New blog address

Transition Town Orillia has a new blog address.

We are now posting our updates at http://transitiontownorillia.blogspot.com

This corresponds with our new Email Address which is transitiontownorillia [at] gmail.com

If you would like to receive our bi-weekly email updates, please send an email to that account and let us know.

Inventory of local groups & orgs.

Please add the name, phone, email & key contact for any local groups & organizations that are doing work we might want to know about!! (You have to Log In and go to Edit Posts to do this).

I.e.
Kids for Turtles - Bob Bowles
Couchiching Conservancy - Gayle Carlyle - 326-1620
Seniors for Seniors - 719-1444
Lake Simcoe Stewardship - 725-7514
Orillia Freewheels Cycling Club - Murray Wood - Let's Share the Road project
Simcoe Community Services - Velvet Burnie
AWARE (Action Watch Affecting Residents Everywhere) - Letty McNeil - 812-0643
Safe Place Project - Kevin Gangloff, Director of Orillia's downtown Youth Centre
Quota Club of Orillia
Trails for Life Committee - Bob Bowles, Committee Chair
The Sharing Place Food Bank - Don Evans
Orillia Community Gardens - Jacob Kearey-Morland
Transit Advisory Committee - Janet Nyhof - 325-2108
Waste Management Committee - Janet Nyhof - 325-2108
Orillia Youth Opportunities Committee - Janet Nyhof - 325-2108
Save Oro-Medonte's Environment - Jim Woodford

Transition Orillia - an introduction

TRANSITION TOWNS ~ have you heard about them? Do you want to know
more and consider how Orillia could move forward?

The worldwide Transition Initiative is inspired by the international
Transition Town movement that has been growing rapidly from its early
beginnings in Kinsale, Ireland and Totnes, England since 2005.

The Transition paradigm is not one of prescriptive solutions. Instead,
it offers a model for how a community can be engaged to find local
solutions by drawing on local knowledge and talent using a positive,
solutions-focused approach. Consideration is given to building a
better sense of community in the process of bringing people together
to address the problems we face together. In this, the Transition Town
model views these challenges as an opportunity.

Increasing resilience is a core theme of Transition. Resilience
describes the ability of a system to absorb shocks without
catastrophic consequences. Economic resilience is enhanced by
localization of the production of essential goods thereby reducing the
potential impact of transportation problems due to oil shocks. It is
enhanced by teaching people how to grow more of their own food and by
educating people how to make choices that increase energy efficiency.
It is enhanced by teaching people how to become more self-reliant and
to reduce the cost of living by re-discovering old skills
(“re-skilling”). An economically and socially more resilient community
will be better able to handle the challenges that lie ahead.

Transition Town Peterborough was officially recognized by the
Transition Network as Canada’s first official Transition Town, with
official recognition by Peterborough City Council in May of 2009.
Similar efforts exist in a growing list of Canadian Communities
(Barrie, Guelph, Dundas, Oakville, Ottawa; Victoria, Richmond, Nelson,
BC). There are many who believe that the City of Orillia should be
included in this growing, progressive movement.

On Wednesday, May 26th at 7:30 p.m. at St. Paul’s United Church’s
Wisdom Circle gathering, everyone is invited to come and learn more
about Transition Towns and to discuss steps to move forward.

St. Paul’s is on the NE corner of Coldwater & Peter Streets with the
entrance off Peter Street closest to the parking lot.