The Transition Nelson Story
Transition Nelson began, like many grass roots initiatives, in a cozy living room with a plate of freshly baked cookies and twelve optimistic people. Once every week beginning March 2009 this group gathered together, exploring the common concern of community resilience. Even with diverse personal perspectives, knowledge and passion, the members of this initiating group needed no convincing that the trajectory facing our community was, and continues to be, an unsustainable one.
Aware that local dependency on fossil fuels is largely unexposed and the issues of climate change are, more often than not, wrapped in negativity and a state of overwhelm, the group began looking for ways to positively encourage change. They quickly realized that the journey they embarked upon was to initiate an unprecedented coming together of local community. And by reaching, with a spirit of openness and inclusion, for a common ground where all Nelson and Area residents, business owners, community groups and local authorities can come together to reconnect, rethink and relocalize.
The initiating group recognized the benefits of joining an already existing “movement”, and by aligning themselves with Transition Towns, they had access to a far greater amount of information and wisdom exchange with similar groups.
With what one might call “a fierce momentum”, the initiating group got busy studying ways to work with the Transition model, ensuring the unique values of our community would be supported by the global Transition Town networks. They then helped organize a Transition Training workshop with help from Selkirk College. Over thirty people from around BC and the Western US attended the fabulous and engaging workshop. It was during that workshop that the group learned they had been officially designated as the fifth Transition Town in Canada after Guelph, Peterborough, Dundas and Victoria. Later in 2010, the Nelson City Council officially declared Nelson to be a Transition Town.
In May 2010, Transition Nelson hosted the Expo and Gathering. At the Expo, dozens of groups representing a cross section of Nelson’s community showed off their accomplishments and ongoing programs, followed by a night of festive dancing and performance. At the Gathering, over 50 community members participated in a 2-day open space process to develop project ideas, including local currency, improving public transit, and more. At this point, our coordinating group stepped back to allow the groups to flourish, but we found that most of the groups floundered without a core group to ensure accountability. The exceptional success arising from the Gathering was the local currency group, which has worked for over two years to develop a regional currency expected to launch in summer 2012.
In 2011, the coordinating group reformed as the Board of Directors for the Transition Nelson Society. The re-energized group has found success by working in partnership with existing institutions and bringing those institutions together. The Cross-Sector Table invites individuals representing more than 18 local organizations together in an informal setting to share ideas, find opportunities for collaboration, and catalyze new programs. The first such program is Transition Nelson’s Good Neighbour Program, which revolves around a community mediation program.
The Board of Directors continues to meet monthly, planning community awareness and engagement events and supporting the Good Neighbour Program.