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Transition Town folk reach out to community

Group provides information and conversation on intentional communities
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Stephen Hindrichs in conversation with other participants at February’s Transition Town meeting at The Reading Room Cafe. The group meets on the first Sunday of every month

Sooke Transition Town is hosting an informational, conversational and educational evening at the Video and Dessert Night at the Little Vienna Bakery this coming Saturday Feb. 16. starting at 7 p.m. Stephen Hindrichs of the Juan De Fuca Cycling Coaliton and member of Sooke Transition Town presents this second night of short films and friendly conversation.

According to Michael Nyikes, owner of the bakery, last year’s event was attended by about 45 people.

As explained on their website (sooketransition.org), the Sooke Transition Town is a “local group of concerned residents committed to working together with all existing groups to make Sooke a more resilient and sustainable community so that we can respond more effectively to the challenges of climate change, peak oil, and global economic instability and inequity.”

The transition-town concept is worldwide. According to TransitionNetwork.org, there are over 250 transition projects underway worldwide. They describe transition towns as intentional communities moving away from high levels of energy consumption (with emphasis on fossil fuels), and moving towards a lower-energy future.

Here in Sooke, transition town advocates are still in the initial phase of outreach and education. Which is why Nyikes teamed up with Hindrichs to co-ordinate this second annual free event.

With the backdrop of an intimate setting while enjoying a dessert accompanied with a warm beverage, Sooke Transition Town will be showing a series of short videos followed with conversation about the presented concepts.

The central theme of this evening is to explore the concept of permaculture. The term permaculture comes from “permanent agriculture” and refers to a way of farming and gardening that works synergistically with nature, says Hindrichs. “It’s a new name for an old concept that people have been doing for hundreds and thousands of years.”

The central ideas behind permaculture, coined by two Australian ecologists in the 1970s, Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, can be summed up in three simple concepts: earth care, people care and fair share. Care for the earth and its resources; care for yourself, your family and your community; and, take only what you need and contribute where you can.

The principles of permaculture, as Hindrichs aims to promote with this movie night, can be overlaid onto many different aspects of life, including health, gardening and community development. Conversation will include subjects like resource sharing (StreetBank.com) and shopping locally (ShopSooke.com).

This evening can serve as a strong complement to the Awareness Film night showing this Wednesday (Feb, 13) at Edward Milne community school theatre. Continue the conversation and strengthen your own network at The Vienna Bakery this Saturday.

Find out more about Sooke Transition Town and related events at sooketransition.org.