncircle.com or email bethechangemission@gmail.com for information about the Mission initiative.