Posted by: Barbara Weinstein | March 24, 2012

Transitioners Connect!

Transition is all  about local resilience. That’s why each Transition initiative is different,  adapting to the local environment, needs, and energy level. But cross  pollination is also important. With that end in mind, more than a dozen  Transitioners from around the Bay Area and beyond gathered at Victoria  Armigo’s house in Sunnyvale on March 17 for some great food, drink, and  conversation.

Folks came from  San Francisco, Mill Valley, Albany, San Jose, Palo Alto, Cupertino, Sunnyvale,  and Sebastopol to share stories about how everyone became involved in  Transition, the accomplishments and challenges in each local area, and ideas  for the future. Carolyne Stayton from Transition US shared her ideas for  connecting people around the country and providing support for people for their own communities.

If you’re interested in getting involved in the regional Transition activities, you can  learn more about participating in the monthly Northern California regional  conference call. To get on the list for future calls, contact Scott McKeown (scott@transitionus.org)

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Posted by: promiserani | March 19, 2012

Crafters Swap at the Craft Swap

Sunday, March 18th at Opal’z in Midtown Palo Alto, a record (approximately) 50 people converged on the upstairs room, normally reserved for birthday parties and soap-making. Instead, these locals were armed with bags of fabrics, paints, papers, ornaments and all sorts of arts and craft supplies. The attendees were eager to swap and jumped in to sort through the piles and boxes of a huge variety of items. Yarns and needles quickly disappeared, the prettiest fabrics snatched up, scrapbooks and more found new homes and luckily were saved from the landfill. The aromas of Annie (Opal’z proprietor)’s fragrant soaps filled the air as people shared stories and filled bags.

The crowd was such that there was a high, steady, hum through the room, and we limited the demos to only paper beads and a few things that can be made from a tshirt, leaving Annie’s other demos for future swaps. There was still a lot of stuff left over at the end (in the future, please remember to stay to take home your extras!), so crafters, teachers, families, and artists can look forward to more supplies at the next Craft swap, to be shared with the Garden Share on May 13th, 11am at Common Ground.

A few photos from this swap, thanks to Annie, are below. Thanks to all who attended! If you couldn’t make it, we hope to see you in May.

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Posted by: promiserani | March 15, 2012

Craft swap Sunday March 18th 1-2pm at Opal’z

Are you a crafter? An artist? A teacher? A parent? Bring your paints, pens, fabrics, yarn, stickers, patterns, craft books, paper goods, stickers, and more to the next Craft Swap. Then take home what you need for your artwork, your lesson plans, your projects. While you’re there, learn a new skill, get to know other people in the neighborhood with similar interests, and score some artsy craftsy loot!  It’s free and fun.

New Demos on paper and rose beads, making lip balm, things to make with a tshirt.
Sunday, March 18th, 1pm-2pm
Opalz, 719 Colorado Avenue, Palo Alto (behind Starbucks, at the corner of Middlefield) – upstairs
opalzoap.com (Please note, this upstairs location is not handicapped-accessible and may have aromas for those who are sensitive)

How does it work? Bring whatever supplies you have (no one will be turned away for being empty-handed) and come watch the demos (light snacks will be provided). At 1:15, grab a bag and start shopping for free. At the end, take home whatever’s left of what you brought (if anything!).

A caveat: you may need multiple bags!

More info at www.transitionpaloalto.org/projects/craft-swap

Posted by: bart | March 12, 2012

Living beneath your means – for fun and profit

Living beneath your means – for fun and profit

By Barbara Weinstein and Eitan Fenson, Transition Palo Alto

How are you making ends meet during these tough economic times?

Local Transitioners shared their ideas at the March 9 Transition Palo Alto 100 Mile Potluck. Cecile Andrews kicked off the discussion by asking folks to consider what they’re doing in three different areas:

  1. Transportation, travel,  food, and leisure
  2. Housing, furniture, clothing, cleaning, maintenance
  3. Kids, education, health and work

We then split into smaller groups to discuss each area in term, mixing up the groups each time before returning to the full group to share ideas that came up in the small group discussions.

So many creative ideas! Here are some of them. Read More…

Posted by: bart | March 11, 2012

Local newspapers cover Transition

Local newspapers cover Transition

This month, the San Jose Mercury News and the Palo Alto Weekly both published nice articles on Transition. See excerpts from the articles below.

