News Bulletin

MARCH 2007

1. GROUPS FORMING

The Transition Penwith (TP) community has started to form Groups around special interest areas. The TP Groups will give people an opportunity to engage more deeply with peak oil issues. More specifically they will provide a networking forum for people to begin to feed information, research and ideas into the Penwith Energy Descent Action Plan, and ultimately to begin to design and build the infrastructure necessary for a low energy, low carbon Penwith.

HEALTH & MEDICINE GROUP

This is being co-ordinated by Dr. Pamela Gray. The first meeting was held on Saturday March 17th at Chy Gwella in Penzance. It was a great success by all accounts, and the notes from this meeting can be read on the TP online Forum at www.transitionpenwith.com/forum

FOOD & AGRICULTURE GROUP

This is being co-ordinated by Sarah Gale. The first meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 28th at 6.30pm for a 7.00pm start, at the Penwith Community Development Trust (conference room) Parade Street in Penzance.

EDUCATION GROUP

This is being co-ordinated by Rachel Smartknight. The first meeting will be held on Thursday, 29th March at 8.00pm in Sancreed

ENERGY GROUP

This is being co-ordinated by Piers Guy and Holly Moore. The first meeting will be held on Monday, 2nd April at 7.30pm at Nuon Renewable Offices, 15 Cuxhaven Way, Longrock.

OTHER GROUPS STILL IN FORMATION INCLUDE:

TRANSPORT, LOCAL POLICY & GOVERNMENT, ECONOMICS, HOUSING & BUILDING, TOURISM, WASTE, BUSINESS

If you are interested in being part of these groups, please email: peak.oil@virgin.net

2. ONLINE FORUM LAUNCHED!
Thanks to the hard work of Mat Kraft, we now have an online Forum built into the website. Please visit www.transitionpenwith.com/forum and register to join. It is requested that you please use your full name. The Forum is a powerful community building tool, and is not intended to replace face-to-face meetings, but to facilitate the sharing of information within the community. It has been particularly designed to support the Groups, and is a tool that has worked for many energy descent action communities.

3. NEW TP PROGRAMME BEING DEVELOPED

We are currently putting together the next 6-month programme of TP events. This will include a series of events that focus on key topic areas (i.e. food / agriculture) and will be designed as an evening talk and / or film, followed 2 or 3 days later by an open space or world café event that relates to the talk or film. This gives people an opportunity to engage more deeply with the material, and is designed to help the Groups to form. We would also like to offer 'a series of Skilling up for Powerdown' courses, in partnership with other organisations and individuals in the community. If anyone has any ideas for the new programme, please email peak.oil@virgin.net, so that they can be integrated and included.