News from Transition Towns Motueka

August 11th, 2010 meeting and local body elections

TTM's engagement with TDC election candidates

Local government elections are coming up and candidates are announcing themselves. In Nelson, Carl Horn is running on a Prepare for Peak Oil platform, assisted by many Transition Nelson members.

The Transition movement is not one that waits for government to act on the issues we consider important, but it is always ready to develop cooperative action when that is possible. Many important Transition actions need such cooperation at one or other level of government.

In Motueka we have had several pleasing outcomes from such cooperation - the carpooling scheme, consultation on town planning for West Motueka, bicycle lanes, the planting of fruit trees in Deck's Reserve, and most recently, the possibility of a community garden in Motueka. Credit is due to Community Board and TTM member Tara Forde for several of these initiatives. It therefore makes sense for us to consider what cooperation we might wish for from the Council over the next few years, and for us then to interact with candidates to discuss this with them.

This would best be done in the light of our vision of a resilient, Transition-adapted Motueka, and better still in the light of a time-staged plan for the desired adaptations. We don't have the latter, but we do have pieces of the vision, developed out of several previous meetings dedicated to that purpose, and from some of the working groups implementing aspects of that vision.

What follows is taken from notes from those meetings. Where I've added anything not from those notes, I'll indicate it with (JSB).

The Vision

Motueka will be a thriving township adapted to the triple shocks of Peak Oil, Climate Change and sea level rise and financial crises. (JSB I'd suggest 'quadruple shock' with rapidly declining biodiversity, an invisible, slower and very serious 'shock' to the biosphere.) Its adaptation to Climate Change includes mitigation measures as well as adaptation measures. Motueka will sustain its population on levels of energy and material throughputs well within the limits of biocapacity of the region, as part of a regional economy in the Top of the South. This will involve many adaptations to much lower energy use and particularly fossil fuel use.

Motueka will achieve a level of self-sufficiency in taking care of its population in housing, food, water, 'waste', transport, energy, provision of necessary goods and services and in entertainment.

A regional economy will engage the capacities of all productive members in exchanging goods and services towards these goals. A local currency will subserve this economy.

The town will actively protect the surrounding beauty and biodiversity.

Education at all ages will be oriented to the values that underlie this way of life, as well as the knowledge and skills necessary to it. Acquiring and maintaining knowledge of the biophysical limits of the region in terms of sustaining a human population will enter into education in this region.

As a town, Motueka will care for its citizens with inclusivity and equity, fostering fruitful relations between tangata whenua and tangata tiriti.

Where are we in implementing the vision?

We have made progress in:

Transport - the carpooling system and better bicycle lanes in certain areas
Local currency - up and running
Education - The Transition Town radio show on Fresh FM, seminars and films at intervals on Transition-relevant topics
Food - raising awareness of local food provision, the current development of a local food map, the active biodynamic growers group currently meeting regularly (not under the aegis of TTM, but involving many members of it), the public fruit trees project, the hoped-for community garden.

In which areas might we like cooperation from TDC?

A few suggestions follow (JSB) - this is the arena for discussion at the meeting on Wednesday night.

Applying national government money to affordable housing, insulation, solar hot water. This refers to programmes already in existence, but which need to go further. An area deserving of further exploration is the idea of provision for much more roof rain water collection, thus decreasing pressure on water tables, need for reticulation and also decreasing pressure on storm water provision. Fostering use of composting toilets is rational in terms of long-term biocapacity of the region.
Further work on multiple measures to reduce car use is needed. The status quo response to increasing car use is more roading - a response likely to be resisted by TTM members.
Further support to increase local food self-sufficiency and decrease dependence on imported food. TDC supports Ecofest, which has had a strong focus on this goal.
Support TALENTS as a local currency. Further into the future, the goal of being able to pay a proportion of rates to TDC in TALENTS is likely to arise.
Begin work on a TDC Transition plan.

The minutes of this meeting can be read here »

Eating Locally, June 9th, 2010

We had a most heartening response to our Eating Locally event, as those of you who were there will know. Wonderful food, splendid music by Dawn and Emery Jones and the marvellous Northern Lights group, fine discussion using the World Café process.

Tanja Pauls did an amazing job organising the event, Fiona Guyan created a delightful display at the Motueka Library. Richard Hirst (the Good Bread man) baked a batch of his new and delicious sourdough bread, greatly enjoyed during the lunch. Many others helped in a variety of ways.

The TALENTS currency system is continuing to gain trading members. If you wish to join, contact Ron Sharp at 528 6483, or Lynda Hannah at 528 5220 (Lynda is briefly out of town.) The next meeting and market of TALENTS is this coming Sunday, June 13th at 1.30pm, at the Community House. Bring your wares for sale in TALENTS.

The Transition Towns radio show continues fortnightly on Fresh FM on Monday nights at 5.10pm and Saturday nights, 6.40pm. Next Show is on June 14th and features Ian Challenger of the Cawthron Institute on regional sustainability. Fresh FM is band 104.8.

NEXT TTM MEETING is coming up: This Wednesday at 7.30pm at Tanja and Florian Pauls's house on Riverside Drive, opposite the playing field. We will discuss holding a TT seminar series. We'll need good ideas, considered opinions and practical help for this, so please come. If you anticipate any problems finding Tanja and Florian's house, just call me - 528 0386. Hope to see you there.