Read More…

Posted by: bart | March 8, 2012

EVENTS for March

Events  – Transition Palo Alto – March 7


Palo Alto Weekly article on Transtion Palo Alto and the Craft Swap (March 2)
http://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/story_print.php?story_id=16464


Group buys:
Slow Money book by Woody Tasch is available at a discount from Peter Ruddock
http://www.chelseagreen.com/bookstore/item/inquiries_into_the_nature_of_slow_money:paperback

Group Facilitation cards should be available in a week for about $21
http://groupworksdeck.org/deck

From previous bulk buys, we have a few copies of “Transition Companion,” “Local Food,” and “Local Housing”.(all from Transition)

Contact:  transitionpaloalto@gmail.com.


Questions?  See the TPA website http://transitionpaloalto.org  and calendar http://transitionpaloalto.org/events-2/

Send items for newsletter to  transitionpaloalto@gmail.com.

- Bart and Marina


Events



March  9 – Friday  – Transition potluck dinner

Living beneath your means.  At our next 100 mile potluck, we’ll share good food and hear stories about what folks are doing to get the most out of life while living within tight budgets. Bring a dish to share, if possible, with some local ingredients – that’s where the 100 mile comes in!

7-9 pm
World Centric
2121 Staunton Ct, Palo Alto CA 94306


March 10-11  weekend  – Low Carbon Diet for families – STARTING THIS WEEKEND!

Open to all families with children
Four sessions in March
Exact dates to be determined
Location: Rani’s house in Midtown Palo Alto.
Contact Rani or transitionpaloalto@gmail.com if interested.

Using David Gershon’s book Low Carbon Diet, a “30 Day Program to Lose 5000 Pounds”, you will learn how to significantly reduce your annual household CO2 output, while having fun sharing ideas with others.


March 11 – Sunday – Garden and produce share (Palo Alto)

Join us to share garden bounty. Bring what you have to share; take home something you don’t.  Think of it as a “free” backyard farmers’ market. Bring your homegrown fruit, vegetables, eggs, herbs, honey, and flowers!

11 am- noon
Common Ground, 559 College Ave, Palo Alto

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gardenshare_paloalto/


March 13 – Tuesday afternoon – Global Spirit Hikes Planning Meeting

Are you a global spirit?  Do you feel a deep connection with peoples of the world?

We are organizing a series of ‘global spirit hikes’ with Transition Palo Alto in which you can connect with fellow globally-oriented community members, ideally through a walk with a group particularly affected by a global issue.  Just as Transition is focused on local resilience, this focus is on building local multicultural partnerships/resilience in support of positive global partnerships.  A secondary hope is that it will cultivate our ‘global spirits’ in ways that encourage positive global participation as a complement to our local work.

For instance, we could invite people from island nations to walk with us as we discuss climate change, families from Michuachan, Mexico to be in solidarity with them and the horrible violence befalling their communities, or with Syrian-Americans whose relatives are under siege by Assad.   The goal is to help us stay connected in positive and heartfelt ways with the world and how we want to participate, and to strengthen community.
This effort was initiated by an initiative I have started called Globalicious, a series of efforts to encourage heartfelt participation in the world among people in the Bay Area.

Planning meeting:

March 13th, Le Boulanger
301 Main St  Los Altos
4:15 pm – 5:30 pm (it’s ok to come late)
We will carpool together to Community Conversation and Calling after the meeting for those who are interested.

- Mary Jane Marcus, Conversation Group, TPA; founder Globalicious


March 18 – Sunday – Craft swap (Palo Alto)

The craft swap continues, a chance to share your arts and crafts supplies, get some new-to-you goodies, and get to know other people in the area while keeping stuff out of the landfill!

1 – 2 pm
Opalz
719 Colorado Avenue, Palo Alto
(at the corner of Middlefield and Colorado, behind 711 Colorado),

Wonderful article on the Craft Swap in the March 2 issue of the Palo Alto Weekly (page 53 in the paper copy):
http://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/story_print.php?story_id=16464


March 20 – Tuesday Evenings – Mindful Interactions (10-week class)

Would you enjoy: being heard to your satisfaction, communicating without blame or judgment, deepening your important relationships, handling conflict with more confidence, transforming anger into energy for positive change, having a greater sense of inclusions and connection in your life?

If so, join us for Mindful Interactions!  This is a 10 week introductory class that meets Tuesday evenings from 7:00-9:00 pm  starting March 20.  We will explore the basics of nonviolent communication, founded by Marshall Rosenberg.  If you already have NVC experience, you may want to join us for the NVC practice group that meets Monday evenings 7:00-9:00 starting March 19.

Please contact Bob Niederman, 650-857-0772, or bobniederman@comcast.net to find out more information!

Suggested by Karen S. of Transition PA


March 21 – Wednesday – Talk – The Causes of Climate Change: Separating Fact from Fiction

Nobel Prize winning climate scientist, Dr. Benjamin Santer, will discuss the true causes of climate change. Dr. Santer’s early research on the climatic effects of combined changes in greenhouse gases (GHGs) and sulfate aerosols contributed to the historic “discernible human influence” conclusion of the 1995 Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Wednesday, March 21
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, Main Hall
505 East Charleston Road
Cost: Free

For more information about this event and to register, please email eventsignup@uucpa.org or call 650-494-0541. This event is co-sponsored by Acterra.


March 23-25 – Economics of Happiness conference – Berkeley

David Brower Center, Berkeley
$300

Three day conference with many well known presenters, such as Vandana Shiva, Charles Eisenstein, Annie Leonard (“The Story of Stuff”), Richard Heinberg (“The Party’s Over”), Rob Hopkins (remote),

http://www.theeconomicsofhappiness.org/conference

 


March through April – “Creating a Sustainable Enterprise” class

Acterra is teaming up with UC Santa Cruz Extension/Silicon Valley to offer a certificate program in Executive Leadership: ”Creating a Sustainable Enterprise.”

Starting from the premise that successful executives in the 21st Century need to know how to operate in an era of resource limits, this course will integrate traditional themes about leadership training with a thorough understanding of the principles of sustainability (people, planet and prosperity).

The course starts Thursday, March 29 and run weekly until June 7, 2012.
Classes meet in Santa Clara at the UCSC Extension building from 1:00 until 8:00 pm, dinner included.
http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=n8xccleab&v=001uhMSa17EQAeOIqpw0yKcOzqL_POWNFk4DxAcOmVwBLSIlMyB1M3m2CaiFOxT4J9R5CB6288oxavtl-GpP9CLzayTPVsI_iiP41P680NeWmbvbTOQGM9C9xyu0fG5cSEw

*** End ***

Posted by: bart | February 24, 2012

Events in February and March

Events  – Transition Palo Alto – February 24

To keep this email short,  I have concentrated on Events.  Later, I’ll send something out on Groups.  If you have questions, look at the TPA website   and calendar. 
Read More…

Posted by: bart | February 18, 2012

TPA’s homegrown “Peak Oil Coloring Book”

3 Folded and stapled

Transition Palo Alto offers a downloadable coloring book “What is Peak Oil and Why Should I Care?

In an easy to understand storyline and through great illustrations,  it describes where oil comes from, how dependent we have become on oil, how oil has gotten more and more difficult to collect, what exactly peak oil is, and what we can do to use less oil.

Annette Isaacson, member of Transition Palo Alto’s original steering committee, and her sister-in-law, Mimi Heft, wrote and illustrated the book based on Annette’s  travels up and down California between 1957 and 2010.

The book was  inspired by Rob Hopkins’ Transition Handbook.  It was written for 305.org’s 10/10/10 celebration.

The book is free for downloading (printing instructions).

Posted by: promiserani | January 26, 2012

Craft swap and demos Jan 29


The craft swap continues, a chance to share your arts and crafts supplies, get some new-to-you goodies, and get to know other people in the area while keeping stuff out of the landfill!
Read More…

Films of Vision and Hope Presents

The Last Crop

Join Transition Silicon Valley and World Centric for a special showing of a new film about agriculture in the Bay Area.

Filmmaker Chuck Schultz will be present for a showing of his film, The Last Crop. This is his story of farmers Jeff and Annie Main, their Good Humus Farm and how they are planning to preserve it as a working, organic farm for future generations. After the film, Chuck will lead a discussion about issues farmers encounter in staying on the land and what we can help them do about them.

THURSDAY, January 26, 2012
6:30 Meet and Greet
7:00 – 9:00 Film and Discussion
World Centric, 2121 Staunton Ct, Palo Alto CA 94306

“Sustainability is the big new catch phrase but what does that mean? Does it mean that we take care of our soil? Does it mean we take care of our water sources and our air? The true issue to me is sustaining farmers” – Annie Main, Good Humus Farm

Suggested Donation to help defray travel and film costs: $5.00 – $10.00

Trailer for film
Film website

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